Minimum Rage…er…Wage
In my last BRILLIANTLY written article I implied that someone may not be worth more than $7.25 an hour. It may have come across as more ‘Jerky’ than I intended. Clearly this would NOT be the case. Let me illustrate. When I, your humble narrator, was a young lad my older sister would often offer me ten cents a minute to tickle her back ($6/hr). When I was fourteen years old my first real job was washing pots at a restaurant. It was thankless, hot and heavy, with greasy steam doing wonders for my zit- and pimple-filled face. Making the minimum wage of $3.35 was hard to accept when I could make six dollars an hour for tickling.
I worked with a guy who was in his early twenties. He was loud, obnoxious, crass, often talked-back to the manager and made googlie eyes at the waitresses. He was an all-a-round jerk. I idolized him. I remember one day he and the manager were arguing. He yelled, “I don’t have to put up with this crap! (He didn’t say “crap.”) I can go anywhere and make $3.50 an hour,” to which my manager said, “Then do it.” The guy walked out the door, fired. The manager looked at me and said, “That guy will never be worth more than that.”
There is a lesson there.
I’m not really sure what the lesson is, but I’m sure there is one.
I have a friend who asked me if I had a problem with this “specific increase in minimum wage” or if I had a problem when President Bush raised the minimum wage. To me a stupid idea is a stupid idea. It doesn’t matter who came up with it, or who signed off on it.
Unlike (I suspect) many in Washington, I’ve read the Constitution. Am I an expert? HEAVENS NO. But I’m willing to learn, so if someone could enlighten me I sincerely will appreciate it. I just don’t remember any article, line or provision which gives authority to a group in Washington to dictate the wage someone in Florida should pay their employee. But again, I realize I’m not the sharpest bulb in the box so if someone could show me, I’m willing to learn.
Now that I think about it, I know what my biggest issue is. Why does everything have to be “universal” with liberals?
For guns, a three round clip may be great in New York, but if I’m in the mountains of Montana hunting wolves that keep killing my cattle, three rounds may not work for me.
In the state of Washington the current minimum wage is $9.19/hr. That’s great for them. But that may be too much to pay in Nevada, where the employee can choose a lower wage and receive benefits or a higher wage with no benefits.
Fifty-five miles per hour may be a perfect speed in North Carolina. But if you’ve ever driven between Las Vegas and California you know 55 mph is WAAAAAAY too slow.
Insurance was a mess because of regulation. So what was the liberal answer to fix the “broken” system? MORE REGULATION. And now (…yeah…) it’s universal. I don’t have enough middle fingers to fully express my feelings on that topic.
Little by little we are transforming from the fifty nifty individual yet United States of America to just “Generica.” Everything is the same bluh, bluh, bluh.
Generally speaking, I think liberals are like Maslow’s hammer. “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” Don’t think meat is good for you? Pass a resolution for Meatless Monday. Worried that the homeless are getting too much saturated fat in their diet? Require a permit for anyone feeding the homeless. Think people are too fat? Pass a law that 32 ounces is too much soda! (This last link is to a BRILLIANTLY written article – Check it out.) Just because you see things one way doesn’t mean everyone does. But instead of embracing the differences, liberals pass laws.
It kinda reminds me of a story. If I remember right, it is something about there being a big group, a plan was presented, and it was decided that people would be “agents unto themselves.” They could choose for themselves, good or evil. One man stood up and said something like, “I don’t like the plan. I don’t like how we will lose some people. Give me the power and I’ll force them to be good. And not one soul will be lost.” If I remember correctly, a big fight broke out.
It’s almost as if that same battle is still being waged. Thomas Jefferson said it best when he said, “The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite.”
I’m sure the story went something like that.
Hmmmm…? Well, I’m sure I’ll remember it later.
LIFEZILLA: A day without Diet Coke is like…actually I have no idea what it’s like.
