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In other words, "living wage" is a relative term that can't be answered by an arbitrary number.
Well the SIEU decided that $15/hour is a good living wage.
They are the ones behind the FF worker walkouts.
Double the min wage means double the union salaries as their contracts peg any increase in min wage to an increase in their pay by the same percentage.
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.
Get a grip on reality.
No, I'm not joking at all.
Yes, I made 24/hr 15 years ago. Today, I see people offering jobs I was qualified for at 14, 15 an hour.
And many truck drivers are paid by the hour. Some are paid by the mile, some by the hour, some are paid a percentage of the load.
And if you think truck drivers are well paid today, you're way out of touch. Some do make good money, but the vast majority do not.
Oh, and as for a "high degree of skill", our definitions may vary. I, however, am far more in the know. It DOES require a great deal of skill to drive truck. Same to be a decent mechanic.
Well the SIEU decided that $15/hour is a good living wage.
They are the ones behind the FF worker walkouts.
Double the min wage means double the union salaries as their contracts peg any increase in min wage to an increase in their pay by the same percentage.
Do you have any proof of that, like a page from their contract that stipulates that?
1. Establish an economic climate that encourages entrepeneurship, encourages companies to expand, encourages companies to keep jobs at home.
2. Establish a stable business climate that provides companies with the ability to plan ahead, predict expansion, anticipate expenses.
3. Figure out ways to make higher education more affordable and expand the number of blue collar training colleges.
We are becoming a nation of low paying, low skilled jobs in a service oriented economy. Low paying. Low skilled. Increasingly part-time and not full time.
Ask Nancy Pelosi:
1. How you can "live your dreams" when you can't afford to feed your families
2. How the death of the 40 hour work week allows you to "follow your passions" when you are more worried about being able to pay your rent at the first of each month.
Why are we trying to artificially inflate wages when the economic climate that is now entrenched in this country has put workers in a position of fighting for low paying jobs with fewer hours and fewer benefits? Instead of fighting among ourselves for the scraps that this economic climate dictates are available to us, why aren't we insisting that our government establish policies that encourage real growth, real jobs, real change, real improvement?
We're arguing among ourselves over whether or not a burger flipper job deserves to be paid $15 an hour, instead of arguing with our government - who has set the economic stage for burger flipper jobs to increasingly be the best jobs our citizens can hope for.
Does anybody else think that we have it all wrong?
I've worked in retail and food service and honestly it's not an easy peasy job. It might not require a lot of complex skills or an abundance of brain cells, but it's strenuous on the body, plus it involves working with customers, who can be really a pain in the a$$ a lot of times. On top of that you are usually required to work nights, weekends, holidays etc.
The argument I keep seeing is that these jobs are a step up to something better. However, my counter argument is (1) not everyone is management or trade school material what have you. And (2), looking at the job reports and trends, we are creating a lot of service/retail jobs and not too many skilled jobs. Imagine every retail/service employee went to trade school, will there be jobs for them all?
What is wrong with these people that ring up your coffee to be paid a wage that can afford them a place to live not in the ghetto, food on the table, utilities, a decent vehicle, entertainment and some money to put away. Why do these people have to work 2 or 3 part-time min-wage jobs, just to scrape by. Yes it's not rocket science, but it's still work. Honest work at that. I can tell you that I don't work as hard in my "cushy" office job as I did when I was serving tables in college. At least in the office I don't deal with customers, I can take a break when I want, go online etc.
Here's my math. Average McD's employee makes $7.62/hr (I saw on the news this morning). Lets say this person works 40 hours and then makes $304.80/week or $15,240/year (50 weeks). Taxes would be roughly $400 on this income, single. Expenses might look like this (I'm in Florida):
Rent/bills: $500/mos -$6000 for the year
Cell phone: $50/mos - $600 year
Health Insurance: $200/mos - $2400/yr
Car insurance: $50/mos - $600/yr
Clothes: $300/yr
Food: $100/mos - $300/yr
Gas: $80/mos - $960/yr
Car maintenance: $500/yr
Total: $11,660
This leaves roughly $280/mos for savings/entertainment. Maybe I'm missing some expenses, but these are mine. There is no way to raise a child on this income. Even if it's two earners, most of the expenses double and rent goes up for a bigger place. What if there is an emergency or you need to pay your insurance deductible, there is no thing left. Even upping this person's wage to just $12/hr would give them some room for emergencies/savings etc.
What I'm getting at is, are these peoples not deserving of vacations, children, savings, not having to scrape by. I mean they are putting in 40 hours of labor as well. And to the argument that they can't even get your order right - my argument is there is probably not a lot of motivation. I know I would put in more effort not to get the order wrong and not to get fired if I was making $12/hr vs. $7. Maybe not start out at $12/hr, but after a year or so employment and having proved yourself, why not make $12/hr? There are companies out there that pay these wages and still turn decent profits.
All you have to do is open your own business. Quit whining about others and do for yourself..
By the way, how mantyhours does your store owner work?
Well if they want to double their wage, retirees should get double also.
Obama has done a good job raising costs. My insurance went up 50% in the last 18 months.
We should all get double. Oops, that would screw up the MW workers.
The main person who benefits from this is the US Govt collecting higher taxes amounts. Good way to cut the debt.
You're 100% right about everything you posted but don't expect some retired old-farts who want to protect their fixed incomes and get everything for a nickel, to side with you here. They don't care, they are out of the work force themselves, some used to have well-paying union jobs but now they only want to cut out coupons and buy everything for 99c which of course requires cheap labor. That's the real deal about our "conservatives" here. They're simply cheapskates.
Well that is about as random a thought as one could get without any REAL facts to back it up.
Like they say," Opinions are like arse holes. Everybody has one"!
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