There is No ? “Living Wage” ??

There was a nice, friendly young lady who worked at the front desk of my building.?

She was young, probably 22 years of age. After my evening walks, I’d often hang in the lobby, as it had good air conditioning, and I needed to cool off from being outside in the Miami summer humidity wearing a suit.

She and I got to talking every day, and she asked about my work.

She eventually told me that she was looking for better job opportunities for herself, as the Front Desk job didn't pay well enough.

I asked her what kind of job she was looking for. She was pretty much open to anything, as the money was the more important piece for her.

I asked how much money she was looking to make.

She thought for a second, then answered almost nervously.?

“...A living wage.”?

??????

According to Investopedia,?

“The term living wage refers to a theoretical income level that allows individuals or families to afford adequate shelter, food, and other necessities. The goal of a living wage is to allow employees to earn enough income for a satisfactory standard of living and prevent them from falling into poverty. Economists suggest it should be enough to ensure that no more than 30% of this income gets spent on housing. As such, living wages are often substantially higher than the legal minimum wage.”

There is no such thing as a “living wage.”?

Living wage is as real as a 13-year-old girl cutting her breasts off and calling it “gender-affirming care.”

Bullshit. It's child mutilation.?

Or abortion being “women’s rights.”?

Nonsense. You’re killing the baby that you voluntarily made.

Or adultery being an “extramarital affair.”

I’m not arguing that these things do not happen, or that people don’t / can't? use this language. I am pointing out that these changes in language are an attempt to soften the conversation around what is true and real.?

We don’t play those games around here.

The most basic law of economics is that of supply and demand. The wages you earn are based on your value in the marketplace, and how easily you could be replaced.

When you are easily replaced, or doing a low-value job, the marketplace responds to you in kind and you usually earn an amount that is — or is close to — what we call the “minimum wage.”

From age 15 through college, I worked many minimum wage jobs:

Pizza Hut.

McDonald’s.

Movie theaters.

Hat stores.

CVS.

At each of those minimum-wage jobs, I was earning exactly what I deserved, as it was a reflection of my value and my replaceability in the marketplace. As soon as I left each job, I was quickly replaced by another minimum-wage-level employee. There was nothing special about my presence at any of those places, and my pay reflected this truth.?

Do you remember, during the COVID scam-demic, when only “essential employees” were to report to work?

If that announcement meant that you didn’t need to come to work, that should have been an alarm going off in your head about how much value you have in the marketplace.

You were being told that you were, literally, non-essential. Your work was easily replaceable, and clearly, not important.

Important: Having a profound effect on success

I’ll make one concession on the minimum wage language: We can fairly call it “entry wage.”

I’m OK with that, because this is what most minimum wage jobs are designed to be, anyway. A place where you work when first entering the workforce, as you develop skills and experience, then graduate to more important jobs that pay more.

In other words, as you get better, you become more important, and as a result, the marketplace needs you more – and as a result, you make more money.

Progress and growth. What a novel concept.?

The concept of the living wage, as the definition explains, is the idea that a business or market is required to pay people a certain amount of money so that they can cover their living expenses.

This is a wrong idea.?

If the place you work is not paying you enough to cover the lifestyle that you wish to live, it is YOUR responsibility — not the job’s —? to raise your level of value and delivery such that you are earning the money that you want, to live the way you wish.

If we’re playing basketball, and you cannot dunk on a regulation 10-foot hoop, we are not lowering the rim to 8 feet to make it easier for you. That’s not how life works.

In any market, there are only three ways to earn money.

What you accept.?

What you negotiate.?

What you demand.?

Each level requires more skill, and less replaceability.

The more skilled and less replaceable you are, the more you can dictate to the marketplace what it must give you.

When you are less skilled and easily replaceable, you have no choice but to accept what you are given, as you are not in position to negotiate or demand anything.

This sounds about right to me.

The concept of a living wage creates a false sense of entitlement in the minds of people who should not feel entitled at all. They should be motivated to work on their games, such that they don’t even concern themselves with what the minimum wage — or the living wage — even is. The only exception is if you’re a business owner and are hiring minimum wage people to work for you.?

I don’t even know what the minimum wage is, and I don’t wanna know.

How about you??

Speaking of living, a key point of this post is living the way that YOU want to live. There is no right or wrong to this; it;s your personal choice. In Work On Your Game University, I will help you strategize, develop and execute on making that vision or your ideal situation come to life.

Start here: https://www.WorkOnYourGameUniversity.com ?