Minimum Wage Maximum Freedom
Erik Thompson
10/9/21
*editor's note: all values reflect when this article was researched
In 2012, 200 fast food workers walked of their jobs in New York City. What sorcery could have convinced them to commit such a heinous act? Was it democrats? Al Queda? Communists? None of the above, faithful reader. It was, surprisingly, their poor working conditions. They were demanding 15 dollars an hour and the right to unionize. In the intervening 10 years, the movement has grown from just a few walk-outs to a full-fledged global force in 300 cities across 6 continents. It has become one of the most successful and expansive grass-roots movements in the recent era. It has also become a historical artifact.
In the 10 years since its inception, the FF15 has won sporadic raises for several millions of people. Several states are also in the process of raising their minimum wages. This is an outstanding achievement that should not be dismissed off hand. But, in the 10 years that this fight has been waged, the value of 15 dollars has depreciated, through inflation, into being almost completely worthless to the working class. Beyond that, what will the 15 an hour accomplish in the long run? Are we not still bound to our employers for our survival? If equality be our aim, if economic freedom is our goal, is the fight for 15 not just tilting at windmills?
2009 2012 2021
A 7.25* 7.76 9.23
B 5.70 6.10 7.25*
C 14.02 15.00* 17.84
D 11.76 12.61 15.00*
E 15.00* 16.05 19.13
Using the graph above we will explore how the buying power of the proposed (15) and current (7.25) minimum wages changes through time. The columns are the three years of interest to this topic: 2009, the year of the 7.25 minimum wage we are attempting to reform; 2012, the year of the introduction of the Fight for 15; 2021, the current year. The rows are the current (7.25) and proposed (15) federal minimum wage rates, marked by *, with their relative buying powers corresponding to their respective years. We will take cells A1 and B3 , or the value of 7.25 in 2009 and 7.25 in 2021, as examples to show how the chart will work.
7.25 in 2009 (A1) has the same buying power that 7.76 did in 2012 (A2), and that 9.23 has in 2021 (A3). That essentially means if you had 7.25 in 2009, you would have been able to purchase the same amount of goods as 9.23 would buy in 2021. Conversely, 7.25 in 2021 (B3) has the same buying power that 6.10 did in 2012 (B2), and 5.70 did in 2009 (B1). Again, if you had 7.25 now, you would only be able to purchase now as much as 5.70 did back in 2009. This is a very basic summation of inflation, and while it may not seem important to the layman, it is of immense importance to capitalists.
Don't imagine, however, that anything we do for our people in the way of profit sharing, or enabling them to acquire stock, or providing meals at low rates, medical attention, recreation grounds, vacations, and so forth is done from philanthropic motives- not in the least. Whatever we do for our employees we do because we think it pays, because it is good business.
-Julius Rosenwald,
founder Shefferman union-busting firm
1926
Since 2009, the worth of 7.25 has decreased to 6.91 (E1[E2 relative to the buying power of A1), then to 5.70 (B1[B3 relative to the buying power of A1]). The buying power of A1, though, has increased over time, relative of E2 and B3, to A2 and A3 respectively. By simply existing in time, in 2021, anyone still earning minimum wage is losing, in buying power, 3.53 an hour (A3-B1). In 2012, though, the fight was started for 15 an hour. For all intents and purposes, it would have been a substantial increase, in buying power (compared to A1), of 6.26 (C1-A2). Honestly, due to inflation, 7.25 in 2012 was worth 6.91, so the actual potential earnings could have been 7.11 an hour (C1-E1). Unfortunately for the working class, while some sectors did see an increase in their wages, most did not earn the coveted 15 an hour. By demanding 15 an hour in 2012, and not securing it, we have now set our losses at 7.11 an hour. But our losses didn't stay at 7.11 an hour. As you can see, the buying power the proposed 15 of 2012 (C2) has the same buying power as 17.84 in 2021 (C3). Therefore, by the time 2021 rolled around we were losing out on another 2.84 (C3-C2) an hour. That was predicated on us obtaining the 15 in 2012, though. In fact, since the working class is still earning the same (depreciated) 7.25 an hour it was earning in 2009, it stands to reason that we are in actuality losing, per hour, at least 12.14 (C3-B1) in potential buying power. If we secure the 15 minimum in 2021, or even in 2022, we stand to gain, in relation to the start of the Fight for 15, 3.97 an hour (D2-E3). Compared to what the working class was earning in 2009, though, we would have only won 2.53 an hour (D1-A3) in relative buying power. This is only if we secure the 15 an hour minimum wage, right now. As it stands, we aren't gaining anything, and compared to what we could have been gaining, we are losing money every hour worked.
