Minimum Wage Hike?

[cmyers_uk]

Re: Minimum Wage Hike?

1st there must be a minimum wage.<br /><br />But the problem is as the wage is increased, the walmarts of this world still want things really cheap so growers have to employ illegals or the business goes to countries where there is no minimum wage heads they win tales you lose. I have no answer to this but the fact is we live in a global economy and the large companies go to the cheapest place to get their goods these people work for far below minimum wage.

 

[eeboater]

Re: Minimum Wage Hike?

I'm not saying that everyone who makes minimum wage is worthless. My brother makes minimum wage as a server. But in reality he doesn't because he gets tips from his customers which raise his wage up to an average of $12/hr. <br /><br />What I am saying is that people should get paid what they deserve. If someone is getting paid minimum wage right now, and they are not making an effort to BETTER themselves, I.E. work HARDER or perhaps get an eduction, I do not pity them. <br /><br />Say you have a worker getting paid minimum wage at $5.75 an hour. Then, you have his superior who is getting paid $7.50 an hour. The superior has significantly more duties and responsibilities associated with the job versus the min wage person who comes in, does the job, and leaves. All of a sudden the government comes in and say the min wage is $7.50 an hour. What is the employer supposed to to with the superior's pay now?<br /><br />Since there are people in here who think the minimum wage should be raised, let me pose a question or two to you: How high should they raise the minimum wage? When do you think the minimum wage is too high?<br /><br />Not to sound greedy, but why should I pay more for a hamburger because the slug can't get off his rear and better himself? <br /><br />Carp: while you say that "Minimum wage is just another way for companies to under pay people" I think the opposite... I think it is a way for the government for stick their fingers into business that is not their own and FORCE organizations to pay people more than what they deserve.<br /><br />I don't want to sound nasty, but I'm sick and tired of paying for everyone but me. <br /><br /><br />Sean

 

[pjc]

Re: Minimum Wage Hike?

Interesting that Democrat pols are the ones to start the Minimum wage increase always. Ya know, tax and spend Dems. <br /><br />My point is I see a M wage increase as merely another way for increased short term tax collection, then the tax being returned end of tax year do to tax brackets and the EIC. <br /><br />Remember folks that the EIC is paid by us who have higher incomes thus giving monies to those who have earned less.

 

[Homerr]

Re: Minimum Wage Hike?

Here's an interesting site on minimum wage stuff:<br /><br /> http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm <br /><br /><br />H.

 

[Carphunter]

Re: Minimum Wage Hike?

ee, if there were no mimimum wage, our children would be starting their jobs at $1.00 an hour, if that. Most companies would love to pay as little as possible, at least some sort of minimum wage prevents that. I'm not saying people should be paid more than they deserve, but they also shouldn't be paid less either. Just like your sick and tired of paying for everyone but you, I'm sick and tired of watching greedy immoral business owners line their pockets, while many of their employee's struggle to make ends meet.<br /><br />I'll pose a question, what does the "minimum" in "minimum wage" mean? <br />..........the minimum it takes to survive?<br />..........the minimum a company can get away with paying?<br />..........the minimum a company should have to pay?<br /><br />I'll say it again, I believe minimum wage should be in line with the cost of living.<br /><br />Of course, I could pose another question, what really is the "cost of living"<br />..........what it costs to live in the U.S.A.?<br />..........what it costs to have a family in the U.S.A.?<br />..........what it costs to pay all your bills?<br /><br />I don't have a good solution either.<br /><br />

 

[ob]

Re: Minimum Wage Hike?

Without other support,a minimum wage worker can barely if at all afford to gas up and mechanically maintain a vehicle at todays prices and get to and from work unless he works 40+ hours a week.I know this first hand ,as my 19 year old daughter/student works for a buck over minimum and works about 25 hours a week.Couple that with the parthetic almost non-existent interest return on her savings account.Things haven't changed in cost of living proportion from my view.There was a time in my high school years that a minimum wage job and a savings balance of $500 would net me enough withdrawable gas money for transportation.The interest was also not taxable income.Nowadays,for the young worker,it is just barely better than stuffing your money in a mattress for safe keeping.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Minimum Wage Hike?

I think it mostly depends on where you live. Around here min wage jobs are few. The fast food resturants compete with each other thus having to have better wages to get the better employees.

 

[rolmops]

Re: Minimum Wage Hike?

