My employee, Patrick, doesn't read this blog. "Hey, I have to listen to you all day at the store!"

So I feel safe in saying, I don't mind paying more than minimum wage. Really, the big step is having an employee at all; after that, a dollar or two more per hour isn't THAT big a deal. I suspect most businesses pay as little as they can and still keep the employee on board. The mass market has a formula, I'm certain, where the minimum wage cog is plugged in to replace the last minimum wage cog. Interchangeable and always changing. Keep the job so simple any moron -- or untrained newbie -- can do it.

My store is way too complicated to have cogs. It takes three months minimum just to get an employee up to speed. So I'd rather keep my employee happy, if possible, so I don't have to constantly retrain. I'm lucky in that I have a store that lots of people would like to work at.

My problem in retaining employees isn't pay. It's that no matter what I do, a job at Pegasus is a transition job for younger people. I used to think I might be able to find a full-time , long-term employee. But I found that no matter how I configured the job, no matter the responsibilities and wages and benefits, no matter that the employee himself or herself wanted to take the job seriously, the family and friends would pressure to employee to get a "real" job or to "go to school." Young people in their twenties are in a transitional time in their lives.

So wages for me are an appropriate reward to work and responsibility. Not a way to retain employees and keep their loyalty. I've given up on that.

I don't buy into the notion that having to pay a higher minimum wage is onerous for employers.
Bullshit.

I always vote for school funding. Period. I don't have any kids in schools, but so what? I was told for years that I would change my mind when I owned my own house and had to pay property taxes.

Well, no. I've owned a house for three years now, and I haven't changed my mind whatsoever. Not voting for public works is selfish. I've heard all the arguments about 'waste' -- yeah, well, that will never end. I don't want to get into a political argument about it with anyone. I'm just going to keep voting for the general good. The same way I'll keep buying from local owners, and pay the extra 'tax' of higher prices. It may hurt in the short run, but I'm convinced the the commonweal is better served by people who are willing to give back a little.

People tell me that can't afford to not buy from Wal-mart, they can't afford to pay property taxes, then they get in the gigantic S.U.V.'s; flip open their cell phone, and go out to dinner. Again, I call bullshit.

I don't see how we can have a culture of conspicuous consumption, and then complain about prices.