Let's Take A Poll Of Minimum Wage Workers In Here

[NYcarbineer]

I made minimum wage when I was a kid. Then I went to work every day on time, did my job, didn't complain or start drama and got some valuable references to my work ethic. In addition to working many hours to pay my bills, I went to school to learn a trade.

That was several years ago. Now, I made substantially more than minimum wage and enjoy a middle class existence in the greatest country in the world.

That's how it is supposed to be done. Anyone older than 25 and still making minimum wage has made some terrible personal decisions. You aren't supposed to be making minimum wage at 32 with four kids in diapers running around bitching about no child support from their baby daddies and how the government NEEDS to do this and this and this for me and how you are entitled to this and...

It's nice to see that the rightwing inmates around here have taken time out from bashing the poor who don't have jobs

to bash the poor who work for a living.

So much for the rightwing myth that it's not people with jobs that we hate.

I'm bashing poor decisions. That poor-person-with-a-job in my example there has made terrible decisions. I should not have to pay for someone's terrible decisions. And if you are 32 with four kids and four baby daddies and working pt at mcdonalds on min wage, I am paying for your bad decisions. So yes, I'll bash away.

So legislatively keeping the minimum wage low is designed to punish people?

What is wrong with you, exactly?

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

It's nice to see that the rightwing inmates around here have taken time out from bashing the poor who don't have jobs

to bash the poor who work for a living.

So much for the rightwing myth that it's not people with jobs that we hate.

I'm bashing poor decisions. That poor-person-with-a-job in my example there has made terrible decisions. I should not have to pay for someone's terrible decisions. And if you are 32 with four kids and four baby daddies and working pt at mcdonalds on min wage, I am paying for your bad decisions. So yes, I'll bash away.

So legislatively keeping the minimum wage low is designed to punish people?
What is wrong with you, exactly?

How on Earth does one make this leap?

What exactly is wrong with you?

 

[jasonnfree]

I used to make minimum wage ($2.10 an hour)

I was able to pay my way through college just working summers. Why can't kids do that today?

Because the government via grants has driven up tuition.
Most students today are getting financial assistance. Most.
And many of these also get free room and board. and even living expenses.
And then they quit.
And then they bitch about minimum wage.

I used to make minimum wage ($2.10 an hour)

If I worked all year, I could afford a brand new car at the end of the year

Why can't a minimum wage do that any more?

I paid about $2200 for a plymouth in 1970 and it was produced by people making decent union wages and benefits. Now an equivalent of that car is made in low wage countries like mexico or alabama by people making crap wages and no benefits and the price is around $24-30k.
This was reagan and the new world order and these republican working stiffs think this is great, as long as there's no unions "ruining" this country.

 

[NYcarbineer]

Most states' minimum wage is higher than federal one right now. And I know fast food places around where I live pay more than the state minimum wage. Not much more, granted. But more.

My point is COSTS have gone way up.

It's like with a home. If my wife and I are working and we aren't making enough to make ends meet at the end of the month, I look at ways to reduce costs (namely her shopping and my car and beer habit). I look at cost first.

And I think by artificially increasing some standard wage up to a "livable level", we aren't doing anything to control costs and they are going to get outta hand. Imagine an apartment, car, college, etc after those cost increases. Guess we'd just have to raise the minimum wage again?

Our minimum wage has not gone up because Republicans have fought against it for the last 13 years

Forget about a living wage, our minimum wage does not even provide a decent starting wage. A worker can't pay for college, can't buy a car. can't afford an apartment. Can't do the basic things a worker needs to do to get started in life

I get tired of hearing about the plight of small business. Over the last 13 years their rents have gone up, supplies have gone up, taxes have gone up....the wage they pay hasn't

Costs have gone up and they have gone up for their workers also. Education, gas, car costs, rents....have all gone up
Wages haven't

We share a concern for costs. That needs to be the focus, imo.

Raising minimum wage increases costs.

Wages shouldn't determined by the government. They should be determined by the market. The most an employer is going to pay someone is the least amount a person is willing to work in that position.

