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the manufacturing jobs for the most part went to asia.
us is a service based economy.
the average us wage isn't even 15.00 an hour.
the majority of people, including the majority on this forum live paycheck to paycheck.
It happens. I bounced back, so why can't they?
Quote:
Originally Posted by aridon
People that are working should be paid fairly for the area they are in. While places like NY and LA should have higher minimum wages $15 /hr is high for other areas. The current minimum is too low, $15 everywhere is high but it should be raised and perhaps a COL modifier added so expensive states can benefit while lower cost states aren't impacted as much.
Regardless it hasn't changed in almost a decade and way overdue for a rise.
These people are working, they shouldn't be in poverty regardless of how much better you think you are because you have what you consider a better job.
1. If they can't afford where they live, they should leave.
2. A lot of people shoot themselves in the foot, multiple times, and expect everyone to pick up the slack after them. Naw.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suburban_Guy
While I feel bad for McDonald's workers with 4 kids and struggling to pay the bills, I think no one can disagree that the intent of these fat food jobs was more for younger people getting their start in the industry.
It has morphed into something else, but you can't blame these workers either. But it's not the fault of the corporations.
Why are McDonald's workers having 4+ kids when they couldn't even provide a stable life for the first one?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chowhound
I'll be at home during the day and I'll flip around the tube and I see add after add for some trade/tech school offering training on dozens of things such as x ray techs, dental assistants, welding, things along those line, most of these problems are less than two years, some advertise programs that after 9 months you can be done. These types of jobs all pay more than minimum wage.
I don't feel that sorry for people. I went to school at night while working a low end job during the day. I get that this stuff gets harder the older you get, but people need to look around at their situations and make some moves. Most of these programs all have some kind of loans/grants associated with them. We live in a time where if you wanna get ahead, yeah it can be rough, but with some work it can be done.
I suppose it's easier to just bring no skill set to an employer and demand more money. LOL, life just doesn't work that way folks.
Bolded for truth.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 8won6
I'm kind of shocked at the amount of people that are so against wages being properly adjusted to the current economy. This has kind of been a hot button topic with me and people I know on FB. I'm think minimum wage should be properly adjusted so that people actually have a living. What's funny is one of the main reasons I brought this up was that crime and poverty go hand in hand. And since I'm black I brought the argument that black on black crime would decrease if you pay people actual living wages and they don't resort to crime. Because everything ties together. Also, if more people have money to spend it just helps the economy. Money flowing is better for the economy than a few rich people just saving and collecting on their money's interest.
The main argument I'm seeing has more to do with "those people need to make better life decisions"...meaning a lot of people want to keep people below them just as a source of confidence. It's pretty sad. And I'm like " well $15/hour wouldn't just be fast food, it would be for all jobs that make less than that"...people still just harp on about fast food employees. Like people really just a-ho!es about this. They just want to keep people below them.
1. That's garbage. Majority of those folks could've taken themselves to the military and had guaranteed jobs. With no need to commit crimes.
2. The US dollar is a fiat currency. You can't just keep printing more and more money that isn't backed by anything. Then you get places like Zimbabwe.
3. You really think that's the reason people don't support raising minimum wage? Smh. It's not. It's because people a bunch of people have busted their asses to get where they currently are, but people want increased wages for positions that damn near anyone can do. In addition, y'all keep overlooking the fact that the more y'all raise minimum wage, the more prices will rise for everything across the board. Let's take McDonalds. Remember there used to be a Dollar Menu? It slowly turned into the "Value Menu"? Now if everyone in the country is making at least $15/hr, what's to stop them from making McDoubles $5? Or making Big Macs $8?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chowhound
True, again, I'm a middle of the road guy politically speaking, and I think unfortunately we need some level of welfare, it just needs to be managed, it's supposed to be a stopgap measure to help get people back on their feet, I don't think it was ever intended to be a lifestyle.
Totally agree.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 8won6
Not everybody is trying to be the CEO of a fortune 500 company. There may be a guy out there somewhere who is content being a garbage man. Maybe that's the amount of stress he capable of handling and he just doesn't want to deal with higher up responsibilities. (no, this is not me). This is one of those things that many people just haven't thought about. Not everybody is out here trying to be ultra competitive and thinking about constantly stepping on people to move up and achieve "status". A lot of people just want to make a truly livable wage at the level they currently are at work.
If anyone can do a job, you shouldn't get paid a lot. It's expendable.
I've done some stupid low-paying jobs. I've delivered phone books and loaded cargo at the airport. Both those positions had high turnover rates and it literally took maybe 48 hours before someone become somewhat decent at either one of those positions. I didn't like the pay but understood that virtually anyone could walk off the street and do my job...because I ultimately walked off the street and replaced people. Hence, my salary was going to be low.
My job now, my manager hasn't been able to fill slots for months because he can't find any qualified candidates that have applied. Now why would I expect my salary to be comparable to a cargo loader's? Better yet, why am I not out in the street protesting that I should receive a salary close to a neurosurgeon's? Because if I tried to do work on someone's brain, I would botch it and kill someone. If some random person walked off the street and tried to do my job, they would botch it and potentially get people killed. No one is gonna die if an order gets botched at McDonalds, or if the janitor missed a spot while mopping, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vacanegro
Most people in the US receive some type of subsidy. It so complicated now it is hard to tell who is benefiting
1. So Food Stamps and Welfare - poor people
2. Home owner interest deduction on taxes - home owners
3. 15% tax on LT capital gains - stock holders - mostly rich people
4. Medicare - Old folks - some of who incurr hundreds of thousands in medical expenses per year
5. Social Security - Old folks - yes they contributed but it is workers today paying the bill
6. Military Budget - Military contractors who of course hire all those former DOD decision makers and procurement personnel and employ Americans but at the expense of the tax payer.
