Low-wage workers in Long Beach and San Jose turning to voters for pay raises (to live, money)

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by Senno

I think it's cause being a printer afforded a nice enough lifestyle to be able to fish when and a where he wanted. That's just me though.

*Swish* ... 3-pointer from outside the key.
Me and the Mutt go way back. We met in S.F. after respective tours in Vietnam. Comparing notes it turned out that we worked some of the same missions in different squadrons -- he was SAR chopper crew -- my squadron flew cover. Anyway, I'd get all worked up sometimes about something from that war crap and the Mutt would say, "Yeah" ... then he'd light a doobie and suck it in and say, "but it don't mean nothin' man." Mutt doesn't get too worked up too easy about much. But he loves to fish. So he just worked the trade he grew up around, printing -- and went fishing. He's a great example of coulda been a nuclear physicist but just didn't care to. I just explained because he won't likely bother.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by nullgeo

*Swish* ... 3-pointer from outside the key.
Me and the Mutt go way back. We met in S.F. after respective tours in Vietnam. Comparing notes it turned out that we worked some of the same missions in different squadrons -- he was SAR chopper crew -- my squadron flew cover. Anyway, I'd get all worked up sometimes about something from that war crap and the Mutt would say, "Yeah" ... then he'd light a doobie and suck it in and say, "but it don't mean nothin' man." Mutt doesn't get too worked up too easy about much. But he loves to fish. So he just worked the trade he grew up around, printing -- and went fishing. He's a great example of coulda been a nuclear physicist but just didn't care to. I just explained because he won't likely bother.

I kinda figured that I was just being me. I don't blame him for not wanting to explain all the time. Sometimes it just isn't worth the time. of course this after I responded to a post in the Seattle forum about an earthquake blowing a person apart Don't ask

[Senno]

Well, I done come up with a new poem for Veterans down in the Free Chatty Chat thread.

SAR isn't a job for the feint hearted I'm told.

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by Senno

Well, I done come up with a new poem for Veterans down in the Free Chatty Chat thread.

SAR isn't a job for the feint hearted I'm told.

How about that. And it doesn't pay much over minimum wage either. Better knuckleheads like the Mutt and me should try to BE something of worth in society ... you know, like maybe scientists or engineers that design the weapons ... just sayin' ...

[jw2]

Originally Posted by Leonard64

...
While the minimum wage hasn't kept up with inflation or productivity, that has minimal bearing on an "entry level" position. It was never meant to provide a "living wage", that requires learned skills. Productivity is the result of many things and not usually the work of minimum wage earners.

...

I agree. The productivity gains largely came from machinery designed, engineered, built, and programmed by higher salaried people.

Factory workers are a lot more productive today (meaning it requires far fewer to produce the same volume) because of these machines.

The minimum wage workers themselves did not become more productive on their own. A factory worker today cannot manually fasten bottle caps any faster today than was done 50 years ago.

[Leonard64]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

Were you picking crops?

Nope learning injection molding.

[jw2]

I imagine congress is far less productive today than they were 50 years ago even though their staffs and aggregate salaries are quite a bit higher. Let's say they are 1/2 as productive as they were in 1960 (I am being generous). I propose that each Senator/Representative has 1/2 the salary budget than they had in 1960. Seems fair.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by jw2

I imagine congress is far less productive today than they were 50 years ago even though their staffs and aggregate salaries are quite a bit higher. Let's say they are 1/2 as productive as they were in 1960 (I am being generous). I propose that each Senator/Representative has 1/2 the salary budget than they had in 1960. Seems fair.

Many are quite proud of being as unproductive as possible these days. Works for the well-off; others, not so much.

'Twould be nice if there wasn't so much blatant elitism in here. It's OK to live a modest lifestyle, no matter what media, culture, community, or other fountains of refuse try to ram down our throats. Just because we were born into a capitalist culture wholly consumed with money, stuff, and power doesn't mean we're slaves to being unwillingly absorbed into approving of or appropriating it.

[sjnative]

Everyone gets a raise for doing the same unskilled, high school dropout jobs they've been doing for too long. Why?

I don't know what people were thinking when they passed this law. I'm guessing they wanted to punish the greedy employers for exploiting the "good, honest" minimum wage workers. Well, it doesn't work that way.

Now we all get to pay more for the same services.

That's one more reason to spend one's money outside SJ's city limits and when one considers the cost of parking in DTSJ, it's one more reason to avoid that money pit in particular.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by sjnative

That's one more reason to spend one's money outside SJ's city limits and when one considers the cost of parking in DTSJ, it's one more reason to avoid that money pit in particular.

Like what, SF?