It seems that every few years I need to write about the minimum wage. The shitty thing is that I wrote about it the first time back in 2014 and then again in 2016. Great to see how much progress has been made in almost seven years.
The first part was about the negatives to raising the minimum wage. The second part was the reasons why it would be good to raise it. This time I want to talk about one of the weirder arguments I hear against an increase.
If you see an article or post about raising the minimum wage, someone will say something along the lines of “I am a _________ and I only make $16 per hour, why does some burger flipper deserve as much as me???” The profession most often inserted there is EMT, but I have also heard a few others.
Look, if you are upset that raising the minimum wage will somehow make your wage seem less valuable, then maybe you should take that up with your employer. Instead of screaming at food service workers and a few other professions that you have somehow deemed to be less deserving of a raise, maybe ask why you do not deserve more money.
Seriously, if EMTs only make $16/hr, then people should demand to know why. I am not an expert on medical billing, but I have been taken to the hospital in an ambulance before and my bill was insanely high for a short ride, especially since the paramedics did not actually do anything except sit there and talk to me. And yet the itemized bill had charges for all sorts of supplies. Before anyone yells at me for not understanding this practice, just know that is not my point. I am trying to say that there is money there, but it is not making its way down to the actual employees.
And hey, guess what? If you are an EMT making $16/hr and the minimum wage is bumped up to $15/hr, now you have leverage. You can tell your employer that unless you do not get a significant raise, then you will quit and go become a burger flipper.
Also, can people stop with the burger flipper insult. Funny how during the quarantine those people were considered essential workers. And yet when they want more money, they are losers who work meaningless jobs. There are more than just McDonald’s employees who make less than a livable wage in this country.
