Raise the minimum wage

[Lakhota]

Millions of families being lifted above the poverty line is too much to take for the likes of Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio.

Obama's Call to Raise the Minimum Wage Met by Republican Howls and Disinformation

 

[Dreadnaught1968]

IN Australlia a reg CB costs 2.15 Aussie dollars.
Is McDonalds going broke in OZ?

McDonald's said sales in Europe, the company's biggest market, rose 5 percent despite economic turmoil and severe weather in many parts of the region. Sales in Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa rose 5.5 percent, led by China, Australia and Japan.

McDonald's reports higher 1Q profit - Yahoo! Finance

I believe the $2.15 is from about 5 years ago. McDonald's sales always rise when the economy is bad. Cheaper to eat out at McDonald's, so more people go there when times are bad.

My point wasn't that McDonald's is going broke, but they are passing the extra costs on to the consumer, therefore reducing the customer's buying power.

Raising the minimum wage makes the things you buy cost more. Whatever happened to the $2.99 Big Mac extra value meal? More like $6 to $7 for it, now.

 

[Oldstyle]

Minimum wage is not to be a living wage.. it is a STARTER wage... for the ones with zero experience, just beginning their working careers...

This is a simple concept that left wingers just cannot seem to understand

It's their plan to move people off welfare.<sarc>

Thats totally false. For many people it is a living wage. Thats the problem. It is a living wage for many people. There are lot people who are stuck at minimum wage jobs, and that is there living wage. That is why we need a higher minimum wage. Its hard for people to make it on 7.25 a hour.

Who is it that is "stuck" at any job in America, Most? I'm sorry but there are very few people out there who can't eventually get something better than a minimum wage job.

Does it mean that they will have to learn some new skills and show some initiative? Probably. Is there something wrong with that concept? Hard to understand why that would be the case.

 

[Political Junky]

Raising the standard of living benefits the country.

 

[Meathead]

Raising the standard of living benefits the country.

Raising the minimum wage would not raise the standard of living nor benefit the country, it would decrease buying power.

Minimum wage should be at a local level since cost of living is a variable. It should be at state or, better yet, county level.

 

[Noomi]

Minimum wage is not to be a living wage.. it is a STARTER wage... for the ones with zero experience, just beginning their working careers...

This is a simple concept that left wingers just cannot seem to understand

A person working full time on minimum wage should be expected to live on it. If you Americans can't get that through your heads, there is something wrong.

Hmm.. meant for students etc who are JUST STARTING... it should NOT be expected to pay solo rent, car payments, raise kids, etc... you ADVANCE to EARN what is needed to provide for such things.. if YOU or ANYONE ELSE is earning minimum wage at age 25 with 2 kids, 2 cars, a 3BR apartment or house, etc, YOU ARE FUCKING STUPID.... you are not OWED the payment for such things for the lowest level shit out there... ANYONE can flip a burger, sweep a floor, or ring a cash register.. but guess what... If you stay with a company, show potential and effort, show some loyalty, advance your skills, learn new skills, and initiative, etc YOU WILL GET RAISES MOST LIKELY BECAUSE OF THE VALUE YOU ADD ABOVE THE ENTRY LEVEL GOOBERS

Idiot

You have an unrealistic expectation of life.

 

[Meathead]

A person working full time on minimum wage should be expected to live on it. If you Americans can't get that through your heads, there is something wrong.

Hmm.. meant for students etc who are JUST STARTING... it should NOT be expected to pay solo rent, car payments, raise kids, etc... you ADVANCE to EARN what is needed to provide for such things.. if YOU or ANYONE ELSE is earning minimum wage at age 25 with 2 kids, 2 cars, a 3BR apartment or house, etc, YOU ARE FUCKING STUPID.... you are not OWED the payment for such things for the lowest level shit out there... ANYONE can flip a burger, sweep a floor, or ring a cash register.. but guess what... If you stay with a company, show potential and effort, show some loyalty, advance your skills, learn new skills, and initiative, etc YOU WILL GET RAISES MOST LIKELY BECAUSE OF THE VALUE YOU ADD ABOVE THE ENTRY LEVEL GOOBERS

Idiot

You have an unrealistic expectation of life.

He likely has higher expectations of people. I wish more people would do likewise instead of accepting mediocrity. The minimum wage is a manifestation of low expectations as your own. I doesn't stop there though. People instill mediocrity in their children and in doing so perpetuate ignorance and poverty. That is the reason for people making minimum wage, and a tragedy to boot.

