Who is living in more squalor, Craig (top photo) or Dave (bottom photo)?The minimum wage law is again in the news. There is a new term in the country's vernacular, "living wage".
Time Magazine always appears to have a mixed bag of pro-market writers and those against the market. The cover story, India Inc., about India's free market explosion appears pro-market. It is a well written piece which celebrates the newness and energy of the working class and new wealthy citizens of India. The economy is being driven by people who are behind the steering wheel of their own lives. As they are pursuing their own, selfish means, they are actually growing the economy together and fewer are being "left behind."
However their are a couple articles in this week's issue which are not pro-market in any form.
The articles suggests Pittsburgh is an example of the benefits of paying higher wages for low skilled labor. In Pittsburgh it states low income neighborhoods are on the improve, janitor bought home ownership is up 37% in 15 years and there are fewer families living below the poverty line. Time interviewed a janitor in Pittsburgh who has union negotiated wage of over $12.60/hour!
The article does in fact come clean when it cites pro minimum wage ideas are promoted by "liberal-leaning" groups such as the Economic Policy Institute and the Fiscal Policy Institute." These orgs claim by raising minimum wage it will have no effect on the number of jobs available.
"Daniel Radford, who served as executive secretary of the Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council... laments that the standard of living for workers in his hometown has failed to keep pace with that of similar workers in Pittsburgh. "They've got high union density, politicians in their pocket and strong community support... But Cincinnati is completely different. It's a tough town for workers."
MoreThanCorn cheers Cincinnati for being a tough workers market. The tougher the market, the better the workers and the more inspiration for workers to educate, re-educate, start a business or get a second job until they find the better job.
The next paragraph states "Craig Jones knows that firsthand" (Cincy's tough worker market). He lives in Cincinnati and is a janitor. "It is 10pm and he is back home after another four-hour janitorial shift. He microwaves a Stouffer's dinner and grabs a Coke from his cabinet. He has been looking for a better-paying job during his off-hours but hasn't found one, so he is pinning his hopes on the Justice for Janitors campaign. 'I'm not looking for a handout,' he says. 'But I feel like I'm stuck.'"
From one Jones to another, I think Craig is looking for a handout. The photographs of him standing at work with trash bag in hand and him sitting on a mattress at home show a couple things to me. The jersey he is wearing may be $100+. He has watch on his wrist, possibly a gold chain on the neck and atleast a $10 dew rag on his head. It is difficult to tell what kind of brand name jeans he is may be wearing and the broom head is conveniently covering up identification of the shoes. Time magazine photo-shopped the jersey in the front. Why? It does make it more difficult to identify the team, brand and therefore the actual price tag of the jersey.
Craig's last quote "...but I feel like I'm stuck..." shows the his mental position. He has given up. He is age 27 and has no will to succeed. Time states "...so he is pinning his hopes on the Justice for Janitors campaign..." which is a organization of pro-living wage janitors who are trying to organize other janitors into unions. This is pathetic and unAmerican. Craig is waiting for someone else to do something about improving his situation. He only works 5 days a week and 4 hours a day according to the article. Why does he not go get another job for an additional 4 or 5 hours each day. He could double his monthly income.
After college I was working a job making $6.00/hour. I needed more money after working 40 hours so I found a second job delivering subs on a bike. I also did seasonal Christmas work folding t-shirts at local retailer. I worked 55-60 hours a week, but I made enough to cover bills and save a little. This was done until I figured out what I was going to do with my life. I did not want to make $6.00/hour for very long. The low wage and many hours was inspiration for me to make decisions, work smarter and not harder. It forced me to take risks. It was difficult but this process of making something of yourself, by yourself is just a repeat of what has happened millions of times before me.
Lou Dobbs of CNN wrote an article about the nixing an increase in the minimum wage law . He also talks about the "living wage". "Congress stiffs working Americans" He states the minimum wage should be raised because it has not been raised in years. Dobbs sights the Fiscal Policy Institute (TIME pointed out they are a liberal organization) as research supporting his article. Lou Dobbs seems to be a classic example of journalist trying to make an economic argument. He failed in my eyes, however he may be pandering to those who love taxation and social welfare spending.
Uncivil Rights also has a reasonable opinion on "Living Wages." He adds depth to this post by discussing the tierchary effects of artificially raising wages to unskilled workers. The costs of all products would no doubt rise as janitors all over the country demanded more pay.
The picture Time adds to the article for Craig makes him look like he is living in squalor. No furniture and no pictures or posters on the wall as he sits on his futon thinking.
Let's see what a picture is really worth;
Craig's photo above (see top of post), smoking, wishing someone would rescue him.
The second picture is a staged picture showing C. David Jones living in equal squalor as is Craig. The difference is C. David is reading about Minimum Wage Laws in Henry Hazlitt's, Economics In One Lesson. C. David does not make excuses and looks for new success. He is not waiting for anyone to give him a handout or even a break. Not everyone can be like Craig. Someone has to make a lot of money, to be taxed heavily and to pay for other's laziness and then pay the $12/hour a union wants for their janitors.
If Craig gets his $12/hour, he will be more likely to be content emptying trash cans and spraying windex on windows the rest of his life. Yes, someone has to do the work. Low wages for janitors are good for the individual janitor. In the short run they make less money and God forbid they have to work harder or get a second job. When I made $6.00/hour it motivated me to move on and find success. It will inspire us to make tough decisions which often leads to more prosperity.
One should be working hard and raising themself up to a higher paying job. They should not expect or hope for a job's pay to rise to meet their demands. A living wage can be attained through hard work, in whatever form it must take for Craig to succeed.
Craig, if you ever read this, send me your address. I will mail to you copies of two books I use for inspiration for my own successes;
Economics in One Lesson, Henry Hazlitt
Young Millionaires, Forbes Magazine
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