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Nobody is expected to stay with minimum wage of their entire life.
If you do have minimum wage then get off your lazy rear end, back off the video games and get a second job and work 80 hours a week. If all you are worth is $8 an hour then that is what you are worth $8 an hour.
If all you do is worth $8 an hour what makes you think you deserve more?
Reminds me of that scene in the movie American Beauty where Kevin Spacey's character quits his professional job and goes back to work at fast food because he "wants the least amount of responsibility as possible".
Whenever you increase minimum wage, all you do is lower my once decent wage.
Math that.
Yup, republicans are not just bad at math, but they have no desire to learn math, or research into anything complex (like wage, or health-care etc). They want simple answers and usually answers that are only good for them. This is why they are so easily fooled by their orange liege.....
It is mathematically impossible to survive on minimum wage $8/hour type jobs in 2017, here's the math:
Assuming the person works for $8/hour and 40 hours a week
($8/hour x 40 hours) x 4 weeks in a month = $1280 before tax = $1088-ish after tax (assuming 10-15% tax bracket)
Assuming the "typical" cost of living for an average American with NO kids or welfare assistance
$800-$1000/month - Average rent in most cities for a 1-bedroom apartment
$75-$150/month - Average car insurance payment, depending on age of car etc
$150-$300/month - Average gasoline expenditure depending on vehicle and commute distance
$200-$300/month - Average food/grocery bill for one person, assuming a somewhat healthy diet
$50-$100/month - Average cost of miscellaneous household items such as toilet paper, etc
$150-$300/month - Average health insurance bill depending on a number of factors
$75-$150/month - Average utilities depending on several factors
$40-$70/month - Average cell phone/internet bill
+???/month on TOP of all this - If there is any debt service (car loan, student loans, etc) or kids involved
...and all of this is without saving any money whatsoever.
Grand totals for "typical" cost of living on $8/hour minimum wage
$1550ish-$2370/month on the typical $8/hour wage $1088ish take-home pay
$1088ish pay - $1550ish-$2370ish cost of living = negative $462-$1282 every month, literally mathematically impossible
And in many recent threads on here, Republican right-wingers have actually been advocating for no minimum wage at all
Now before you say "well, those types of jobs are only for teenagers anyway", I just want to remind you that it's the year 2017 and many full-grown adults wind up working these poverty level McJobs. We need to have some sympathy, because people end up in $8/hour type jobs for a variety of reasons.... they were laid off from a good-paying job, their bills went up and they needed more income, they couldn't find anything better in the area, no other jobs called them back, etc. The point is, the economy is much worse in 2017, and we don't live in the 1950's anymore.... plenty of full-grown men and women are working minimum wage or close to it. It's not "just for teenagers" anymore.
The cashier at the nearby 7-eleven down the street? The guy who rings up my coffee? He's like in his early 40's, but I've talked to him here and there and he says he works there because "times are tough and i need the money", so i know that these people are out there and that's just one example. If Republican right-wingers had their way, these honest hard-working people would be rounded up and shot - they would rather "brush the issue under the rug" than address it
Meanwhile America more and more resembles a Mexico-style 98% poor / 2% rich stratified society every year. But right-wingers have 0 issue with 8 individuals having more wealth as 50% of the human population, or paper-pusher executive types raking in $500k+ salaries. Instead of noticing this very real problem affecting average and lower-income Americans, republican right-wingers seem to have this tunnel-vision regarding "brown people" and other economically un-important issues..... as if the very complicated and nuanced economic issues of the day can be boiled down to "brown people", while a CEO makes more money than all his employees combined
I literally have not made minimum wage since the first 3 months of my first job 30 years ago. My daughter and stepson both make above minimum wage at a skating rink and fast-food restaurant and they haven't made minimum wages since the first few months of employment.
Point being, we were unskilled workers that learned skills and subsequently moved on.
No matter what minimum wage is, it will never be enough for the worker that never once considers how they can improve their organization.
McDonald’s recently announced plans to roll out a new mobile ordering system at 14,000 locations by the end of 2017. In addition to the mobile push, McDonald’s will be adding in-restaurant ordering kiosks at 2,500 restaurants by year's end as part of its “Experience of the Future†initiative.