 

[Noomi]

Hmm.. meant for students etc who are JUST STARTING... it should NOT be expected to pay solo rent, car payments, raise kids, etc... you ADVANCE to EARN what is needed to provide for such things.. if YOU or ANYONE ELSE is earning minimum wage at age 25 with 2 kids, 2 cars, a 3BR apartment or house, etc, YOU ARE FUCKING STUPID.... you are not OWED the payment for such things for the lowest level shit out there... ANYONE can flip a burger, sweep a floor, or ring a cash register.. but guess what... If you stay with a company, show potential and effort, show some loyalty, advance your skills, learn new skills, and initiative, etc YOU WILL GET RAISES MOST LIKELY BECAUSE OF THE VALUE YOU ADD ABOVE THE ENTRY LEVEL GOOBERS

Idiot

You have an unrealistic expectation of life.

He likely has higher expectations of people. I wish more people would do likewise instead of accepting mediocrity. The minimum wage is a manifestation of low expectations as your own. I doesn't stop there though. People instill mediocrity in their children and in doing so perpetuate ignorance and poverty. That is the reason for people making minimum wage, and a tragedy to boot.

There are many people who want to get somewhere in life, but sometimes, circumstances don't allow for that to happen. Its life, and people need to accept that.

 

[Meathead]

You have an unrealistic expectation of life.

He likely has higher expectations of people. I wish more people would do likewise instead of accepting mediocrity. The minimum wage is a manifestation of low expectations as your own. I doesn't stop there though. People instill mediocrity in their children and in doing so perpetuate ignorance and poverty. That is the reason for people making minimum wage, and a tragedy to boot.

There are many people who want to get somewhere in life, but sometimes, circumstances don't allow for that to happen. Its life, and people need to accept that.

While undoubtedly true in some cases, a poor excuse in most.

 

[bigrebnc1775]

Why don't we raise it to $20 an hour. Then we'll all be rich, right?

Why stop at 20.00? Why not go with 200.00
Every person has a right to high paying jobs even if they do not have the skills to do that job.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Are you an asshole by birth or by training?

What's the matter? Can not answer why we can not move the minimum wage mandate to 500 dollars an hour? Why can we not do that since this policy is without consequence?

You can't make a case against the 9 dollar an hour minimum wage so you want someone to argue over a 500 dollar an hour wage. That makes you an asshole, not that you weren't already.

The case against mandating any minimum wage has been made repeatedly. Libs just refuse to acknowledge the reality that one of their sacred cow issues is really an economic albatross.
TSAB is right, in for a dime, in for a dollar. If we insist on raising the minimum wage a measly couple of bucks, why not just shoot for the moon and demand $500/hr?

 

[gallantwarrior]

Whats the point of raising the minimum wage here in the States? Most the shit we buy is made by Chinese slaves making 5 cents a day.

The point is that Big Box retailers like Walmart pay minimum wage like $7.25/hr to their employees to peddle that Chinese crap to US buyers. The true cost of those employees is $12/hr & is paid for by US Tax Payers. US tax payers are forced to subsidize retailers who import from China & put US citizens out of work whether we choose to shop there or not.

Here's one BIG flaw in your proposal. While the taxpayer is subsidizing low-wage earners, if you push that cost off on to the employers, they would need to raise the cost of goods sold to consumers in order to offset that extra expense. I don't see where the government would be decreasing our taxes in any way in order to offset the increased prices we pay so that the employers, not government, subsidize low-wage earners. In essence, we get to pay twice for the same unskilled, snotty cashier.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Minimum wage is not to be a living wage.. it is a STARTER wage... for the ones with zero experience, just beginning their working careers...

This is a simple concept that left wingers just cannot seem to understand

A person working full time on minimum wage should be expected to live on it. If you Americans can't get that through your heads, there is something wrong.

A person working full-time for minimum wage needs to learn to budget and to forgo some things that they can't afford.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Why don't we raise it to $20 an hour. Then we'll all be rich, right?

Who is going to pay you $20 an hour to wash dishes? There are always going to be low wage jobs because GOD meant it to be that way so he would be right when he said the "poor will alway be with us." want to make GOD a liar? I am beginning to worry about my boy's sanity.

What makes anyone think that giving an adult $7.50 an hour is okay?

All you need to do is scrap the employer paying health insurance for their employees, pay them more, and let them buy their own insurance.
But it would seem that the employer in the US doesn't give a shit about their workers, all they seem to care about is getting in the cheapest workers so they can put an extra million in their already fat pockets.

(See bolded) This isn't a bad idea, let people take responsibility for their own needs. What you fail to understand is that the greatest majority of employers in this country are not multi-millionaire fat cats. Most are small businesspeople who struggle to make enough to cover costs and realize a modest profit. Why would anyone "give" a worker any specific amount unless that worker agreed to amount before accepting the job. If the worker doesn't like the pay, don't take the job. Easy enough. If enough workers refused to take low-paying jobs, then employers might be compelled to pay more.

 

[gallantwarrior]

It's their plan to move people off welfare.<sarc>

Thats totally false. For many people it is a living wage. Thats the problem. It is a living wage for many people. There are lot people who are stuck at minimum wage jobs, and that is there living wage. That is why we need a higher minimum wage. Its hard for people to make it on 7.25 a hour.

