A Lucky Son of a Gun

A bill to gradually raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024, authored by House Education and Labor Committee Chairman Bobby Scott (D., Va.), has been hovering just short of the votes needed to pass the Democratic-led House of Representatives, where it faces resistance from some lawmakers from regions where wages and the cost of living are generally lower.

WSJ

I worked one summer as a kid

knocking apart metal shelves

in a book store

that was closing

the white rubber mallet

made a dull chime on the 

silver rods

as my hands began to ache

for a dollar-fifty an hour

that was good money in those days

I lived at home

spent nothing

and put it all in

the Farmers and Mechanics Savings Bank.

if I had fifteen dollars in my pocket

today

I'd blow it on a six pack

of root beer and

a gallon of vanilla 

ice cream

and live off of root beer floats

thinking myself a lucky 

son of a gun