Should "Minimum" Wage be "Livable" Wage?

While reading a book on how we (as a country) move toward eliminating poverty in America, I was struck by the author's push for "livable wages."

As an employer in the service sector, I wonder how proponents of the "livable wage" argument would define "livable wage." Do we say $10 per hour ($20,800 per year)? Why stop there? Should it be $25,000 per year? Without giving any consideration to market forces, picking an arbitrary dollar amount could kill many businesses. If you think that's rhetoric, consider the following;

The cost of labor is always the single biggest expense in the production of goods and services. My business is dry cleaning. The jobs I offer don't require a great deal of education and training. In today's marketplace, we can charge $2.40 to launder and press a shirt, $5.50 to dry clean a pair of slacks, skirt or blouse. Now let's just say that I'm required to hire people at $10 per hour instead of the current $8.00 per hour I offer (which is above the federal minimum wage). That is a 25% increase. Service industry profit margins are typically low. A 25% increase in wages would have to be passed onto the customer. Based on this, a shirt would now cost $3 to launder and press and dry cleaned slacks, skirts and blouses would now be $6.88 each (before any taxes). I wonder how long the proponents of "livable wages" would be willing to pay such an increase in goods and services.

If we were to mandate a "livable wage" the cost of all goods and services would increase. Since the poverty level is some calculation that incorporates the cost of goods it seems that the poverty level would also increase. Ergo, if we were to make the "minimum" livable wage some percentage of the poverty level, the calculation would continuously change. I.e. the cost of goods goes up, causing the poverty level to change, causing the "minimum" livable wage to increase, causing the cost of goods to increase and the cycle goes on.

While I recognize there are poverty issues in America and around the world, most of the "poor" in America have lifestyles well above the middle class of other countries. I visited a "middle class" neighborhood in China in 2009. They didn't have indoor plumbing.

I believe it is very important for us to raise up the disadvantaged and the downtrodden. The problem I have with this in America is that we seem to have redefined poor. We rail against "the rich" and cry that the poor should have all the same accesses as the rich. We want to walk into Walmart and buy big screen TV's for rock-bottom prices yet Americans aren't willing to work for the low wages it would take to manufacture/assemble that same TV for the price we are willing to pay.

I think we are fast approaching the time when we're either going to be forced back to letting market forces dictate costs and pay (which may mean many of us give up many of the things our parents considered luxuries), or we will be forced to pay more in taxes to subsidize basic living expenses for the majority of Americans.

What do you think?

Are You a One-Issue Voter?

I am reading a book about politics and religion. The book seems to center on how both the "right and left" (politically speaking) get "it" wrong; that we are called to be good stewards of this earth and care for each other while we are here because it is God's creation and not just a stopping place before we're united with God in Heaven.

The author of this book claims that Hurricane Katrina (which devastated the Gulf Coasts of Louisiana and Mississippi, in case you've been sleeping the last 5 years) exposed the tragic way we in America, treat our poor.

I for one am growing weary of the tired arguments of the "do-gooders" who think America is to blame for everything. Consider the following;

1. These people that were considered the watchers and keepers of the environment were the ones that were driving the Range Rovers, Land Cruisers and Grand Wagoneers when I was growing up.

2. From the time I was young I've been told how we need to recycle (I do and agree with) and work toward solar (now alternative) energy. Hey, it's been more than 30 years working on it and its still more expensive to produce than it can take in. Thus, all the government subsidies of it.

3. We live in a country where being poor often means you only have one TV (maybe big screen), free food and no requirement that you work. Our poor in America have way more than many wealthy people in third-world countries.

4. Oprah Winfrey went outside the U.S. to open a girls' school because we have numerous programs that already provide for the poor.

5. We (America) have freed more nations from oppression than any other single country. And we usually don't ask for much in the way of repayment. We certainly don't conquer nations and keep their land for ourselves.

I am convinced that personal responsibility and work ethic are all but forgotten terms in America. Why else would our factories and manufacturing jobs have gone away? Greedy businesses you say? How about greedy government, greedy employees (yep there are lots of those) and greedy regulators that only care about what advances their power over others?

While the author of the book I'm reading never really comes out and says it, America must return to a nation that is more than "one-issue" voters. You can't base your vote only on the anti-abortion movement, gun rights or any other single issue. We must return to being hard workers, willing to take whatever jobs we qualify for and producing the best products and services the world will want and need to buy.

If we're not willing to serve the customers, someone else will!

Gulf Oil Spill

I couldn't help but think about just a few things as the news worsens.

1. Oil Companies get a lot of support from many who believe they will "do the right thing" given all the focus on environmentalism and the government regulations they have to follow. So, what the hell went wrong? I mean c'mon, why didn't the backup safeties work?

2. Where were the government agencies that are charged with (and paid handsomely for) ensuring all safety mechanisms are in place and operable? They've targeted a little ol' dry cleaner like me. I guess they should've been payin' attention to the big boys.

3. Are all you opponents to nuclear (and no all you hardcore right-wingers, it's not nucular) energy feeling a little less threatened by the possibility of nuclear energy? No? Okay, how about drilling in ANWR where this kind of a spill would be easier contained?

4. I wonder how many problems with oil wells foreign countries have that we never hear about. Hmm. I would bet your paycheck it is a lot more than we think.

5. In case you're not aware, the lawsuits have already started. That's right, some fishermen who make their living in the Gulf have found ready and willing lawyers to argue the potential loss of revenue. I wonder if these are the same fishermen that often support rigs in the gulf because of the sea life they attract.

Thanks for reading. :)