The Definition of a "Living Wage"

[Delta4Embassy]

Many of us talk about the economy, leftists talk about a "living wage," and righties (who deny the existence of such a thing) often talk about "wage stagnation." One often wonders how righties can talk about "wage stagnation" when they deny the existence of the concept "living wage."

Well, here's my definition, and it's best that we all have a non-partisan definition from which we can measure economic success for the common man (this definition is localized, meaning it is relative to location where one lives).

"Living Wage: A wage that allows a man to support a stay-at-home wife and two children by being able to pay rent, electric, heating, water, laundry, basic healthcare and three good meals a day in the place he currently resides."

Notice that the following are not present: Mortgage, car-gas, car insurance, premium health insurance...etc...because you have to work harder/improve your skills/education for these things.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now for my opinion:

With over 155 taxes on a loaf of bread, and steady inflation from the money printing presses, there's no doubt that most American males cannot procure the Living Wage that they should earn.

In my opinion, that rapacious taxation of the modern welfare state (money printing INFLATION is also considered a tax) has made the current wages that were OK in the past incapable of fulfilling the above definition today.

The answer is NOT to increase the minimum wage...because the minimum wage to 2014 was more than enough for a man to provide for his family 50 years ago. The answer is abolition of the welfare state, the repeal of the Regulation police and the REPUDIATION of Keynesian economic policy.

Think the definition is flawed. a worker working 40 hours a week should be able to support himself, but not himself, a spouse, and two kids. Want the extra people you need a career not a minimum wage job.

or find a second job. when I was young and struggling to make ends meet, I got a second job. Worked hard and learned both jobs and made myself more valuable to the employers until I got promotions and raises so that one job paid enough to cover expenses with some left over.

The government and the economy does not OWE anyone a "living wage" whatever the hell that is. What you earn is up to you, the liberal idea of whining until they get what someone else has earned is a sure way to destroy our society and our country.

Companies can pay more, they should pay more, but there's no right to earn more if you're working a job governed by a federal minimum wage. That means you're doing something trained animals could do.

I agree with you on minimum wage, its a non issue in the real world. its nothing but a dem/lib ploy to find more ways to divide the country.

employers pay for skills and experience and education. the more of those you have, the more pay you can demand.

no skills = low pay. always has been , always will be.

As with other perks promised to constiuents think it's more about buying votes in a legal way. Promise to raise the minimum wage and every minimum wage earner has a reason to vote for you. Is it right to raise it from what it is? Yes. Inflation and market adjustments prove that much. Is there some inherent right to better wages for doing crap work which borders on redundancy? No. Perfectly willing to go get my own plate of food if it spares me having to tip someone who did nothing more than walk it over to me.

 

[Redfish]

That's up to the company.

If the employees feel they are being slighted, they can become more valuable, or improve their skill set and move up, or fund another job.

If another company rewards them better, their current employer loses them.

.

That would be nice, but employees simply don't have any control over what their employer pays them. Any employee, no matter how smart, useful, educated or hard-working is totally at the mercy of the employer.

9 times out of 10, the employer is paid more than he's worth, and the employees are stuck with it.

Hence the need to raise the minimum wage.

1% of the workforce is making minimum wage. Most of them are teens working part time for pocket money. If the minimum wage is raised there will be fewer jobs for those teens, how does that help anyone?

 

[BluesLegend]

When it cost 200 dollars per month to feed yourself, 1,000 dollars for rent(if you don't own your own home) and another couple of hundred bucks for medical,etc. This is what it cost to live in this country now days.

I just feel that if you're going to put in a 40 hour work week, you fucking deserve 10 or 12 dollars per hour. That is ~1,600 per month! I am sorry, but in a world where the ceo, board, etc fleeces most of the profit for themselves. How is it right or moral to leave this power within the hands of people that could care less as they don't do one tenth of the actual work?

You think it is fair that someone breaks his back like in southeast asia?? While Apples board and ceo's take home tens of millions every year. Why not bring back slavery? What's the difference!

You fail at math, yank the left wing talking points IV from your arm. The combined salaries of every CEO in the country divided amongst the poor and middle class wouldn't even put a dent in the problem. Government IS the problem you fools.

 

[Redfish]

Many of us talk about the economy, leftists talk about a "living wage," and righties (who deny the existence of such a thing) often talk about "wage stagnation." One often wonders how righties can talk about "wage stagnation" when they deny the existence of the concept "living wage."

Well, here's my definition, and it's best that we all have a non-partisan definition from which we can measure economic success for the common man (this definition is localized, meaning it is relative to location where one lives).


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now for my opinion:

With over 155 taxes on a loaf of bread, and steady inflation from the money printing presses, there's no doubt that most American males cannot procure the Living Wage that they should earn.

In my opinion, that rapacious taxation of the modern welfare state (money printing INFLATION is also considered a tax) has made the current wages that were OK in the past incapable of fulfilling the above definition today.

The answer is NOT to increase the minimum wage...because the minimum wage to 2014 was more than enough for a man to provide for his family 50 years ago. The answer is abolition of the welfare state, the repeal of the Regulation police and the REPUDIATION of Keynesian economic policy.