(wrote a bit more and was getting way off track, so erased)

I guess I have two questions:

1. If artificially (by artificial I mean government interfering in the free market) raising wages increases costs (which it will), how does that help?

2. Why not make the minimum wage $100/hr then?

Allowing wages to be controlled by the market is immoral, because it accepts the possibility, or likelihood, that the people in control of the money, and the corporations, and thus the jobs,

can use their power to exploit the working class to any every length they are able.

And they will, because as your book says, money is the root of all evil.

 

[NYcarbineer]

I'm bashing poor decisions. That poor-person-with-a-job in my example there has made terrible decisions. I should not have to pay for someone's terrible decisions. And if you are 32 with four kids and four baby daddies and working pt at mcdonalds on min wage, I am paying for your bad decisions. So yes, I'll bash away.

So legislatively keeping the minimum wage low is designed to punish people?
What is wrong with you, exactly?

How on Earth does one make this leap?

What exactly is wrong with you?

Learn to read and you'll understand. The other poster is blaming the worker for something or other,

and saying that he or she gets what they deserve with a minimum wage.

Therefore, raising the minimum wage is giving that person something they don't deserve.

...of course the poster is too stupid to realize that someone with 4 kids working for minimum wage is going to get the poster's tax money, and lots of it, to raise that family out of poverty, or at least to a better economic situation.

In short, the joke's on Pickle.

 

[Wyatt earp]

Thats the point

Everyone talks about how minimum wage is only meant to be a starter wage. But you cannot even get started today on what you make on minimum wage. Like I tried to point out, I could pay for college, get an apartment, buy a car based on that lousy $2.10 an hour I used to make

You can't do that now

Most states' minimum wage is higher than federal one right now. And I know fast food places around where I live pay more than the state minimum wage. Not much more, granted. But more.

My point is COSTS have gone way up.

It's like with a home. If my wife and I are working and we aren't making enough to make ends meet at the end of the month, I look at ways to reduce costs (namely her shopping and my car and beer habit). I look at cost first.

And I think by artificially increasing some standard wage up to a "livable level", we aren't doing anything to control costs and they are going to get outta hand. Imagine an apartment, car, college, etc after those cost increases. Guess we'd just have to raise the minimum wage again?

Our minimum wage has not gone up because Republicans have fought against it for the last 13 years

Forget about a living wage, our minimum wage does not even provide a decent starting wage. A worker can't pay for college, can't buy a car. can't afford an apartment. Can't do the basic things a worker needs to do to get started in life

I get tired of hearing about the plight of small business. Over the last 13 years their rents have gone up, supplies have gone up, taxes have gone up....the wage they pay hasn't

Costs have gone up and they have gone up for their workers also. Education, gas, car costs, rents....have all gone up
Wages haven't

and taxes in blue states whose fault is that? When I kidin chicago I could buy 3 packs of smoke what I made an hour. Today you can not even buy one pack. But today you can buy 2 packs in South Carolina on Minimum wage.

And you didn't have to buy car insurance back then either

 

[iamwhatiseem]

[MENTION=20321]rightwinger[/MENTION]
And thank God we have a President who for the past 6 years has worked hard at changing all this.
However I am confused...I just read that the 10 richest people in America made over $100 Bn in earnings (personally)...I mean...that is enough to pay over 1,600,000 people $60,000 a year.
I thought Obama would change this...he campaigned so heavily and has talked so much about wealth concentration...yet...top wage earners have had two record years the past 6 years.
Hmmm....someone know how many bills he has championed to address this?

 

[Soggy in NOLA]

So legislatively keeping the minimum wage low is designed to punish people?
What is wrong with you, exactly?

How on Earth does one make this leap?

What exactly is wrong with you?

Learn to read and you'll understand. The other poster is blaming the worker for something or other,

and saying that he or she gets what they deserve with a minimum wage.

Therefore, raising the minimum wage is giving that person something they don't deserve.

...of course the poster is too stupid to realize that someone with 4 kids working for minimum wage is going to get the poster's tax money, and lots of it, to raise that family out of poverty, or at least to a better economic situation.

In short, the joke's on Pickle.

