minimum wage when created was meant to be a living wage (speech, elect)
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I keep seeing the argument that minimum wage was never meant to be a living wage. So I researched it some. I've come to the decision that they are in fact wrong. In fact it was meant to be more then poverty wages....at a time when only one person was working in a family!
“No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country”
FDR
So I was worried...what if it was out of context? So I found what it was part of, heres a more complete qoute:
"In my Inaugural I laid down the simple proposition that nobody is going to starve in this country. It seems to me to be equally plain that no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By "business" I mean the whole of commerce as well as the whole of industry; by workers I mean all workers, the white collar class as well as the men in overalls; and by living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level-I mean the wages of decent living."
I keep seeing the argument that minimum wage was never meant to be a living wage. So I researched it some. I've come to the decision that they are in fact wrong. In fact it was meant to be more then poverty wages....at a time when only one person was working in a family!
“No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country”
FDR
So I was worried...what if it was out of context? So I found what it was part of, heres a more complete qoute:
"In my Inaugural I laid down the simple proposition that nobody is going to starve in this country. It seems to me to be equally plain that no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By "business" I mean the whole of commerce as well as the whole of industry; by workers I mean all workers, the white collar class as well as the men in overalls; and by living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level-I mean the wages of decent living."
$1.40 an hour, $1.65 an hour was never a living wage even back in the 60's or 70's.
That's what we teens made in our summer jobs, same as today.
1938, and it was $.25/hr (a tad over $4 today).
That would argue it wasnt that livable, but the statements made by people would also indicate the intent was that it be so, at the same time they were removing children from the workforce, and setting workweek hours.
I cannot wait till the dems get a "living wage" established. I really want to have all my needs taken care of from a job at mcdonalds, I could really go for a low stress job that does not require much in the way of critical thinking skills or talent.
OP, Why not tie minimum wage to FDR standards of living? Homes (median per the government) were several hundred sq feet smaller, with MORE occupants per home, outhouses were common, lack of electricity, lack of heat, and lack of any entertainment, as well as lack of personal transportation were the norm.
I cannot wait till the dems get a "living wage" established. I really want to have all my needs taken care of from a job at mcdonalds, I could really go for a low stress job that does not require much in the way of critical thinking skills or talent.
LOL.....I think that depends on your definition of "living wage"
Go for it, tell me how low stress mcdonalds is. I worked at burger king as a kid, it wasn't low stress at all. And a "living wage" is pretty sucky, if you want a living wage have fun! I think you'd find you miss your extras.
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