Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
And as far as the adults that have made McDonald's their "career"..I seriously doubt any of them could do better.
Most FF workers only stay 6 months on the job before they move to the next FF place.
FF is the most transient job out there. That's why it pays min wage.
But increasingly, those jobs that fast food workers can uplevel to over time with hard work and education just don't exist in sufficient numbers. There are not enough software consultant gigs for the entire blue collar population, and college is a massive debt load now. Blue collar manufacturing is going the way of the dinosaur. So what do you do? Just turn a blind eye and say "the market will take care of it?" The market will let them starve.
Can you give me some examples of these "highly skilled jobs" that pay $12-15/ hr?
I know a guy with a HS education that makes about $50 an hour. He works about 2 or 3 weeks straight, 7 days , 12 hours a day far away from home and lives out a suitcase for those days. It's a very labor intensive job.
Exactly. And electricians are not near the top of "highly skilled" workforce.
This happens ONLY where unions can restrict the supply of electricians. This does not raise the value of what they do, it merely robs those who need their services.
There's 5 for you. Do you need more examples? Watch Mike Rowe's Dirty Jobs for a while and understand the great majority of them fit in the "under $16/hr" category.
You're joking? Few if any of these are correct. You and I have a very different version of jobs requiring a high degree of skill...
Mechanics were making $20 an hour 20 years ago!
Truck Drivers are paid by the mile-- really doesn't apply. They are also often well paid.
But increasingly, those jobs that fast food workers can uplevel to over time with hard work and education just don't exist in sufficient numbers. There are not enough software consultant gigs for the entire blue collar population. Blue collar manufacturing is going the way of the dinosaur. So what do you do? Just turn a blind eye and say "the market will take care of it?" The market will let them starve.
I know a guy with a HS education that makes about $50 an hour. He works about 2 or 3 weeks straight, 7 days , 12 hours a day far away from home and lives out a suitcase for those days. It's a very labor intensive job.
It's entirely caused by the cost of government, be it by creating shortages, imposing costs, taxes, or restricting markets.
It is caused by two things:
(1) automation - robot / high-tech automation is increasingly taking over jobs people would do, and there are not enough alternatives for those people. Profit-maximizing businesses take full advantage of that.
(2) globalization and offshoring - combined with #1 and technological mobility, it is now feasible to extend business networks to countries where the cost of living is a third or less of what it is here. This was never economically feasible in the past; it's a new frontier. Profit-maximizing businesses take full advantage of that.
Both of those things are effects dictated by market mechanisms, not so much government. Government has stood by and watched as these things inevitably happen.
In other words, it is a conservative lie to suggest that "if we just cut all the taxes and regulations, businesses would bring those jobs back from India and China." Bull**** - a few may bring back some and nibble around the edges for political reasons, but you cannot compete with a labor force that can sustain a desired standard of living at 1/3 or 1/4 the cost of what it would take here.
This happens ONLY where unions can restrict the supply of electricians. This does not raise the value of what they do, it merely robs those who need their services.
The union is very weak where I live. They don't have a significant share of the market. Yet the wage remains what it is....
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