Imagine for a moment you are purchasing a gallon of gasoline. You notice the sign says 3.19 per gallon. Outrageous, it was only 2.99 per gallon yesterday! On your receipt, though, you discover that you only paid 2.99 for your gallon. You saved .20! The next day you go back and pay only 2.99 again. So far you have saved .40 on your two gallons of gasoline, right? As the price of gasoline continues to slowly climb, you continue to pay only 2.99. While you pay the same amount you always have— and therefore aren't really saving anything— the price of gasoline continues to go up, and since you could potentially be paying more, whatever you don't pay for gasoline is extra cash in your pocket. A penny saved is a penny earned, as they say. This is essentially what is happening with employers. The cost of labor has risen, because the cost of living has risen, but they continue to pay us the same. Any penny we don't take for ourselves is a penny in a capitalist's pocket, as they say.
A true conservative corrects injustices to preserve social peace.
-FDR
1940-something
May 2020. The pandemic has completely upturned the world. The death toll was already into the hundreds of thousands globally, while the economy was straggling along on the backs of “essential workers.” The unemployment rate was at 13.3%, down slightly from April's 14%. Derek Chauvin murders George Floyd and the nation erupts into protest. Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people, in defiance of a deadly pandemic, took to the streets to voice their displeasure of piss-boy Chauvin and all the other racists pigs across the world. It was magnificent. Cops have killed many black people before this moment, though. Why was this reaction so wholly on another level? Was it the clear-cut video evidence? Was it the cruelty of the act itself? Yes and yes. But, we have had clear video evidence before; we have even had crueler acts perpetrated by the police. There is one simple reason for the ferocity of these protests: there were more people to protest.
An idle population is an insurrection. There were millions of extra people in the world at the time of the murder: people laid off from work, people scared at home, people taking care of sick loved ones— millions of people not wasting their energies at work. When people aren't dulled by the drudgery of work, they begin to think. When they begin to think, they start to question. When they begin to question, they might become angry. Angry people tend to band together, burn down police stations, and seize neighborhoods. This anger, this emotion, this action, is anathema to the capitalist scheme. They need us docile and content in our own homes. The elite need us on our phones, playing our little games, and watching our televisions until it is time to produce again. They need us drunk, fat, and lazy. They need us to work in order to keep us dull— to keep us from thinking. While the 15 minimum won't dent their pockets books as much as they would like us to believe, they still don't want to pay us. But, to keep the peace— the status quo— they are willing sacrifice a sliver of their earnings. If they can lure more people out of unemployment with the promise of higher wages, that is less of a chance for insurrection. This is social peace to
them.
Not only that, capitalists are beginning to understand that in order for the economy to work, people need money to consume. If all of a person's money is tied up in debt, rent, or other bills, they have no money to go purchase other goods and services. Also, if someone isn't drowned in debt and bills— if they are able to pay for their existence every month— they become happier, and the happier employees tend to produce more, complain less, and aren't drawn to organizing.
Labor is capital, and as such it can be invested and accumulated.
Consequently, the companies that do jump on board with the 15 will have a larger hiring pool to draw from. They will be more competitive in the hiring game: i.e. they will be able to steal current and potential employees from other businesses. As a company invests labor into its business, they begin to accumulate employees and production-capability, which in turn increases profit. The more capital they invest, the more labor they accumulate. The more labor they accumulate, the less labor is available for other companies. And whether we like to admit it or not (whether it is true or not), some of the smaller companies, even name-brands, truly can't afford to pay 15 or more an hour. When they can't compete with the larger corporations, the smaller companies begin to fold, thus giving up their market shares for the bigger businesses to divide. Better pay, better benefits for all (or some), as a handful of companies tighten their grips on the world.
