Cake

Ahhh....the living wage. 

I can remember a year ago when this topic started to rear its head in the news. I can also remember taking to social media to throw in my support. Many of the people in my circle thought I'd finally had a fucking nervous breakdown considering how rabidly narrow my views can be on certain topics. (I am very serious about personal responsibility and accountability and have little to no sympathy at times.)

But yes, I was for the living wage. Seattle was the first to jump on board and I applauded the $15 threshold to anyone who would listen. 

But it's not because I gave a rat's ass about those working people or believed that $15 an hour should be the minimum wage because I'm nice and compassionate. I'm not.

It's because I knew, after crunching the numbers, that anything above $13.25 an hour would get a family three off Medicaid and food stamps. 

So I was pretty disinterested in anyone who was champing to raise the wage to $10 an hour. Completely ineffective, in my opinion. Double dipping the system at that point.

Ahh yes. My motives are sneaky at best. But hey, workers win by getting their precious living wage, and, as a taxpayer, I win because those workers can quit squatting on my paycheck in the form of Medicaid and food stamp budgets. 

So, in Seattle, at least, the workers got what they wanted. 

And the Seattle business owners were so incredibly pleased and righteous at proclaiming that they, YES, believe workers deserve a living wage and dagnabit, we are going to show the country it's the right thing to do!!

So imagine my surprise (not really), when perusing the news this afternoon, that I found a headline that specifically addressed Seattle's business owner's dumbfoundedness that workers are now demanding LESS hours!!

Why? Oh. So they don't lose their Medicaid and food stamps. 

Does it get any richer than that?? It's absolutely delicious.

Workers demanded a fair living wage. Cities gave it to them. And only now are these workers starting to realize...hey wait a minute! 

"You mean I have to pay taxes now? And buy my own food? Oh hell no....and pay for healthcare?"

Now Seattle business owners are scrambling to find help because people are just not showing up for work. Talk about bite the hand that feeds you.....literally.

I cannot WAIT to see what Los Angeles does - which is the next large city to phase in living wage over the next five years. 

I bet they put the brakes on that post-haste.....or lose votes. 

Or find some loophole and raise the poverty level to include......hell even me!