Why People Make Minimum Wage

[EdwardBaiamonte]

No, that's just something Republicans say. It isn't real.

are you an idiot? participation is down, u6 is 12%, income is down 5%, and liberalism is up!!. Most of Obama's supporters have abandoned him without being economists because they know the economy is bad and America is in decline, and welfare is not.

Recently, Ron Haskins of the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, testified before the House Budget Committee on the growth of the 10-largest “means tested” federal programs that serve people who qualify by various definitions of poverty.


Here’s what Haskins reported: From 1980 to 2011, annual spending on these programs grew from $126 billion to $626 billion (all figures in inflation-adjusted “2011 dollars”); dividing this by the number of people below the government poverty line, spending went from $4,300 per poor person in 1980 to $13,000 in 2011. In 1962, spending per person in poverty was $516.


Haskins’s list includes Medicaid, food stamps (now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP), the earned-income tax credit (a wage subsidy for some low-income workers), and Pell Grants. There are other, smaller programs dedicated to the poor. A report from the Congressional Research Service estimated the total number at 83; Haskins puts the additional spending on programs below the 10 largest at about $210 billion. The total of all programs for the poor exceeds $800 billion.

To be sure, some spending reflects the effects of the Great Recession. But most doesn’t. As Haskins shows, spending on the poor has increased steadily for decades. Consider food stamps. There are now about 45 million Americans receiving an average of $287 a month in food stamps, up from 26 million in 2007, according to a new Congressional Budget Office report. But the number in 2007, when the economy was healthy, was roughly 50 percent higher than in 2001.

And programs for the poor pale beside middle-class transfers. The giants here are Social Security at $725 billion in 2011 and Medicare at $560 billion. Combine all this spending -- programs for the poor, Social Security and Medicare — and the total is nearly $2.1 trillion. That was about 60 percent of 2011 non-interest federal spending of $3.4 trillion.

 

[tuhaybey]

are you an idiot? participation is down, u6 is 12%, income is down 5%, and liberalism is up!!.

I already debunked the participation rate and you appear not to have any counter argument, so no point in rehashing that one.

U6 being at 12% isn't particularly high. That just sounds high to you because you're thinking of the actual unemployment rate, which is usually around 5% or 6%, as it is now and thinking 12% is higher than that... But U6 is always significantly higher than the unemployment rate by definition and 12% is pretty typical.

Now, the idea that we are currently under a liberal government is false. We are currently under a divided government and our GDP growth is right on the historical average for divided government:

GDP growth by party

If you want higher GDP growth, that chart makes it painfully clear how we can achieve that and you're doing exactly the opposite.

Most of Obama's supporters have abandoned him

You're just making things up. Actually, almost everybody who voted for Obama still approves of his performance. Including, mind you, pretty much all well educated people.

Recently, Ron Haskins of the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, testified before the House Budget Committee on the growth of the 10-largest “means tested” federal programs that serve people who qualify by various definitions of poverty.

A means tested program isn't the same thing as a program designed to ameliorate poverty. For example, the fee you pay for your driver's license is likely "means tested" because they have a process where you can avoid paying the fee if you can show that you can't afford it. That doesn't mean that the entire cost of issuing driver's licenses is poverty amelioration.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

U6 being at 12% isn't particularly high..

dear, thanks to Barry its 50% higher than before the recession! higher unemployment is a bad thing! Get it?!

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

I already debunked the participation rate.

too stupid! so declining participation is a good thing? and a declining nation is a good thing to a liberal

 

[tuhaybey]

dear, thanks to Barry its 50% higher than before the recession! higher unemployment is a bad thing! Get it?!

Yes, it is higher than it was before the Bush recession. Bush's recession was a bad thing. Yet you still vote for more of it. Get it?!

too stupid! so declining participation is a good thing? and a declining nation is a good thing to a liberal

Re-read my post about it and see if you have some kind of counter argument. If you don't, what are we talking about here?

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

Now, the idea that we are currently under a liberal government is false..

OMG!! 100% idiotic and liberal!! Are you stoned?? Obama had 3 communist parents, voted to left of Bernie Sanders, and introduced Obama commiecare!! Thats not liberal? From Bush to Obama spending went from 2- 4 trillion?? Imagine what it would be without Republican shut downs and Grover's pledge.

Is there anyone intelligent around you who can explain?

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

You're just making things up. Actually, almost everybody who voted for Obama still approves of his performance. Including, mind you, pretty much all well educated people.
.

dear, polls say Obama is about to get trounced in next election because of slowest recovery since great depression and total disaster foreign policy! What planet are you on.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

A means tested program isn't the same thing as a program designed to ameliorate poverty. .

dear, the point is more and more are living off welfare and fewer and fewer are contributing as liberal communists buy votes and subvert our democracy!!

"When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."
-Benjamin Franklin

do you get it now?

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

pretty much all well educated people.

