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If there were am[ple places to work and not enough workers to go around you can best bet that greedy corporate America would indeed be paying more than a livable wage. The enourmouise profit the top bastards make is like the grand canyon compared to the unskilled and even skilled workers. The higher up you are the less you do...ten exacutives are worth less then five production workers. Yet they make a bloated wage soaking up every possible cent that should go to real workers. Also before they ever allowed a scarcity of workers they would just continue to leave the country and set up wher ever labor and regulations are cheap and they can pollute and poison at will. They know that is not sustainable but the likes of these creatures care nothing for anybody or anything only power and profit. With meglomainiacs like these at the helm no wonder properity is slipping away.
housing should never have been a speculative scheme driven up to insane prices. Housing should be affordable for everyone. I can hardly stomach paying 3x my income for a home, much less 2x. What a drain one one's pocketbook to pay these sort of prices. I don't buy new cars either though... 1x my income on a car? Never.
These affordability stats get skewed by the fact that property taxes in some areas are insanely high and utility costs are through the roof.
Plus there's really no bust around where I live.. unemployment is very low and housing prices have not come down in town. If I wanted to commute 30 miles but I don't.
housing should never have been a speculative scheme driven up to insane prices. Housing should be affordable for everyone. I can hardly stomach paying 3x my income for a home, much less 2x. What a drain one one's pocketbook to pay these sort of prices. I don't buy new cars either though... 1x my income on a car? Never.
These affordability stats get skewed by the fact that property taxes in some areas are insanely high and utility costs are through the roof.
Plus there's really no bust around where I live.. unemployment is very low and housing prices have not come down in town. If I wanted to commute 30 miles but I don't.
The reality is the market... unless you count subsidized rent.
There was no way I could afford a home on minimum wage in the area where I lived...
I was able to buy a home when I worked for a company where I was guaranteed minimum wage or 5% of my sales volume... this allowed my to buy a shack that was headed for condemnation....
Several of my friends did similar... one couple, both Oakland school teachers bought and sold several times and once took a job that provided housing as a church grounds keeper... just so they could afford their forever home... also a wreck in a very good neighborhood...
My biggest fear is property taxes... you can be going along, taking care of business and improving your home and then... out of the blue your taxes go up 80%.... it happened in Washington and was very sobering.
Wages have not kept up with inflation and not enough to keep up with the increasing costs of things. Consider that in 1991 the min wage was 4.25 so in over 20 years the min wage has only gone up $3.00.
Wages have not kept up with inflation and not enough to keep up with the increasing costs of things. Consider that in 1991 the min wage was 4.25 so in over 20 years the min wage has only gone up $3.00.
Also consider that MOST people making the minimum wage are kids who aren't trying to buy a house. If you raise the minimum wage, you end up increasing unemployment of those making minimum wage.
Quote:
For the vast majority of adults, who earn well above the federal floor, the change was irrelevant. The greater impact was among adolescents. About a quarter of those working make no more than the minimum.
So it was not entirely surprising to see the unemployment rate of those 16 to 19 years old went from 14.8 in early 2007 to 27.1 percent in October 2009 — shortly after the final stage of the raise took effect. Today, it's 24.2 percent.
Also consider that MOST people making the minimum wage are kids who aren't trying to buy a house. If you raise the minimum wage, you end up increasing unemployment of those making minimum wage.
BZZT! Last I checked, half of all minimum wage earners are over 25 years old, and definitely not kids.
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