Yet another fast food worker strike

[BoberFett]

While my thinking follows the typical "learn some skills and get a better job" path, I still feel bad for people who lost their higher paying jobs and had to take these positions. It makes me think about where technology will eventually take us. It seems like nearly all jobs could eventually be automated. I doubt this will happen in our lifetime, but what happens when nearly every job and every decision can be made better and quicker by machines? I'm a capitalist, through and through, but it seems like technology may eventually be its downfall - when there is no (or very little) demand for paid human workers, our system will need to change.

Truth.

The system will eventually need a massive overhaul, which will require a massive change in thinking.

Nobody in politics has any answer right now other than the same tired ideas. Republicans tell people to pick themselves up by the bootstraps, Democrats buy votes with minimum wage increases and token redistribution via taxes and handout programs. Both are based on ever increasing inflation and population growth and are destined for failure.

 

[NesuD]

http://money.cnn.com/2014/09/01/news/companies/fast-food-worker-strike/index.html?hpt=hp_t4

Again, the sob story about a 27 year old woman with 2 kids (one being 8 years old, so she was preggers at 18)... With no father in the picture for her two kids... Who thinks she should be paid twice what she currently is just to survive... Who hasn't skipped a meal in 15 years and is obese... Is going on strike in the next few days to attempt to fix this injustice.



Why do I not have any sympathy? Is there something wrong with me? CBD?

Yes there is something wrong with you. This is exactly the type of situation that a union was made for. An honest days work should earn a liveable wage and 8 dollars an hr is not in anyway a liveable wage. It is one thing to hate on auto workers who cry about their pay while sitting firmly in the middle class income group. To take someone who works at an unskilled job just like them but gets paid a third or less than the janitor at the auto plant and ridicule them for what is a legitimate bargaining tactic proves there is most definately something wrong with you.

I hope they have some success and get more for their efforts.

 

[senseamp]

Time to raise the minimum wage. GOP is in denial if they think only juveniles work those jobs.

 

[nehalem256]

Yes there is something wrong with you. This is exactly the type of situation that a union was made for. An honest days work should earn a liveable wage and 8 dollars an hr is not in anyway a liveable wage. It is one thing to hate on auto workers who cry about their pay while sitting firmly in the middle class income group. To take someone who works at an unskilled job just like them but gets paid a third or less than the janitor at the auto plant and ridicule them for what is a legitimate bargaining tactic proves there is most definately something wrong with you.

I hope they have some success and get more for their efforts.

Problem is that 15/hr isn't a living wage for the woman either

http://livingwage.mit.edu/places/1703114000

Its $25.51/hr. So why isn't she asking for that? :hmm:

 

[WackyDan]

Perhaps because in the past the striking workers didn't previously do everything possible to screw their lives up and then cry about?

*and in the past the worker didn't have a thick book of gov't regulations enforcing minimum wage, restricting child labor and specifying industry safety standards.

For the last few decades all we have seen out of unions is extortion.

 

[senseamp]

Problem is that 15/hr isn't a living wage for the woman either

http://livingwage.mit.edu/places/1703114000

Its $25.51/hr. So why isn't she asking for that? :hmm:

$8 is too low. $25 is too high. $15 is just right.

 

[WackyDan]

Yea that is an outright falsehood. Note what happened in the 50's and 60's when unskilled factory worker compensation artificially skyrocked due to unionization. The american economy had explosive growth and prosperity. It has been the evisceration of highly paid unskilled labor by Republicans that has ruined America.

Yet Clinton signed NAFTA.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

$8 is too low. $25 is too high. $15 is just right.

So the guy making 15 in a warehouse gets $25 now? You ready to pay a third more on all the goods or services you buy so this lazy woman can make a living wage for asking if you want fries with that?

 

[WackyDan]

No I mean when Republicans CHANGED the laws to allow the outsourcing of those jobs. Republicans HATE and LOATHE american workers.

LOL... Again. Clinton signed NAFTA.

 

[brandonb]

Problem is that 15/hr isn't a living wage for the woman either

http://livingwage.mit.edu/places/1703114000

Its $25.51/hr. So why isn't she asking for that? :hmm:

Lol. If I can get paid $25/hr to be a McDonalds cashier even without a high school diploma. Sign me up!

 

[chucky2]

So the guy making 15 in a warehouse gets $25 now? You ready to pay a third more on all the goods or services you buy so this lazy woman can make a living wage for asking if you want fries with that?

You're talking to someone who doesn't want to pay $0.10 more for lettuce and so wants Open Borders aka Illegal Invasion to continue, so the answer to that is an absolute 'Hell No'.

 

[Pneumothorax]

Lol. If I can get paid $25/hr to be a McDonalds cashier even without a high school diploma. Sign me up!

You're somewhat hitting close here, what's going to be an unintended consequence for these workers, is who's going to replace them short term (until robots can be built to replace the workers). Right now, there's a ton of 50-60 somethings who just aren't looking for work anymore. When they hear you can earn $15/hours flipping burgers, they'll be getting starting to look for work again. They'll also be competing with very motivated and smarter people who are out of college as many college grads are getting paid less than $15 a hour.

 

[Greenman]

Yea that is an outright falsehood. Note what happened in the 50's and 60's when unskilled factory worker compensation artificially skyrocked due to unionization. The american economy had explosive growth and prosperity. It has been the evisceration of highly paid unskilled labor by Republicans that has ruined America.

