Sixty four percent of all wage earners in the United States earn less than a welder. This would be a very telling statistic if it meant anything. It doesn’t.

What it does tell me is that someone learned to weld and that made themselves more valuable to the right people than someone who has no clue how to weld.

If you want a statistic that really counts then I would vote for how many people possess a skill that they can sell to the highest bidder.

Pay To Play

Enter the $15 and hour folks. A lot more pay for no more work. Of course this thinking makes perfect sense to the economically challenged.

The mindset of “I deserve it,” seems to be gaining ground in recent months. Somewhat fueled by Bernie Sanders but also prevalent before he came onto the national scene.

We’ve dumbed down our educational system to pass the lowest common denominator of student. Is it any wonder that the educational level of the workforce has been drastically diminished as well?

According to the Social Security Administration, the individual median income was $28,851.21 in 2014 — the latest info available.

That means half of individuals made more and half made less. If the minimum starting wage for an hourly worker goes to $15 per hour that median probably won’t change much.

Minimum wage earners are too small a group to have much effect on the median. They will simply join those that have already worked their way up to $15, having previously increased their value to their respective employer.

The only figure that can make the median go up is people making more money at the top. And that should be everyone’s goal. Move up the income ladder by increasing your worth.

Some Final Thoughts

It all comes down to dollars and cents. You buy a product or service because you see value in it. Suppose the price of the item you want doubled?

Do you want it bad enough to pay twice what it was yesterday or last week? It’s still exactly the same product.

So what possible reason would there be to pay someone twice as much to do the exact same amount of production they did before the raise in pay?

I can’t find any way to make that work economically.

Our US welder earns an average of $17.45 per hour or $36,300 per year. Sixty four percent of all US wage earners make less.

Equality is about giving everyone an equal chance — not about giving everyone an equal result.

You have to bring something of value to the table. A great work ethic would be an excellent start.

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