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the labor is only worth what supply and demand dictates. Supply and demand determines everything else so why should it be different in terms of lower end wages? Supply and demand means homes in Los Angeles are costing Half million dollars and above for a shoebox...so why not price fix that as well since people can't afford housing? If we are going to price fix something then we should do it for everything...
Gas is now $4+ a gallon and that is a basic need people cannot afford, so why not set the price to $1/gallon? Why is it ok that some things are dictated by the free market while people call and shout about price fixing the minimum wage?
Also a lot of people who went to college have invested much much more than those minimum wage workers and are saddled with ridiculous amount of student loan debt...so why not price fix their salary as well to some figure where they can afford to pay back the debt and get a return on their investment?
Why is this such a prevalent defense? It's like someone saying 'Aids was only meant for gay people'. If they're only for young people and not to be career jobs, then they need to hire adults in for management and corporate jobs only and once you hit 18 need to put you on the path into management. How about you see to that getting implemented, until then stop using that excuse. Oh, and btw, almost all store positions, sometimes even store manager positions barely pay enough to get by.
AIDS has always been heterosexual in Africa, where it originated. Just to set the record straight.
They're not career jobs. A lot of the adults working in fast food are HS dropouts. They're not looking for careers, they're looking for a way to supplement meager family income. And any teen who wants to go into management from the server positions eventually can. Franchise management used to be a valid option and valuable career stepping-stone for some people. I don't know about now.
Here is a list of 14 occupations that pay minimum wage anywhere in the country. A lot more of these minimum wage workers live out side the south in the big city areas, than live in the south. .
And remember the big state of California with the largest by far population, has the highest poverty rate in the nation where almost 1 in 4 people live in poverty due to a lot of people in the state working at low paying jobs or unable to find a job. And the nations capital (Washington D.C.) is right behind them in percent of the people living in poverty
It is not just the south that has low pay and lots of problems for a lot of people.
If you look at list of the top 10 cities where paychecks go the furthest and the 10 worst places, those traditional southern cities are not on the worst list, but places like Los Angeles California make the list.
I'm sure anyone with a brain and an ounce of ambition already has. Small towns and rural areas are not viable places to live today. The type of industries that once supported them are in decline to be non-existing.
I repped you on this because I completely agree.
However, I live in one of those rural areas, and the "catch-22" is that they are often very cheap to live in, as far as the cost of property and property taxes. The closer you get to the cities "where the jobs are", those costs tend to rise, not just somewhat, but dramatically. But you're right. The industries that once supported this area left over a decade ago, and now the competition for even minimum wage jobs locally is fierce.
Why should a fast food worker make the same as an entry level mental health counselor with a masters???
People do not value your preparation of that Big Mac so double your wages to professional level now?
This is what caused the 50% divorce rate putting a tag on unskilled labor
My bed making is worth a trillion
I want to comment on this one part of your post. This is the problem of today's economy, in a nutshell. The amount of your pay isn't tied to how much revenue you generate. It used to be that a good worker that generated a ton of revenue had bargaining power and could demand to be compensated with a certain reasonable percentage of the amount of revenue they produced. Now, things are different. Because the worker has no bargaining power, even the high producers are being paid a smaller and smaller percentage of the pie.
This puts the 'hamburger flippers' in an even worse position. Even if they work hard and move up, they have no realistic chance of earning an income sufficient to support a family. In other words, little to no hope.
Terrible, really.
That is correct. So a "burger flipper" has two choices:
1. Acquire some skills which command higher pay.
Or
2. Insist that they should be paid a living wage to flip burgers.
the labor is only worth what supply and demand dictates. Supply and demand determines everything else so why should it be different in terms of lower end wages? Supply and demand means homes in Los Angeles are costing Half million dollars and above for a shoebox...so why not price fix that as well since people can't afford housing? If we are going to price fix something then we should do it for everything...
Gas is now $4+ a gallon and that is a basic need people cannot afford, so why not set the price to $1/gallon? Why is it ok that some things are dictated by the free market while people call and shout about price fixing the minimum wage?
Also a lot of people who went to college have invested much much more than those minimum wage workers and are saddled with ridiculous amount of student loan debt...so why not price fix their salary as well to some figure where they can afford to pay back the debt and get a return on their investment?
So secure the border and stop letting people walk in and illegally add to the supply.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RogueMom
I repped you on this because I completely agree.
However, I live in one of those rural areas, and the "catch-22" is that they are often very cheap to live in, as far as the cost of property and property taxes. The closer you get to the cities "where the jobs are", those costs tend to rise, not just somewhat, but dramatically. But you're right. The industries that once supported this area left over a decade ago, and now the competition for even minimum wage jobs locally is fierce.
Yes, that's always been the way, however. "You can't have your cake and eat it too" applies, except for those that can make a good income working solely from home, and live in a low cost area. The reason housing is so expensive is that the jobs are there so people want to live there. A 30-50 mile commute used to be doable with cheap gas and uncrowded roads, so people lived in outlying areas for the peace and quiet. Now the 45 minute commute takes an hour-and-a-half and costs a fortune so people prefer to be closer and that drives up the prices. If someone is only qualified for fast food jobs, they should live in the lower cost of living areas, and let McD and the rest in the expensive areas close up for lack of help.
If someone is only qualified for fast food jobs, they should live in the lower cost of living areas, and let McD and the rest in the expensive areas close up for lack of help.
This is entirely true.
If your wages don't rise along with the increased cost of living, why would you live in an expensive area? In a rural area minimum wage will more than support an individual (my current expenses are close to "minimum wage" living in a very expensive area).
I work and live in a very expensive area because I get paid more to do so. I admit that cheaper housing in rural areas looks attractive, but it's not worth it for me due to the huge salary drop.
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