It’s time for a little math lesson. 15 times 40 is 600. 600 multiplied by 52 is 31,200.

Alright, now let’s make it a word problem. Jimmy makes 15 dollars an hour and works 40 hours a week, which means that he has a gross weekly income of $600. Given that there are 52 weeks in a year (50 working weeks plus two weeks paid vacation), Jimmy would have a gross annual salary of $31,200.  You see, Jimmy is a fry cook at a little fast food restaurant called McDonalds. $31,200 a year for dropping a fry basket into an oil cooker would be pretty nice, wouldn’t it? For Jimmy, of course it would be nice, but for the rest of us, not so much. I’m sure that by now, you know where I am going with this.

This past December, a group of fast food workers started protesting, saying that they believe that the minimum wage should be increased to $15 an hour. Why on earth someone believes that their job, which requires minimal skills or education, not even a high school diploma for that matter, should earn 15 dollars an hour is ludicrous. There are plenty of jobs that actually require a college degree that have a lower entry salary than $31,200. As of January 2014, the average annual salary for a police officer in the state of Iowa is $25,000. Why should a person who suffers no consequences after constantly messing up orders deserve more than a police officer who has gone through college and puts their life on the line every single day makes now?

I have worked at McDonald’s. I have worked as a line cook at another job. I was paid minimum wage at McDonald’s and slightly above minimum wage at the other job. I have been through the entire fast food industry including cashier, an expeditor, a line cook and everything in between. Let me tell you something that may come as a shock to some of you who are for raising the minimum wage: It’s one of the easiest things I have ever done. I felt like I was stealing from the company earning $7.25 an hour for putting a few hamburgers into a sack.

One argument that people have made in the past is that it is impossible to raise a family on $7.25 an hour. I was the product of a teen pregnancy; both of my parents were incredibly young. Shortly after, they had my brother. What did my parents do? They stepped up and played the role of a parent. Both of my parents dropped out of school and they both worked whatever they could, jumping jobs so that they could support my brother and me. Since having two kids and working their way from the absolute bottom, they have both worked incredibly hard to be the successful people that they are now. It’s not impossible to raise a family on minimum wage.

Iowa offers many programs to struggling families in need. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program helps families place food on the table based on their income. The average benefit per individual in the state of Iowa is $120.84 per month, or $483.36 for a family of four. While so many abuse the program, the program does actually help those in need. WIC is another program that assists mothers in providing for their infants. Along with food programs, the state of Iowa has a program called CCA, Child Care Assistance. CCA will pay most or all of a child care bill, based on income. Schools offer free and reduced lunches to kids whose parents have a hard time filling up their school lunch balance. Food and childcare are now a monthly expense that you do not have to worry about. With all of the programs that the state of Iowa has to offer, it’s not impossible to raise a family of four on minimum wage, given that both parents work.

Quick economy lesson. What will happen if fry cooks start earning $15 an hour? People who currently make $15 an hour will say, “Hey, if that low-skill job earns $15 an hour, I think I am entitled to more.” This will start a train reaction to everyone in the world thinking that they deserve a raise and could easily protest to receive one. After they get their raise and everyone is so rich, what will happen? Price of living will skyrocket. Come on, people, this is a no-brainer.

Let me ask again. Do you think that someone who hands people their drink and food out of a drive-through window should make the same as a firefighter? The entry hourly wage of a firefighter in the state of Iowa? $10.14. Guess which position you have to pass a drug test for. I’ll give you a hint, it’s not Mickey D’s.

There is one thing and one thing only about so-called income inequality. It doesn’t exist. Who gets to say that someone deserves the same pay as someone else? Newsflash: you are not entitled to be rich, you are not entitled to a salary that you deem fit and you are not entitled to a job. Since when did some people become so caught up in how much others are making that they no longer stop and simply be thankful for even having a job? Here’s an idea: Instead of worrying about how much more someone else makes, be the best at what you do. And if you don’t like your job at McDonald’s, there are millions waiting in line outside the door to grill a hamburger for $7.25 an hour.