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People are paid what they are worth. Employees who are making the current minimum wage are there because they have no desirable skill set to their employer. If they had a desirable skill set, they would be able to move up to another, higher-paying position with their current employer or to a better job with a different employer. The fact that they cannot do so is indicative of what their employer thinks they bring to the table with regard to the value of their work.
Here in Tennessee, the minimum wage is $7.25. So, pushing it to $15.00 per hour would more than double the rate. Should we really double the salary of people who haven't done anything to make themselves more valuable employees?
The reality of America is this: if you are unhappy with your pay, then it is up to you to develop a skill set that makes you more valuable to an employer and, thus, allows you to command a higher wage. It isn't up to the federal government to make up for the fact that you don't have the necessary job skill to get a higher rate than $7.25 per hour.
I sincerely appreciate there has never been a shortage of US people who are not capable of doing more.
Dear friend’s father raised a family of 5 kids in Queens, NY as an unionized elevator operator at the Empire State Building. He pushed buttons and opened/ closed a gate for a living.
He used his VA benefits to buy a very modest 2 family home. The renters paid the mortgage. The family lived a very modest life style. No car. 1 shared party land line. Kids bunked in the LR. No vacations. No dining out. Mom sewed. Their standard of living was no different than every one else in the neighborhood. He retired with a full pension, SS and modest savings.
He is long gone. His former job function was replaced by technology. His elderly widow continues to collect his pension and SS benefits. Rental income now pays the property taxes.
Private sector union membership peaked more than 60 years ago.
More job functions have been eliminated by technology substitution/ custom industrial robotics than have been offshored. Easy enough to increase productivity without increasing manpower.
Then there’s the guy in Vermont who upon his death left $8 million to the local library. He worked low paying jobs his entire life. He was frugal. He invested modest sums for the long term.
Dont cherry pick years. Note I am not for a 15 dollar minimum wage but skipping from 1945 to 1984 is cheesy.
1950 .75 = 7.85
1956 1.00 = 8.28
1960 1.00 = 8.52
1967 1.30 = 12.18
1973 1.60 = 9.09
1979 2.90 = 10.06
Note many years listed were years the wage was raised.
I find some people a bit ironic supporting local preemption laws like Missouri and Alabama which forbid local minumum wages out of one side of their mouth and talking about local control on the other.
People are paid what they are worth. Employees who are making the current minimum wage are there because they have no desirable skill set to their employer. If they had a desirable skill set, they would be able to move up to another, higher-paying position with their current employer or to a better job with a different employer. The fact that they cannot do so is indicative of what their employer thinks they bring to the table with regard to the value of their work.
Here in Tennessee, the minimum wage is $7.25. So, pushing it to $15.00 per hour would more than double the rate. Should we really double the salary of people who haven't done anything to make themselves more valuable employees?
The reality of America is this: if you are unhappy with your pay, then it is up to you to develop a skill set that makes you more valuable to an employer and, thus, allows you to command a higher wage. It isn't up to the federal government to make up for the fact that you don't have the necessary job skill to get a higher rate than $7.25 per hour.
You're arguing what you think people should be doing with their lives. Irrelevant. The issue is not what you think they're worth or even if they're unhappy with their pay.
Again, why did we ever raise the minimum wage at all? Let's use your logic.
What is a fry tech doing now that he wasn't doing 10, 20, 30 years ago? Why not just keep him at .75/hr since he has "no desirable skill set"?
In fact, one could argue that most work is a lot easier now than it was then with the current and ever-improving technology. That means it will likely be even easier down the road than it is now. Why not pay them what they're "worth" since it's actually easier for them?
You're arguing what you think people should be doing with their lives. Irrelevant. The issue is not what you think they're worth or even if they're unhappy with their pay.
Again, why did we ever raise the minimum wage at all? Let's use your logic.
What is a fry tech doing now that he wasn't doing 10, 20, 30 years ago? Why not just keep him at .75/hr since he has "no desirable skill set"?
In fact, one could argue that most work is a lot easier now than it was then with the current and ever-improving technology. That means it will likely be even easier down the road than it is now. Why not pay them what they're "worth" since it's actually easier for them?
People ARE absolutely paid based on how their employer perceives their value to the company and the value of their skillset. People who have absolutely no tangible skills (ie the people making minimum wage in this country) haven't managed to garner any valuable skills and, thus, aren't really worth more than minimum wage to employers in this country. That is the reality. If a fry cook was that valuable to their business then they would already be making $15.00 per hour rather than their state's minimum wage.
I am fine with minimum wage rising at the rate of inflation so that the lowest-level producers in our country can at least take home some money but expecting to jump from $7.25 to $15.00 is not realistic and isn't going to happen. Nor is the "livable wage" talk (whatever a "livable wage" is defined to be). If they want to see their hourly wages jump from $7.25 to $15.00 per hour, then they better learn some skills that employers actually value.
Minimum wage is good but it's already being dealt with at the state & local levels on many fronts. The most important wage issue for workers is the OT threshold -- salaried EEs making more than $24k cannot claim OT. We've already put manpower behind raising min wage, expanding benefits, etc. and that's motivated low-wage workers.
We need to shift to dealing with the middle class and backing their wage growth. The best way for us to do that is raising the ceiling that exempts people from earning OT.
EddieB.Good, EaatwardBound, WorkingClassHero, Middle-aged Mom, the federal minimum wage rate is proportional to a job's rate; of greater benefit to lower-wage and of lesser benefit to higher-wage earners; but it is of some benefit to all wage earners. The purchasing power of the median-wage is an excellent statistical indicator of middle-income earner's aggregate financial conditions. There cannot be a higher median-wage if the purchasing powers of lower-wage earners are poor.