Who else do you blame for having 4 kids and being able to not do anything other than ask if I "want an apple pie with that?" See, that's the problem with you folks... you see the problem as being that the person doesn't earn enough. No, that's a symptom of the real problem which is partly that we have as a society disincentivised people from trying and not making poor choices. Now granted, some people have and always will make poor choices. But we have generations of people who've never done shit but work crappy jobs and/or suck off the system. Your type just demand that no matter what we just throw more money at them.

That never works... other than to create even more dependency.

 

[Meathead]

Our minimum wage has not gone up because Republicans have fought against it for the last 13 years

Forget about a living wage, our minimum wage does not even provide a decent starting wage. A worker can't pay for college, can't buy a car. can't afford an apartment. Can't do the basic things a worker needs to do to get started in life

I get tired of hearing about the plight of small business. Over the last 13 years their rents have gone up, supplies have gone up, taxes have gone up....the wage they pay hasn't

Costs have gone up and they have gone up for their workers also. Education, gas, car costs, rents....have all gone up
Wages haven't

We share a concern for costs. That needs to be the focus, imo.

Raising minimum wage increases costs.

Wages shouldn't determined by the government. They should be determined by the market. The most an employer is going to pay someone is the least amount a person is willing to work in that position.

(wrote a bit more and was getting way off track, so erased)

I guess I have two questions:

1. If artificially (by artificial I mean government interfering in the free market) raising wages increases costs (which it will), how does that help?

2. Why not make the minimum wage $100/hr then?

Allowing wages to be controlled by the market is immoral, because it accepts the possibility, or likelihood, that the people in control of the money, and the corporations, and thus the jobs,

can use their power to exploit the working class to any every length they are able.

And they will, because as your book says, money is the root of all evil.

You obviously understand shit about economics. In an Obaman economy wages will sink for everyone, in a Reagan economy they rise for all.

 

[NYcarbineer]

I'm bashing poor decisions. That poor-person-with-a-job in my example there has made terrible decisions. I should not have to pay for someone's terrible decisions. And if you are 32 with four kids and four baby daddies and working pt at mcdonalds on min wage, I am paying for your bad decisions. So yes, I'll bash away.

Don't waste your time with that idiot.

What he's doing is shitting on the thread, starting fights with anybody and everybody because he wants the thread moved.

Why? Because it's effective.

They're trying to turn the thread into a shit-throwing contest, then they'll PM the Mod and get it moved to one of the Boards that nobody goes to.

They do it every day.

You'd think the Mods would figure this out....

I want to know what's driving this minimum wage debate.

Does anybody in here honestly work for Minimum Wage?

Be honest..... Anybody?

That's what I thought. dimocraps are just getting their marching orders from OFA and polluting this Board with their bullshit propaganda messages.

This from the guy who said the other day that all mass shootings in America were done by liberals.

Speaking on the topic of polluting the board with bullshit.

See what I mean?

You mean you using language like this?

"dimocraps are just getting their marching orders from OFA and polluting this Board with their bullshit propaganda messages"

...in the post I replied to? You need to check yourself, sonny.

 

[Pickle]

Our minimum wage has not gone up because Republicans have fought against it for the last 13 years

Forget about a living wage, our minimum wage does not even provide a decent starting wage. A worker can't pay for college, can't buy a car. can't afford an apartment. Can't do the basic things a worker needs to do to get started in life

I get tired of hearing about the plight of small business. Over the last 13 years their rents have gone up, supplies have gone up, taxes have gone up....the wage they pay hasn't

Costs have gone up and they have gone up for their workers also. Education, gas, car costs, rents....have all gone up
Wages haven't

We share a concern for costs. That needs to be the focus, imo.

Raising minimum wage increases costs.

Wages shouldn't determined by the government. They should be determined by the market. The most an employer is going to pay someone is the least amount a person is willing to work in that position.

(wrote a bit more and was getting way off track, so erased)

I guess I have two questions:

1. If artificially (by artificial I mean government interfering in the free market) raising wages increases costs (which it will), how does that help?