Minimum wage has not gone up in the last 9 years. prices have.By about 25% because of inflation.Where minimum wage was barely a living wage 9 years ago,today it is not.why not attach minimum wage to the index, the way social security payments are attached?<br />There is a book on the shelves in the bookstores.It is called "Not Making It In America" It describes minimum wage workers always working 2 jobs and 6 or 7 day work weeks just to make ends meet.<br />It always amazes me how conservative religious people with a strong believe in the creation theory and g-d's mercy, become darwinist and promote survival of the fittest the moment they feel threatened by things like minimum wage.

 

[cmyers_uk]

Re: Minimum Wage Hike?

eeboater,<br /><br />

What I am saying is that people should get paid what they deserve.

The trouble is who decides what you deserve. As an example my father inlaw is a qualified mechanic, he welds and builds things like stairways out of raw metal. He works really hard but gets paid 4 times less than I do with non of the benfits like medical insurance etc. That is not fair because he does deserve more for the effort that he puts in and the value that it adds to the business. I understand its capitalism but without laws workers get exploited, this is why immigrants get paid so poorly because they have no recourse to law. There is no easy answer but in the world we live in you may think you get paid based on effort put in but it doesnt seem like that to me.

 

[Tinkerer]

Re: Minimum Wage Hike?

Why isn't there a maximum wage?<br /><br />Does anybody seriously believe that CEO's are worth a squillion times the minimum wage they pay their workers?<br /><br />The more a CEO stuffs up a company and destroys the stockholders' value the more they're paid to leave. The bigger the company the more they get for stuffing it up.<br /><br />Yet the smaller the enterprise the less the employees are paid and the fewer their rights are. If they stuff up they get sacked and leave with nothing. <br /><br />This system is the result in Western democracies of governments which are elected on the basis of their claims about what they'll do for small businesses when in reality they are funded by and design their policies for big business. <br /><br />Last time I looked it was actually the people at the coalface who produced the goods and services that produced the profits that allowed the senior management and stockholders to profit. It'd be a terribly unjust system that gave the real workers a living wage while those way above them in the food chain plundered the corporate cards and stock options and overseas travel and tax rorts etc etc to fund lifestyles that minimum wage workers could only see in magazines, if they could afford them.<br /><br />I'm sick to death of hearing overpaid business leaders and the politicians in their pocket, many of whom despite their limited intellects and lesser commercial talents manage to do surprisingly well financially while in obscure political offices, telling us that civilization as we know it will end if workers get an extra few cents an hour. <br /><br />It hasn't.<br /><br />It won't.

 

[NYMINUTE]

Re: Minimum Wage Hike?

Maybe an age adjustment is in order. Paying McDonalds teens $7+ an hour? Burgers $2.50??<br />High school kids and part timers stay @ $5.15. Full timers and adults (18 or 21) go at $6.50??<br />Just a thought. Too complicated for our congress. Limit CEO's also. That'll kill em.

 

[Tinkerer]

Re: Minimum Wage Hike?

Originally posted by NYMINUTE:<br /> Maybe an age adjustment is in order. Paying McDonalds teens $7+ an hour? Burgers $2.50??<br />High school kids and part timers stay @ $5.15. Full timers and adults (18 or 21) go at $6.50??<br />Just a thought. Too complicated for our congress. Limit CEO's also. That'll kill em.

If it's a free market all labour is worth the same. <br /><br />After all, the princes at the top of the commercial pyramid keep telling us how it's all about production and added value etc etc etc vomit vomit vomit.<br /><br />A five year old who can flip 100 burgers an hour is worth the same as a 70 year old who can do the same. It works in India and other countries, so I guess nobody in the US, Australia, or EEC would object to keeping kids out of school so they can contribute to the family income. <br /><br />What were we thinking when we set up a 13 year schooling system, not to mention tertiary education?<br /><br />But the funny thing is, here anyway, that you won't find adults flipping burgers at Macca's or its like. You won't find a real grown up working in most stores, unless they're a contract cleaner or the owner.<br /><br />Surely that couldn't tell us that Macca's likes child labour because it's desperate and docile?<br /><br />As for different prices, seniors who can't get a job there can get a burger cheaper than the schoolkids who make them in these sorts of outlets. <br /><br />I guess I'm just a sad old man with an outdated sense of social justice. The funny thing is that every political party agrees with me until they get into power. Then they sh!t on the people who were stupid enough to believe their policies. <br /><br />At least I avoid being sh!tted on by maintaining my sad old man's cynical attitude. <br /><br />Although I'll probably be working in a minimum wage job at the end of the year, if I can get one, courtesy of arsehole conservative politicians who are going to put me out of work for reasons that have nothing to do with my performance or the value of my work. They're just avenging some 30 year old political issues and I and thousands of others are going to pay the price for their bit of vengeful fun.<br /><br />The fact is, nobody in power gives a sh!t about workers, their wages, or anything else. Except hanging onto power and its trappings.

