• We like the meme machines that Ben Huh’s “I Can Has Cheezburger” network provides. They’re goofy, they’re funny at times, and they often drive some pretty interesting trends online. What we don’t like, however, are his wages. What’s essentially a job in a profitable niche media industry is treated as if it’s a struggling startup. Gawker has been all over this the last few days, after Huh himself backed his company into a corner thanks to a frank admission.

What “Cheezburger” makes in revenue

• $4 million in yearly revenue off
  of user-submitted content source

The “Cheezburger” employee picture

• 30 employees work for Ben Huh’s
  cat-loving empire source

• $8.55 the starting rate (40 hr./week, no benefits) at one of Huh’s sites for an office admin or a junior designer – that’s minimum wage in Washington
• $17,784 the amount that brings home for potential employees each year, before taxes of any sort – that’s just $7,000 above the poverty line source

• » A notable wrinkle: These jobs are contract jobs without benefits starting out. Contract jobs that don’t take out taxes, just an FYI, are the ones that Joe Stack railed against when he crashed that plane into the IRS building. And while Huh claims that people move up in the company, the fact of the matter is that this is a near-poverty level job starting out.

How that compares

• $30k starting rate for an entry-level office administrator source
• $29k starting rate for a Web-based graphic designer source
• $20k starting rate for a “blogger” – so Huh is even low for that source

Can you live off that? No

• $17,784the entry-level pay (before taxes) at Cheezburger Network, with the possibility of wage increases
• $18,337the living wage (after taxes) in the Seattle area, where the network is located source

The justification for low wages

• We advertise lower wages for entry-level positions because the worst candidates focus on money the most. Believe it or not, advertising lower-than-market wages actually helped us yield better candidates.
• Cheezburger Network CEO Ben Huh • In an article discussing how a recent ad drew candidates who were upset that he was offering so little for what are in reality jobs that require a college education. While passion is one thing, it’s another thing entirely to force low wages on college-educated people. He lists three reasons why he feels employees who ask about compensation aren’t desirable. The first? “The candidate’s inability to control their personal expenses, which inevitably leads to drama and demands at work.” He goes further, noting: “If you have high financial requirements in order to absolutely survive, I don’t really know what to say than go get a job at a bank (you know what I mean).” Know what would help them control personal expenses, Ben? A living wage. Well, maybe they could get one (and health insurance!) if they worked at a Starbucks instead. source

But wait, they’re not alone

• Look, it’s easy to focus on them. But the real problem we’re starting to see with user-generated content is that nobody’s really paying enough, and preying on passion. Lots of companies are guilty of this. Examiner.com is a great example. Journalists have for years been able to make a decent, if not great, wage by working at newspapers and other print publications. Will this go away? Will we even be able to buy cheezburgers? Just a thought.

• No one was hurt. But we have a new instant celebrity. When what we really need is to put the brakes on out-of-whack priorities.
• MarketWatch assistant managing editor Steve Kerch • Regarding the runaway Toyota Prius story getting lots of attention. He prefaces this story by noting a recent car crash in Chicago that killed four young women but got no national press coverage. “As the circus grows around every little Toyota engine burp,” Kerch notes, “turn a thought to those four women. It’ll help you keep your perspective on true tragedy.” Well-put. source

• 60% of Florida voters plan to pick Marco Rubio in the Senate GOP primary
• 32% plan to pick Charlie Crist, the current Florida governor
• 8% of undecideds not nearly enough for Crist to grab onto source

• 43% of workers have less than $10k saved up source

• I think this whole story is ridiculous. I think the latest excuse is silly and ridiculous. We’re focused not on crazy allegations but instead on making this system work for the American people rather than insurance companies.
• White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs • Regarding the bowl of crazy Rep. Eric Massa alleged as he resigned yesterday. Other Democrats are denying the seeing-Rahm-naked allegations, too. Massa, by the way, will be on Glenn Beck today to defend himself. Get yo popcorn ready! source

• Mayor Dave Bing ready to destroy parts of a city he’s an icon of. This map above shows all of the vacant neighborhoods in the city, which has declined in population by half (from 1.8 million to 900,000) since the ’60s. The green areas? They’re at least half vacant (and blighted). You can see the problem already – all the vacated areas are deep within the city, while the populated areas are in the outskirts. That complicates urban planning. source

• They got married right outside the courthouse. Robert Hawthorne and James Betz are now husband and husband. The two George Washington University students were among the first to pick up their marriage licenses and tie the knot this morning. They weren’t alone – a crowd that had waited since 3:30 a.m. had multiple couples ready to marry. Jeremy Moon and Bryan Legaspi married in the judge’s chambers. A great day for D.C. source

• Three Words: Daft Punk soundtrack. This trailer premiered during “Alice in Wonderland” (a movie that had a pretty stellar debut, by the way) and looks genuinely awesome. This film could’ve been quite cheesy, but instead seems to strike a truly exciting tone. And also, Jeff Bridges is pretty much awesome in every role he’s in.