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Minimum wage, is it not just slavery, but with a different name?
I know that in many states of the US you have a minimum wage, we too in the UK have, but can you actually live on it, without going into debt or robbing a bank? ( by this I mean borrowing and not paying back ), but if you like, you can take it literally.
Now when you take tax off, take off parking fees, fuel, depreciation and maintenance of your vehicle, ( that you need to get to and from work ), new clothes for work, etc, etc, not much is left.
I worked this out just recently, that on a minimum wage job, doing 40 hours per week, the sum of money left after expenses was about £45.
So you may say, then take another job. Well there are not enough jobs to go around in the first place, so that is unlikely.
Now extra expenses, food, rent, ( no chance of a mortgage ), clothes for the children, medical and dental expenses, the list goes on and on.
Should employers that pretend to value their employees not have to show some kind of appreciation by paying a living wage?
Another thing we can thank the Government for, is importing foreign labour to force down the wages that could be demanded by the limited work force. Nothing like putting your security under jeopardy, to encourage you to work harder, is there?
So, Is this not just another kind of state engineered slavery?
Is Slavery Really Dead? I Don't Think So, How About You?
Last edited by BECLAZONE; 08-14-2010 at 06:05 AM..
In the US many live off government programs, and actually live to a decent standard. For example most of the "poor" have TVs, phones, air-conditioning, and all can get housing. So yes, you can live off minimum wage.
I'm not sure your point though. The idea of slavery is that you aren't allowed to leave. Are you suggesting that if you quit your job in the UK that you will be a fugitive?
So no, working for the minimum wage is not slavery, unless you are too stupid to realize that you are allowed to quit.
And employers should be allowed to pay whichever wage they want, the if the wage is too low, no one will work there and they will be forced to up the wage. If the wage is high they will get many qualified applicants and higher quality workers.
It always is funny to me how someone who has air conditioning, cable TV, and a cell phone for everyone in the house considers themselves poor, or is considered poor. 90% of the time they are in public housing (or became poor) because of horrible life decisions. (doing drugs, getting pregnant too young, dropping out of high school, etc) So I do not have a lot of sympathy for people like that. If you work smart you can still make it in this country, believe it!
On minimum wage, you are never in a financial position that you can just up sticks and leave, so theoretically you can’t leave. So slavery it is.
We have hundreds of people going for every job that is advertised, we also have positive discrimination, which unbalances things even more in favour of supposed minorities.
On minimum wage, you are never in a financial position that you can just up sticks and leave, so theoretically you can’t leave. So slavery it is.
We have hundreds of people going for every job that is advertised, we also have positive discrimination, which unbalances things even more in favour of supposed minorities.
It always is funny to me how someone who has air conditioning, cable TV, and a cell phone for everyone in the house considers themselves poor, or is considered poor. 90% of the time they are in public housing (or became poor) because of horrible life decisions. (doing drugs, getting pregnant too young, dropping out of high school, etc) So I do not have a lot of sympathy for people like that. If you work smart you can still make it in this country, believe it!
Well said! I have no pity for those who did stupid things and look to the government or society to bail them out.
On minimum wage, you are never in a financial position that you can just up sticks and leave, so theoretically you can’t leave. So slavery it is.
So are you suggesting the people working at Burger King have worked there their whole lives? Do you mean the suburban high school kid making part time money to buy the fancy new skateboard he's got his eye on?
If you mean the necessity to maintain the income stream from work then it's certainly not limited to minimum wage, studies have shown a huge portion of middle class and yes upper class are two paychecks away from not being able to pay the bills, so then by your logic the guy making 90k with a nice house two cars and lots of debt but no savings is also slavery.
Quote:
We should be able to survive on what we are paid.
I know man, most minimum wage workers I encounter live under bridges and sit idly with the sallow skin and bloated bellies of malnutrition as flies crawl over their faces. Shame they can't survive. This thread is such fail, a completely misguided and feeble attempt that is even worse than the silly comparisons of Chinese factory workers to slavery.
Is minimum wage slavery? - No.
Can one have a comfortable life on minimum wage? - No.
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