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Just because it is traditional "women's" work does not mean it is low skill. That is just nonsense. Female-dominated jobs are poorly paid not because they are "low skill" but because of the notion that women are being financially supported by husbands, which in turn means they don't "need" to be paid more. This is the belief behind the concept of the "family wage" pushed by labor unions after WWII. Men were considered the primary breadwinners and supposedly "needed" the extra money more than women. It underlies much of the sexism in the labor force in terms of pay within occupations and the devaluing of jobs women have traditionally done.
This attitude is the real reason why women fare so poorly in all occupations and in retirement. It has nothing to do with the mythical idea they take "easy" jobs or they leave the labor force to raise families. Few women can even AFFORD to do that now.
It depends on how much you raise it. Inflation-adjusted, the minimum wage was $10.25 in 1968. The world didn't end. If you push it to $25.00/hour, it would drive businesses to invest in automation rather than pay the high labor costs. You would make 30% of the population unemployable. There is a middle ground. In a high cost area, it might be $15.00/hour. In a low cost area, it might be more like that $10.25.
I employ lots of people. I don't pay anybody less than $20.00 per hour. Anybody who isn't worth that isn't worth my time supervising and micromanaging them.
It is a lie that the minimum wage costs jobs. It is an old right-wing lie.
People in low wage countries have a cheaper cost of living generally. That is not the case here.
Jobs are created through demand, not through supply. You cannot automate beyond a certain degree because if you do, there is nobody to buy your products. Robots do not consume. In any case, the "automation" meme for trying to explain job loss is a lot of neoliberal b.s. deflecting from the fact politicians, in bed with financial elites, are largely responsible for the mess.
But, the beauty of these companies is they negotiate a lower payment for you. That $20k CC debt could end up being $10k. For me, Genus contacted Discover and got them to agree to get rid of all overdraft fees, late payment charges, every fee imaginable! Discover even let me pay my thousands $$ of debt off without interest. No interest! I'm a loyal Discovercard member ever since.
To the OP...
If the CC is lowering your balance I believe the CC company has to issue a 1099C for the portion of the debt that's forgiven. That amount is taxable. (so if they knock off $10,000 you'll have to pay income tax on that amount)
It is a lie that the minimum wage costs jobs. It is an old right-wing lie.
People in low wage countries have a cheaper cost of living generally. That is not the case here.
Jobs are created through demand, not through supply. You cannot automate beyond a certain degree because if you do, there is nobody to buy your products. Robots do not consume. In any case, the "automation" meme for trying to explain job loss is a lot of neoliberal b.s. deflecting from the fact politicians, in bed with financial elites, are largely responsible for the mess.
This has nothing to do with "right wing" politics. It comes from respected economists. You cannot assign an arbitrary amount and say this is what the minimum wage should be. The only people who do that are politicians, and they're pandering to the electorate with an eye on the next election. Right now there are studies showing how those localities that have raised the minimum wage are now losing jobs. You can cherry pick the one or two locations this isn't happening, but that's because of other factors. But as cities continue the march to $15 an hour, most will be losing jobs. It's already happening. If you want to know the real story behind the minimum wage read up on Sidney Webb, a Fabian progressive or Henry Rogers Seager, a progressive economist. That's the real story about the minimum wage. Making it about supporting a family is just a way of making a turd taste good by covering it with chocolate.
Just because it is traditional "women's" work does not mean it is low skill. That is just nonsense. Female-dominated jobs are poorly paid not because they are "low skill" but because of the notion that women are being financially supported by husbands, which in turn means they don't "need" to be paid more. This is the belief behind the concept of the "family wage" pushed by labor unions after WWII. Men were considered the primary breadwinners and supposedly "needed" the extra money more than women. It underlies much of the sexism in the labor force in terms of pay within occupations and the devaluing of jobs women have traditionally done.
This attitude is the real reason why women fare so poorly in all occupations and in retirement. It has nothing to do with the mythical idea they take "easy" jobs or they leave the labor force to raise families. Few women can even AFFORD to do that now.
To the OP...
If the CC is lowering your balance I believe the CC company has to issue a 1099C for the portion of the debt that's forgiven. That amount is taxable. (so if they knock off $10,000 you'll have to pay income tax on that amount)
You know, you might be right. No one ever brought that up with me. Genus also didn't mention that by signing up with them, I wouldn't be able to get a new credit card. One of their counselors told me a few years after I was in. I didn't need a new card anyway...
Well, I decided to look up the tax info and it looks like forgiven debt is not taxed if it's mortgage debt, if the debt is from a BK or if you are insolvent (when the total forgiven debt is more than your assets). Even then, only the first $20k of forgiven debt is insolvent, so that's untaxable.
I got in trouble with the IRS back then too, but paid that off. Boy, I was a mess, wasn't I?
I'll ask my tax guy when I see him, but even if I had to pay taxes on that debt today, I wouldn't know how to figure out the amount I paid off.
Thanks for bringing that up. I'll definitely bring that up when I share the info with friends and next time I talk with DebtWave.
Just getting interest rates lowered and charges waived, though, can still make it worthwhile to go through Credit Counseling.
NYgal2NC, are you a credit union member? You might be able to get a bill consolidation loan from them to pay off the CC debt at a much lower interest rate for reasonable period. You should talk to one of the officers at a local CU to find out about this.
My credit union has specific programs for members looking to pay off debt and rebuild their credit.
Just getting interest rates lowered and charges waived, though, can still make it worthwhile to go through Credit Counseling.
NYgal2NC, are you a credit union member? You might be able to get a bill consolidation loan from them to pay off the CC debt at a much lower interest rate for reasonable period. You should talk to one of the officers at a local CU to find out about this.
My credit union has specific programs for members looking to pay off debt and rebuild their credit.
I have talked to my credit union people a few times regarding this credit card (their cards) debt and asked about a consolidated loan. Each time I was told no. "They" would not do it. I am not sure why that is, maybe I should check out another credit union and see what they can do. I did try a few banks here to see if I could get a loan, but was turned down, again.
Sometimes I feel OK, resigned, know I will have to deal with this for a long time.
Other times, I really get upset about it..... I know the debt is my fault, and my problem, and I am responsible to pay it. But there are days when I feel choked and hopeless.
I saw another poster reference DebtWave...... I'll google that to see what it has to offer.
The credit counseling available here would charge me $50 per month. To me, that doesn't make much sense when I'm trying to get out of debt.
Making it about supporting a family is just a way of making a turd taste good by covering it with chocolate.
"The purpose of the minimum wage was to stabilize the post-depression economy and protect the workers in the labor force. The minimum wage was designed to create a minimum standard of living to protect the health and well-being of employees."
Minimum Wage - Legal Information Institute - Cornell University
"The purpose of the minimum wage was to stabilize the post-depression economy and protect the workers in the labor force. The minimum wage was designed to create a minimum standard of living to protect the health and well-being of employees."
Minimum Wage - Legal Information Institute - Cornell University
That's how the progressives of the day eventually packaged it.
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