“Adoption of kiosk ordering should help reduce labor expenses by 200 to 300 [basis points], savings that can be reinvested into a stronger value offering to help recapture some of the concept’s lost traffic,†Saleh says in a note issued Thursday.
I'd rather have robots make my food than humans. I don't trust minority humans would not spit in my food because I'm white. I mean it. I haven't eaten fast food in years.
So you only go to restaurants that have no minorities in the kitchen? How exactly do you figure that out?
Actually it was NOT intended to be a starting wage, or a wage for teens. It was supposed to be a living wage.....and not JUst a livig wage, but a DECENT wage.
Roosevelt stated it thusly:
Quote:
“no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country.”“By ‘business’ I mean the whole of commerce as well as the whole of industry; by workers I mean all workers, the white collar class as well as the men in overalls; and by living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level — I mean the wages of decent living,” he stated.
It is mathematically impossible to survive on minimum wage $8/hour type jobs in 2017, here's the math:
Assuming the person works for $8/hour and 40 hours a week
($8/hour x 40 hours) x 4 weeks in a month = $1280 before tax = $1088-ish after tax (assuming 10-15% tax bracket)
Assuming the "typical" cost of living for an average American with NO kids or welfare assistance
$800-$1000/month - Average rent in most cities for a 1-bedroom apartment
$75-$150/month - Average car insurance payment, depending on age of car etc
$150-$300/month - Average gasoline expenditure depending on vehicle and commute distance
$200-$300/month - Average food/grocery bill for one person, assuming a somewhat healthy diet
$50-$100/month - Average cost of miscellaneous household items such as toilet paper, etc
$150-$300/month - Average health insurance bill depending on a number of factors
$75-$150/month - Average utilities depending on several factors
$40-$70/month - Average cell phone/internet bill
+???/month on TOP of all this - If there is any debt service (car loan, student loans, etc) or kids involved
...and all of this is without saving any money whatsoever.
Grand totals for "typical" cost of living on $8/hour minimum wage
$1550ish-$2370/month on the typical $8/hour wage $1088ish take-home pay
$1088ish pay - $1550ish-$2370ish cost of living = negative $462-$1282 every month, literally mathematically impossible
And in many recent threads on here, Republican right-wingers have actually been advocating for no minimum wage at all
Now before you say "well, those types of jobs are only for teenagers anyway", I just want to remind you that it's the year 2017 and many full-grown adults wind up working these poverty level McJobs. We need to have some sympathy, because people end up in $8/hour type jobs for a variety of reasons.... they were laid off from a good-paying job, their bills went up and they needed more income, they couldn't find anything better in the area, no other jobs called them back, etc. The point is, the economy is much worse in 2017, and we don't live in the 1950's anymore.... plenty of full-grown men and women are working minimum wage or close to it. It's not "just for teenagers" anymore.
The cashier at the nearby 7-eleven down the street? The guy who rings up my coffee? He's like in his early 40's, but I've talked to him here and there and he says he works there because "times are tough and i need the money", so i know that these people are out there and that's just one example. If Republican right-wingers had their way, these honest hard-working people would be rounded up and shot - they would rather "brush the issue under the rug" than address it
Meanwhile America more and more resembles a Mexico-style 98% poor / 2% rich stratified society every year. But right-wingers have 0 issue with 8 individuals having more wealth as 50% of the human population, or paper-pusher executive types raking in $500k+ salaries. Instead of noticing this very real problem affecting average and lower-income Americans, republican right-wingers seem to have this tunnel-vision regarding "brown people" and other economically un-important issues..... as if the very complicated and nuanced economic issues of the day can be boiled down to "brown people", while a CEO makes more money than all his employees combined
America has always been a plutocracy that worked only for the benefit of wealthy elites. Ask Thomas Jefferson's slaves how that worked.
If you're looking for something resembling civilization, go to Canada or Western Europe.
So you only go to restaurants that have no minorities in the kitchen? How exactly do you figure that out?
I do go to restaurants with minority workers, happily so, however I've never read any of the businesses I frequent employ minority workers who spit in the food of police officers, refused service to police officers, or had patrons complain about hateful conduct by their employees to whites or police officers. I don't buy fast food at all. I might if robots make the food instead of humans.
