People don't have the right to live in a private apartment; it isn't a "need". We tend to view our current standard of living as being the "minimum", or close to it, that people should be entitled to.
I lived in a 1996 Subaru Legacy for nearly 2 years, not out of necessity, but out of lack of need for a large living space as I was new to the workforce and worked 13hr shifts. I wasn't going to spend $800/mo so I could shut my eyes for 7hrs every night. 80% of my $17/hr wage was going into savings, and I quickly amassed years worth of living expenses. I could have maintained my standard of living, which was great, on $3/hr.
So when I say that some arbitrary and evil minimum wage is arbitrary and evil, I'm mindful of the fact that I'm willing to live under the lowest of wages that I agree to, and that nobody has the right to dictate the terms under which I'm willing to work, because they don't have ownership of my body or labor.
Besides all that, minimum wage jobs aren't designed to be "living" wages, they are designed to give people new to the workforce (high schoolers, immigrants, etc) a starting point.
|