This was the title of a recent commentary on my local radio station.  Following is a copy of the commentary followed by my letter to the editor in response.  I'd be interested to know what people feel about this issue.

Commentary

I’m Bill Kingston with today’s commentary. A major employer in Cornwall has just announced they are upping their entry-level wages to $12 an hour. Those making under that are getting a bump in pay to make sure they are at $12 an hour. I can understand where the company is coming from and how it has to stay competitive in the marketplace. What I really feel for is the Mom & Pop stores who are scrimping and saving just to stay ahead of the big box stores and trying to make a living. How are they supposed to compete when the provincial government keeps raising the minimum wage? I know personally how hard it is for these businesses. My first job was in a corner milk store selling everything from lottery tickets and magazines to bubble gum. There was no fancy payroll department that took care of paying us. The owner of the shop would sit down with a calculator and a notebook and figure out our paycheques and give it to us as a cash-filled envelope. Those were the days. Everything was a careful balancing act and that’s when minimum wage was $6.85. Now it’s $9.50 and about to go to $10.25 in March. I’m all for progress but I think you will see more little guys squeezed out of the marketplace because they can’t compete without the manpower and it’s becoming too expensive to man their shops. It’s a sad state for free enterprise.

This commentary was originally posted on August 5, 2009

My Response

I just have to comment on Bill Kingston's remarks about minimum wage.  I think it's high time there was more on offer in terms of pay for hard working people.  It's the big box stores of this world that keep people down by moving into desperate communities to rape the population with their ridiculous shifts, low pay and even less appreciation. 

If people had more to spend then undoubtedly, the Mom & Pop stores, who typically pay a bit more than minimum wage anyway would benefit.  It's the big guys who rake it in by the billions, and who by the way take business from the locally owned stores, that are the cheapskates. If people had more money in their pockets, the smaller stores would see more shoppers and would therefore have it to pay employees. We wouldn't be stuck giving our money back to the ones that keep it from us in the first place. 

And it really irks me how if you think your time and hard work is worth more than minimum wage, you're the one with the attitude.  I have heard employers who pay a few cents above minimum wage say, "We don't have to pay you that much you know."  These employers need to start recognizing the value given to them by hard working people. 

What is an employer really saying to you when he pays you minimum wage?  "If I could pay you less, I would."

xoxo
Cyne
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