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When I hear arguments about minimum wage jobs being for high school kids I am honestly shocked at how out of touch people are. I live in a small town in Arkansas where most jobs are minimum wage jobs from restaurants to factory work to stores. Adults live off these wages.
Arkansas has taken the last few years to increase the minimum wage slowly from $8.50 in 2018 to $11 in 2021, but we still have a long way to go. I am thankful that I was able to get a remote job and that my employer pays me a fair wage, but most people in my area aren’t lucky.
We have to get over this notion that there are so many employers chomping at the bit to pay over the minimum wage and that we just have to find those jobs. Unless you are highly skilled and okay with incurring lots of debt, you are probably not going to find that job.
Most employers want to pay the minimum. Looping back to the high school argument: why are we okay paying high schoolers so little? Many high schoolers are helping their family or saving for college/a car/some other big investment. They put in work and deserve fair compensation.
Also, let’s be real, minimum wage jobs aren’t necessarily easy. I am in marketing and I wouldn’t want the job of a cashier or a doctor. I would hate working on the floor of a retail establishment and I don’t even want to think about the years of schooling to be a doctor.
Each job requires a certain skill set and I don’t think we can compare jobs even if we somehow associate those jobs with lower pay. People deserve a wage that supports them and their families. The myth of the good job paying way above minimum wage isn’t a reality for everyone.