It is mathematically impossible to survive on minimum wage $8/hour type jobs in 2017, here's the math:
Assuming the person works for $8/hour and 40 hours a week
($8/hour x 40 hours) x 4 weeks in a month = $1280 before tax = $1088-ish after tax (assuming 10-15% tax bracket)
Assuming the "typical" cost of living for an average American with NO kids or welfare assistance
$800-$1000/month - Average rent in most cities for a 1-bedroom apartment
$75-$150/month - Average car insurance payment, depending on age of car etc
$150-$300/month - Average gasoline expenditure depending on vehicle and commute distance
$200-$300/month - Average food/grocery bill for one person, assuming a somewhat healthy diet
$50-$100/month - Average cost of miscellaneous household items such as toilet paper, etc
$150-$300/month - Average health insurance bill depending on a number of factors
$75-$150/month - Average utilities depending on several factors
$40-$70/month - Average cell phone/internet bill
+???/month on TOP of all this - If there is any debt service (car loan, student loans, etc) or kids involved
...and all of this is without saving any money whatsoever.
Grand totals for "typical" cost of living on $8/hour minimum wage
$1550ish-$2370/month on the typical $8/hour wage $1088ish take-home pay
$1088ish pay - $1550ish-$2370ish cost of living = negative $462-$1282 every month, literally mathematically impossible
And in many recent threads on here, Republican right-wingers have actually been advocating for no minimum wage at all
Now before you say "well, those types of jobs are only for teenagers anyway", I just want to remind you that it's the year 2017 and many full-grown adults wind up working these poverty level McJobs. We need to have some sympathy, because people end up in $8/hour type jobs for a variety of reasons.... they were laid off from a good-paying job, their bills went up and they needed more income, they couldn't find anything better in the area, no other jobs called them back, etc. The point is, the economy is much worse in 2017, and we don't live in the 1950's anymore.... plenty of full-grown men and women are working minimum wage or close to it. It's not "just for teenagers" anymore.
The cashier at the nearby 7-eleven down the street? The guy who rings up my coffee? He's like in his early 40's, but I've talked to him here and there and he says he works there because "times are tough and i need the money", so i know that these people are out there and that's just one example. If Republican right-wingers had their way, these honest hard-working people would be rounded up and shot - they would rather "brush the issue under the rug" than address it
Meanwhile America more and more resembles a Mexico-style 98% poor / 2% rich stratified society every year. But right-wingers have 0 issue with 8 individuals having more wealth as 50% of the human population, or paper-pusher executive types raking in $500k+ salaries. Instead of noticing this very real problem affecting average and lower-income Americans, republican right-wingers seem to have this tunnel-vision regarding "brown people" and other economically un-important issues..... as if the very complicated and nuanced economic issues of the day can be boiled down to "brown people", while a CEO makes more money than all his employees combined
Lol.
First, if you make $8 an hour, you should be working at least 60 hours.
Second, you can rent a single room in most cities for $250 a month.
Third, you should be making minimum wages for no more than your first year of your adult life assuming you don't have a disability.
You are undoubtedly struggling to support yourself on $8 per hour (which I assume is the prevailing minimum wage in your area). In ours and other areas the minimum rate is between $11-$15 per hour ... however, the area cost of living is likely higher, thus the increased rate doesn't provide proportionately greater buying power.
The problem with unilaterally raising the minimum wage is that it drives the entire wage-chain upward. Since most businesses are not greedily sitting on excess wage money, they will be forced to raise prices, which, in-turn, will eat-up the perceived benefit of an increased minimum wage.
The politicians who keep promoting the notion of a universal $15 minimum wage - are only pandering for votes! If successful, they will be back in another couple of years soliciting $17-$20 minimum wage voters ... who aren't living any better on $15 per hour - than they previously lived on $8 per hour.
In the real world, there will always be people earning minimum wage who are unable to keep up with others who are earning more. But, that's not a problem that will ever be resolved by simply raising the minimum wage.
OP, minimum wage means you live a below average life style. Get an average job to live an average lifestyle.
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