.

dear, if they were educated in any meaningful sense why would they support a lib commie like Obama after seeing how low the soviet standard of living was?

 

[tuhaybey]

OMG!! 100% idiotic and liberal!! Are you stoned?? Obama had 3 communist parents, voted to left of Bernie Sanders, and introduced Obama commiecare!! Thats not liberal? From Bush to Obama spending went from 2- 4 trillion?? Imagine what it would be without Republican shut downs and Grover's pledge.

Is there anyone intelligent around you who can explain?

You understand the difference between "the government" and "the president," right?

Look man, this isn't a productive discussion. You're not trying to understand anything, you're just raging and blurting out half formed slogans. Slow down, take a minute to process what I'm telling you, mull it over, then come back if you have some thoughts on the topic.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

[
You understand the difference between "the government" and "the president," right?

dear, you are not intelligent enough to be here are you?. You said our govt was not liberal. I explained that Obama is our president, he's a libcommie, and he passed Obama commie care, obviously, with the help of the other 2 liberal branches of the liberal "government".

Do you see now what we are 100% positive that a liberal will be slow? Do you understand?

 

[Conservative65]

LOL.

I made minimum wage for a total of 6 months. $4.25 an hour.
After 6 months, he bumped me up to $4.75 an hour, and eventually $6.00 an hour. All of this before I turned 19 years old.

He realized I was a good worker, and bumped me up to make sure I didn't leave for something else.

but the minimum wage is not a living wage. We should have passed a law 200 years ago to the effect that the minimum wage has to always be a living wage and further that the evil corporations must hire enough people to eliminate unemployment! The free market does not work as far as brain dead liberals know!!

Thats BS. I have been described as liberal and I think the free market works fine. What irks me are the capitalists that whine about paying taxes to support welfare programs. Makes me think they are dumb and being led around by the nose by the conservatives. Everyone knows that businesses get tax write offs.

It's the those not wanting to support welfare programs that are whining, it's the bleeding hearts that claim they are compassionate yet look to someone else to foot the bill for such programs. If those who claimed compassion would simply reach into their own pockets when they see a need, the rest of us wouldn't be forced to fund what they support.

 

[Conservative65]

What irks me are the capitalists that whine about paying taxes to support welfare programs.

dear why does it irk the liberal given how deadly welfare programs are?

Because its deadlier to not eat and have a place to live when you dont have a job. In case you havent been keeping up on current events there are more people than jobs. Of course you can lower the minimum working age and add some more people to that count.

That's why people should have skills worthy of putting them on a higher level than the other guy. When someone has skills just one step above what a monkey could be trained to do, they shouldn't be shocked if someone with higher skills gets hired before them.

 

[Asclepias]

LOL.

I made minimum wage for a total of 6 months. $4.25 an hour.
After 6 months, he bumped me up to $4.75 an hour, and eventually $6.00 an hour. All of this before I turned 19 years old.

He realized I was a good worker, and bumped me up to make sure I didn't leave for something else.

but the minimum wage is not a living wage. We should have passed a law 200 years ago to the effect that the minimum wage has to always be a living wage and further that the evil corporations must hire enough people to eliminate unemployment! The free market does not work as far as brain dead liberals know!!

Thats BS. I have been described as liberal and I think the free market works fine. What irks me are the capitalists that whine about paying taxes to support welfare programs. Makes me think they are dumb and being led around by the nose by the conservatives. Everyone knows that businesses get tax write offs.

It's the those not wanting to support welfare programs that are whining, it's the bleeding hearts that claim they are compassionate yet look to someone else to foot the bill for such programs. If those who claimed compassion would simply reach into their own pockets when they see a need, the rest of us wouldn't be forced to fund what they support.

That doesnt ring as being very well thought out. Bleeding hearts pay taxes as well which go to fund welfare. How is that cost being moved to someone else?

 

[Conservative65]

LOL.

I made minimum wage for a total of 6 months. $4.25 an hour.
After 6 months, he bumped me up to $4.75 an hour, and eventually $6.00 an hour. All of this before I turned 19 years old.

He realized I was a good worker, and bumped me up to make sure I didn't leave for something else.

It must feel good, knowing you worked for slave wages.

dear, slaves got no wages and were not free to quit! Slow?

They got room and board, which is more than you could afford on minimum wage.

Sounds to me that if the only skills someone has earns them minimum wage, the problem is with the earner not the payer.

 

[Asclepias]

What irks me are the capitalists that whine about paying taxes to support welfare programs.

dear why does it irk the liberal given how deadly welfare programs are?

Because its deadlier to not eat and have a place to live when you dont have a job. In case you havent been keeping up on current events there are more people than jobs. Of course you can lower the minimum working age and add some more people to that count.

That's why people should have skills worthy of putting them on a higher level than the other guy. When someone has skills just one step above what a monkey could be trained to do, they shouldn't be shocked if someone with higher skills gets hired before them.

