Senator Elizabeth Warren said it used to be that the minimum wage was a livable wage for a woman and her child. Fact is, it never was. I suspect that the reason she made the statement is that she never really held down a real job; I did. My first job paid $1.35 an hour. I was lucky. The minimum wage was $1.15. By the time I managed to start making $1.45 an hour, the minimum wage moved to $1.25. I’m figured if I wasn’t careful, I would be making minimum wage, even if I never took a pay cut.
The truth is that $1.15 was not enough for one person to survive on, let alone two. The truth is, if I weren’t still living at home, I wouldn’t have been able to survive on the 1.35. Over the years, I saw the minimum wage go up over and there is no way that it was ever a livable wage. It was always intended for someone just entering the labor force. It gave a kid a chance to get some experience and establish a resume. Without a college degree, hardly anyone starts out earning much higher. Sometimes, even people with degrees end up flipping hamburgers for a while, and… they considered themselves lucky to have the job.
Increasing minimum wage should be done carefully. It can end up hurting the people you want to help. I have seen it happen. When the minimum wage went from $1.15 to $1.25, we lost an employee. I still feel bad for the kid. He was still in high school and was trying to save some money toward college. Though I saw just the one lose his job, I’m sure it was not an isolated event. …and, by the way, we lost a good employee. He was ambitious and worked hard.
Then again, why should it surprise anyone that Senator Warren’s would lie? She’s a dummycrat. It’s what they do. I might suggest that she was just ignorant, but I don’t think so. She knew what she said wasn’t true, just as she knew she that she wasn’t Native American.
NEVER BELIEVE A DUMMYCRAT! NEVER!