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.
The minimal wage should be replaced with a living wage. The living wage should be calculated based on what a single person would need to make in order to live on his own in his area without falling into poverty. Of course the living wage would vary by region. Married men should receive a living wage based on what he would need to make to support his wife and each child the married couple has.
OK, let's presume I'm a business owner and you work for me. You're married with three kids. I determine the value you bring to the business, based on the skills you have, allows me to pay you $9/hr. That's the way the math works out and numbers don't lie. So you feel I should have to pay you more, because you have three kids and the other workers have one or none? Maybe you need to be a little more careful in your recreation so as not to produce kids you cannot afford based on what your current skill set brings in. And why isn't your wife working as well? It's your problem as an individual to make sure you're provided for, not mine as an employer. I make an offer on wages, you can accept it or look elsewhere. I'm running a business, not a social program.
Quote:
Originally Posted by floridarebel
The police, firemen, teachers, those in the medical field and other "higher skilled" workers, etc should also recieve pay increases.
And who pays for all of this?
OK, if I make $50 an hour, should I get a 100% raise since the current $7.25 will go to $15? If I make $100 an hour do I automatically jump to $200 an hour? Seems fair, but again, who pays?
Quote:
Originally Posted by floridarebel
I don't understand the facaination with having to work like a slave and still be struggling or this obsession with getting a "marketable skill". I also don't understand why it seems like some people want to make things difficult for people. Some people also do not want a career and are content with working at McDonald's. Some people just want a simple job that pays their bills. Why is that wrong or bad? Some of y'all act like customer service workers are dirt beneath the dirt. Not everyone can get another job or even a second or third job nor should they have to.
Nobody says you "have" to have a marketable skill. But, if you don't, then don't complain about what you make. Zero skills get near-zero pay. Higher skills get higher pay. If you want a simple job, then don't run up bills that a simple paycheck can't cover.
Every time I've found myself wanting an increase, I found ways to make myself more marketable. For me that included going back to school, having found an employer with educational benefits. Where there's a will there's a way. Having multiple grad degrees put me in a better position to determine my worth in the marketplace.
But if you want to be a pickle tosser, then embrace the pickle tosser level of living and stop whining.
I don't think that burger flippers should make 15 bucks an hour. I think that companies will find ways to lay off people and not hire as many. Specially small mom and pop type companies. A lot of small businesses aren't making huge profits anyways, I mean for the most part and doubling their expense isn't going to help matters.
I also think that as was mentioned in the article that you have to have appropriate skills that are in demand. If someone could replace you with the most basic of training then that's sort of the way life goes.... common sense.
The grocery workers here tried to strike several yrs ago and they brought in crews literally overnight and the stores seemed to run just fine.
The grocery workers unions pretty much just screwed their own members by accepting a whole lot less and the new people coming in didn't get any of the negotiated benefits that longer employees got.
Which wasn't much as far as I heard.
All this being said I do find large corporate greed tiresome, I know just with my job it's always an intense pressure to do more and quicker.... I sometimes wish things would ease up a little in life.....
Greed is the driving force behind all human advancement. Aren't you just as greed? I am sure you could ask for a easier position with less pay.
Do you think businesses fail for more than just wages?
Of course businesses fail for more than just wages. The topic at hand, however, is pertaining to wages.
In the posts on gym and book store examples, the small business was operating successfully and in no risk of closing until the government mandated that they pay their employees more than double what they were currently paying them. On any scale from small business to large corporation, if your budget for employee compensation DOUBLES overnight, you are going to have some issues. Either increasing costs, reducing hours, laying people off, or closing business.
If burger flippers want more money, then they should work further on their culinary skills and work in a real restaurant kitchen. Or go to community college and then go into restaurant management. Burger flippers are no better than dishwashers.
Anyway, it'd be much better for America and the world to have less fast food restaurants. They are bad for our health. So go ahead and go on strike!
Very good article. It outlines the basics of why people in fast food (for example) shouldn't be paid $15 an hour (or whatever).
Though I feel it glosses over a few points
1 - McDonalds is like a life raft on the titanic. The reason that these head of households are working these jobs, and complaining, is due to hug economic shifts in the global marketplace. You are competing globally with low wage workers so suddenly Mcdonalds is the best job you qualify for. Fast food workers who are trying to feed families (head of household) is more today than ever before. Now these workers are blaming mcdonalds for something that is just a part of life now. (the blaming of mcdonalds is ridiculous, its not their fault they are the only boat left for you)
2 - Changing minimum wage isn't magic. it just doesn't happen. This article mentions all these people who used to make minimum wage of $15 an hour. Airline pilots, EMT, etc. What happens if you raise minimum wage to 15k? Well suddenly everyone wants a raise. It trickles up. Otherwise why do something hard "like being an EMT" when you can get $15 for doing something easy without education? Once it trickles up your back into the same position. $15 isn't enough to feed a head of household, we need $30. . . .because the economy adjusted.. .and now it takes $30 to equal 2015 $15 wage. Raising the minimum wage to $15 is like trying to cure cancer with a bandaid.
3- wage loss insurance, negative income tax, transition wage insurance, pre-school for all, no summer breaks. . these are how you adapt for a new global world. Not trying to play cure the lung cancer with bandaids. . .
oh and at $15 an hour, my guess robots, touch screens, and other capabilities become a lot more feasible. If your salary is too high. . it may be easier to replace you with a robot. That is what Amazon did.
Wow, so I have been engaged in a debate with someone who can't differentiate between revenue and profit?
Factoring in expenses (rent, insurance, utilities, labor) and taxes, this gym would need to produce revenue of about 5x that profit (profit margin of 20%, VERY healthy). Which would translate to 1,000 members.
Quote:
Originally Posted by urbanlife78
Simple math and google searching, the average monthly cost of memberships for a gym is $55, that is $660 a year. Divide $150K by $660 and you get 227 members. So either that small gym employees too many people or doesn't have a high enough membership.
So should we reduce the minimum wage to $2/hr so that a bunch of businesses that were run poorly could survive? We shouldn't be coddling poorly run businesses, I have no sympathy for poorly run businesses because better run businesses succeed and replace those that fail.
My current business I have been in for the last 18 years. Wages are a balancing act between maintaining the best qualified personnel for a given position and maintaining profitability. Pay to little and a good employee will find other employment. Pay too much and it cuts into your profits and can limit not only your income but also the potential for further growth. .
This is the beauty of the free market system. Free markets are wonderful and the best mechanism to improve the standard of living for everyone. Government should never control prices, wages or profits.
Simple math and google searching, the average monthly cost of memberships for a gym is $55, that is $660 a year. Divide $150K by $660 and you get 227 members. So either that small gym employees too many people or doesn't have a high enough membership.
So should we reduce the minimum wage to $2/hr so that a bunch of businesses that were run poorly could survive? We shouldn't be coddling poorly run businesses, I have no sympathy for poorly run businesses because better run businesses succeed and replace those that fail.
Another class example why liberal is a mental disease. This person can't even tell the difference between "revenue" and "profit."
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.
