When Pennsylvania lawmakers debated raising the state's minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour this summer, one comment drew more heat than the proposal itself. Republican House Minority Leader Jesse Topper stood on the chamber floor and said, "Here me clearly on this. Not every wage is designed to be a livable wage."
He didn't stop there. "My 16-year-old son is not working for a livable wage," Topper added. "Someone who is retired and helping out part-time, that is not necessarily a livable wage."
His remarks became the subject of a post in the anti-work subreddit, where hundreds of people weighed in. Many accused him of overlooking the reality that low-wage work isn't always supplemental income — for many, it's the only thing keeping the lights on.
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One response laid out the disconnect in detail: "Companies want their workers healthy, rested, fed, clean, groomed, presentable, have reliable transportation and reliable communication. That requires health insurance, housing, food, a bathroom, electricity, water, sewer services, trips to a hair salon, clean clothes in good repair, a car, car insurance, and a decent cell phone. They require all of that but want to pay enough to cover about 20% of the costs of that."
Another comment pointed to how low pay shifts the burden onto taxpayers: "If the minimum wage is less than a living wage, then the person working it will have to rely on government programs to live. So a company can reduce their pay to the minimum, push their employees onto government programs, and we all have to chip in with our tax money to make up the difference. Why not just force the companies to pay more?"
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One father described subsidizing a profitable company through his son's low pay: "That company relies on the families of their workers as well as the government to subsidize their bottom line. I subsidize their stock value, their dividends, their executives' pay and perks. I subsidize the fuel for their corporate jet."
Others took aim at what they called "ladder-pulling" from people in power: "I got mine, I'm comfortable for life, I don't care about you all."
The numbers back up the frustration. More than 11 million Americans aged 65 and older are working or looking for work, according to Time, and in Vermont, more than one in four seniors remain in the labor force. A T. Rowe Price survey found that 48% of working retirees say it's because they can't afford to stop.
For many, Social Security is far from enough. Pew Research reports that for 63% of beneficiaries, it makes up at least half of their total income. For 27%, it's their only source. And with the trust fund projected to run short within a decade, benefits could be cut to about 77% of current levels.
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Younger workers aren't immune. Many teenagers work not for extra cash, but to help support their families. When paychecks fall short of covering the essentials, the gap gets filled by relatives or taxpayers — effectively subsidizing corporations that keep wages low.
As one commenter put it, "The minimum wage was intended to be a living wage. If no job is supposed to produce a living wage, then the job shouldn't exist." Another user added, "If your business model requires paying people poverty wages to survive, then your business isn't viable—it's parasitic."
Supporters of Topper's view might say he was distinguishing between survival income and part-time earnings. But to his critics, the comments reinforced a system where millions of Americans — whether they're teenagers, seniors, or in between — work hard and still can't afford to live on their wages.
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