2. Why not make the minimum wage $100/hr then?

Allowing wages to be controlled by the market is immoral, because it accepts the possibility, or likelihood, that the people in control of the money, and the corporations, and thus the jobs,

can use their power to exploit the working class to any every length they are able.

And they will, because as your book says, money is the root of all evil.

My book? You assume I'm a Christian? And why the ad hominem?

By all means a corporation should exploit "the working class" (nice term there--shows a lot). The MAIN goal of corporation is to make profit.

Now if we had educated and reasonable citizens, this system would go if without a hitch. The citizens (notice I didn't include "class"?) would control the market. A big bad evil money making corporation tries to exploit the citizens, and the corporation goes out of business. No one buys their shit. They get no money. Corporations are dependent on us--not the other way around, as you Marxist want the masses in classes to believe.

But no, we have continuous ideological subversion from the oligarchy that you worship to reign tighter controls on corporations, businesses, property individuals, etc. Your infusing this command economy into the "poor class", dividing people, instilling a belief that they can live without your government's good graces, invading their entire daily life's activities, and reaping more control so you can eventually have a whole world of classes of people who think what you want, eat what you tell them, work where you tell them, and give you more and more of their hard earned wages as you constantly remind them life without you would be horrible. Your like the white tank top wife beating trailer trash with cheap beer spittle on his shirt and the "classes" (masses) of sheeple are is your bitch that you smack around when you get drunk.

And you want to talk about exploiting people? Ha!

 

[RDD_1210]

That doesn't answer the question. Would raising the minimum wage just increase the cost of everything? If so, how does that help?

If a store has to pay Mike two dollars more per hour, where do you think those extra two dollars are coming from? Then when Mike needs some milk, Mike pays for those extra two dollars.

No, it wouldn't. Problem solved. Unless of course you have proof otherwise.

SO why not just make the minimum wage $1000/hour? Then we'd all be rich!

Because that's just dumb. That wouldn't make economic sense for the business. But do I really need to explain that to you?

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/images/opinion/01divide-aaronson_prices.pdf

But it WOULD make economic sense for a business to raise it to $10?

Maybe I misunderstood, sorry to be rude. Yes, please explain.

Let's compare $10 to $1000. Do you see a slight difference there? How about this? Would raising the minimum wage .25 sink company profits? How about $1? There has to be some sort of happy median between your ridiculous $1000 suggestion and their current wage that can allow companies to still turn a tidy profit and not cause their workers to need to apply for food stamps to make ends meet.

 

[NYcarbineer]

We share a concern for costs. That needs to be the focus, imo.

Raising minimum wage increases costs.

Wages shouldn't determined by the government. They should be determined by the market. The most an employer is going to pay someone is the least amount a person is willing to work in that position.

(wrote a bit more and was getting way off track, so erased)

I guess I have two questions:

1. If artificially (by artificial I mean government interfering in the free market) raising wages increases costs (which it will), how does that help?

2. Why not make the minimum wage $100/hr then?

Allowing wages to be controlled by the market is immoral, because it accepts the possibility, or likelihood, that the people in control of the money, and the corporations, and thus the jobs,

can use their power to exploit the working class to any every length they are able.

And they will, because as your book says, money is the root of all evil.

You obviously understand shit about economics. In an Obaman economy wages will sink for everyone, in a Reagan economy they rise for all.

The minimum wage was higher during the Reagan years than it is now, adjusted for inflation.

 

[NYcarbineer]

We share a concern for costs. That needs to be the focus, imo.

Raising minimum wage increases costs.

Wages shouldn't determined by the government. They should be determined by the market. The most an employer is going to pay someone is the least amount a person is willing to work in that position.

(wrote a bit more and was getting way off track, so erased)

I guess I have two questions:

1. If artificially (by artificial I mean government interfering in the free market) raising wages increases costs (which it will), how does that help?

2. Why not make the minimum wage $100/hr then?

Allowing wages to be controlled by the market is immoral, because it accepts the possibility, or likelihood, that the people in control of the money, and the corporations, and thus the jobs,

can use their power to exploit the working class to any every length they are able.

And they will, because as your book says, money is the root of all evil.

