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True rural areas would not have a Mickey D's Or Walmart I lived in small town PA and generally people commuted a couple of hours into the city for work everyday. You get the high wages of the big city but the low cost of living and more living space of a smaller town. Money goes further and you can save more for retirement. The downside was the mega-commute. I would never do it myself.
you cant call those out of way places towns either... a few houses here and there, not a town
I think I am worth 10 an hour, maybe 11. I think what I do is worth more. A lot have you go in and.negotiated a salary, so workers CAN sometimes decide what they are worth.
Like I said you seem like a fine person but you seem removed from reality. So are alot.of people in huge offices. :P Me,.I just want to pay my bills.
THIS is an interesting debate - Right now the economy is bad (at worst) to mediocre (at best) and wages for the low and middle class (defined by income) have stagnated. This makes it especially hard for persons in low wage jobs to make a living - again especially in high COL markets like LA, NY, SF, etc. Our Government has never chosen to make minimum wage represent a minimum standard of living - rather I would say it has been set to avoid the possibility that employers take advantage of their workers by paying them disproportionately low (exploitive) wages - this happens all the time in the undeveloped world (including Mexico) and in some parts of the developed world, while folks like Europe, Australia, and some others focus on a Living Wage (you can make $20 +/hr in AUS doing very menial work).
The whole Higher Wages vs Educating/Bettering yourself argument misses the point - the real answers for everyone should lie in what do we do to stimulate (jobs) growth of the US Economy. Should the US raise the minimum wage ?? Maybe yes, but doing it in a knee-jerk response to political pressures in a city like LA could cause many unintended consequences and not help the very people it is intended to help. One thing for sure is that simply raising the minimum wage is not a panacea for poverty as it can lead to reduced employment, higher prices, black market economic growth and other negatives. Doing it right means putting measures in place to ensure jobs/companies/industries/whole sectors - employ in the US. WE Americans have traditionally frowned on such measures as interfering with the operation of the free market (i.e our listed companies) even as some move huge numbers of jobs overseas. Note there is not a single country in the entire world that does not protect their national jobs/industries and most do far more than the US Federal Government.
As wages continue stagnate and the top 1% own more and more of the US GDP this debate will continue to evoke strong reactions. Personally, I think it would be very difficult to be starting a career in today's economy (note that it was also pretty bad for me in Regan's 1980s).
If the wages increased as they were meant to, the minimum wage would already be above $16 an hour. This is why the middle class is disappearing and there are more people in poverty even though they're working.
Companies have been taking advantage of workers since the 1970's. COL goes up, rents go up, you hear companies whine about it all the time. Their cost of doing business increases and we're all supposed to compensate instead of them just going out of business like they should. Workers wages are NOT going up. But get this, productivity has INCREASED. So companies are getting more work and having to pay less.
Exactly.
It amazes me how many corporate toadies and sell-outs love spouting off nonsense about how everyone under them on the socio-economic ladder "deserves nothing" - they, of course, deserve everything they've "earned" because they are entirely "self made" and very special snowflakes that work hard while everyone else is slacking. The delusions and Just World Fallacy mix together to produce a unique blend of know-it-all ignorance and hatred for those without power that is truly unique to America.
Meanwhile, even as half the nation honestly hopes the other half ends up dying in poverty or being replaced by machines, technology marches on with the end-game goal of replacing as much of humanity as possible with machines. Productivity keeps climbing, yet real wages keep falling. The game continues, but as long as a frightening percentage of idiots think the tidal wave of poverty and joblessness will stop just short of their position - sweeping away only the "undesirables" beneath them - nothing will improve.
In production where I work you don't need a degree, don't even need a HS diploma/GED, a few things you DO need though, be reasonably mechanically inclined, know the equipment or are willing to learn(YES, we will teach you), don't do drugs(at least until you pass your physical half way through your probation period), don't take time off or be late during your 90 day probation period ... we have about a 50% failure rate(the drug screen gets most of them) .... we have about seven new employees now, my guess is half will not be around by the end of summer.
The pay is well within the Middle Class Income rate for the local COL.
