Waging War

I've always wanted to talk about this since it happened.

I'm not quite sure if this is as much as an issue as it was when the issue first rose into popularity, but the "issue" (in quotes) of minimum wage has definitely boiled over as jobs that offer minimum wage are becoming more and more frequent among the American public. A lot of the public outcry comes from the actual amount itself: $8.00 an hour in Colorado. Nationally, that is pretty far ahead of the average of $7.25 an hour. To put that in perspective, the highest minimum hourly wage is in D.C. at $9.50 an hour, followed by Washington ($9.32) and Oregon ($9.10), while the lowest is a tie between Wyoming and Georgia: $5.15. In fact, five states don't require a minimum wage at all, allowing the business to determine a wage. Recently, the city of Seattle has experimented with legislation that proposes raising the city's minimum hourly wage to $15.00 an hour. That would require every company within to city to pay each employee at least $15.00. This is what many of those protesting for higher wages, including fast food workers, retail workers, and restaurant workers, are aiming for. These groups have displayed their frustration because they claim that at such low wages in some of these states, there is not enough to make a living and support a family.

Which is why minimum wage will never reach these levels.

I myself have worked at two different minimum wage paying jobs. Thankfully, in my case, minimum hourly wage in Colorado has increased steadily by just about a dollar over the course of a couple years. I can say that in terms of what you're being payed for, it's a pretty fair bargain. Mundane and simple tasks of restocking items, pushing buttons, managing finances, and being courteous to customers. Regardless of my pay in both jobs, I enjoyed and still enjoy working not necessarily because of my pay, but because of some of the experiences I've shared. It's said that a job you never get tired of doing is a career. And as much as I love my job right now, I would never, ever consider it a career option, for the very same reason I feel minimum wage will never get too high:

Minimum wage jobs aren't made to support a family.

What are the three most important factors in looking for a higher paying job? Credentials, experience, and education. Now, let's look at those rallying for a higher minimum wage. Generally, what is their status in terms of these three qualifiers? Credentials aren't often too impressive, unless somehow the applicant had gone from a business level position back into a job that would only offer minimum wage. Normally past credentials are similar jobs that were held before, either looking for a new job or a new opportunity, which was not sought. Experience will normally only raise your pay by a dollar, two if you're really lucky. At my previous job, some of my employees had worked for nearly 2 years in a great position, but they hadn't even had their pay raised to $10. In this case, experience can only provide you so much. But where the pinnacle really shines is in the final category:

Education.

The initial point of a minimum wage was for workers and unions to be paid fairly and not be underrepresented for their hard work. These days, many of those fighting for higher wages say that the national average does underrepresent for how much work is done in some of these jobs. But to be paid more, you need to have more skills that set you apart from the average human being. I admit, and even had someone confront me about it before at work, that pressing buttons at a register isn't even worth $8.00, but the current minimum wage helps those who do these kinds of jobs so we're not paid $1.00 an hour like we should be. By getting an education, investing in a profession, and earning the right kind of degree, a career with higher pay is absolutely deserved. This way, you can support a family. But depending on the bare minimum to get you through your life with a family?

That's what's not right.

Wanted

I wonder what it'd be like to fall off the map.

One of my favorite books that I've ever read is Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild. This biography follows the true story of Christopher McCandless, a young man in the mid 90's who decided after graduating with honors from college to abandon his life, donate his entire savings to charity, rid of his possessions, and embark on a journey to travel the world. Krakauer interviews those who knew him, the witnesses to his journey, and documents the adventure taken by McCandless over the span of a couple years. McCandless wrote about each day in his journal, illustrating his trials and tribulations throughout his time. Ultimately, McCandless decides to travel into the mysterious Alaskan tundra, only to die of starvation, his journey over. McCandless' last journal entry reads as follows:

"I have had a happy life and thank the Lord. Goodbye and may God bless all!"

Accepting his fate.

