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I would like to hear the replies of the bootstrappers, particularly in regard to the first story. All of this "give us a number" puffery is nonsense. People who work full time should be able to shelter and feed themselves without welfare. Taxpayers are picking up the slack, and that is unacceptable. We basically subsidize the Walton family. Our tax dollars go to SNAP and housing programs in lieu of Wal*Mart pay.
A retail clerk was once the kind of job that a person could work and support a family AS A SINGLE WAGE EARNER. Pay has not kept pace with inflation. Productivity has skyrocketed, but pay has stagnated.
When has a retail worker ever been able to support an entire family as a single wage earner?
There is a reason the government came up with minimum wage, and it has nothing to do with executives. The amount of pay one can expect has always had everything to do with what marketable skills one possesses, if one has no marketable skills and can only do menial work, how is the companies that hire them at fault? why should they pay a penny more then they have to for someone with no skills?
Furthermore, the "Golden Age" of unionism in America (roughly 1937-1982) was possible only because there was no competition. With the exceptions of Canada and Australia, every industrial complex in the word was either bombed out, worn out, or behind the Iron Curtain.
These things are no longer true. If you want a bigger paycheck, get yourself retrained to produce something in which American technology is still dominant (there are a few - aircraft and pharmaceuticals, for example) or a service in fields like medicine or transportation, (Who can't learn to drive an 18-wheeler?), which can't be exported. (And for which, BTW, we still have the finest structure in the world -- if Obama and Co. don't continue to undermine it.)
Otherwise, get yourself accustomed to a passenger seat. There will be no ride "downhill", but there will be a very long wait until the rest of the globe catches up with us. And don't even think of follies like tariffs unless you are willing to risk another (hopefully Cold) War.
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People who work full time should be able to shelter and feed themselves without welfare. Taxpayers are picking up the slack. Our tax dollars go to SNAP and housing programs in lieu of Wal*Mart pay.
They usually can, except for those who swallow the lies fed to them by the unions, ACORN, OWS and the like. The problem in America isn't low pay, but the lack of say, (and a lot of that grew out of the stagnation, via unionization, of the public sector, and the saturation, feminization and over-sensitization of the labor market back in the Seventies). We were a nation founded by rebels and outcasts, but we're losing the self-reliance that kept us from becoming a nation of corporate sheep -- until now. Those who try to say "no" to Big Brother every now and then are usually derided as "Teabaggers" or "Neocons" by the young, self-righteous, and soooooh Politically Correct.
Last edited by 2nd trick op; 11-24-2013 at 04:03 AM..
the answer is NO, and they shouldn't have to. It was never meant to be a living wage. It is supposed to be a step, an additional job, a bit of help. If you're looking to McDonald's for a career, then you better start thinking management, and you better be the best at your job.
Who is this job meant for? Someone in a society has to be living off minimum wage. That's just how the world works. Who should be working those jobs if not "unskilled", "uneducated" workers?
If you cannot live off what a job pay's then don't take that job. Simple. It's not the employers fault that you cannot live off what the job pay's. The job pay's what it pay's. If you need more then get a different job. It's not the employers fault if you don't have the education or ability. That is up to you alone. Those who want to do better do. Those who want it given to them complain.
This is a two part problem:
1.) is that "unskilled" "uneducated" people cannot get another job. Heck, a load of "skilled" "educated" people are having a tough time finding jobs.
2.) there are social policies in place that mean that these people have ways to supplement their income with government aid. There are also people that are better off not working than working at a minimum wage job because they get so much is government aid.
Entry level jobs at Wal-Mart and McD were never meant to be long term "career" jobs used to take care of families. The expectation is that workers will come in, make a few bucks, get a little experience on their resume and then move on to more lucrative jobs and careers. High turnover is expected.
Who is this job meant for? Someone in a society has to be living off minimum wage. That's just how the world works. Who should be working those jobs if not "unskilled", "uneducated" workers?
No they don't. Second spouse incomes, HS kids, college kids. These jobs weren't meant for single wage earners to be able to raise a family on. They just weren't. And it sure as heck isn't walmart's fault (or any job that pays minimum wage) that people are trying to.
Who is this job meant for? Someone in a society has to be living off minimum wage. That's just how the world works. Who should be working those jobs if not "unskilled", "uneducated" workers?
These jobs are meant to be a stepping stone for most people. Anyone taking one of these job should be thinking to stay 12-24 months tops while they work on the other elements of their life plan. If they start off unskilled and uneducated, they shouldn't stay that way.
Are you saying that people should remain unskilled and uneducated as a life choice?
No they don't. Second spouse incomes, HS kids, college kids. These jobs weren't meant for single wage earners to be able to raise a family on. They just weren't. And it sure as heck isn't walmart's fault (or any job that pays minimum wage) that people are trying to.
Even if retail and fast food workers were replaced by a machine, there would be a new lowest paid worker. Idk what world you would live in where there isn't some employee getting paid less than everyone else.
Second, a lot of people think HS kids shouldn't work. College students are over whelmed with completion, and have to poor everything into their classes, but unlike the EU systems, they are soley judged on their GPA.
Third, $1,000/month isn't really worth the time for a "second spouse income". At that point, the second spouse would be better off doing one of two things:
1.) Devolting thier energy toward giving the spouse with the "good job" the best advantages, so that the "good job" spouse can quickly "move up" the cooperate ladder.
2.) Obtaining the over educated status so many here advocate for
There is a difference between working 2 jobs to get extra cash that you can spend on stuff you want, and getting a second job because you cannot afford to LIVE.
Even if retail and fast food workers were replaced by a machine, there would be a new lowest paid worker. Idk what world you would live in where there isn't some employee getting paid less than everyone else.
Second, a lot of people think HS kids shouldn't work. College students are over whelmed with completion, and have to poor everything into their classes, but unlike the EU systems, they are soley judged on their GPA.
Third, $1,000/month isn't really worth the time for a "second spouse income". At that point, the second spouse would be better off doing one of two things:
1.) Devolting thier energy toward giving the spouse with the "good job" the best advantages, so that the "good job" spouse can quickly "move up" the cooperate ladder.
2.) Obtaining the over educated status so many here advocate for
There is a difference between working 2 jobs to get extra cash that you can spend on stuff you want, and getting a second job because you cannot afford to LIVE.
You are certainly entitled to your opinion on who works these jobs and why they should or shouldn't. I certainly don't agree with them.
Since when? When did entry level jobs in retail and fast food become meant for more then entry level jobs? Just because some who have made a choice to never get more training, education, or marketable skills throughout their lives, does not mean the minimum wage employers should change their pay to take care of those people.
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