Yes they should. However the public school system doesnt do that so where do they get these skills? You can say someone should all day long but the end result is a very real need for food and shelter. If there were no welfare and people had to live in the streets, steal, and kill to get food then people would have a problem with that as well. Welfare is the lesser of the 2 evils until someone comes up with a better plan.

 

[Conservative65]

LOL.

I made minimum wage for a total of 6 months. $4.25 an hour.
After 6 months, he bumped me up to $4.75 an hour, and eventually $6.00 an hour. All of this before I turned 19 years old.

He realized I was a good worker, and bumped me up to make sure I didn't leave for something else.

but the minimum wage is not a living wage. We should have passed a law 200 years ago to the effect that the minimum wage has to always be a living wage and further that the evil corporations must hire enough people to eliminate unemployment! The free market does not work as far as brain dead liberals know!!

Thats BS. I have been described as liberal and I think the free market works fine. What irks me are the capitalists that whine about paying taxes to support welfare programs. Makes me think they are dumb and being led around by the nose by the conservatives. Everyone knows that businesses get tax write offs.

It's the those not wanting to support welfare programs that are whining, it's the bleeding hearts that claim they are compassionate yet look to someone else to foot the bill for such programs. If those who claimed compassion would simply reach into their own pockets when they see a need, the rest of us wouldn't be forced to fund what they support.

That doesnt ring as being very well thought out. Bleeding hearts pay taxes as well which go to fund welfare. How is that cost being moved to someone else?

It's moved to someone else when the rest of us have to do what you support. If those bleeding hearts were as compassionate as they claimed, the rest of us wouldn't be forced to do what they support. Also, if they were as compassionate as they claimed, they wouldn't have to be told to pay taxes for such things. They would write a check without being told in order to solve the problems they want the rest of us to pay taxes to fund.

 

[tuhaybey]

with the help of the other 2 liberal branches of the liberal "government".

The other two branches aren't liberal lol. The legislature includes the unusually conservative Republican House and the judicial branch is majority conservative as well.

 

[Conservative65]

What irks me are the capitalists that whine about paying taxes to support welfare programs.

dear why does it irk the liberal given how deadly welfare programs are?

Because its deadlier to not eat and have a place to live when you dont have a job. In case you havent been keeping up on current events there are more people than jobs. Of course you can lower the minimum working age and add some more people to that count.

That's why people should have skills worthy of putting them on a higher level than the other guy. When someone has skills just one step above what a monkey could be trained to do, they shouldn't be shocked if someone with higher skills gets hired before them.

Yes they should. However the public school system doesnt do that so where do they get these skills? You can say someone should all day long but the end result is a very real need for food and shelter. If there were no welfare and people had to live in the streets, steal, and kill to get food then people would have a problem with that as well. Welfare is the lesser of the 2 evils until someone comes up with a better plan.

I have a better plan. YOU reach into YOUR pocket when YOU see a need. Unlike you being willing to accept a lesser evil, which by the way is still an evil, my plan involves no evil. It allows people like you to PROVE you care not just run your big mouths about it. Whether you realize it or not, good intention like you have do nothing.

 

[Asclepias]

LOL.

I made minimum wage for a total of 6 months. $4.25 an hour.
After 6 months, he bumped me up to $4.75 an hour, and eventually $6.00 an hour. All of this before I turned 19 years old.

He realized I was a good worker, and bumped me up to make sure I didn't leave for something else.

but the minimum wage is not a living wage. We should have passed a law 200 years ago to the effect that the minimum wage has to always be a living wage and further that the evil corporations must hire enough people to eliminate unemployment! The free market does not work as far as brain dead liberals know!!

Thats BS. I have been described as liberal and I think the free market works fine. What irks me are the capitalists that whine about paying taxes to support welfare programs. Makes me think they are dumb and being led around by the nose by the conservatives. Everyone knows that businesses get tax write offs.

It's the those not wanting to support welfare programs that are whining, it's the bleeding hearts that claim they are compassionate yet look to someone else to foot the bill for such programs. If those who claimed compassion would simply reach into their own pockets when they see a need, the rest of us wouldn't be forced to fund what they support.

That doesnt ring as being very well thought out. Bleeding hearts pay taxes as well which go to fund welfare. How is that cost being moved to someone else?

It's moved to someone else when the rest of us have to do what you support. If those bleeding hearts were as compassionate as they claimed, the rest of us wouldn't be forced to do what they support. Also, if they were as compassionate as they claimed, they wouldn't have to be told to pay taxes for such things. They would write a check without being told in order to solve the problems they want the rest of us to pay taxes to fund.

You are forgetting its not the responsibility of the bleeding hearts to foot the entire bill. As a citizen of this country you pay taxes for the public good. you don't get to pick and choose which ones your pennies go towards. If you want to shirk you responsibilities just admit that but dont claim only people that support taking care of others should foot the bill.