The Pie Shop

Tom was still rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he opened the door of the pie shop before sunrise. Bakers have to start work so early, but Tom had learned to appreciate the stillness of the morning and the miracle of turning diverse ingredients into irresistible pies. When the eyes of his best customer, Peter, sparkled at the sight of his favorite pumpkin pie fresh from the oven, Tom took pride in his accomplishment and was delighted to be making the day a happier one for Peter.

One of the least favorite parts of the day for Tom was after the noon rush when the shop owner, Simon, came by to check up on things, give Tom his pay for the day and empty the till to take home the balance. Tom appreciated the fact that Simon owned the Legree Pie Shop and that he worked for Simon, but Tom had not had a pay raise for almost ten years, in spite of the fact that Simon had raised the price of the pies several times. Simon pointed out he had to raise the pie prices because the cost of everything else was always going up. But when Tom would point out that the cost of everything was also going up for him and because his pay was staying the same, he was actually going backwards, Simon continually turned a deaf ear.

Tom and Simon were actually distantly related, through an ancient uncle, still living, named Sam. Sam was the family patriarch and several generations ago he had resolved this very same problem by requiring pie shop owners to pay a minimum wage to bakers, enough at least to live on. As the cost of living increased, Uncle Sam would make changes to keep the minimum realistic, but it had been almost ten years since the last adjustment. Sam received a salary, paid by a tax on all family members, and he had raised his own salary several times during those ten years. Simon made a good profit on the pie shop and was always sure to contribute some of it to Sam to help him maintain his patriarch status. Tom, who was almost unable to support his family on his stagnant wage, had nothing left to contribute to Sam.

Now Tom had finally been able to arrange another sit down with Simon and Sam. This came about because one day Tom and Peter got to talking and Peter was sincerely concerned that the baker who brought him the wonderful pumpkin pie was so lowly paid. Peter said he would definitely be willing to pay more for the pie in order to enable Tom to earn more. In fact, Peter said he always put extra money in the tip cup, in appreciation not only of the pie but also of the friendly service with which Tom served it. Peter was quite surprised to learn from Tom that the tips did not go to him, but rather to Simon, and that a security camera was in place to police that.

At the sit down Simon protested loudly that he could not give Tom a raise unless Sam also reduced Simon’s tax obligation to the family. The fact that Sam had already reduced Simon’s tax several times in the last ten years was ignored. Nor was there any discussion of just how much money Simon was making on the shop, or on any of the other shops he owned, or on the passive investments he made with some of the shop profits (on which Sam had also reduced the tax liability still further in recent years). Simon always argued that as a shop owner, he provided jobs and so should be the most important member of the family and be stimulated by reduced taxes and protected from being forced to pay Tom exorbitant wages. Tom pointed out that without bakers, pies cannot be made, so he was at least equally important as Simon. Sam listened to all this as he had so many times before, knowing he was in fact the most important person because he was the one who decided such arguments and kept peace in the family by regularly giving tax breaks to Simon, his primary contributor, and then eventually raising the minimum wage when Peter became concerned enough to begin wondering whether it was about time to replace Sam.

Sometimes Tom thought that maybe if he just baked the pies at home and sold them directly to Peter, he would make more money and would not need Simon. Maybe eventually he could open his own pie shop and hire help. He vowed that if he did so, he would pay a decent wage and not become a new Simon.