Quote:
Originally Posted by Booya
Quiet about it? Most republicans are very clear about how they feel about a federal minimum wage.
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If minimum wages are such a good deal why stop at $8.50 (or whatever it is) and go to $12.00? Wait, instead of $12.00 why not go to $20.00 or $25.00? If decent wages are the thing why not go to $30.00?
I got a part time job available for 2 hours/day sweeping the shop floor with 3 hours on Friday. 13 hours/week @ $8.50 = $110.50 per week for a high school kid.
But I won't hire because with payroll taxes and added insurance cost the $8.50 ends up costing me nearly $10.00 and for $130.00/week I'll just live with the dirty shop floor. If I really put my heart and soul into it I can clean the floor myself in an hour (for $8.50 I wouldn't work Johnny all that hard) remember I've worked for less than $130.00/hr.
Instead of receiving a $100 bill from me every week 17 year old Johnny can go home and play Streets of Crime or whatever the craze video game is called nowadays. Johnny can sponge off of mom and dad maybe living the sheltered life in the basement to his mid 30's.
If wanting to pay only $6.00/hr (that is what I think the job is worth) I am going to be labeled a capitalist pig I simply won't hire at all.
Minimum wage jobs are a sham just like the
Davis-Bacon Act, passed back in 1931, is a sham.
Quote:
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The Davis–Bacon Act of 1931 is a United States federal law which established the requirement for paying prevailing wages on public works projects. All federal government construction contracts, and most contracts for federally assisted construction over $2,000, must include provisions for paying workers on-site no less than the locally prevailing wages and benefits paid on similar projects.
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Sounds all fair and lovey dovey but, after all it is only fair everyone get equal and fair prevailing wages, but what was the real reason this law was passed?
Racism. It was used as a vehicle to keep migrating blacks out of the construction trades and it continues to be used by government today.
For example the prevailing wage rate for a
Carpenter in Ashtabula, Ohio (Including concrete forms; Excluding metal building erection and overhead door installation) is $29.96/hr wages plus $11.41 for a total wage/benefit package of $41.37/hr.
How the benefits worth is I fill a worksheet listing what the company pays for medical insurance, vacation, sick or benefits, divide that by 2,080 hours subtracting that from the $11.41 and paying the difference.
As an example let's say I pay 19 year old Johnny's health insurance for $300/month, give him 2 weeks vacation @ his shop rate of $15.00/hr plus 1 week sick time @ $15.00/hr. Johnny's benefit package is worth ($300*12)+($15*40)+($15*80)=$5,400.00 which I divide by 2,080 hours to arrive at $$2.60/hour in benefits that I pay. If I hire Johnny for this job I have to pay him an hourly wage rate of $29.96+($11.41-$2.60)=
$38.77/hr.
The $38.77/hr is his hourly rate. If 19 year old fresh out of high school Johnny works 40 hours he will receive a gross of
$1,550.08 for the week. Working full time 19 year old fresh out of high school Johnny is a $75k/year man.
So say Johnny works for me sweeping the shop after school. He's a fine kid, a hard worker a son any parent would be proud to call his own but after graduation what do you figure the chances of me hiring Johnny at $38.77/hr to nail forms together is? Right, zip, nil, nada and none. I like the kid, I would love to hire him in at $18.00/hr but I am not allowed to do that.... even if I like the kid if I have to pay $38.77/hr I am going to hire someone with experience. Sorry Johnny.
All over this forum I hear "get in a trade it's good money" but it is the Davis Bacon act that will keep many of our youngsters from ever getting in on these jobs.
Got a question for you, is 19 year old Johnny worth $38.77/hr? Would you pay him $38.77/hr plus payroll taxes (cost out of your pocket would be over $42.00/hr plus you would have to pay for his medical insurance plus vacation and sick time) to have Johnny build you a dog house?
Right.....
Government prevailing wage rates (it's the minimum wage on government construction work) is why your 19 year old son has next to a zero chance of ever landing a construction job.
Sad thing is Johnny is only worth $7.00/hr for me to have him sweep my shop. After high school I would hire him on full time for maybe $13.00/hr while paying for his medical insurance and offering some sick and vacation pay built up over time. When Johnny has some experience I would pay him maybe $20 or $25/hr and after 10 years, when he has built up enough experience to run a project and crew, I could see paying him $40.00/hr but not right out of high school I won't.
I wouldn't hire your son not because I am a filthy capitalist pig who wants to eliminate the middle class but only because with as little experience Johnny has I know he could never return to me work equal to what I would be required by law to pay him.
BTW those workers you see working on stimulus projects? They ain't making no minimum wage.
Sorry I rambled and went into to much detail but these laws, including our minimum wage laws that make so many "feel good" are killing off our future middle class.
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