Minimum Wage

briansue wrote:
Working hard has absolutely nothing to do with how much money anyone makes. All over the world people work very hard for very little money. Now even in the US it has become more and more difficult for hard workers to get ahead. Yes, in some situations and for some people it is possible that hard work can earn you more money if opportunity presents itself. We in the US have been very lucky to have been born here. I do not think we should feel guilty - we should feel lucky. When we find ourselves in places where people are less fortunate than we are we like to share just a little bit of our good fortune with others (we are not fortunate enough to share a whole lot as we do not have a whole lot - but we have a great deal more than many others). Some old saying (I forget exact words) "there but for the grace of God go I". Meaning something helped us to have a better life than many others. As we travel to other parts of the world - including Mexico - we see some of the hardest working people on the planet who work for next to nothing. Another old saying " being in the right place at the right time". This also has to do with luck or good fortune or whatever you want to call it. I think the vast majority of people on this planet who work very hard still find little reward monetarily for their efforts. I have known some pretty dumb and lazy do nothing people who have found ways to get rich - or conned their way into well paying jobs - who have no clue what hard work means. They got lucky - and probably say they worked hard to get where they are. I worked very hard all my life but never learned how to make much money - I did OK but never got off the bottom rung of the middle class ladder. I never knew how. Never got that lucky. But being born in the US I still know I am luckier than much of the rest of the planet. So no guilt. Just the knowledge that we are lucky and maybe we spread a little of our luck around to others.