YOUR LETTERS: Are you a minimum wage Scrooge?

So you’re against raising the minimum wage. I have a story to tell you.

Say hello to Bob. Bob had a great paying job, made a good living. At times things got tight, you know, schoolbooks, clothes, shoes etc. He and his wife wouldn’t have dinner night out, or they would scrimp on something else to make ends meet. This bothered Bob, because not only did he love his wife, but she also worked hard at raising their son Tim, and when she could, she would take on sewing jobs or babysitting other children to help out. So when Bob couldn’t treat his wife to a nice dinner out or buy her something nice to wear it really bothered him.

Then the unthinkable happened. Bob’s job was moving to another country. Bob, like so many other people, didn’t think it would happen to him. In hindsight, he should have, because any job that pays a real living wage, has an insurance plan or some kind of retirement plan has now been lost to another country or outsourced to a low paying third party. Just so CEO’S and stock owners can have a bigger piece of the pie.

So now Bob works two jobs and anything extra, just so his wife and son have a roof over their head and something to eat. Bob is now caught in a financial trap. To make things even worse, Tim has developed type 1 diabetes. Now Bob has to ask for state assistance.

Now imagine your son just developed a life-threatening disease. You have to decide what to pay for. Rent, heat, food or medicine. Then the car needs repairs. New tires $100 a piece, a new car battery $80 to $120. Could you be able to handle it?

Bob is at his wits end. He and his wife are so depressed. They’ve lost all of their friends, as they didn’t like families on welfare. He prays to God every night just to get a job that will pay a living wage.

Tim is often hungry. He never sees his dad, he’s always working. His mom is so sad. He doesn’t see his mom smile anymore. NO birthday parties. NO Christmases. All his clothes are old, used, and dirty.

Bob thinks about suicide, but his faith in God is strong. He hopes that someday things will turn around, that all workers will have jobs with livable wages. I for one, hope they do. He prays nightly.

So, you’re still against raising the minimum wage. $15 an hour is nothing. They should be thinking about $20 per hour. But you have to start somewhere.

You still against minimum wage?

What if this was Bob Cratchit? What if his son’s name was Tiny Tim. Whom does this make you?

And yes, God bless everyone!

MICHAEL MARQUARDT
Waterloo, Ill.
Teamsters 688