Each industry should have its own minimum wage. [View All]

[lumberjack_jeff]

Think about it this way;
option 1) at age 20 take a job in front of a computer. Sell your life-hours 40 hours a week for 40 years, live another 20. You sell 83,200 hours of your life to finance the other 440,000.
option 2) at age 20 take a job in a coal mine. Sell your life-hours 60 hours a week for 30 years, live another 10. You sell 93,000 hours of your life to finance the other 255,000.

The math is kind of easy. An office worker typically can anticipate 440,000 (525,000 minus 83,200) discretionary life hours. A coal miner can expect 255,000 (350,000 minus 93,000).

In effect, during his or her career, the coal miner has sold 270,000 adult life-hours to the company compared to the office worker's 83,200. If the coal miner is selling 3 1/4 times as many life hours to the boss, they deserve at least 3 1/4 times the pay. Say $30/hour minimum wage.

Selling most of your life doing a shitty job deserves more compensation than spending a little of your life doing something pleasant.

Further, the government has had zero results by fining employers who knowingly create dangerous workplaces. If they're forced to compensate the employees fairly, commensurate with the life hours they take, they might have some motivation to make a safer workplace.