It’s a pretty simple proposition—a full-time worker ought to be able to live on the pay received for that job. Still, there is plenty of debate about the issue, with words flying around in every direction. Reporter Will Perkins states his position in this September 2017 essay in the Richmond Register of Kentucky.
Read it here: Perkins, “Millennial thoughts: Minimum wage and my take”
- Perkins states his argument very clearly—“If you work full-time in America, you should be able to live here, too.” That is, all full-time work should provide a living wage adequate to pay for life’s necessities. How does Perkins support his argument? What evidence and/or examples does he provide? Is the argument well made? Why or why not?
- Perkins is writing for a small-circulation local newspaper in Kentucky. What might he need to do differently (if anything) if he wanted to publish his essay in a larger paper such as the New York Times or the Washington Post? Why do you think so?
- Employing the strategy described in Chapter 6 of your text, Perkins plants many naysayers in his essay. Read (or re-read) the chapter sections titled “Represent Objections Fairly” and “Answer Objections.” How well does Perkins’s essay follow those suggestions? Are the objections represented fairly? Are the objections answered? Why or why not? Explain your reasoning.
- According to Perkins, many people believe that fast food workers should not receive “any more than the seven or eight dollars [per hour] that most of them currently make.” What do you think? What would be a fair hourly wage for a full-time fast food worker in your area? Write an essay that addresses that question and takes a clear position. Use Perkins as your They Say, as well as any other sources you consider appropriate.
They Say I Blog 
I do agree with what Will Perkins has to say about the minimum wage. If anyone works at least 35 hours a week, they shouldn’t have to work paycheck to paycheck or barely afford something. Even though the minimum wage has been raised from $8 to $15 , which is a drastic change, we also have to realize that the prices of items and basic necessities are also rising. The case of water you used to buy for three dollars , is now approximately seven dollars. This doesn’t just affect the people with degrees but everyone in general. Everyone has bills to pay , debts, kids and just because they didn’t have the same opportunity as others to go on ahead and get a college degree , they don’t deserve to get paid less. People with degrees have the opportunity to job hunt wherever they’d like , meanwhile people who didn’t get the opportunity to further their education and didn’t complete high school or go to college , know they don’t have the opportunities the others have.
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I agree with the argument presented by Kimberly and Will Perkins. Anyone who works full-time should make enough money to live with stability. Whether one cleans, cares for people, works in retail or fast food, or is doing a job in any kind of service industry, a full-time job is real work, requires responsibility, and takes time. And those workers deserve wages that actually keep pace with the rising cost of living. It doesn’t make sense that someone can give 35-40 hours of their week to a job and still struggle to buy groceries, pay rent, fill up on gas, or even just pay for a small, unexpected expense. Although the minimum wage increased from $8 to $15, which is considered a huge raise in print, the reality is that prices increase at the same pace, if not more. Groceries, hygiene products, school supplies, gas, and water have doubled in price in the last few years. Because of that, $15 today does not stretch the way many assume it does. I also believe tying wages to education level ignores how essential “low-skill” work actually is. These are the workers who keep restaurants running, stock shelves, clean public spaces, and handle daily services the public relies on. Lack of access to college or traditional career paths should not equal a lifetime of low pay. Everyone deserves a chance, no matter the background or degree, at financial security. If someone is willing to show up, do a good job, and contribute to society, then their pay should be enough to allow them to live above the poverty threshold, to live decently without continuous financial fear.
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I really like Perkins’ point about, “I strongly believe if you work 40 hours a week, you deserve to earn a livable wage”. This statement was realistic because people should make a livable wage if they work 40 hours a week or even less, they should be about to earn a decent wage. Although they have raised minimum wage, they also raised the cost of living. When Perkins stated, “If you are an American and you spend most of your week doing something productive for our society, I firmly believe you should be able to afford to live here” (Perkins, 2017). It shows that you can have a full-time job and still not be able to afford to live here and that it is terribly sad that people work so hard, and it is not enough. This is ruining people’s lives by not being about to feed their families or pay their bills on time. At this point if it continues at this rate more people with be homeless because the prices of bills and housing are going up but not wages.
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Perkins statement that the people who think that fast-food workers shouldn’t be paid a livable wage are the ones who frequent them most is true. The creation of fast-food restaurants is convenient for those who are too tired from their job to go all the way home to cook, eat, and clean the dishes of a homecooked meal. Therefore, I argue that running a fast-food restaurant is essential for the fast-paced society we have today in the US. If the workers working full-time in these restaurants are paid a fair minimum wage, it would increase the efficiency and popularity of the food products. Although an effect of raising the wage would also increase the price of the products, the customer is already paying for the convenience of not having to cook the food themselves so they have the power to choose not to go and cook at home instead.
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Everyone deserves to make enough to survive if working a full-time job. It does not matter where you work if you are working 40 hours a week, you should be able to live off that paycheck. Minimum wage is a controversial dilemma. Fast food workers only make about 7-8 an hour according to the article. The author believes they should be paid at least the minimum wage. I agree with the author because fast food workers are essential to many people’s lives. There are many people who need their morning coffee. Many people cannot function without their morning coffee, the fast-food employees are working to fulfill their everyday needs, they should be appreciated. Here comes the controversy, not every company can afford to pay the minimum wage to all their employees. If they start paying minimum wage or raise it, they will fire people, and they will not be able to pay their bills at all. Not even that, the prices for merchandise will increase and the majority will not be able to afford it.