Think the definition is flawed. a worker working 40 hours a week should be able to support himself, but not himself, a spouse, and two kids. Want the extra people you need a career not a minimum wage job.

or find a second job. when I was young and struggling to make ends meet, I got a second job. Worked hard and learned both jobs and made myself more valuable to the employers until I got promotions and raises so that one job paid enough to cover expenses with some left over.

The government and the economy does not OWE anyone a "living wage" whatever the hell that is. What you earn is up to you, the liberal idea of whining until they get what someone else has earned is a sure way to destroy our society and our country.

Companies can pay more, they should pay more, but there's no right to earn more if you're working a job governed by a federal minimum wage. That means you're doing something trained animals could do.

I agree with you on minimum wage, its a non issue in the real world. its nothing but a dem/lib ploy to find more ways to divide the country.

employers pay for skills and experience and education. the more of those you have, the more pay you can demand.

no skills = low pay. always has been , always will be.

As with other perks promised to constiuents think it's more about buying votes in a legal way. Promise to raise the minimum wage and every minimum wage earner has a reason to vote for you. Is it right to raise it from what it is? Yes. Inflation and market adjustments prove that much. Is there some inherent right to better wages for doing crap work which borders on redundancy? No. Perfectly willing to go get my own plate of food if it spares me having to tip someone who did nothing more than walk it over to me.

No fast food workers in NOLA are making minimum wage. Supply and demand has raised the pay for fast food workers. This is a non-issue that the dems think will buy them votes.

said another way-----------its bullshit.

 

[Amazon]

No fast food workers in NOLA are making minimum wage. Supply and demand has raised the pay for fast food workers. This is a non-issue that the dems think will buy them votes.

said another way-----------its bullshit.

WRONG

"Some fast food workers in the New Orleans area say they are planning to strike Thursday as part of a nationwide demonstration seeking a $15 per hour minimum wage"

New Orleans fast food workers plan to strike Thursday for 15 minimum wage NOLA.com

 

[Mac1958]

9 times out of 10, the employer is paid more than he's worth, and the employees are stuck with it.

Wow, that's quite a stat.

I'm sure you can prove it. Link?

You clearly have no idea what it takes to start, build and run a business.

And perhaps you can also illustrate how employees are forced to work somewhere.

That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever seen here, and that's saying something.

.

 

[hazlnut]

But, what is the cause of the debt?

Bush's Wars and Medicare expansions is half of it, Obama's welfare state is the other half.

Um... welfare has been cut under Obama.

You FAIL.

 

[kaz]

What if people raised their wages by working harder?

What if company owners rewarded their employees for their hard work?

We do. Otherwise we lose our good employees. You obviously have zero management experience, comrade. If you did you would know how competitive it is to hire and retain good employees. This idea we can hire anyone we want and pay them whatever we want is just Marxist rhetoric. Rhetoric being a euphemism for bull crap.

 

[kaz]

But, what is the cause of the debt?

Bush's Wars and Medicare expansions is half of it, Obama's welfare state is the other half.

Um... welfare has been cut under Obama.

You FAIL.

Cut? Wow. The kool-aid runs strong in this one. I'd like to see the link for that.

 

[RKMBrown]

My definition of living wage:
Compensation for products and/or services produced by a human, wherein the amount of compensation results in the ability of the human to subsist.

How much is that? Well that depends. Does he have cancer? Does he live on a farm? Does he live in a city? Does he weight 150 pounds or 300 pounds? Is he active or inactive? Does he live in a warm climate or cold climate? Is his job at home or a 30 min drive away? Does he share his shelter with other income earners?

Most young people could probably live on 5k a year or so if they were willing to go without some "modern" conveniences.

 

[Amazon]

1% of the workforce is making minimum wage. Most of them are teens working part time for pocket money. If the minimum wage is raised there will be fewer jobs for those teens, how does that help anyone?

WRONG

"Together, these 3.6 million workers with wages at or below the federal minimum made up 4.7 percent of all hourly paid workers."

Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers 2012

 

[Wry Catcher]

"to survive on" Gee, is that the new American Dream?

For someone making minimum wage, yes.

Do they have a right to more than they need to survive without working for it?

"The Right...if not working for it"? First, those who earn minimum wage are in fact working; next, those who earn only minimum wage may not be able to thrive and better their situation unless they rely on government aid.

Most minimum wage jobs require working on ones' feet. Expecting someone to improve their lot in life while working a minimum wage job by attending a Jr. College, or one of the many for profits, is next to impossible given the cost, the time required and likely transportation costs.

Callous conservatives (CC's) oppose welfare and government aid in all forms as well as raising the minimum wage. Many CC regulars on this forum refer to government aid as stealing from them and taking the food off their families table.

I suppose CC's have always existed, but in the recent past they were depicted as snidely whiplash; the other characters are now depicted as (Nell) a lazy no good leach and (Dudley Do-Right) as a government agent paid too much and employed to redistribute the wealth.