My book? You assume I'm a Christian? And why the ad hominem?

By all means a corporation should exploit "the working class" (nice term there--shows a lot). The MAIN goal of corporation is to make profit.

Now if we had educated and reasonable citizens, this system would go if without a hitch. The citizens (notice I didn't include "class"?) would control the market. A big bad evil money making corporation tries to exploit the citizens, and the corporation goes out of business. No one buys their shit. They get no money. Corporations are dependent on us--not the other way around, as you Marxist want the masses in classes to believe.

But no, we have continuous ideological subversion from the oligarchy that you worship to reign tighter controls on corporations, businesses, property individuals, etc. Your infusing this command economy into the "poor class", dividing people, instilling a belief that they can live without your government's good graces, invading their entire daily life's activities, and reaping more control so you can eventually have a whole world of classes of people who think what you want, eat what you tell them, work where you tell them, and give you more and more of their hard earned wages as you constantly remind them life without you would be horrible. Your like the white tank top wife beating trailer trash with cheap beer spittle on his shirt and the "classes" (masses) of sheeple are is your bitch that you smack around when you get drunk.

And you want to talk about exploiting people? Ha!

You say:

"By all means a corporation should exploit "the working class""

And what if the working class votes otherwise? What if democracy gets in the way of your corporatist oligarchical utopia?

Do you know that by 2 to 1 Americans support raising the minimum wage? If you believe so much in the sanctity of free markets,

how about the free market of the vote? How about the free market of the People deciding where the minimum wage should be?

How about those of you who are in a very small minority of opinion on the minimum wage show some respect for the opinion of an overwhelming majority?

Or must democracy cede its place at the table to the 'market'?

 

[Meathead]

Allowing wages to be controlled by the market is immoral, because it accepts the possibility, or likelihood, that the people in control of the money, and the corporations, and thus the jobs,

can use their power to exploit the working class to any every length they are able.

And they will, because as your book says, money is the root of all evil.

You obviously understand shit about economics. In an Obaman economy wages will sink for everyone, in a Reagan economy they rise for all.

The minimum wage was higher during the Reagan years than it is now, adjusted for inflation.

That was not a problem during the Reagan years. Do you understand? Few worked minimum wage so ask yourself why.

 

[RDD_1210]

You obviously understand shit about economics. In an Obaman economy wages will sink for everyone, in a Reagan economy they rise for all.

The minimum wage was higher during the Reagan years than it is now, adjusted for inflation.

That was not a problem during the Reagan years. Do you understand? Few worked minimum wage so ask yourself why.

Link?

Of course not.

 

[Meathead]

The minimum wage was higher during the Reagan years than it is now, adjusted for inflation.

That was not a problem during the Reagan years. Do you understand? Few worked minimum wage so ask yourself why.

Link?

Of course not.

Unemployment statistics, look it up yourself. We are not talking Einstein here.

 

[Pickle]

Allowing wages to be controlled by the market is immoral, because it accepts the possibility, or likelihood, that the people in control of the money, and the corporations, and thus the jobs,

can use their power to exploit the working class to any every length they are able.

And they will, because as your book says, money is the root of all evil.

My book? You assume I'm a Christian? And why the ad hominem?

By all means a corporation should exploit "the working class" (nice term there--shows a lot). The MAIN goal of corporation is to make profit.

Now if we had educated and reasonable citizens, this system would go if without a hitch. The citizens (notice I didn't include "class"?) would control the market. A big bad evil money making corporation tries to exploit the citizens, and the corporation goes out of business. No one buys their shit. They get no money. Corporations are dependent on us--not the other way around, as you Marxist want the masses in classes to believe.

But no, we have continuous ideological subversion from the oligarchy that you worship to reign tighter controls on corporations, businesses, property individuals, etc. Your infusing this command economy into the "poor class", dividing people, instilling a belief that they can live without your government's good graces, invading their entire daily life's activities, and reaping more control so you can eventually have a whole world of classes of people who think what you want, eat what you tell them, work where you tell them, and give you more and more of their hard earned wages as you constantly remind them life without you would be horrible. Your like the white tank top wife beating trailer trash with cheap beer spittle on his shirt and the "classes" (masses) of sheeple are is your bitch that you smack around when you get drunk.