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I believe that everybody who works a full time job should be paid at least the living wage in the state they occupy, not depending on what type of job they work. I strongly agree with Will Perkins in that if a person spends their time productively by working, they should be able to live in their state without having to worry about balancing more than one full-time job just to cover basic necessities. In 2023, the federally mandated minimum wage is still $7.25, which will not cover basic living expenses for an average house in any state if a person works a 40 hour work week for the full 52 weeks per year. Even though the more expensive states to live in do have a higher minimum wage, with the most expensive like California and New York offering from $15-16 as minimum wage, it is still not enough to get by without having to hold down more than one job given that the average living wage in these states is over $20.
A lot of the arguments against the rising of the minimum wage consist of people concerned that mass layoffs would result from raising the price of labor, but as many people have pointed out in the previous responses, the establishments of most concern could easily raise the prices of goods and services in their stores and balance the amount made by different ranks in the store to better favor the menial workers. As shown in chains like Starbucks, where workers have much greater hourly income and benefits than similar chains at the expense of prices, consumers don’t seem to care about the pricing of items and prefer the convenience either way. Even after the price raises of items, Starbucks remains one of the most visited chains in America. If other fast food chains adopted the same strategy, layoffs wouldn’t be necessary to raise worker’s wages.
Another common argument I have come across multiple times is that these minimum wage jobs are taken on by people like students and those with lesser education that don’t deserve a living wage because they didn’t have to obtain college degrees for the jobs. If you have ever worked in customer service or retail, you would know that many of the people working those kinds of jobs are those from less advantaged backgrounds who either can’t afford the educational expenses and have to work to live by the most basic means or people who weren’t able to get education because they have to provide for family members and aren’t able to pursue education at the expense of working hours. I have worked beside single mothers, mentally handicapped people, and others who have to work themselves near their limit just to afford the most basic living accomodations. I believe that if a person works and puts in effort to make money, they should be compensated fairly for their labor, no matter how simple the job may seem. As someone with experience working for minimum wage in customer service, I can say that there is a lot of physical and mental strain that goes into serving people in such fast-paced environments deserving of at least a living wage. Also, a student who lives at home and has every expense covered by their parents should be paid just as much as somebody in a worse situation working the same amount because at the end of the day they both contributed just as much to the company.
Of course, the change of the minimum wage to the state’s living wage would take a huge amount of adjustment in both the economy, welfare availability, and the chains directly affected and seems to be extremely idealistic. Even with these hurdles, I believe that this issue is too important to ignore just because of the restructuring involved and that the pursuit of giving all American’s a fair chance to prosper no matter their situation should be of greater concern to the general public.
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In this article, Perkins discusses the minimum wage, and the unfairness of it, as it is not enough to live off of. He argues that people often underestimate the importance of minimum wage jobs, as they often provide comfort to individuals’ weekly or even daily routines. For example, fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s are frequently visited because of their convenience. If an individual visits McDonald’s once a day every day for their lunch break, is it fair to say that the fast-food worker is not contributing to society? That they do not have a real job? I agree with Perkin’s point, as the pay compensation is not fair to minimum-wage workers. Minimum-wage workers work very hard and contribute to society, yet they are still unable to make a living for themselves. If workers are putting in the work and working full time at 40 hours a week or more, they should be able to support themselves and make a living. Although this is a dystopian idea to many Americans, I think that raising the minimum wage to something that an individual can live off of is something that society should work towards, as it is unfair to individuals who work hard in an attempt to make a living for themselves. Further, I believe that oftentimes, minimum wage workers are severely underappreciated, as customers take them for granted. For example, in the restaurant industry, servers who work for minimum wage and frequently rely on tips to help them make ends meet, sometimes do not get tipped for their service. The lack of appreciation from customers regarding minimum wage workers and the service they provide illustrates the culture surrounding minimum wage workers, as they are often looked down upon and as a result, are underappreciated and taken for granted. The lack of appreciation towards minimum wage workers further highlights why minimum wage workers must be fairly compensated for their work. Minimum wage workers have to deal with a plethora of difficult situations and must put forth a significant amount of effort in their job. Yet, despite this, they are extremely underpaid, as they are unable to make a living for themselves. Perkin’s point of minimum wage workers being unfairly compensated for their work further highlights the importance of minimum wage workers being able to make a salary they can live off of.
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As of recent years, the minimum wage in California has slowly started to increase. The reason for this is because the cost of living slowly rises too. The author, Will Perkins, gives us our opinion that if you work 40 hours a week, you deserve a livable wage. I completely agree with the author because if you are working your butt off, you deserve to receive enough money to at least pay your bills and necessities and let you keep some money on the side in order to save up for something you want in the future. The author fights against the argument that fast food workers do not deserve a higher wage because it is considered a “high school job.” Perkins says that most of the people that oppose this proposal are frequent customers of fast food restaurants. He gives the argument that we should support the industries that we frequent the most since we would be using their services the most and we should keep supporting them in order for them to keep giving us the best service. I completely agree with this argument because some people really do not have a choice in being a fast food worker. Some people do not have the academic credentials in order to get a better paying job. Some people are immigrants and don’t have a choice as well. There are certain situations for everyone and we must see that and support them. I personally do not indulge in fast food as much but I agree with the author that we should be buying our food from grocery stores and make it ourselves but in reality, fast food restaurants are more convenient. I also agree with the author in the fact that we should be working together as a society in order to make sure we do not let someone starve. The author also argues that some people do work harder than others and receive way more money than others, which he acknowledges but he wants us to focus on those who do work very hard but barely receive enough money in order to support themselves and their loved ones.
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