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Is there a point in time in U.S. history when people were more or better educated?
Government protected private and public unions lifted the low/no skill masses into the middle class back when there was a labor shortage. U.S. consumers and the global market paid a union tax on goods when there were no other alternatives. The circumstances that combined in the 50's are not likely to be repeated, again.
The global market and technology eventually combined to eliminate or reduce the need to pay the union tax. The economy trended towards service-based. And here we are.
Well, there was a time in US history when these min wage jobs were done by teens for spare spending cash. Now jobs like bagging groceries, washing dishes, mowing lawns and delivering news papers are people's careers.
A minimum-wage law, is society's way of saying that jobs that are only worth a lower amount, aren't worth doing AT ALL. The law has the effect of eliminating those jobs completely.
When was the last time you pulled into a gas station for fuel, and somebody came out and asked if you wanted your windshield washed, tires inflated, and oil and engine-cooling fluid checked?
Such jobs are no longer done, at all. Because min-wage laws made it necessary for the gas station owner to raise his gas prices so much to pay the guy washing your windshield, that you would go to the station down the street instead, whose gas prices are a LOT lower and nobody washed your windshield.
Because YOU (not the station owner) decided that the extra money for gas, was more than you wanted to pay to get your windshield washed, tires checked etc.
Just saying... in 2001 when I lived in Detroit... that's like more than a decade ago... a "living wage" was $9.00/hr. if w/bennies, $11.00/hr. if no bennies. This was state law. Any company getting Fed incentives and/or tax breaks had to pay that wage instead of the state minimum wage which was much lower. Oregons COL index is around the national average (100) at 104. The state minimum wage is $8.90 which is more than the Federal $7.15? NYC's COL index is 216 and the state minimum wage was lower than the Federal and they have kicked and screamed about it and McDonald's made a major hissy over it and I don't even know if the matter is resolved.
Why do I mention it? The average American fortune 500 pays the Executive Branch 52% of revenue. The average European equivalent pays all wages with 11% of revenue!!!!!!! McDonald's arguably the most successful franchise operation in history has the second lowest paid CEO in the country. McDonald's was able to argue that they could not possibly pay the Federal minimum wage in NYC. Somehow they manage it in Oregon? I don't know, maybe they have some kind of variance working here...
If you want to think that employers CANNOT pay a $9.00/hr minimum wage, be my guest. I would believe you if the wage was presently $3.00. Anyone's operation that is so close to the bone that a $2.00/hr raise in salaries would put them under... I don't know... the govt. isn't stupid... there are tiers and whatnot to account for the size of the operation and its net profits etc. You are asking us to feel sorry for individuals and corporations that are making more money in a shorter time than money has ever been made in history by the wealthy. It's not working.
Well last night the dumbass called for raising the minimum wage to a "livable wage".
Where do these morons get the notion that minimum wage is meant to be a living wage? It is an ENTRY level wage, it's not something meant to support your family on.
Why? Who says that? How this employee (plus family) is going to survive? Do you understand that the government (you and I) will have to sustain him even if he works and its in our best interest to make wages livable?
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Minimum wage is for low to no skilled workers, nothing more nothing less. This is just another tactic designed to increase the costs incurred by business owners and will result on a net loss of jobs if this jackass gets his way.
Minimum wages are payed to large variety of occupations, some which require higher education?
Minimum wage is what happened to our inner cities, Parent's working two job's to get ahead and their kids running muck in the streets raising them selves.
A minimum-wage law, is society's way of saying that jobs that are only worth a lower amount, aren't worth doing AT ALL. The law has the effect of eliminating those jobs completely.
When was the last time you pulled into a gas station for fuel, and somebody came out and asked if you wanted your windshield washed, tires inflated, and oil and engine-cooling fluid checked?
Such jobs are no longer done, at all. Because min-wage laws made it necessary for the gas station owner to raise his gas prices so much to pay the guy washing your windshield, that you would go to the station down the street instead, whose gas prices are a LOT lower and nobody washed your windshield.
Because YOU (not the station owner) decided that the extra money for gas, was more than you wanted to pay to get your windshield washed, tires checked etc.
Bad example. In Oregon and NJ, gas station owners MUST employ station personnel. There is no self-service. The reason why there aren't station personnel in other places is because there is no law mandating that there be. If there was no minimum wage law and gas station owners in OR or NJ could pay $3.00/hr. they would. All of them. Tomorrow. You might see .25 and .50 differences in the same neighborhood to attract the top gas pumping talent but the wages would cluster around the mandated minimum. Modern cars do not need their oil checked and most dealers do the routine work. Gas stations do not need to do it. In Oregon, however, if you ask, you can indeed get this done. Especially if you are female and attractive. Maybe only if you are female and attractive. Like i said, bad example.
