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I'm curious.
If minimum wage was raised by $5 (which is about 50% what it is now), what about all those who are making $15 an hour now with college degrees in entry level specialized positions? They won't get a $7.50/hour raise. They will be making the same as those in positions that do not require special skills or education. Is this fair?
I'm very open to hearing differing opinions without getting into an argument.
What do you think YOU'RE worth?
I'd like this to be an open discussion with no attacks or party-blaming (dems/reps)
In the current economy at about $9-10 an hour as minimum wage, I'd say I'm probably worth $21 an hour.. With a specialized masters and a license to practice therapy. Second year out of school.
I'd say for me about $30. Almost 40 years experience working on everything from 300 ft warships to scale models. And I mean everything. I make slightly less than that now but I like my work so i can live with that. There's an element of misery too. I spend a lot of time in mud cold and rain.
The problem we're facing though is wages that are not keeping up with the cost of living. I live well. Many people I know are struggling even though they work hard and are smart about life. The system is out of balance. I remember in the 70s America bragged about how we would help the 3rd world rise up to where we were. It's not going that way, the 3rd world is here.
I think one thing that would help us immensely would be for government to compete with the realestate industry. The cost of housing is way out of control. Cut the rents by a third and see what happens.
I agree, I think rent is very much a problem. I would be in favor of keeping wages the same while also cutting rent to a reasonable price. For example, $1500 a month for a 1BR is out of control. And good for you that you are still in the same industry and brave it through the elements.. Not too many people around my area who think that way.they would want a huge raise for having to get wet. LOL
I make just under $20/hr and I find that reasonable given age, skills and qualifications, but I cannot afford to live on my own unless I wanted to live paycheck by paycheck with no savings in the city I am. So in a way I feel that I should be making more.
Truth be told everyone needs to be making more money, including minimum wage. But the lower and middle class all need pay raises. We are the groups that has seen stagnant wage growth yet we are seeing record productivity numbers and a giant GDP. That clearly is not getting to us...
As far as the housing argument goes, make these laws:
1) You can only own one property OR your second property being subjected to a huge, huge tax. Something needs to be done to curb people using real estate to grow their finances so people can get shelter which we all agree is a basic need. Many food staples have caps because they are considered needs, why not housing?
2) Only American citizens can OWN (own, you can still rent) land in the United States.
3) Ban services like AirBnB from main residences (exceptions for guest houses or ADUs).
That should fix that real quick. If you can make the tax policy so unfriendly for people who own more than one property, then that opens so much more supply so people don't have to rent for the rest of their life if they don't have to. It also gets foreign billionaires out of our real estate market. Also limit AirBnB to accessory units will still give housing supply without interfering with the rental market in a significant way, though as long as AirBnB exists it will interfere with the housing market.
It's not "you" that's worth a specific dollar amount; it's the job that you're doing.
I bill out between $50 and $100 per hour depending on the specific job, and I don't have a lot of overhead. What I do takes considerably less effort and less education than many, many jobs that pay substantially less per hour. I'm "worth" whatever the market will bear. So are you. And so are burger-flippers. Maybe the market will bear $15, maybe not. We'll see.
<$15 hour is basically the market saying you are not worth the resources to keep alive ie have food clothing and shelter. So the market does its work and enough people die so that there is enough loss of labor supply to force wages to levels where people can survive. Do we really want to let the market correct itself that way?
Or think of it like this. A ship wrecked onto a deserted island. Fortunately there is enough food for everyone. Except it is decided that one person should get 90% of the food, more than he could ever eat and everyone else gets 1% not enough to sustain themselves. That is basically what is happening with capitalism right now.
I'm curious.
If minimum wage was raised by $5 (which is about 50% what it is now), what about all those who are making $15 an hour now with college degrees in entry level specialized positions? They won't get a $7.50/hour raise. They will be making the same as those in positions that do not require special skills or education. Is this fair?<>
I always told the kids when they said "Daddy, that's not fair!" I replied, "The fair is in September and it's too far and we're not going again this year."
A guaranteed minimum wage that does not fit market conditions will jack up prices which will result in all wages rising and increasing inflation. So the minimal wage earner ends up in the same hole with steeper sides.
There actually are very few people working at the minimum wage **. If that target is raised then more people will be held to that level than will rise to meet it and that will net out as higher unemployment or lower wages in the bottom tier. We already see more workers held to fewer hours so as to not be covered by minimums.
I'm worth what my paycheck says I'm worth. Simple as that.
In that case you are accepting what most of us do, someone else's estimate of what your labor is worth.
"You as a person are worth more than just the sum of your work"
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