Every time I see this, it’s tired. Let’s ignore for the time being the “It happens every time” fish story frosting (i’ve had fast food employees get my orders right THOUSANDS of times, wrong probably less than a percent of that), and look at what this person is actually saying, which is that wages are about what you “deserve.”
That’s funny, because I always see this kind of meme put out by right wing folks who tend to believe in capitalism as a first principle. Anyone can tell you that capitalism isn’t about “Deserve” – it’s about supply and demand, and to a lesser degree, the transparency of informatics that allows you to evaluate them.
A perceived moral entitlement for the type of work you do? That’s a socialist value. A pure capitalist would expect to be paid based on the market and nothing else. That should cause these people some cognitive dissonance, but doesn’t.
But that’s fodder for another discussion.
Moving on:
Look, it’s not a special law for fast food workers! She would get the 15 as well. At least. Since she’s 3.75 over minimum now, the worst deal she would get from the legislation would be a 40% raise…and most likely her wage would continue to float above minimum wage.
If you are struggling to live on 11 an hour, would you rather have a) a 40 percent raise, and likely more or b) The bullshit “fake pay” of getting to tell yourself you make more than a guy at mcdonalds? You can’t spend ego. You can spend money. So I would think a capitalist would stand in solidarity.
She’s literally so invested in a negative narrative of how wronged she is that she’ll turn down money for position in a hierarchy.
I mean, think about that. Really think about that. It is literally more important to this person to be perceived as better and to pull down on other workers than it is to actually make more money and have a better life. She doesn’t want 15 an hour if someone else gets it, too?! Her status as “above minimum wage” is more important too her than money that she can fold up and use?
And honestly, the problem with our medical infrastructure is we let CNAs, EMTs, etc be exploited for having a calling. They don’t make enough money, but it would be easier to change that if they weren’t all deeply anti-union and anti-wage protection because of red state politics that see them vote for the interests of their bosses over themselves.
It’s very simple: If a company can’t afford to pay a full time employee a rate conversant with food and rent, than they can’t really afford to have an employee.
I know the last time I rode in an ambulance, they charged me PLENTY – I can’t really fathom that that 1200 dollar, half hour ambulance ride would need to cost much more if the two guys operating it made $7.5 each for that time instead of 5.50, but I know the extra few hundred a week would be huge for them at home. Of all the money I paid for that ambulance ride, I’d be THRILLED to have just handed the EMTs 20 out of my pocket, on the spot, hell, if they got the whole 1200, I’d feel better about paying it.
When a McDonald’s employee is on WIC and living in subsidized housing, I am paying their wages FOR mcdonalds, in order to maintain the illusion of a cheaper hamburger. Screw that. McDonalds can raise their prices and the people who eat there, the customer, can pay for the employee.
That’s not even socialism! That’s GETTING RID of socialism. That’s telling a capitalist to pay his own way.
That’s putting the cost where it should be.
It’s time to drop this model of both insisting people “need” to work to be virtuous, and insisting the bottom tier of work exist as a social cattleprod and punishment. If work is virtuous, than work should be virtuous and not a shameful punishment.