That the ethos in America changed is obvious; I suspect it all began when the Messiah told the masses, "it's your money", thus transforming greed from a deadly sin into a virtue.

 

[RKMBrown]

"to survive on" Gee, is that the new American Dream?

For someone making minimum wage, yes.

Do they have a right to more than they need to survive without working for it?

"The Right...if not working for it"? First, those who earn minimum wage are in fact working; next, those who earn only minimum wage may not be able to thrive and better their situation unless they rely on government aid.

Most minimum wage jobs require working on ones' feet. Expecting someone to improve their lot in life while working a minimum wage job by attending a Jr. College, or one of the many for profits, is next to impossible given the cost, the time required and likely transportation costs.

Callous conservatives (CC's) oppose welfare and government aid in all forms as well as raising the minimum wage. Many CC regulars on this forum refer to government aid as stealing from them and taking the food off their families table.

I suppose CC's have always existed, but in the recent past they were depicted as snidely whiplash, Nell as a lazy no good leach and Dudley Do-Right as a government agent paid too much who wants to redistribute the wealth. That the ethos in America changed is obvious, and I suspect it all began when the Messiah told the masses, "it's your money", transforming greed from a deadly sin into a virtue.

Many people working minimum wage are part time. They work minimum wage up to 30hrs, the cut off for welfare, then they go home.

 

[Amazon]

1% of the workforce is making minimum wage. Most of them are teens working part time for pocket money. If the minimum wage is raised there will be fewer jobs for those teens, how does that help anyone?

WRONG

"Together, these 3.6 million workers with wages at or below the federal minimum made up 4.7 percent of all hourly paid workers."

Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers 2012

 

[Amazon]

We do. Otherwise we lose our good employees. You obviously have zero management experience, comrade. If you did you would know how competitive it is to hire and retain good employees. This idea we can hire anyone we want and pay them whatever we want is just Marxist rhetoric. Rhetoric being a euphemism for bull crap.

WRONG

I worked 27 years in a single career, averaging 3 years per employer. I usually quit because they would not give me the raise I deserved.

How deserving was I? 7 of those 9 companies went out of business within a year of me quitting.

 

[paulitician]

Shitty wages are not a 'Good Thing.' Better compensated workers are better workers for the most part. In the end, it's a Win/Win for everyone.

Maybe if your handlers paid you more you would be better at this online propaganda work. As it is now, you are worthless.

Yeah, you need a visit to Church....

You need to stop spamming, engaging in hyperbole, and generally making an ignorant, socialist ass of yourself.

Find Jesus my friend. God bless.

Find a better gig, plant.

Seriously, a trip to Church will do you some real good. Jesus wants to speak to you. He wants to tell you that it's ok to stand up for Workers sometimes. And that you don't have to feel obligated to only defend Corporations all the time.

Helping those who are less fortunate is an incredibly gratifying experience. So pay the People a decent wage. We'll be a better Nation for it in the end.

 

[kaz]

We do. Otherwise we lose our good employees.

WRONG

I worked 27 years in a single career, averaging 3 years per employer. I usually quit because they would not give me the raise I deserved.

How deserving was I? 7 of those 9 companies went out of business within a year of me quitting.

You did that and you think employers can pay employees whatever they want? You're a L-I-A-R.

 

[Unkotare]

I usually quit because they would not give me the raise I deserved....

...................

 

[Unkotare]

Seriously, a trip to Church will do you some real good. ...

Seriously, you are trying too hard, plant. Go back to the DNC and tell them you've failed.

 

[Wry Catcher]

"to survive on" Gee, is that the new American Dream?

For someone making minimum wage, yes.

Do they have a right to more than they need to survive without working for it?

"The Right...if not working for it"? First, those who earn minimum wage are in fact working; next, those who earn only minimum wage may not be able to thrive and better their situation unless they rely on government aid.

Most minimum wage jobs require working on ones' feet. Expecting someone to improve their lot in life while working a minimum wage job by attending a Jr. College, or one of the many for profits, is next to impossible given the cost, the time required and likely transportation costs.

Callous conservatives (CC's) oppose welfare and government aid in all forms as well as raising the minimum wage. Many CC regulars on this forum refer to government aid as stealing from them and taking the food off their families table.

I suppose CC's have always existed, but in the recent past they were depicted as snidely whiplash, Nell as a lazy no good leach and Dudley Do-Right as a government agent paid too much who wants to redistribute the wealth. That the ethos in America changed is obvious, and I suspect it all began when the Messiah told the masses, "it's your money", transforming greed from a deadly sin into a virtue.

Many people working minimum wage are part time. They work minimum wage up to 30hrs, the cut off for welfare, then they go home.

I suspect some do, and some also work two or more MW jobs to survive. If an employer does hire and restrict hours to prevent providing healthcare insurance, he or she is the Snidley Wiplash referred to in my post above.

The employee unable to afford healthcare will need government aid. At least now this set of working poor can, in most states, be covered by the PPACA. Those in some states - each of which has a Republican governor - will rely on public hospitals, stressing local resources. Another example of how the CC's have been fooled by the power elite who benefited from the sickness of others before the passage of the PPACA.