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5 arguments people use against raising the minimum wage, and one mom's beautiful reasons for it.

Life at minimum wage is something that I don't think folks really understand — especially in big cities.

It's hell.

If you have children to support, it's even worse.

So when Chrisanna Capshaw stepped up to the mic at a North Carolina hearing where people wanted to talk about why raising the minimum wage is no longer an option for working people, folks listened.

And they still are.

Millions of Facebook views later, a video of Capshaw's speech continues to make the rounds.

But before we get to the video, I'd like to tackle five big misconceptions folks have about minimum wage.

1. "Minimum-wage jobs are meant for high school students!"

✔ About one-third of minimum wage workers are over 30 years old, and 89% are 20 or older. Womp, womp.

Because everybody who works for starvation wages is this happy, right? Image by David Shankbone/Wikimedia Commons.

2. "Those are just part-time jobs, anyway."

✔ Actually, 35% work full time. (And besides ... what's wrong with making decent money, even as a part-timer?)

How quaintly ancient. Image by Kevin Rutherford/Wikimedia Commons.

3. "They're jobs for people who just need extra spending money."

✔ Low-wage earners make over half of their family's income, and 28% of them have children. ("Low-wage workers" are defined here as making less than $10.10/hour, which is one proposed minimum-wage increase. There are about 30 million of them in the U.S.)

"I sold my plasma the last three weeks to pay bills and ... ZZZzzzzz." Image by Mruk20/Wikimedia Commons.

4. "If they want good jobs, they need to go to school!"

✔ About 37% have at least some college under their belts. Ahem.

"Yay! My diploma says I can make $7.25 an hour and I owe $150,000! Wait ... what?!" Image by Shenandoah University Office of Marketing and Communications, Wikimedia Commons.

5. "Why can't they just figure it out and make ends meet?"

✔ In every state, working for the minimum wage leaves a full-time worker with two kids below the poverty level.


Now if these were actually made of full copper... Image by Roman Oleinik/Wikimedia Commons.

So that brings us to Chrisanna Capshaw.

She will be one of the people who will join the Fight for $15 on Tuesday, Nov. 10, all across the country.

Chrisanna's story is not unique. It is important to hear and ponder deeply. Because a little empathy might just offer a different perspective on life.

While her tale is indeed a bit harrowing, she speaks highly of joining the Fight for $15 movement. Fast food workers recently won $15 in New York City by the end of 2018, and in the entire state by 2021.

Family

Mom who saved pet goose from  eagle while breastfeeding is a mascot for moms everywhere

"Just a day in the life."

TikTok

Hold on, Frankie! Mama's coming!

How do you explain motherhood in a nutshell? Thanks to Cait Oakley, who stopped a preying bald eagle from capturing her pet goose as she breastfed her daughter, we have it summed up in one gloriously hilarious TikTok.

The now viral video shows the family’s pet goose, Frankie, frantically squawking as it gets dragged off the porch by a bald eagle—likely another mom taking care of her own kiddos.

Wearing nothing but her husband’s boxers while holding on to her newborn, Willow, Oakley dashes out of the house and successfully comes to Frankie's rescue while yelling “hey, hey hey!”

The video’s caption revealed that the Oakleys had already lost three chickens due to hungry birds of prey, so nothing was going to stop “Mama bear” from protecting “sweet Frankie.” Not even a breastfeeding session.

Oakley told TODAY Parents, “It was just a split second reaction ...There was nowhere to put Willow down at that point.” Sometimes being a mom means feeding your child and saving your pet all at the same time.

As for how she feels about running around topless in her underwear on camera, Oakley declared, “I could have been naked and I’m like, ‘whatever, I’m feeding my baby.’”

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Joy

People have raised more than $200K for man whose Burger King 'goodie bag' story went viral

Now, this is how you reward 27 years of loyal service.

GoFundMe, Twitter

Kevin Ford with his daughter Seryna.

Kevin Ford, the Las Vegas airport Burger King employee whose story went viral after he displayed the meager goodie bag he received after 27 years of never missing a day of work, might have started off feeling less than hopeful. But after his story reached the masses, his faith in humanity has been restored.

The original video showed the 54-year-old displaying the bag’s mediocre contents: a reusable Starbucks cup, one singular movie ticket, a couple of pens, a lanyard, some keychains and cheap candy (no offense Reese's and Life Savers).


@thekeep777 He's Worked for the Company for Almost 3 Decades and Has Never Called Out!!!😵💫🥺😱😭 #Grateful #Dads #FathersDay #Loyalty #Honor #WorkersUnite #Rewards #Thankful #NorrinRadd777 #theKeep777♬ Slide (feat. Frank Ocean & Migos) - Calvin Harris


Despite receiving a “gift” more equivalent to convention swag than a display of employee loyalty, Ford shared authentic gratitude.

“I’m happy about anything, I’m thankful for anything I get,” Ford told TMZ, “but, like most big corporations, they’ve kind of lost touch with their workers.” Ford added that before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, employees would receive anniversary checks, sharing that he initially thought that’s what the movie ticket was.

TMZ later reported that after Ford’s video began circulating everywhere, he received a flood of new job opportunities from potential employers near and far—including one position restoring classic cars and another working at a beachside restaurant in South Carolina. However, as he was close to retirement at his current job, Ford passed.

That’s when Seryna, Ford’s daughter, created a GoFundMe campaign.
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Daughter's hilarious obituary for her 'coupon clipping' mom leaves people in joyful tears

"I hope she guides me to the best sales forever."

Twitter

Goodbye. Maureen. Your "favorite child" will miss you.

What makes a good obituary? First, it should probably reflect the essence of the recently deceased person in an authentic, honest light. Second, it should feel personal, showing how that person’s life affected the lives of others. Then, of course, the right dash of humor can certainly help spark joy in an otherwise solemn moment.

New York Times journalist Caity Weaver achieved all those things masterfully in a eulogy written for her mother—the coupon-clipping, chronically late, green-thumbed Dr. Maureen Brennan-Weaver.

Caity clearly put her knack with words to good use, because her hilarious tribute quickly went viral on Twitter, leaving people not only with a good giggle, but a very precise picture of her mom.
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