And you want to talk about exploiting people? Ha!

You say:

"By all means a corporation should exploit "the working class""

And what if the working class votes otherwise? What if democracy gets in the way of your corporatist oligarchical utopia?

Do you know that by 2 to 1 Americans support raising the minimum wage? If you believe so much in the sanctity of free markets,

how about the free market of the vote? How about the free market of the People deciding where the minimum wage should be?

How about those of you who are in a very small minority of opinion on the minimum wage show some respect for the opinion of an overwhelming majority?

Or must democracy cede its place at the table to the 'market'?

I don't believe in the idea classes. It harkens back to feudalism and is echoed in the very fundamentals of Marxism. Both have been tried and are proven failures. In fact, communism has killed more people in the last 100 years than just about anything. It's vile and divisive, and the concept really serves no other purpose than to deceive people in an effort to gain control.

I also do not think America is a "democracy". Democracy has become a buzzword for neo-Marxists. Marxists in general are probably decent people with good intentions, but are too stubborn to realize it's a failed system. The path leads to destruction. But not this time, they say. This time we'll get it right!

Having cleared up those two terms, I'll attempt to address your point. As you can tell, I am by no means a credible economist. So don't be too harsh.

Oh crap, another term. Oligarchy. I believe THAT is exactly what you wish for. For with your continuous onslaught of regulation and more and more controls, you wish to put the majority of the nation's wealth into the hands of very powerful few (head of government--many positions being held by CEOs themselves). Your government and these large corporations you so despise will eventually (as if not already) be one. Then it can distribute the money as it sees fit to the classes. Oh, won't that be splendid! Let them eat cake!

But, to finally answer your question, if this dumbing-down, division, and creation of ever growing larger class of people dependent on your holy mercy, is convinced it needs to interfere with the free market (terrible dumb consumers) and uses the system of voting to get its way, then I suppose we'll be one step closer to your Marxist Utopia--and thus another failed attempt at that despicable form of government.

 

[rightwinger]

Most states' minimum wage is higher than federal one right now. And I know fast food places around where I live pay more than the state minimum wage. Not much more, granted. But more.

My point is COSTS have gone way up.

It's like with a home. If my wife and I are working and we aren't making enough to make ends meet at the end of the month, I look at ways to reduce costs (namely her shopping and my car and beer habit). I look at cost first.

And I think by artificially increasing some standard wage up to a "livable level", we aren't doing anything to control costs and they are going to get outta hand. Imagine an apartment, car, college, etc after those cost increases. Guess we'd just have to raise the minimum wage again?

Our minimum wage has not gone up because Republicans have fought against it for the last 13 years

Forget about a living wage, our minimum wage does not even provide a decent starting wage. A worker can't pay for college, can't buy a car. can't afford an apartment. Can't do the basic things a worker needs to do to get started in life

I get tired of hearing about the plight of small business. Over the last 13 years their rents have gone up, supplies have gone up, taxes have gone up....the wage they pay hasn't

Costs have gone up and they have gone up for their workers also. Education, gas, car costs, rents....have all gone up
Wages haven't

and taxes in blue states whose fault is that? When I kidin chicago I could buy 3 packs of smoke what I made an hour. Today you can not even buy one pack. But today you can buy 2 packs in South Carolina on Minimum wage.

And you didn't have to buy car insurance back then either

I had to buy car insurance. But you could afford to buy a car and insurance and gas and even take your girlfriend to the movies on what you made on minimum wage back then

I didn't do that though. I paid my way through college on minimum wage jobs

You can't do that today and conservatives gloat over how inept and useless minimum wage employees are

 

[NoTeaPartyPleez]

You obviously understand shit about economics. In an Obaman economy wages will sink for everyone, in a Reagan economy they rise for all.

The minimum wage was higher during the Reagan years than it is now, adjusted for inflation.

That was not a problem during the Reagan years. Do you understand? Few worked minimum wage so ask yourself why.

Man, your screen name fits you perfectly.