comingtoconclusions:

championcoolbreeze:

obfuscatingdeity:

the thing to realize here is that conservatives find the idea of paying workers a livable wage so absurd that they make hyperbolic comparisons like this

because fifteen dollars and hour and a hundred thousand dollars an hour both mean the same thing to them; more than you deserve

^That commentary is very important.

You know why minimum wage is a big deal? Because in Ohio minimum wage went up 5 cents and some of my coworkers were crying because an extra 5 cents per hour adds up. And when you are barely scrapping by any amount extra helps.

Let me repeat, full grown adults were crying over extra pennies. If the minimum wage was $15 they might actually be able to afford the cost of living. One woman I work with has 2 jobs and her husband has a job but they still struggle to feed their kids. I had to sneak money into another coworkers purse because she wasn’t sure how she was going to get to work the rest of the week because she couldn’t afford gas. I work with some people that when they go on break it’s the only meal they get during the day because we get our food half off and they can’t afford anything else.

It’s easy to say minimum wage employees don’t deserve more when you talk about “them” as a group. But when you put faces on them and know what some of them are going through, you know how cruel statements like “Why not raise the minimum wage to a hundred thousand dollars?” really are.

And don’t you dare tell me to get a better job. I have never had another job. No other places would hire me because I didn’t have enough work experience. They didn’t care about my lack of work experience or that I was in college. They work around my schedule any time I need them to. No other place would hire me except for places that pay minimum wage. People get trapped in minimum wage jobs and then society looks down on them for asking for a little bit more.

If you don’t think I’m worth paying a living wage, just remember that the next time you go to a fast food restaurant. Remember that when a cashier takes your order, no matter how crazy you requests, and gives you your food. Remember that when you see other customers yell at them because “I asked for no pickles!” Remember that you don’t thing they are worth a living wage.

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