Regarding commerce between jurisdictions within the United States:
Opponents of the federal minimum rate laws, (i.e. Fair Labor Standards Act) argue due to the differences between states’ economies, the federal minimum wage rate is a hardship upon states where lesser prices prevail.
Proponents of the laws argue due to those differences, an insufficient federal minimum wage rate is a hardship upon states where all but the lowest prices prevail and economies of the entire United States suffer due to the extent that our federal minimum wage rate is greatly insufficient.
Regarding States’ enacted higher minimum rates within their own jurisdictions, the effectiveness and sustainability of their states’ rates are significantly dependent upon the purchasing power of the Federal Minimum Wage rate and how effectively it’s enforced.
Throughout the history of all nations’ economies, (when there’s been no scarcity of labor), wage rates have been subject to the “race to the bottom”.
Smart conservatives support raising the minimum wage to a living wage. It's a very effective way of cutting spending on government assistance. Raise the wages of the working poor so they no longer qualify for assistance. Taxpayers will save billions.
That might work...up to the point, of course, where the new minimum wage exceeds the actual value of the labor provided to the employer in exchange for that wage. And at that point, of course, the job disappears because it is no longer economically viable for an employer to pay more for labor than the actual value of that labor.
You see...just because you may want to pretend that a $8.50/hr. job is actually worth $15.00/hr., and thereby compel employers to pay nearly twice the value for that job, it doesn't mean that the job can provide $15.00/hr. worth of value to the employer.
It simply means that you're giving them a choice of A) paying twice what the job is actually worth, or B) automating the job or abolishing the job altogether.
And when the employer opts for B), as frequently occurs, all of your claimed economic benefits fly out the window.
Smart conservatives support raising the minimum wage to a living wage. It's a very effective way of cutting spending on government assistance. Raise the wages of the working poor so they no longer qualify for assistance. Taxpayers will save billions.
see underlines..
no it wont since the government constantly raises the bar on qualifying for assistance
heck I can get assistance here (atleast daycare assistance) and still be making 40k
there should NOT be a FEDERAL min wage...but if you are going to have it and raise it..it should be pennies, not doubling it to 15
raising it.. means more people get laid-off
thousands of small businesses are facing situations like this:
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here is an example of what will happen with this 'raising'
minimum wage is for UNSKILLED currently at 7.20
I pay my UNSKILLED laborers (that clean the shop) over $9 an hour, the min wage is $7.2
an example:
I run a maintenance shop
I have a shop foreman...$24/hr
I have 3 mechanics.......$22/hr
I have a parts manager...$22/hr
I have 2 mechanic helpers...$14
I have 2 parts workers/drivers...$12
I have 2 labors (to clear the shop)....$9 (2 over min)
minimum wage is $7.2
the 'government' raises the minimum wage to 15
now I HAVE to increase the laborers wage to AT LEAST 15.. and he will WANT $17 (2 over min)....but If I give the "unskilled" laborer $17 then the driver (must maintain a clean license) will want more (hey boss, I was making $3 more than the unskilled guy) ...as so on, and so on...
either that or you will make what was 'above' min wage skilled worker to being min wage workers
thus RAISING THE COSTS of my SERVICE that I provide to the society.....
I would to raise salaries on mech helpers, drivers, and laborers...not to mention the actual SKILLED workers....meanwhile the business will end up failing, because it not is too costly to stay in business
so either costs will go up....or people will get laid-off......because as a small shop owner I cant afford to give any more than I am giving
this is just one example of what will happen, if we try raising the min wage anymore
as to raising it to a federal 15/hr remember this about raising a min wage and how it effect/affect other things
and let's not forget the COST of raising it to 15...those workers are NOT going to see much of a raise....
it also increases the taxes on EVERYONE who fell in that zone
increase of income taxes
increase of payroll taxes
loss/reduction of ACA/Medicaid/repub-care health care subsidies
increase cost of health premiums
increase of state income taxes (if any)
loss/reduction of social benefits such as welfare/food stamps
increase on the prices of EVERYTHING
so possibly half of that raise magically disappears into the pockets of the politicians
the problem with all the fools shouting raise the min wage, is they don't see the big picture
People ARE absolutely paid based on how their employer perceives their value to the company and the value of their skillset. People who have absolutely no tangible skills (ie the people making minimum wage in this country) haven't managed to garner any valuable skills and, thus, aren't really worth more than minimum wage to employers in this country. That is the reality. If a fry cook was that valuable to their business then they would already be making $15.00 per hour rather than their state's minimum wage.
The minimum wage is not about skills.
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I am fine with minimum wage rising at the rate of inflation so that the lowest-level producers in our country can at least take home some money
THAT'S the point. It has remained at $7.25 since mid-2009.
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but expecting to jump from $7.25 to $15.00 is not realistic
I haven't gone there, but why do you think it's not realistic?
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Nor is the "livable wage" talk (whatever a "livable wage" is defined to be)
It's plenty realistic.
Quote:
If they want to see their hourly wages jump from $7.25 to $15.00 per hour, then they better learn some skills that employers actually value.
You just said you were fine with the wage going up with the rate of inflation. So, they don't really need to learn those skills to get out of the current wage that hasn't budged in almost 10 years.
You can pay a burger flipper $15 an hour, but you can't teach one to manage it money or go get a college degree.
Money isn't the issue in america, it's lack of education and laziness.
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