Little Johnny and Susie should study and work hard so that when they grow up they can achieve a minimum wage job that requires minimal skills, minimal education and an entitled salary designed to discourage from climbing the ladder and achieving the American dream.
Honestly, how else are we supposed to take this statement by the supporters of Amendment 70 and state-mandated minimum wage jobs?
Supporters say raising the wage would boost job retention, as it would reduce employee turnover and increase productivity.
Since when has it been the purpose of a minimum wage job to retain workers in that minimum wage lifestyle?
The key word here, in case we’re being too subtle, is minimum.
The only ones helped by keeping employees down in a minimum wage job are the union toadies who get paid six-figure salaries by those workers — the same folks who are funding the ballot measure through Colorado Families for a Fair Wage.
More surprisingly, in the article written by the Durango Herald’s Peter Marcus, the campaign’s manager, Patty Kupfer, readily admits what opponents of the measure have been arguing for months — they have no intention of stopping at $12. As soon as they get that one on the books, they will begin a new fight to increase it again to $15 an hour.
Job wages should be based on experience, talent, the actual job itself, not by a popular vote.
This ballot measure sets a frightening precedence that should concern everyone with a job — whether it’s a lawyer who doesn’t want to see their fees capped, a doctor who doesn’t want the government interfering with healing the sick, or skilled labors who rely on experience and hard work to get ahead.
Minimum wage jobs pay minimum wage for a reason, and it should not be what we aspire to for a cushy life. It’s a stepping stone to gain experience, to move ahead.
These jobs should not be literally priced out of existence, nor treated as the end-all goal for a workforce.