I was 11 when I had my first job. Summer job working at a restaurant. I’d be out by 12:30pm and would head to the beach with my friends.
My first pay check was $236 for 40 hours. I’d figured around $280 and was expecting it. I took my paycheck to the manager. I explained to him there were several deductions on it which I felt deprived me of my due compensation for the work I’d done. He explained how it was normal and everyone had it on their paychecks. He even showed my his pay stub with much larger deductions. I was shocked. It was theft. How could all these people put up with this?
I concluded -who steals from an 11 year old?
This is the point at which I became a conservative.
My daughter had the same experience as you.
I remember her coming to me really upset about what was taken out of her paycheck...her exact words were “...and what is this FICA s**t?”