blog 10

Minimum wage is such a controversial subject on whether it should be raised or not. Discussing the conditions of the lower class in Latin american countries and if the bottom line for large companies is worth more than paying employees a little more. Poverty is an issue no matter where you go and it has real effects, not just some numbers in a chart or something. I do understand that it can effect small businesses, so I'm not saying I am an expert in any means, but what I do know is that minimum wage is not enough. Someone brought up in class about how the minimum wage shouldn't be increased because it's just teenagers earning extra spending money, but the reality is much more frightening than that.
 I have seen this effect so many people back at home. Many of my friends back at home could not afford to go to college, and I am not talking about just taking out a loan, I am talking about they could not leave home because they need to take care of younger siblings and also count as a second income for the family. I also worked at Burger King back at home, and many of my coworkers were in their late 20's to early 40's. I also would take the bus home with one of my coworkers who was a single mother, and she and I would get out of work fairly late, around 11:30pm and that really depressed me. Not only is she hardly making rent and getting food on the table, but she also hardly got to see her child. This is an awful image painted in my head because she just came from a stressful day of being yelled at by customers, literally cleaning shit off the walls and floor, customers harassing you, and dealing with very ignorant people.  Now, someone brought up the point that it would "inspire" you to do something more with your life and go to school. If we lived in a perfect world, that would be awesome! but sadly we dont, and life happens. My coworker could not take the chance of going to school to better herself, she had a baby and she needed to make money at that very moment so she could support herself and her child, but I wouldn't necessarily call it supporting. I really don't want to keep rambling on and on, but anyone who is not for highering the minimum wage, I really would like to know why? I don't know each one of your guys' back story, but I'm gonna assume that most of us live a fairly privileged life considering we are in school at this university. So, it may be hard to comprehend that not everyone gets that chance, or can afford to get a higher education. I really suggest you guys play this game  "Poverty game". I know it does not account for every factor, but it really does show how hard it is for a person to live off of minimum wage, and it does not even account for the stress of working all the time and wondering if you could pay your bills. So before you ask why a person should be paid more for "just flipping burgers", talk to people, learn what you're not experiencing.
Government Stats 2012