So my opinion of the day is going to be regarding entitlement! Has anyone noticed that people’s sense of entitlement is increasing? When did that happen? Or should the question be how did this happen?

There are some who would argue that it began when we started giving trophies to every child who participates in a sport. I would also argue that it might have something to do with schools not giving letter grades anymore. There are some schools that feel that giving letter grades will have a negative impact on students who don’t do well in school. I had a teacher tell me that they didn’t give letter grades because it promoted too much competition between the students. Isn’t that exactly what we want? Life is a competition. It’s a dog eat dog world out there and if we aren’t making our children work for anything, how can we expect them to succeed in the real world?

I am feeling a little angry over where our world is headed. Today Oregon just passed a new minimum wage law that will increase the minimum wage over six years. Now before I get any angry responses to this, let me explain my frustrations. I have no qualms with people getting paid a fair wage for the jobs they hold.  I do have a problem with people thinking the work they are doing is worth more than it really is.

I worked full-time while attending college so that I can get a better paying job that offered benefits. I feel as though my accomplishments were just diminished with this new wage law.  For years I worked minimum wage jobs that offered no benefits.  I knew that was not what I wanted for my life, so I took the necessary steps to ensure that I did not get stuck there. I read a post on Facebook this morning from a woman who was cheering the passing of the new minimum wage.  She is a disabled vet who works 10 hours a week as a waitress.  She has a bachelor’s degree but can’t find a job she likes as much as the low paying job she currently has.  She is struggling and finds it hard to save $100 in her savings every month and she has to decline invitations to go out to dinner and activities with friends because her budget is so tight.  These are the reasons that she gave for needing the minimum wage to be increased.  I have a serious problem with this.  First, she is choosing to work a minimum wage job for 10 hours a week rather than find another job.  So sorry – I don’t feel sorry for her!  Second, she is only working 10 hours a week?!!!  At what point are her low-income worries her fault and not the state’s fault?

Let’s take a quick look at what is going to happen with the raise in minimum wage.  Prices will increase while hours and positions will decrease.  The people who have no skills or experience are no longer going to be hired for the minimum wage positions because if employers have to pay a wage that previously was paid to an experienced person, they are going to look for that experienced person.  People who have gone to school and are making slightly above minimum wage most likely will not receive a pay increase that will correlate with the state minimum wage increase so now we have these people right back to making  minimum wage also.  These same people who went to school to get the skills and an education they needed to get a job making more money also probably have huge student loan debt.  So prices have increased, we have more people making minimum wage than ever before and people are still going to be struggling, but now there are so many more people in that position.

I say everyone has choices.  I had a choice to keep working at low paying jobs with no benefits or go to school to increase my earning potential.  I made my choice.  If I hadn’t made that choice and was still working at a low paying job, that would be my fault and I couldn’t justify complaining about my finances and lack of spending money.  I make more than minimum wage and I still live paycheck to paycheck.  It’s hard for me to put $100 in a savings account.  Life is never easy!

We need to get back to a point where we are making people responsible for their own lives.  If you don’t want to work a job paying minimum wage – don’t apply for the minimum wage job.  If you have no experience, no skills, and/or no education and you want a job, understand that you will most likely have to start out at a minimum wage job.  Work your way up until you have the experience and skills necessary to get a better paying position.  Stop blaming others for where you are!  You made your choices and life has taken you to where you are.  You have no one to blame but yourself!  It should not be the government’s job to make sure you can put $100 in your savings account and have extra money to go out with friends.

It’s just me and my opinion~

Have a great day!