Raise minimum wage?

[drebo]

Minimum wage causes inflation. Nothing more.

A 10% increase in minimum wage will, at best, have no impact on a person's buying power. More likely, though, it will negatively impact that person's buying power.

Worse, it will severely lower the middle class's buying power, as people who currently have wages above minimum wage are unlikely to see an increase in their wages. Thus, someone making double minimum wage is now making less than double minimum wage...yet all prices will be higher.

We've dug ourselves a whole with our minimum wage laws. People stupidly expect them and demand them, regardless of their actual worth to a company. Those people don't, however, realize that an arbitrarily mandated wage means fuck-all where it really counts: prices at the store. A person making a minimum wage of $8/hr can buy 2 gallons of gas at current price of ~$4/gal with an hour's work. Increasing that worker's wage (and all other workers who also make $8/hr) arbitrarily to $12/hr does not mean that the person will now be able to afford 3 gallons of gas...he'll still only be able to afford 2, as it'll now cost $6/gal.

The person making $16/hr, though, gets fucked because where he could buy 4 gallons, he'll now only be able to afford 2.5 gallons. He's not getting a raise just because the scum on the bottom rung have had their wages arbitrarily set.

Minimum wages are bad for the economy, and anyone who thinks that wages will fall to $0.01/hr without a minimum wage is a fucking moron.

 

[drebo]

So what are saying? Are you trying to say that someone who works for minimum wage, or a little more than minimum wage, doesn't deserve to live? I mean, a livable wage is just that, a wage that you can live with. A wage that allows you to buy the necessities of life.

One can live fine on the current minimum wage of $7.50/hr. In a 40 hour weak, that's $300/wk, or ~$1200/mo. Rent a room for $400/mo, a car and insurance for $250/mo. That's $550 left over for food. A person who can't afford to eat on $550 a month just isn't trying. Hell, I lived just fine on $8.25/hr for a while, when it was just me.

Can you feed and clothe a family? No. But a family is neither a necessity nor a right. Can't afford one? Don't have one. Self-control is a virtue that is lost in our country.

 

[Via]

One can live fine on the current minimum wage of $7.50/hr. In a 40 hour weak, that's $300/wk, or ~$1200/mo. Rent a room for $400/mo, a car and insurance for $250/mo. That's $550 left over for food. A person who can't afford to eat on $550 a month just isn't trying. Hell, I lived just fine on $8.25/hr for a while, when it was just me.

Can you feed and clothe a family? No. But a family is neither a necessity nor a right. Can't afford one? Don't have one. Self-control is a virtue that is lost in our country.

Who the hell is going to schedule a minimum wage employee for 40 hours a weeK?

 

[Hacp]

One can live fine on the current minimum wage of $7.50/hr. In a 40 hour weak, that's $300/wk, or ~$1200/mo. Rent a room for $400/mo, a car and insurance for $250/mo. That's $550 left over for food. A person who can't afford to eat on $550 a month just isn't trying. Hell, I lived just fine on $8.25/hr for a while, when it was just me.

Can you feed and clothe a family? No. But a family is neither a necessity nor a right. Can't afford one? Don't have one. Self-control is a virtue that is lost in our country.

Exactly. Get roomates, eat raman noodles, and mow your neighbors lawn. You have plenty to live on.

 

[Throckmorton]

What he is saying is that simply existing isn't a reason that someone should have to pay you.

Working IS a reason that someone should have to pay you. If you stop and think, the very fact that people are debating over whether workers "deserve" a living wage is mind boggling. Everybody deserves a living wage in exchange for working, so why is it considered normal to work but not make enough money to live? Something is seriously wrong with our society. You want your sign that the end of our civilization is approaching? There it is.

 

[Throckmorton]

Exactly. Get roomates, eat raman noodles, and mow your neighbors lawn. You have plenty to live on.

Like I said a couple weeks ago... We really are going to be living in slide-out shelves like the leftists envision.


BTW ramen noodles have zero nutritional value and eating them every day will cause long term health problems... expensive ones. The same goes for rice and other cheap bulk foods. Why do you think the third world is less intelligent and smaller than us? Because they can't afford quality food.

But that's what you want isn't it? For America to be a third world libertopia?

 

[Throckmorton]

One can live fine on the current minimum wage of $7.50/hr. In a 40 hour weak, that's $300/wk, or ~$1200/mo. Rent a room for $400/mo, a car and insurance for $250/mo. That's $550 left over for food. A person who can't afford to eat on $550 a month just isn't trying. Hell, I lived just fine on $8.25/hr for a while, when it was just me.

Can you feed and clothe a family? No. But a family is neither a necessity nor a right. Can't afford one? Don't have one. Self-control is a virtue that is lost in our country.

Health insurance, $300. That leaves $250. Electricity, $150. That leaves $100.

Not only does that $100 have to pay for food, but also the unexpected medical bill, car repair, etc...

 

[Steeplerot]

Like I said a couple weeks ago... We really are going to be living in slide-out shelves like the leftists envision.