Reform issues encompass what the ruling class is willing to negotiate, which is precisely that which does not threaten its position.
-Monsieur Dupont
Nihilist Communism pg 186
The argument here isn't that we don't need a pay raise. We do. Desperately. The argument here, is that when we ask the elites to give us more of an allowance, what is the purpose? What is the angle? As shown above, the Fight for 15, while noble in most respects, is at best a relic of another era, and, at worst, class suicide.
15 isn't worth 15 anymore. The capitalists know this, and they are willing to give it to us now, whether on their own account or through their law-creation department (government), because they have already fleeced the American people upwards of 12 an hour for the last ten years! (Not to mention the multi-trillion dollar tax break, and the bank-bailout) The 15 an hour wage is an attempt to quell our revolutionary tendencies as much as it is to line their own pockets with our labor. All of these benefits— the PTO, sick leave, on-site daycare— are all attempts to lure us into the grind: to keep the lights on and the ovens hot. It is to keep the elite in their private jets and penthouses. The average CEO earns 148,709 a year, or 71 an hour. Where does that salary come from? Selling the goods we produce, right? We produced them with our labor. All this profit derives from our labor. Our sweat and suffering pay for their asses to get waxed and their victims to be silenced. It gets worse, though, because we are the ones who purchase the goods we produce. All of our money slinks back into the system. Money doesn't grow on trees, it is sucked from our veins. Our labor pays their salaries as much as it pays for our health-care, wages, and PTO. Who depends on who?
When you watch TV, and I know you do, listen to how these talking heads speak of current labor shortage. They speak of production numbers, government handouts, they speak of better benefits to entice employees back to work; they speak of the economy, they talk of consumer confidence, of how the employers are struggling fill positions, and of the long lines because everyone is too lazy to work. Not one will mention how any of this situation effects workers. They do not ask workers why they don't want to, or can't, return. They don't ask why we need 15 an hour and better benefits. They don't talk about how we are so downtrodden and manipulated that we can't even see that this 15 isn't worth a piss!
We are so deluded and gaslit by the capitalists, that we believe this 15 an hour raise will be sufficient enough to keep our boats afloat. We fought so hard, they resisted so much, why, this 15 must be truly worthwhile for us! No! It is paper tiger, a macguffin, it is the Trojan Horse the capitalists are giving us so we sit down, shut up, and push the buttons. And while we are clamoring over how great the craftsmanship on the horse is, the capitalists are sneaking in, ready to pounce and plunder even more of our lives.
Who controls our wages— our livelihoods? Who controls our means of survival? The capitalists. They control how much they pay us. Who controls the capitalists means of survival? They do. They are their own masters. When the economy takes a dip, they can either raise or lower the prices on the goods they sell to supplement their losses; they can suspend production, lay-off employees to cut cost, and write it all off as a loss on their taxes. We do not control our own survival. When the economy dips we are the first out the door. We starve and die as they wine and dine. This was the beginning of the fight all those years ago. The common pain the working class felt struggling for survival is what bound them together. Bloody battles were fought to get a decent living (it took upwards of 70 years and hundreds of deaths for the 8 hour day). Napoleon said, “A man will march many miles for a single piece of ribbon.” How many miles will we march for 15 pieces of ribbon?
When we strike for the 15, and get it, what happens? We go back to work. Rent goes up, milk goes up, we can't afford the things we used to, we strike for 20 and get it. Then what happens? We go back to work. We strike for health-care, we go back to work. We strike for sick leave, we go back to work. No matter how much we ask for, no matter how much we beg for, the capitalists can just raise the rent, and then we go back to work for them. The minimum wage doesn't address the main exploitation of capital, the minimum wage only enhances it.
All roads lead to Rome.
This is capitalism. Whatever we do we cannot escape. We are slaves, chained to the House of Capital. With every reform, our chains lengthen by a few feet. Sure, we might still be chained, but we have a whole extra foot of freedom! Yes, and the capitalists gain an extra foot of productive capability.
So, what are you going to do about it?