March 29, 2005
Tuesday

Okay Mr Branco, we're talking around each other here.I don't equate greed with being succesfull, what I meant was that there are a lot of people out there that will take advantage of a minimum wage worker so that they can make an easy buck.Minimum wage is all that's keeping those poor souls from... I almost want to say slavery. At least it insures that they get something for their hard work and they will have something to feed their families with.

I agree with you that most American workers will not stand for being mistreated in the workplace, but also consider that a lot of minimum wage workers in this country are not american.A lot of foreign workers assume that they have to do the work or get fired, no matter the circumstances in the workplace. And a lot of them are very grateful for having a job, even if it is just a minimum wage job! In a lot of places work is hard to come by, you take what you get or you starve, it's as simple as that (Luckily not Ketchikan).

Unfortunately there are a lot of nasty people out there. Not every employer is willing to pay for a minimum wage worker's education. If that was the case, we wouldn't be having this discussion. Can you imagine all the economic consequences of workers being paid far more for their work than what their work is worth? Even I, with a very limited grasp of the economic workings of the economy, can understand that production costs will rise, prices will rise and inflation will rise. What then?

And by the way, I work a minimum wage job with no benefits and I most definately do not expect the government to support me. That's why I got a job so I can support myself.

Linda Burger
Ketchikan, AK - USA

Related Viewpoint:

Minimum wage by Joseph Branco - Ketchikan, AK - USA

 

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