Conservatives think that there is a heap of high paying jobs just lying around, and there isn't. They think anyone can get the skills needed to get a high paying job, when not everyone can get those skills, and will never get those skills.

Cons seem to think people should be punished for being on a minimum wage job, like they are less than human.

Come over to Australia and see how good our minimum wage workers have it, and how happy everyone is.

More than happy to send our minimum wage workers to Australia so you can take good care of them...hell, I'd send you your very own (slightly abused) president.

 

[gallantwarrior]

Minimum wage is not to be a living wage.. it is a STARTER wage... for the ones with zero experience, just beginning their working careers...

This is a simple concept that left wingers just cannot seem to understand

A person working full time on minimum wage should be expected to live on it. If you Americans can't get that through your heads, there is something wrong.

Hmm.. meant for students etc who are JUST STARTING... it should NOT be expected to pay solo rent, car payments, raise kids, etc... you ADVANCE to EARN what is needed to provide for such things.. if YOU or ANYONE ELSE is earning minimum wage at age 25 with 2 kids, 2 cars, a 3BR apartment or house, etc, YOU ARE FUCKING STUPID.... you are not OWED the payment for such things for the lowest level shit out there... ANYONE can flip a burger, sweep a floor, or ring a cash register.. but guess what... If you stay with a company, show potential and effort, show some loyalty, advance your skills, learn new skills, and initiative, etc YOU WILL GET RAISES MOST LIKELY BECAUSE OF THE VALUE YOU ADD ABOVE THE ENTRY LEVEL GOOBERS

Idiot

There's always a chance that a nice, minimum wage, burger-flipper job in Australia pays enough to get your own place (instead of living in Mom's basement), or buy a nice ride sometime before you hit 30, or maybe grow up enough to marry and raise a family? Or maybe not.

 

[gallantwarrior]

I agree. We'll have the happiest start up workers and working teens in the world.

Who cares if the rest of us get fucked??

And we'll have a society full of fry cooks and drive through workers completely content to just get by. Which of course would drive down wages for fry cooks and drive through .....wait a minute.
I think I see a problem.

I'll just stop eating out if it gets too expensive

I already have. Well, except my two favorite places, but I eat at those places only about a quarter as often as I had been. Prices are out the roof and rising all the time.

 

[gallantwarrior]

It is a myth that raising minimum wages cause inflation.

A cherished myth, too, I note.

the minumum wage ought to be set by the CPI.

And the CPI ought to reflect the real cost of living, which let's face it, right now it does NOT.

for instance.,..does anyone here really think that the cost of living only went up 1.7% last year?

That's what our state economists want us to believe.

We know it's not a living wage. It's not intended to be a living wage.
These jobs are for high school kids and first time job seekers.
Just how much is enough? Should you be able to work the drive through and afford a car and rent and all the expenses that go with them?

yeah, the only problem with that is that there are many people in this country who ismply are not qualified for anything more than an entry level job.

So the choices are mandate a minimum wage that they can actually live on, or supplement their income with welfare so that they can live.

I guess there IS a third choice, but I doubt this country is going to just say "fuck them"

Not saying raising minimum wage is a panacea, but claiming it' just meant to be an entry level wage is crazy.

and that' not even considering that all other wages are based in relation to the minimum wage.

Amazing how motivated people might get if they're hungry enough. Why should they work to improve themselves when they know that Nana Govmint will pick up the slack. What is considered "poor" in this country is disgusting compared to what truly poor people have to deal with.

 

[gallantwarrior]

You have an unrealistic expectation of life.

He likely has higher expectations of people. I wish more people would do likewise instead of accepting mediocrity. The minimum wage is a manifestation of low expectations as your own. I doesn't stop there though. People instill mediocrity in their children and in doing so perpetuate ignorance and poverty. That is the reason for people making minimum wage, and a tragedy to boot.

There are many people who want to get somewhere in life, but sometimes, circumstances don't allow for that to happen. Its life, and people need to accept that.

Yes, people do need to accept that sometimes things don't go the way they want or expect them to. When that happens, people need to deal with it, not sit on their asses and cry about how badly life treats them and expect others to support them.

 

[editec]

It is a myth that raising minimum wages cause inflation.

A cherished myth, too, I note.

the minumum wage ought to be set by the CPI.

And the CPI ought to reflect the real cost of living, which let's face it, right now it does NOT.

for instance.,..does anyone here really think that the cost of living only went up 1.7% last year?

That's what our state economists want us to believe.

I'm curious, do you think there are any negative repercussions of raising the minimum wage? If not, why stop at CPI? Why not make everyone comfortably middle class?

Historically,. inflation more typically happened when the government was spending more, thus increasing the amount of dollars chasing goods.

But for the workers on the bottom of the heap, the inflation happened, LONG BEFORE they got any raises.

If you doubt that. (and I know you do) go check the inflation rates timed against the increases in minimum wage.

There is no corrlation between them.