McCandless has intrigued me to the point of such unrelenting passion in his motive and his drive to carry out what he had done. To leave behind everything you have and start life anew to where no one could know of your existence. Truly alone. A feat of psychological discovery. What could be done in that time? Establishing a connection with your conscience? Longing for the times of old and worry for those who loom behind you? One could only imagine. Obviously there would be those who would miss you and wonder of your journey. It's this group that would ever prevent most of us from going under the radar: the care and the love of others.

But what if there wasn't any?

Could it be possible to leave the face of the Earth unscathed of any second thought? Clearly not. Out of all of the people you have ever encountered upon your disappearance, there is far too great a chance that there would be someone to miss you. Someone to carry your memory. But there is no way to truly know who will miss you until the circumstances arise. As far as we know, there is not anyone who would miss you. Perhaps there might even be some people who are glad you have gone. Who is to say?

It arises an interesting point.

A point that concerns motive of wanting to disappear in the first place. It's a possibility that one might want to disappear to see who would miss them. Who would want them back. Christopher McCandless' purpose for embarking on his journey has never been confirmed, but many strong theories have been made. Many blamed his unbelievable sense of wonder to be the hubris that ultimately led to his downfall. But could he have ever imagined what sort of undertaking people would soon then follow after his death? So many audiences have been captivated by the mystery of his story, a paradigm that could not have been even conceived before McCandless' death. Suddenly everyone was concerned for his motive and wanted a reason for what he did. Wanted by others.

Maybe that's all I want.

Thanks

My first blog post was June 8th, 2011.

That was three years ago. I started doing this thing more than three years ago. Today marks 70 total posts on my blog. As of last blog post, I'm now up to 5,000 total views. Five thousand. That's a long number to write out. I've been reflecting a lot upon the journey I've made since I began Catch 22, and when it comes down to it, and the whole entire reason I'm writing this with some sort of confidence, I can only think of this to say:

Thank you.

Yes, you! I mean, ultimately I would probably still be blogging even if I had a total view count of 5. Catch 22 was made for the purpose of just being able to express my feelings and let everything out like a sissy bitch. But in actuality, I did want to start writing and start blogging because it sparked some of the creativity in my head. It caused me to do one of my favorite things in the whole world: just sit down and actually think. I could probably blog until the end of time because there is just so much to write about. Different opinions, different outlooks, different generalizations. It's so incredible to be able to use this tool to open my eyes to all of what the world has to offer. But the fact that I get to share that joy and experience with people?

That's the best feeling in the world.

Take a look at that little view counter down there in that bottom right corner. My petty joke I thought was funny 3 years ago sits atop the mass of views that are compiled of people who, more or less, actually care about something that I write. That's something I get without even asking people. You guys don't have to do that. But you guys still do, and even today I have people who have been following my blog since its humble beginnings. Ever since I've been so inspired by others and by the way things work or the way the world is, and I've been able to document it all here.

And just by clicking here, you're supporting my efforts.

I mean, I don't get paid to do this (obviously) or have any real incentive to write something philosophical every week. Even today I do my best to utilize my blog for the same reasons as when I started: personal enlightenment. But through this journey, I've been able to find even more than that. My blogs have inspired others, helped some people in a few cases, been featured in the newspaper, they've gone so much further than I would have and could have ever imagined. And I don't have anybody else to thank for that but you guys.

So thank you.

Looking forward, I really don't see Catch 22 changing at all. In fact I wouldn't want it to. I have such a deep passion for writing and being able to express myself without the judgement of others (or, at least I did when I didn't have a lot of notoriety), and this entire experience has panned out so wonderfully for me. It's really improved my life. Perhaps I may even have some new readers, to which I must say welcome to the oddessy! I always encourage that even if you've only been following for a short amount of time, browse through some of the older posts. I've been doing that a lot lately. It's crazy to see some of the different outlooks throughout the short history of this blog.

But besides all that shameless self promotion, really, thanks so much.