Just want to start off by saying I don't hate my job, I actually like getting out of the house and feeling good about the work that I do. I do however feel like I should be paid more for the tens of thousands of dollars I'm saving the company and our clients on a daily basis.
I'm an old-ass man having a tonsillectomy tomorrow and it's going to cost almost $4000 after insurance. Insurance I've paid well over $4000 into over the years of working just at my current employer. This is not a cosmetic or luxury surgery, this is a surgery I've needed for years, as I constantly get tonsillitis/strep/bronchitis at least 12 weeks out of the year. Now I need to work two hours of overtime a day, five days a week, for the next 14 weeks, just to catch up on finances. Just to continue working paycheck-to-paycheck, just to continue not being dead and relatively healthy.
We've been fighting for a $15/hr minimum wage so long, that not even $20/hr is enough to live comfortably in most cities. If we had a $1200 UBI I could pay this medical expense off in four paychecks without worries of rent or being able to eat. If we had universal healthcare, I wouldn't have to worry about paying absurd amounts of money for necessary surgery. If we had both, maybe I could retire before I'm 75 without the need of social security, maybe we could all be relatively healthy.