That is an outright falsehood. Off-shoring is what did in factory workers and manufacturing. Why pay a guy $35 an hour in the US when you can get a malnourished child in Bangladesh to do the job for two bucks a month? No one gave a shit when factories were closed across the US, all the white collar folks said "tough shit, they should have gone to collage". Now all the white collar jobs are leaving as well, and the boards of all of those company's are saying "tough shit, they should have gotten degrees that were worth something".
The problem is greed, not politics.

 

[zanejohnson]

basically it's like this....


the world economy is changing, America, as it exists, wont be able to support living conditions they way they have....


the question is, do we wanna slow down the process by allowing a min wage hike (and not making it look like India in the bad areas) or do we want it to go ahead and descend into an India like situation....


we can cook the books and make it better for a while...a bandaid..

any realist understands exactly where we are.. i say apply every bandaid we possibly can, and tax the fuck out of the fatcats that obviously are bent on turning America into a 3rd world oligarchy...

they want third world income inequality, with the first world look..... got news. you ain't gonna want it when it gets here lol. it's a hell of alot better when the lower class can at least TRY to look presentable....you take away what little they have (inflation is already on the rise, 1000 bucks a month BARELY keeps a roof over your head), you take a way that inch, and it's tent citys everywhere, hoardes of homeless, look at Mexico city, beautiful areas for the rich, tent citys for the poor, crime off the charts.

 

[Pneumothorax]

That is an outright falsehood. Off-shoring is what did in factory workers and manufacturing. Why pay a guy $35 an hour in the US when you can get a malnourished child in Bangladesh to do the job for two bucks a month? No one gave a shit when factories were closed across the US, all the white collar folks said "tough shit, they should have gone to collage". Now all the white collar jobs are leaving as well, and the boards of all of those company's are saying "tough shit, they should have gotten degrees that were worth something".
The problem is greed, not politics.

It's both, you're going to need politicians involved as the only way to reverse these trends is to repeal NAFTA (at least with Mexico) and to start slapping on tariffs to equalize the labor costs. The reverse of what China is doing by unfairly tying in their currency to the dollar.

 

[nehalem256]

$8 is too low. $25 is too high. $15 is just right.

How did you come up with $15 being just right?

According to liberals workers deserve a living wage. I posted evidence that living wage in Chicago is $25/hr

Why don't you want the poor women to have a living wage?

 

[Darwin333]

That's not how wages really work, as wage rigidity generally dampens the ability of high unemployment to reduce wages.

Also, I'm not sure if you're talking about the minimum wage or striking now. Wages gotten through striking are not "artificially high", they are the result of a business deal. If you want to talk about the effects of the minimum wage on prices and employment we've done that in many other threads. I think you would be surprised at how little prices would go up or the effects on overall employment.

Do you think that would hold true with a damn near doubling of wages?

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

The fact this woman hasn't missed a meal and has a roof over her head shows how great America is. She is working the same job she started when she was in high school. That would be like me still being a bus boy (my first job) at a restaurant and crying about not making a living wage.

 

[senseamp]

How did you come up with $15 being just right?

According to liberals workers deserve a living wage. I posted evidence that living wage in Chicago is $25/hr

Why don't you want the poor women to have a living wage?

OK, fine, make it $25. I think $15/hr is reasonable though.

 

[nehalem256]

OK, fine, make it $25.

I can only hope Democrats run on a platform of making minimum wage $25/hr :thumbsup:

I think $15/hr is reasonable though.

What is your basis for this? Why don't you think this woman deserves to make a living wage?

 

[fskimospy]

So the guy making 15 in a warehouse gets $25 now? You ready to pay a third more on all the goods or services you buy so this lazy woman can make a living wage for asking if you want fries with that?

Your example assumes that 100% of an increase to the minimum wage is transmitted upwards to other jobs, which is obviously untrue.

It also assumes that 100% of a warehouse's costs are labor related, which is also obviously untrue.

 

[senseamp]

I can only hope Democrats run on a platform of making minimum wage $25/hr :thumbsup:



What is your basis for this? Why don't you think this woman deserves to make a living wage?

Sure. But I think the law should not have a variable min wage based on number of kids. $15 at least covers one adult's living wage and leave some room for a child, so public assistance can be reduced. $8 does not cover even one adult's living wage, so it puts undue burden on taxpayers.

 

[BoberFett]

Yes there is something wrong with you. This is exactly the type of situation that a union was made for.

I'm with you!

An honest days work should earn a liveable wage and 8 dollars an hr is not in anyway a liveable wage.

Awww, you went and spoiled it. That simply isn't true. You might think a days work should pay a livable wage, but the term livable wage is not defined, and there's no reason that a job should necessarily pay that much. Labor is worth exactly what someone is willing to pay for it to be done, it's not worth some ill defined lifestyle.

 

[fskimospy]

Sure. But I think the law should not have a variable min wage based on number of kids. $15 at least covers one adult's living wage and leave some room for a child, so public assistance can be reduced. $8 does not cover even one adult's living wage, so it puts undue burden on taxpayers.

That's an important thing to note, it is not household income, it is a single person's income. Clearly with household income the requirement would be much lower.

 

[nehalem256]

Sure. But I think the law should not have a variable min wage based on number of kids. $15 at least covers one adult's living wage and leave some room for a child, so public assistance can be reduced. $8 does not cover even one adult's living wage, so it puts undue burden on taxpayers.

Yeah like half a kid :\

http://livingwage.mit.edu/places/1703114000

Feel free to pick what you think minimum wage should be based off of

1 adult = $10.48
1 adult + 1 child = $20.86
1 adult + 2 children = $25.51

Note that none of those are close to $15/hr