Have you noticed the price of gas recently? Have you noticed your paycheque recently? If you are like many people you will notice your pay didn't change but your price for gasoline certainly has.
You have just as much money as you used to but it doesn't buy as much.
...and inflation sucks. It is especially bad for those people on the low end of the wage spectrum. If someone is wealthy paying more money at the gas station for fuel doesn't hurt that much as there is a buffer. However, I was reading about trike drivers in the Philippines who make very little money and now have to work 5 extra hours a day just to make the same amount of money as they did before.
But did you know there is a type of inflation that hits people who have higher wages? Most people won't have considered it but I think I can make a case for it.
In two months time (June 2026) the minimum wage will increase to $18.25 CAD (about $13.20HBD) in British Columbia, Canada. The idea is to increase minimum wage for those who make the least amount of money. Honestly I think that is a great idea. If those on the bottom rung of work can't afford food/clothing/shelter it makes the entire country poorer and unfortunately prices have been getting steadily higher over the years, especially in the time since COVID and since the war in Iran.
How does that correlate with higher wage earners getting hit more by inflation?
Let me start by saying that I haven't worked minimum wage for a very long time. For the past 30 years I have worked as a Pharmacist the combination of being in a "high demand" job and university education mean that I have made much more than minimum wage. As a new graduate I made roughly FIVE times minimum wage. As I became more experienced and my wage increased I eventually made roughly SEVEN times minimum wage. My job demanded much more than minimum wage jobs in education, responsibility and even in fees I have to pay yearly so making a higher multiple was considered warranted.
However that wage also made me expensive. As an expensive worker the idea is to extract as much work as possible with as little help as possible to reduce expense. That is just the financial reality of pharmacy. However, a pharmacist can't work by himself and needs support staff. The support staff are often minimum wage workers and when the government increases wages their wages increase. The pharmacist? He was already more than minimum wage so their wage doesn't go up. In the past 15 years minimum wage has doubled. My wage? Gone up by 2%.... and is fairly common in the profession.
Let's look at my wage VS minimum wage:
| Time | Multiple |
|---|---|
| New Graduate | Five times |
| Veteran Pharmacist | Seven times |
| Current Pharmacist | Less than Three times |
.....inflation sucks
or perhaps I should say wage deflation sucks.
Sure I make a tiny bit more now than I did in 2009 but the cost of everything has gone up much more. Minimum wage workers are still in roughly the same situation they were 15 years ago. However, my profession has gone from well compensated to, well, less well compensated.
I'm still seen as expensive so I get the increased workload and increased responsibility. I still have to pay well over $2000 annually to keep my license. I still have to do continuing education every single year to keep my license. But the pay? It has become far less desirable to accept the extra responsibility for a wage which becomes less of an incentive every single year.
...and increased minimum wage directly leads to higher prices
I just returned from a trip where I was in both Indonesia and the Philippines.
One thing I repeatedly noticed was that commodities are roughly the same price. An Apple iPhone or Pixel 10 phone will be the same price in Indonesia, Philippines or Canada. An identical vehicle will be similarly priced between countries. However, anything that is labor intensive will have a price directly linked to wages.
In Indonesia a massage is inexpensive as wages are low... $10 HBD. In the Philippines it was more money as wages are high... $20 HBD. In Canada the prices are much higher $70 HBD. Yes there is variation depending on many factors. However, I saw it over and over again. Fast food prices are more expensive where wages are higher. Service industries and hotels are more expensive where wages are higher.
So an increase in minimum wage when my wage doesn't change? It means my paycheque isn't going to buy as much as it used to. For those who make minimum wage? It doesn't change much because their wage increased. For those in "Premium" professions? It means they make less.
Well, perhaps not businessmen. Prices go up = Profits go up. The business will factor the cost (acquisition plus labor) and charge a markup. If prices increase their markup increases. The rich ride the wave. Although that isn't entirely true. Some businesses face pushback when they have to increase prices on a commodity people are used to paying a certain amount for. Still, in general I think my idea holds.
However, while I do grumble a bit as I see everyone elses wages going up except mine I still look at the bright side. I live in a developed country where my wage pays for food, clothing, shelter and fuel without only minimum planning. I'm not in a position where I have to choose between eating and other necessities. I can dream of vacations and a better future. I have a life which I enjoy and that is stable. I am very grateful for that. Still it does kind of rankle me to think that my wage is eroding year after year.
Or perhaps that's just my thought. I'd love to hear the opinion of other readers out there and as always I love feedback. Thank you if you made it this far, always nice to have someone reading :)
I guess I should do a little add on at the end to actually fit the Hive Learners prompt questions. If minimum wage were to double or triple or quadruple? It wouldn't do as much as you think. As wages increase costs increase so there are diminishing returns as wages increase. Indeed it could hurt more than help. My province relies heavily on tourism and exports. Higher wages would increase prices and if prices get too expensive then money doesn't flow into the country. Ouch
Minimum wage doesn't make anyone rich ... but it does help the lowest earners afford the basics more easily.
The true way to make minimum wage work to make you rich is somewhat sneaky. Right now I'm in Unity, Saskatchewan. It is a quiet little down with low housing prices, Low unemployment. Low prices. Someone making $18.25 here can easily afford a home, vehicle, food and more. My nephew is proof of that. In Vancouver housing costs are easily 20x as much and basic expenses are more expensive. The same wage there and the worker is basically "working poor" class.
There is a saying that I think fits : "It's not enough to work harder, it's better to work smarter"