That's incredibly mean. Some of us don't have better job opportunities. You make due with what you have. I don't have car access to get another job. Not making excuses. Its just reality. Reality is that I have people and kids in the house to feed and clothe. What I make isn't enough and I work like crazy. I am not asking the government to take care of us. I am an honest worker. Not asking for fifteen dollars an hour either. Just eleven or twelve.
Why are you supporting all those people ? Where is the children's other parent? The other adults can't work?
Why are you supporting all those people ? Where is the childrens other parent? The other adults can't work?
Its just me and my mom as the adults though. She cant hold down a job on account of her drinking and drug use. No dads the picture. Then my sister is pregnant and is moving in. No dad . for her baby either and no help with money. And she has drug issues too. So its me my mom all my little brothers and sister, then my other sister and her baby.
I have taken care of them for a while. I didnt choose this life just kinda happened to me. They are my family and I worry about them. Plus if I didnt my mom would drink herself to death and my siblings would be hungry and dirty. I have to make sure everyone is okay. I have a job, which is a blessing but its tough. I barely eat anything. I have more people to support, therefore I need more money to do that. Many people are in my same sinking boat.
According to people on here I am lazy and uneducated and don't want to better myself. But thats not true. But bettering myself to make myself more hireable costs money and time I dont have.
I don't work as an employment manager, but I have hired a few people over the years. If you think you deserve a higher wage, before you go asking for it, sit down and ask yourself a few questions:
1. What skills do I have to make the higher pay reasonable?
2. How much money does my presence at the firm generate? Could they get that same bump if they hired somebody else?
3. Are there any discipline or performance issues about me already on record? If so, what can I do to expunge them?
I have read about your issues with multiple mouths to feed etc. and while I sympathize, those are not at all the kind of things I could use to award a promotion or raise.
In fact they raise some red flags to me about how likely you are to come to work every time scheduled. I worked with a person (making way more than $15 per hour BTW) who had four kids. She did excellent work, but she probably averaged two to three days attendance in a five day week. She was terminated and was replaced by literally no one; she had proven that her job was not essential, simply be not showing up.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,585 posts, read 81,206,701 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skip OK
I don't work as an employment manager, but I have hired a few people over the years. If you think you deserve a higher wage, before you go asking for it, sit down and ask yourself a few questions:
1. What skills do I have to make the higher pay reasonable?
2. How much money does my presence at the firm generate? Could they get that same bump if they hired somebody else?
3. Are there any discipline or performance issues about me already on record? If so, what can I do to expunge them?
I have read about your issues with multiple mouths to feed etc. and while I sympathize, those are not at all the kind of things I could use to award a promotion or raise.
In fact they raise some red flags to me about how likely you are to come to work every time scheduled. I worked with a person (making way more than $15 per hour BTW) who had four kids. She did excellent work, but she probably averaged two to three days attendance in a five day week. She was terminated and was replaced by literally no one; she had proven that her job was not essential, simply be not showing up.
It's truly admirable that you are making such sacrifices for your family, but your situation does not become the responsibility of your employer. People are not paid more when they have more kids, or more bills to pay, they are paid for their value to the company. Until you are in a situation where you can better prepare your self for a higher paying job, it's going to seem hopeless. What is anyone doing to get those family members help for their addictions, and into jobs? That seems to me the most important way to get you some freedom to get some additional training for a better future.
Its just me and my mom as the adults though. She cant hold down a job on account of her drinking and drug use. No dads the picture. Then my sister is pregnant and is moving in. No dad . for her baby either and no help with money. And she has drug issues too. So its me my mom all my little brothers and sister, then my other sister and her baby.
You haven't gone after any of the Baby Daddies for Child Support? My guess is EVERY one of them in your house get some form of Public Assistance, your sister is a druggie goes and get preggers? Sounds like MY description exactly ... WHY does any of this become an Employer's duty to take care of, there are training programs for persons in your situation.
It's truly admirable that you are making such sacrifices for your family, but your situation does not become the responsibility of your employer. People are not paid more when they have more kids, or more bills to pay, they are paid for their value to the company..
Amen.
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I lived in small town PA and generally people commuted a couple of hours into the city for work everyday. You get the high wages of the big city but the low cost of living and more living space of a smaller town. Money goes further and you can save more for retirement. The downside was the mega-commute. I would never do it myself.
upsadaisy
