We shouldn’t overpay unskilled workers
Ryan Scott
Earlier this week, more than 2,000 fast food workers from across the country staged a walk out in order to protest their low wages.
Perhaps the act itself is not that outlandish, however, the workers were demanding more than double the current minimum wage.
I find this to be a bit of a stretch to say the least.
I don’t believe unskilled workers, no matter how profitable the business is, should be paid very high wages.
Is that really a precedent we want to establish?
Workers who walked out were demanding wages of $15 an hour, more than double the current minimum wage of $7.25 on hour.
In an attempt to lend my stance a bit of credibility, let me say that I am not “fat and happy.”
I have been a low wage worker for years, and I have never made more than $10 an hour starting at any job I have had but I have managed to support myself without the aid of food stamps or any other welfare program.
The argument had been made before and was aptly reinforced by an LA striker who said “People can’t survive on minimum wage.”
There is no denying that.
But that does not mean that we, as a nation, should cater to that.
These jobs are not designed to support families.
It’s that simple.
The minimum wage could be raised, and it is easily argued that these workers are underpaid.
But $15 an hour is simply excessive for that kind of work.
Teacher’s aides, dental assistants and skilled construction workers earn comparable wages to those being demanded by fast food workers.
Should companies really have to pay fast food employees the same?
I think not. According to the organization Raise the Minimum Wage, if the federal minimum wage had kept up with the rate of inflation, it would be $10.74 an hour.
This is perhaps a much more reasonable figure.
“The principal sources of an individual’s higher earnings are more schooling and the accumulation of experience and skills in the labor market,” said David Neumark, an economist at the University of California.
Raising the minimum wage and demanding employers to pay much higher wages don’t encourage this.
Focus on increasing the individuals skill set and education, not demanding more money.
