Minimum Wage

My first job was working in a place called Elaine Boyd Creche, a nursing home for children and back then I worked for minimum wage, $1.00 an hour. That was 45 years ago. Sometimes it seems like things have really changed since then but maybe not. Minimum wage in the Bahamas is $4.00 an hour in the private sector. In the United States today a federal mandate sets the minimum wage as $7.25 an hour, although states can set the minimum wage higher. San Francisco, California, has the highest minimum wage in the United States at $10.55 an hour. Now with my teachers’ retirement check each month I get a little more than the federal mandate would dictate if I worked a 40 hour week yet less than San Francisco’s minimum. Even though things cost a lot less 45 years ago, raising a family and paying for the things I needed to get by required careful planning and the even though I am retired and most of my family are supporting themselves my bills haven’t disappeared or changed that much. It still takes planning to keep oneself afloat in today’s economy, especially on a shrunken income. Is that because the prices of things have kept pace with increases of money that’s being allocated for individuals or is that the money is worth less today than it was before; causing the us to have to spend more money to buy things? The good news is that, today, if I just had to take care of myself, I could get by on less and perhaps enjoy more availability of money. Alas, as we see more and more people without jobs we find ourselves helping others in our families who can’t seem to get ahead. Essentially, minimum wage is that, the minimum we need to get by or is it. Perhaps the things we value today cost us more and we don’t want to get by with the minimum even though that’s what we earn. A new cellphone that provides us with the minimum contact capability is relatively cheap as is its use within those boundaries. However, most people feel they can’t be without access to other attributes and end up paying more. Basic staples for eating are still relatively reasonable but the price of going out or even fast food whittles away at our income. Since I've retired, I've noticed that sometimes more is not necessary when you can get by on less and still accomplish a lot of things. I find myself doing more things that basically cost me a lot less than paying for someone to entertain me and I enjoy it more because of my sense of accomplishment. With all that said, perhaps the real point is maybe we should wage a minimum war – do things for less and perhaps we could enjoy life more. It should make everyone happier if we had less war and more peace.