Minimum Wage

HYAH!

Minimum Wage! HYAH!

*Whipcrack*

The lyrics to the 12th track from the album Flood by They Might Be Giants are two words, an unintelligible cattle call followed by a thunderous whipcrack.

I first played this song for my dad one brisk evening shortly after I got ahold of this album on cassette while we were riding in the car together. I don’t remember where we were headed but I cannot forget the immediate joy that escaped him when he heard the words “minimum wage” shouted at the start followed by a large whipcrack.

A Moment of Connection

My dad seemed to immediately connect with the song’s intro on first listen. It was like a surprise laugh that comes from somewhere unexpected followed by a wide grin and nodding his head.

I remember feeling validated and thinking “Yeah, I like cool, fun, different music.” When I should have been like “Oh no, I bet having jobs is gonna suck. My dad knows things I don’t know.”

I was just recalling this to my best friend as we talked about this song coming up on my list and he said I was a Summer Child. Indeed, I did not know then what hardship was. I had not lived long enough to see a true winter. Neither of us had.

My dad though, he knew winter was coming. Wow, I did not intend to take such a hard left into Game of Thrones but here we are.

The Soundtrack of Struggle

This may be misremembered but I’m fairly certain that as soon as I owned a phone that allowed me to select a song as my alarm clock, I set Minimum Wage as my waking tune for every work day morning. For the first few weeks, this was met in the morning with a smirk and a chuckle. I was so pleased with my clever alarm and starting my day with my favorite band.

The financial situation surrounding my life was always dire then. I became jaded and burned out on my job (whichever job I had) and struggled to stay above water. The constant chaos of living a life dependent on EBT support, WIC, Energy Assistance Applications to help pay for Utilities, etc. All valuable social service programs to help exactly the kind of families that need it.

Poverty is Trauma: The Reality of a Smallest Allowable Wage

Unfortunately, the hard work, costs of living with 4 little kids on once income took its natural toll on me. I believe that poverty is trauma. It’s an open act of aggression from a governmental system designed to oppress anyone who doesn’t have or come from familial wealth. Can I express those thoughts in a detailed and more educated way - probably not off the top of my head but that’s where I stand.

Eventually, the clever humor of waking up to my Minimum Wage alarm song outwore its welcome as I came to understand the life my dad once knew. Living in the trenches of “robbing Peter to pay Paul,” never knowing what a good credit score is, visiting a food bank.

Today, when I listen to Minimum Wage, I remember how I felt when I first heard it and my dad’s reaction. I’m reminded of those early alarm days and then eventual disdain for the sad reality that the song was no longer silly or fun. It was harkening to the cold truth that I was stuck in the system for which the song was referring.

Your Turn: What Does Minimum Wage Mean to You?

In the end, this is more than just a 46 second song on an album. It is a brief war cry in the battle against the boot of capitalism that seeks to crush me and everyone else in its path. But what does Minimum Wage (the song) or the wage, mean to you?

Tangentially related question: What’s the most iconic song you’ve ever used as an alarm?