Dear Old Guy welcomes letters on all subjects, including love, marriage, child rearing, even basic plumbing and medical advice. What he doesn’t know, he is happy to make up. After all, he’s just an opinionated Old Guy. Submit your questions to Dear Old Guy here.

Dear Old Guy,

What is your take on the raise-minimum-wage issue? Yes, a person should be paid a fair wage by an employer, but the state should not mandate this. Social Security has no cost of living increase for this year, yet if an uneducated person can make $15 an hour, an educated person should be able to make $25, but then suddenly a loaf of bread will cost $9. Property taxes are already out of control so if a teacher is going to make $35 per hour suddenly the average $80,000 will cost $3,800 per year in taxes, forcing our seniors to live in homeless shelters! When minimum wage was $3.15 per hour no one had $125 monthly cell phone bills.

An education and high work ethics will increase your pay. People should live within their means. But raising minimum wage is not the answer. I am ranting but I am sick of this subject.

Signed, Sick of society!!

Dear Sick of,

I appreciate your rant and the concerns expressed. While I do think most people spend unwisely, the fact is that if Americans started to live within their means the world's credit based economy would come tumbling down.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I certainly hope you are not advocating rolling back the minimum wage to $3.15 an hour. Here's why, by way of example: The minimum wage in 1968 was $1.60 an hour. In today's dollars thats close to $10 an hour Did the country tank as a result?

To further address your concerns, would you be willing to admit that there are people who work two separate jobs for companies that don't aptly compensate their employees for their time?

Are you aware that chains like Home Depot rig their schedules against hires, keeping them from working fulltime, yet rotating the weekly schedule so the employees can't find a second job to make up the shorted hours?

I know people who work long hard days who can still barely get by. Could these people be the ones that a certain cast of politicos mock for receiving government assistance? I don't deny there are folks who defraud the system, but I would contend many Americans are working for companies whose top executives are raking in the dough while helping themselves to corporate welfare, companies our government protects overseas with the lives of the children of these very same minimum wage workers.

OK, so that's my rant.

Putting it aside, I am willing to compromise in a way that helps everyone. How about a system of wages tied to corporate earnings? How about something like they tried to institute in Switzerland where big CEOs can't earn more than 10 times their lowest paid worker? That would up the average persons wages pretty fast.

Perhaps instead a significant profit sharing plan? I'm just scratching the surface here.

To quote your letter, An education and high work ethics will increase your pay. In saying so you did not take into account the great number of people who've not had access to a decent education, and let’s not forget the great numbers of college graduates having to work minimum wage jobs.

The fact is, we need reasonable government regulation to protect the poor and middle class from an economy that has been gamed against them. To tell Americans to work harder is to ignore the facts. It has been a credo proliferated by the well-off to grant false hope to the oppressed. If you're uncertain of my perception then ask yourself why Arbeit macht frei or Work will set youfree was posted at the gates of the concentration camps. I welcome your further thoughts on this issue. —O.G.

Dear Old Guy,

Q-tip here again. I notice some people grow old more gracefully than others. Would you care to share the secret of how to do so in the most gracious manner possible, or is that a trade secret? Your advice is much appreciated by one who grew old before his time.

Signed, Old, Lame and Far from Graceful

Dear Old Lame,

First of all, you flatter me. Now read on.

A while back I was at the YMCA on one of those infernal treadmills. For some reason, there's a wall of mirrors staring back at all of us exercise victims. Watching myself I began to laugh hysterically. It was so loud that some others, trodding nearby, pulled their earbuds out to determine what the clamor was. What made me laugh was realizing that the old guy in the mirror was me. I honestly think my laugh was one of victory.

Maybe the trick to aging with grace is not trying to be who you were long ago. Forget reclaiming your youth. It always looks foolish. Instead, keep your mind and body challenged while rejoicing in the fact that you got to be old. There's nothing more beautiful than people who are comfortable in their own skins, no matter how wrinkly.   —O.G.

Dear Old Guy,

I am ready to take a hammer to my kid's cell phone. It's the cause of constant battles with the endless texting and instant messaging. I won't harp on the perpetual need to check up on social media. I know I'm not the only parent dealing with this problem. Is there some solution you would recommend?

Signed, Learned to hate technology

Dear Learned to hate,

A hammer is not the answer. Try a cordless drill with a 3/8 bit. It's slower, more satisfying and less apt to get glass shards all over the house. Enjoy! —O.G.