I've tried to imagine what it would be like to attempt to build a life on the earnings of the current, national minimum wage which is $7.25 an hour. No matter how you slice the challenge, providing the necessary support for a family or even for an individual while earning at the minimum is impossible.
Every few years we debate the issue in an attempt to adjust the baseline upward. The debate is so predictable that I'm not going to outline it here again.
I've got a better idea. Let's have the debate. Let's raise the minimum to a more appropriate level (Australia's minimum wage is $15.96).
But let's do something today about the low reward for labor among the poorest of our friends.
Here's my suggestion: wherever possible, when you purchase goods and services, calculate the value of the labor expended to bring you what you value enough to purchase. Once you've thought through this value proposition, pay off the unrewarded "value wage" of your transaction. In many retail settings this won't be possible or even necessary. But in many situations your "wage supplement," some will call it a "tip," can be determined and passed along with gratitude and affirmation of the worker who meets your needs. We say that we value labor. We want people to work, right? But how much do we really value labor?
For example, waiters usually earn minimum wage or less and count on gratuities to fill the wage gap. But there are many other places where I can adjust the minimum wage that I am willing to pay based on what the goods or services mean to me. How much do I value what is delivered to me?
Earlier this week I took my car to the tire shop for the repair of what was becoming a flat tire. In East Dallas at Carroll and I-30 you can get your tire repaired for $10. The afternoon was blazing hot. The young man who repaired my tire worked hard at the task at hand. He took pains to remove what appeared to be a fiberglass chard from the tire, allowing me to inspect the reason my tire was on the way down.
As he worked, I began to calculate the cost of his labor to his employer. With a unit of service in my case costing $10, I thought of the value that I placed on the service and the delivered product. I came up with a number well above the set price.
My equation was simple: set unit value + time required to deliver service + quality of service delivered + overall satisfaction with the service + what the service meant to me in terms of my need = value added gratuity or "wage adjustment."
Bottom line: I adjusted this young man's wage for my transaction.
While this doesn't solve the problem or move forward a solution to scale, it does provide me a meaningful way to do my part in engaging my economy for the sake of fairness and equity. By treating a worker at a time with fairness and equity, I proactively recognize the value provided by the working people who meet my many needs.
You can adjust the minimum wage paid laboring people today. Give it a try. I can tell you it definitely builds community and inspires working people.
great idea Larry. Takes effort, but willing to give it a try!
ReplyDeletei cannot understand why we do not simply decide on an appropriate current minimum wage, adjust it annually for the cost of living, and be done with it (maybe not forever, but mostly). Why do we have to have a huge political broo-ha-ha every 5-10 years and finally lurch upward? Just imagine if social security increases required a literal act of Congress.
ReplyDeleteThe minimum wage in Australia is based on age. It starts out at a little over $5.00/hr. for kids under 16 and the max doesn't kick in until one is 20. In addition the cost of living is higher than in the US.
ReplyDeleteIf they unionized fast food restaurants, the people would have to pay union dues out of their pockets.
ReplyDeleteThe system is not unjust in my opinion. We live in a capitalistic system. No reasonable person would expect to make a career out of working at a fast food place, unless they owned it.
ReplyDeleteThe employees should stop whining and leave if they don't like their salary. If I were the owner I would fire them.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate this post. One thing that I have tried to do for servers at restaurants is to use 20% as the baseline for my tip. These folks don't even make near minimum wage, and I hear from servers over and over that their worst crowd in the Sunday after church folks. Sunday ought to be a server's best day of the week. Another thing that I think people often forget is that if you bring in a coupon your tip should be based on the pre-coupon cost of the meal.
ReplyDeleteHow can one be sure the server gets the tips?
ReplyDeleteI am not sure where the concern expressed in the previous comment comes from. I ahve never heard of waiters or other servers not getting the tips.
ReplyDeleteAnon 3.01
ReplyDeleteI have heard that some restaurants pool the tips and split them among all the staff. This could be problematic.
From my perspective pooling/combining tips accomplishes the same thing--adjustment of wages upward for every part of labor team. Of course, this approach is not nearly as effective as national wage adjustment/gurantee. For me it s a reminder, a symbol of the work we must do. In the meantime I can act to re-value labor in a micro manor. Thanks for the good conversation!
ReplyDeleteIs it an adjustment to living wage at full time employment, or merely a prorated living wage per hour for full time employment for part time workers?
ReplyDeleteStatistics indicate that about 96% of the employment gains this year were part time jobs; regarded as a result of the pending Obamacare cost to employers for full time employment. So it might be that the part time worker at a credible living wage, makes more per hour than a full time worker at living wage.
What is the solution?
As a followup to my previous post, e.g. higher living wage for part time employees vs full time employees at living wage, its not much of a leap to consider the unemployed should get a living wage also.
ReplyDeleteSo we all get paid a living wage whether we; don't work, or work part time or full time?
ReplyDeleteWhat might I ask then, is what incentive do we have to work at all? Doesn't sound like a very productive system to me.
So the non-working get a living wage as well as the part time and full time workers? Doesn't sound like a very productive system to me. Where is the incentive to work?
ReplyDeleteWell what about those on Social Security; would they be paid a living wage as well?
ReplyDeleteHow does this work; a country where no one works, but everyone gets a living wage and in a country with a fiat currency?
ReplyDeleteNot sure how we got to everyone being paid and not working when we started talking about valuing people who do work.
ReplyDeleteDid I miss something?