Muddy,
Sorry to say, you are almost directly quoting Marxist doctrine there.
You know, if I could afford to pay someone more, that'd be great, but why should it be OK to pay someone $5 one day and not the next? Also, I think someone could indeed do OK on minimum wage if that's the only job their qualified for or can find. At least it's better than mooching. Also, last year I was only making around $10/hr while working part time and studying (like I am right now for my CFI) for my IFR rating. So the immediate effect of the minimum wage increase was to deflate the value of the hard-earned money I had in the bank

. My hiring someone for a wage that I set is NOT STEALING from him. If he can find something better, he's free to do so. Otherwise, we get very arbitrary... For instance, I could say now that my boss is stealing from me because I don't make $20/hr like I can when I get hired to do a photo flight. Ridiculous.
Truth is if it costs me $2 to produce a product, it will cost you approximately $4-5 to buy it if I want to have enough to eat tomorrow (Most retailers have to have a 40-60% markup in order to pay for their employees, buildings, and other overhead and still have a profit. And if it costs me $4 for goods and $5 for a worker, then the price will probably be close to $20 for the product. That worker would have to work 4 hours in order to buy the product. Iif I can cut that down to $2 for the goods and $3 for the worker, I can drop my price to approximately $10 for the same item. Now, at the lower wage rate, he might only have to work 3 1/2 hrs, and I might be able to pay him more 'cause I can eat cheaper, too!. See how that works???
Oh, and BTW, I like making more money, but if worst came to worst, I could make by just fine on $5.85/hr. It's called living within your means and if you want to make more $, you will find a way to improve your skills or find a better employer.
I'm not cheating if I can find a cheaper way to do things. It's completely fair. It's unfair if you devalue my money which represents the time and effort I've already put in. That's not fair.
BTW, how on earth do you determine a "living wage"?
Ryan
_________________
Aerial Photographer with
Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites:
Texas Tailwheel Flight Training,
DoolittleRaid.com and
Lbirds.com.
The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31
- Train, Practice, Trust.