 

[eeboater]

Re: Minimum Wage Hike?

Carp... how about we agree to disagree <br /><br />Sean

 

[Carphunter]

Re: Minimum Wage Hike?

Amen to that ee! <br /><br />I'm just happy to wake up each morning.

 

[ob]

Re: Minimum Wage Hike?

Instead of continually using McDonalds as a minimum wage job example ,why not include large dept. store chains that are selling you shirts for $30 bucks a pop that they buy by the freighter loads for around $1 each.I'm not advocating raising the minimum wage ,but at the same time can't see where shirts would go up $10 because of a 25 cent hike in what they pay their workers whose area of expertise is pushing these high dollar goods.The small business guy is the one that wage hikes hurt the most.If the minimum wage went up say 25 cents an hour,and a large dept store had say 50 minimum wage employees on duty,a daily salary increase to these employees would cost that particular store a whopping $100 bucks extra for an 8 hour day.<br /><br />I might be willing to pay more than $2.50 for a Micky Dee burger if they weren't feeding me Holstein/soy meat.

 

[gspig]

Re: Minimum Wage Hike?

Do you know why publicly traded companies produce a profit? It is because they are publicly owned through stocks. The same stocks that are in everyone's 401K's. Everyone got greedy in the 90's and still are. Messing with min wage right now is a poor idea. Fuel costs are about to create a nice inflationary result, why add fuel to the fire? I get a generous 3% raise this year, fuel costs to get to work eats that and then some.

 

[wajajaja]

Re: Minimum Wage Hike?

Minimum wage a minimum standard of living, the nations number one employer, brags about paying its employees on scale to the minimum wage law. Not the minimum standard of living just what it has to pay?<br /> Some workers will rise to a level of competency that will only pay minimal wages. Doesn’t make them bad people. Doesn’t make them deserving of public distain or disrespect. But being honest, working they do disserve to earn enough to eat, sleep and have some enjoyment in life from a fair wage. <br /> If you value a quality of life where you live, it must be extended to all of your comunity, virtue comes easy to those with a full stomach.

 

[deputydawg]

Re: Minimum Wage Hike?

I have seen a few on here cut down minimum wage earners. One saying why should he pay for someone else not wanting to better themselves.<br />OK, so what about the college student that needs a job to make rent, but can't work 40 hours, so they flip burgers for minimum?<br />Or when I was younger, even now for part time earnings, farming and working some construction to survive? Those men paid minimum. I would have to say I worked a harder day at those jobs than some of those making big bucks, and I would rather know some of OK, most of those people than those making the big bucks. They keep it real, and work hard for that dollar.<br />Then the high school kids working for that first car, or for college savings. Are they less than anyone because that is all they can do? In a lot of cases minimum is not paid because you are illeterate loser like was hinted at here, but because of the hours worked. I know a lot of jobs that do not require any education, and little skill that are manual labor jobs and pay extremely well. You can't compare the minimum wage earner to others as below or above them. <br />I agree that when you have a 40 year old delivering pizzas and living with mom and dad, he is probably a loser. But then maybe he is just very happy with his life and is enjoying what we are here to enjoy? <br />I have also been in a position where it was either a minimum wage kick in the pants or nothing, I chose the kick in the pants. At least that paid my bills. <br />Either way, someone has to pay that wage hike. It will always trickle down to us, the consumers. If minimum goes up, then shortly after everyone elses wage goes up. If I am making a dollar an hour more than that part time college student flipping burgers then I will be upset. Wait, I am making a dollar an hour more....well....we will see what happens I guess.

 

[mattttt25]

Re: Minimum Wage Hike?

i get salary increases based on my rank. years in + good work = raise.<br /><br />but.... i have also averaged 4% increases every year for the past 7 years. that has kept my salary constant with inflation.<br /><br />we all expect more money as time goes on. things cost more.<br /><br />i strongly believe they should raise the min wage. and it should be adjusted every few years to keep up.<br /><br />here's another one- my wife made min wage as a waitress in california, plus her tips. now in md, she gets $2.15 plus tips. please tell me how that is fair.<br /><br />wait, she's a bottom feeder like many pointed out above.

 

[ob]

Re: Minimum Wage Hike?

Hey mattttt25,What's up with the avatar?I liked your old one.