You know how politicians are always whining about the minimum wage. They say everybody needs to earn a living wage and how we’ve got to raise the minimum wage so those people can FINALLY earn a living wage?
They’re full of…hot air.
The GetRichSlowly blog has a great post about who really earns a minimum wage. Answer:
- 51.2% are between 16 and 24 years…high school and college students
- 21.2% are between 25 and 34 – now that’s a rough age to be earning the minimum wage at, especially if you went to college. EXCEPT…
- ~67% of all minimum wage earners are in the food service industry and get tips, which aren’t tracked by the government, AND…
- 98.8% don’t have a college degree!!
Are you getting a picture of who earns the minimum wage? It’s high school and college kids who are earning their way through school. It’s not these unfortunate people who are trying to support a family that are touted by politicians, at least not on a large scale.
If you are trying to support a family on minimum wage, then yes, you need help. But that help should not come in the form of a subsidy that steals jobs from others, it should come in the form of education.