Where is this slide out shelf thing coming from? Is this the new fad from Communist Japanese Hotel owners? That is the only place I can think of hearing of such a phenomenon before.

 

[Throckmorton]

Where is this slide out shelf thing coming from? Is this the new fad from Communist Japanese Hotel owners? That is the only place I can think of hearing of such a phenomenon before.

It's a well known fact that the far left in this country hates the fact that people own their own houses, cars, and property. I sure as hell thought, back when I was in college, that everybody should live in high rises in as small a space as possible.

Well, now I live in as small a space as possible and I don't want to spend the rest of my life like this.

 

[dmcowen674]

Should we raise the minimum wage? I have seen a lot of people discussing an even further increase.

Personally, I think the minimum wage is what forced many companies to move operations to countries overseas.

Actually should be lowered and here is why.

You can't rise above poverty at $7.75 so it makes no difference if you lower to the $2.00 that Republicans want.

This way the excuse that high minimum wage is reason for sending jobs overseas is gone.

 

[BladeVenom]

We should raise it to.... A MILLION DOLLARS.

 

[Nebor]

We should raise it to.... A MILLION DOLLARS.

Dude, then everybody would be millionaires! Good thinkin'!

 

[Nebor]

Working IS a reason that someone should have to pay you. If you stop and think, the very fact that people are debating over whether workers "deserve" a living wage is mind boggling. Everybody deserves a living wage in exchange for working, so why is it considered normal to work but not make enough money to live? Something is seriously wrong with our society. You want your sign that the end of our civilization is approaching? There it is.

My point is that you need to do offer value enough to justify a "living wage" in order to be paid it. Frankly some people just don't offer enough to be paid that much. In those cases, that person had better sell their services to more than one buyer (get multiple jobs) if they expect to accumulate a "living wage."

 

[Double Trouble]

So what are saying? Are you trying to say that someone who works for minimum wage, or a little more than minimum wage, doesn't deserve to live? I mean, a livable wage is just that, a wage that you can live with. A wage that allows you to buy the necessities of life.

A perfect example of the entitlement society. Everyone thinks they have a right to be paid at a certain level or demand a "livable" wage. Newsflash: people should be paid based on the value they bring to the table. If what you do is worth $20 per hour to the employer, then the employer can afford to pay you a higher hourly rate. If what you do is worth $3 per hour, then forcing an employer to pay you $10 per hour to do it will a) force the employer to find a way to do it without hiring you at all, or b) ship the job overseas. Either way, everyone loses, it's simply not sustainable.

 

[CycloWizard]

Even if you live very frugally 10 dollars an hour barely gets food on the table if your single in most cities. If you have a family forget about it...

$10/hour full time is $20,400/year. I made far less than that ($12-18k) until the last year of my PhD program while living in St. Louis. I had a couple of roommates, but still managed to eat out at least once per day, buy myself a new laptop, take vacations, and generally just about whatever else I wanted to do. It probably would have been more of a struggle living in NYC, but there's no reason it can't have its own minimum wage.

 

[nick1985]

Yes, raise it. I'd say 'cue the right wing false myths' but they are already started.

Can we make it $50 an hour please?

 

[PokerGuy]

Can we make it $50 an hour please?

Sure, or maybe $100 per hour?

The dummies just don't seem to understand logic.

 

[nick1985]

Sure, or maybe $100 per hour?

The dummies just don't seem to understand logic.

We're idiots and liars according to him.

meh

 

[Matt1970]

If you can swing a hammer, a paintbrush or a rake you can make well over minimum wage.

 

[nick1985]

If you can swing a hammer, a paintbrush or a rake you can make well over minimum wage.

There is something you just arn't getting.

Everyone is entitled to a living wage.

 

[brandonb]

I remember reading in the bill of rights that everybody is guaranteed to be financially successful! Our forefathers were smart.

 

[JD50]

So what are saying? Are you trying to say that someone who works for minimum wage, or a little more than minimum wage, doesn't deserve to live? I mean, a livable wage is just that, a wage that you can live with. A wage that allows you to buy the necessities of life.

What is stopping you from starting a chain fast food restaurant and paying people a "living wage?"

 

[CADsortaGUY]

these discussions are always entertaining. The focus always shifts to some imaginary "living wage" argument by the so called "progressives". However no one can ever truly define what a "living wage" is, much less how that argument should be tied to the MINIMUM wage issue being discussed.

The rational position on the Federal gov't setting a "minimum wage" is that they should stay out of it unless they can provide a Constitutional argument for having it, and then if one can - you have to have a good reason to increase it. No, "feelings" is not a good reason nor is it rational... but for whatever reason it seems "progressives" think they can substitute emotion for rationality.

 

[Red Dawn]

I don't tip anyway, but I just think it is retarded that your culture obliges customers to pay wages!

Do you frequent the same eateries? If you do you should examine your food closely.

 

[Red Dawn]

Minimum wage isn't meant to be a living wage. In tough ecomomic times like these it would be a bad idea to raise it.