Because I’ve been working at the same daycare for six years, I’ve taken on a lot of responsibility there. Last Thursday, I cleaned up poop, averted panic attacks, and ran around a gym with trash cans to try to keep the leaking roof from caving in. I studied Pokemon cards (I’m still not sure what “EX” means) and taught a nine-year-old how to read the word “pterodactyl.” I worked from 6:30 AM to 5:30 PM. In that time, I earned about $70.
I work for the minimum wage, which in Indiana is $7.25. I’m not stating this to complain about my employer specifically; I work for a Catholic school that is perpetually underfunded, but they do their best to pay me within the constraints of their money. But compare this daycare work to babysitting. The last time I watched one of my students for their parents in the evening, I earned $10 per hour. If I earned $10 an hour at the daycare, I would have gotten $100 last Thursday.
A $30 difference may not seem like much until I put it into context. $30 is two months’ worth of renters’ insurance. A trip to the grocery store. A tank and a half of gas. Two Internet bills.
And what if I earned $10 an hour every week? Since I work 27 hours a week, I would earn $270 a week. That’s instead of about $200. At the end of the month, I would have $280 extra to save for grad school or pay off my wedding or rent a nicer apartment.
The minimum wage was initially intended to be a living wage. FDR said, “No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country….By living wages, I mean more than a bare subsistence level — I mean the wages of a decent living.” But for some reason, the minimum wage has not increased along with inflation. If the minimum wage were indexed for inflation—if it rose along with inflation—the minimum wage today would be closer to $10 an hour.
I had a fantastic time at work on Thursday. The kids and I played a man on the moon game and talked about the Juno expedition and future space flights to Mars. We learned about the presidents. When the rain poured through the gym roof, we hid in the cafeteria and drew animals on Noah’s Ark.
I love my job. That’s why I’ve stayed there for six years. That’s why I was willing to work eleven hours for $70. But I shouldn’t have to. Minimum wage jobs such as day care jobs, retail, and food processing are necessary. People need food and clothing and safe spaces for their children to learn. Minimum wage jobs keep the world running smoothly. So why not pay workers a wage which allows them to live well? Why not pay “the wages of a decent living?”
