I find it interesting that a group has come to the conclusion that the living wage in Northampton is $13.11 per hour, assuming the person works 40 hours. Well, back in my youth, I would work 76 hours a week for $1.25 per hour to make ends meet. I remember getting raises and was royally upset when I got to $1.35 and hour and the minimum went to $1.40.
I was back at the bottom. In fact I was worse off than before the minimum went up. I find it interesting that the folks coming up with living wage are not employers, just like the politicians who are increasing the minimum wage without consideration for employers.
I would guess most of these folks have never written a payroll check. That should be a minimum requirement to hold public office. You haven’t lived until you’ve taken out a home equity loan to meet payroll, especially if you aren’t sure you are going to get paid. Talk about stress.
Following this thinking, one would assume that whatever the cost of living in Northampton, the employer must meet it by any means possible — cutting hours, cutting help, or raising prices, which may lose customers and start a downward spiral to going out of business, or, as I have done, taking it out of my pocket, ending up where employees earned as much as I did.
The city should look at taxpayers and see what they can afford, not just consider what the city wants. Once that is determined, the city needs to cut employees’ hours, cut help, reduce benefits to what the state sets and not what unions demand, cut wages, especially of management, or as a last resort raise taxes on the wealthy.
In both case only the wealthy will be able to afford the increases.
Now, the city simply says this is what we need and you have to pay the increases. The leaders don’t give a rat’s behind if the person is 80 years old and earning $900 a month on Social Security — far less than what they say is the minimum to live in Northampton.
Donald W. Torrey
Easthampton