7. LLC - Rich folks - legal framework allowing some rich folks to pay for their luxuries without spending their after tax monies.
etc., etc,
1. True.
2. A lot more people could own homes but refuse to leave where they are and would rather suffer.
3. Anyone could own stocks. I owned them and flipped them as a side hustle because loading cargo wasn't paying all the bills.
4. What happened to the Affordable Care Act though?
5. True.
6. What do you mean by military contractors? A ton of private companies have contracts with the government that you wouldn't even think of. Those "DoD decision makers" pay taxes, by the way.
7. I don't know very many people you and I would consider "rich", but I know a lot of people with LLCs. Same thing with the taxes; it's not hard for the average American to own an LLC. People complain about loopholes in the tax code, but a lot of the same loopholes are completely (and legally) available for everyday citizens to use. For an example, my coworker just got her LLC approved, and is now able to write off majority of her gas as a business expense. She could also purchase another phone if she wanted and write it off, purchase a computer and write it off, etc. There are ways to do it; most just aren't motivated enough to figure it out. It took me about 18 months before I made a really profitable stock market flip, and I could've just quit 100 times before that. It's funny what bill collectors can make you accomplish.
Protesters are still going strong for a minimum wage reset of $15.00 an hour.
Minimum wage was set, many years ago, to keep people/businesses from taking advantage of kids.
years ago, kids worked all the minimum wage jobs....
so, now you raise the minimum wage and what happens...
either the businesses will find a way to do away with the workers, or charge much higher prices...
the ramifications of this will be bad....this isn't a win/win
and the worst thing about this, is, it won't give many an incentive to work hard and do better by themselves, to take night courses, and go the extra mile....to educate themselves and get better jobs.
All a $15 minimum wage will do is further erode the middle class.
It will make your $1 McDonald's Cheeseburger $3. It will not increase wages for management in any respectable way.
The issue in our country is "skillable worker's wage" not the bottom of the barrel. I'm looking to pick up work for the local ambulance part-time fo $10/hour. The training costs $900 and requires skilled work. The wage has been stagnant for decades now.
There is your issue.
There are many more "unintended consequences" of raising the minimum wage.
Recently they were out in front of the McD's with their signs going on about their 'demand' for $15/hr. Interestingly enough, right down the road, my husband would hire anyone who was willing to do the hard work, show up on time, and not be a total bum $15/hr to start with no experience. The entrance criteria? You must be legal. Why haven't they been beating down his door? It's hard and I mean hard work. Commercial landscaping work. But pretty much as much overtime as they want and can get regular raises if they do a good job. He has a heck of time getting people to fill these jobs and so many that will do it for one day and then walk away. You want opportunity? You have to be willing to work for it. These people want a relatively easy job and want to be paid more than they are worth. Nah, I'll pass.
If the minimum wage were increased to $15 an hour, prices at fast food restaurants would rise by an estimated 4.3 percent, according to a new study. That would mean a McDonald's Big Mac, which currently goes for $3.99, would cost about 17 cents more, or $4.16.Aug 3, 2015
Have they accounted for the increased cost of other labor? If I'm making $15 now and the minimum goes to $15 if I don't get a raise I effectively have taken a pay cut.
Without looking at it I guarantee they did not account for that. If you raise the minimum then wages across the board necessarily rise. When it's all said and done that Big Mac is now $8.
Have they accounted for the increased cost of other labor? If I'm making $15 now and the minimum goes to $15 if I don't get a raise I effectively have taken a pay cut.
Without looking at it I guarantee they did not account for that. If you raise the minimum then wages across the board necessarily rise. When it's all said and done that Big Mac is now $8.
You mean the person who has worked there for 18 months won't like the fact that the brand new hire is making the same?
So, now, to help retain workers, that guy will be getting $16 per hour.
But the assistant night manager making $16 an hour will want $20 an hour. The night manager making $20 with be entitled to $25.
We have a new dine in/take out restaurant by me that is really nice and offers a pretty healthy selection of food. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was that they had about 5-6 touch screen computers facing the customer where you would traditionally place your order, and about 4 people in the back working to actually make the food. Nice big 24" monitors where you just tap a few images and navigate a menu, then swipe your credit card and you are done. The declining expense of technology, increasing aptitude of people to use touch screens and apps, plus the clamoring for high paying but low value jobs is a perfect storm for this type of labor being easily replaced.
For those that say forcing a $15 min wage is a good thing, I'll take you out for lunch to this place one day and you can literally see the error of your ways in front of your eyes while you enjoy a nice tasty, healthy lunch.
Believe it or not though a lot of people will not frequent a place where it does not have human beings taking their order. People don't need fast food and if they find they are not getting good service aka a computer screen they will go elsewhere that has employees to take their order. Millennials mostly like kiosks and anything related to computers, phones etc.. so they don't care. The 10s of millions of baby boomers and gen x-ers like me care more about human interaction when dining out over using a computer.
If no-one mentioned this: MD's is rolling out self-ordering machines.
Another thought: if business owners are forced to pay $15 an hour, you can imagine that hours will be cut to reduce the hit to store owners.
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