Do you know why the minimum wage law was enacted? During the Depression employers were paying people a loaf of bread or a bowl of soup for a days work and they were getting takers. That's how desperate a LOT of Americans were during that time. And there were people to exploit that. You can argue forever about what a minimum wage should be. It has been proven beyond any doubt that, in this country at least, a minimum wage law is needed. Employers are simply not able to handle the power. Workers are simply unable to go "somewhere else" or to "start their own business, if they don't like it" or any other pithy put down the Conservatives are likely to come back with.
Why? Who says that? How this employee (plus family) is going to survive?
Why is that my business, instead of his? Whose idea was it that he would raise a family without having a job that pays enough to raise a family?
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Do you understand that the government (you and I) will have to sustain him even if he works and its in our best interest to make wages livable?
Why? Who says that?
Liberals, that's who. Not normal people who believe that people should pull their own weight, and help each other only on the occasions when they need help.
Well I hope you enjoy working in a sweatshop then.
Have you ever talked to people in non-western countries? I used to have a few people in India report to me and they all commuted four hours every sunday to get to a city, worked 14 or so hour days monday-friday, then commuted four hours back home every friday night. They thought they had it made. The only alternative they had was essentially farming (where my team lived at least). Long hours, long commutes and not seeing family is terrible by American standards, but it is a guarenteed paycheck, so they knew themselves and their families weren't going to starve.
It is very much the same for sweatshops. I am not saying they are great conditions by any means, but given the alternative for many, many people is subsistence living where they have a very real chance of dying because they can't buy food when crops don't produce, a factory job with a guaranteed paycheck is a dream come true.
This is very much the same thing that America went through several decades ago. In many areas of the world they are just having their industrial revolutions. 75 years from now China's working conditions will abhor the thought of sweatshops, but no society has moved from agrarian to technology based without going through an industrial phase. I don't think most Americans know how amazing we have it today.
That's good for you, you have drive, but we're talking about real sweatshops, where they lock you in the building and you have to work overtime, getting paid below a dollar, no evacuation exits in case of fire, no lunch, no off days.
I worked as a waitress many times during college and even after college, while I was doing that I applied to jobs after work or on my day off. Right now I am a temp receptionist, but I am staying because I need more experience, plus it's fun and I thoroughly enjoy it.
Lets think on this a second.
1. Locking into a building? As in you can't leave until they say or as you can't leave if you want to keep your job? If it is the former, well... I think we took care of slavery many many years ago. I have worked many jobs that say "you can't leave or you are fired", so I am not seeing an issue here.
2. Working overtime? Check, done that many times. Try working network engineering and get back to me about overtime.
3. Paid below a dollar. Well, let me put it this way, it ain't going to happen unless the economy allows it. ie, you aren't going to get people in the US working for under a dollar when you can't even buy a coke for a buck. Not going to happen if the person has a choice.
4. No emergency exits? Hs nothing to do with minimum wage and is an issue of city, county, and state safety codes. Not going to happen "legally" these days and if you are arguing "illegally", well... there really isn't a point to the argument.
5. No lunch, days off? Check, worked many jobs like this. In fact, it isn't uncommon for me to skip lunch and I have worked many days off where even being "sick" is frowned upon (ie they let you go if you call in sick).
Thing is, I never worked very long for a place that I didn't "choose" to work for based on my own reasons. In fact, when I look for work, I don't grovel hoping the business will be benevolent enough to grant me hire. I market myself, I interview them just as much as they interview me and if they don't meet my expectations, well... "I am sorry, but I am going to have to let you go".
I have worked everything from laboring in the fields picking vegetables, fruit, running harvesters, to working food service, pouring cement, and eventually desk based jobs.
People need to have more respect for themselves, put themselves into the equation as a product being marketed to a company as something of value. If you don't, you get stepped on, treated like you are a peasant and paid the same way.
For instance, I was the highest paid person in my IT department after only working there one year. Want to know why? Because I didn't treat my job as a gift, but as mutual transaction of services to which I argued my worth and haggled over value. Everyone else treated their work as if it were lordships, that they should be luck to have a job and they were treated exactly as that.
Fact is, nobody works for crap wages, poor conditions, etc.... permantely unless they CHOOSE to. If it turns out that this is the only type of work available, well... chances are because that is a fact... it IS the only viable work available because the economy is sunk and the system is in collapse. If that is the case, well... I will be working that sweat shop, but I can promise you, I won't be working it for very long.
The only reason to demand all this wage regulation is because it is feared that people will be too stupid refuse a bad deal. Granted, there are some people like that, which is why there was never any shortage of manipulated people in history.
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