202 replies to this topic

[DonValentino]

...we have a federal minimum wage, it's $7.25/hr. 

[Kaddict]

...we have a federal minimum wage, it's $7.25/hr. 

Sorry, I meant a federal wage hike. It is better region by region.

[talbs]

Aw, man. You had to give up luxuries.

You weren't poor.

 

Right, because I chose not to live above my means. When I was 15 I worked 25 hours a week making $5.15 an hour. When I turned 16 I started working at a Subway making $6.25. I worked there for 2 years while I finished high school. I left making $7.50. In college I worked the same seasonal job (April-November) for all 4 years while attending a University full time. The job was normally 45-50 hours a week, and I started out making $8.00. By the time my last year of college/that job rolled around I was making $10.50. 

 

After I graduated, I went home and couldn't find a job for 3 months. Mainly because I was looking for jobs in my field, versus simply "jobs." I didn't collect unemployment those three months. Instead, my cell phone was turned off, I became delinquent on credit card payments, and I had a lapse in insurance coverage, but that's the nature of the beast. One day in February of 2012 I noticed that the same Subway I worked at during high school was hiring, so I went and turned in an application. Wallowing in self pity wasn't getting me caught up on my bills, and the lenders I had used to finance my education were going to start knocking on the door within a few short months. I got hired back at that same Subway and had only worked three weeks before I got a call for an interview. The successful interview led to the start of my career in local government, and now almost three years later, a career in state government. The point is that there is light at the end of the tunnel. I've had to drink protein shakes as meals because it was the only thing I had at the time, I've had to peruse gas station parking lots for extra change in the mornings to make sure my car had enough gas to at least get me to class, so I've been poor. I'm just thankful/fortunate that is no longer the case.

because fafsa saw my family's income and assumed it would all be used to help me. My parents have bills, debt, car repairs, all of which come before my tuition.

 

I know them feels. When I enrolled in college my dad had a decent job, for someone without a high school diploma anyway. It was determined that his income was too high for me to receive aid, so I just had to borrow it all. He never saved his money, and still pretty much lived paycheck to paycheck. There was no fund for me or anything that had been accruing interest since I was a child, so I was kind of left high and dry. My parents were divorced, but my mom certainly wasn't in a position to help either. She is/was on disability and only receives $640 a month, so here I am, three years removed from graduation with about 30 grand debt to my name, feels bad man.

Edited by talbs, 18 September 2014 - 04:54 AM.

[Frizzle]

So you lived off your parents like a leech? You're disgusting and should have prepared for this in advanced. A drain on the system is all you will ever be.

[talbs]

So you lived off your parents like a leech? You're disgusting and should have prepared for this in advanced. A drain on the system is all you will ever be.

 

Who is that directed to? Because I don't believe I personally ever said anything about living with and/or receiving anything from my parents. I lived with my father prior to turning 18 and going to school, but I was a minor, and beside the point.

Edited by talbs, 18 September 2014 - 05:23 AM.

[Frizzle]

Exactly, you're a sponge on society relying. On others to further yourself into the person you are today. You shouldn't rely on other people, but you obviously do.

[Bone]

Most of this has already been addressed, but here goes:

 

I'm confused as to why his chart makes his a fact and mine is an opinion. It's a political issue. Have either of you ever heard of the free market, or is familiarity with such limited to non Commies/Liberals?

 

 

Um. What chart? Also, McCarthy died nearly 60 years ago.

 

 

An increase in the federal minimum wage would reduce the incentive for low-wage workers to get an education and move up to a higher-paying job. The lower the minimum wage, the more eager a minimum wage worker would be to enroll in a community college course at night, improve his or her skills, and apply for a higher-paying job. Making the entry-level jobs higher paying increases the risk that workers will get stuck in them for longer instead of moving on to something more rewarding.

 

Not everyone is looking to climb the corporate ladder. Everyone has a different definition of 'rewarding'. Some people are perfectly content in their minimum wage paying jobs (or would be if the wage was livable). 

 

 

If two free people (boss/employee) want to enter into a voluntary, consensual agreement that doesn't infringe on anyone else’s rights, why should the government stop them? If someone wants to work for $5 an hour, and someone wants to hire that person for that much with no one forcing either one of them into the agreement, by what authority does government step in and stop them?

 

Like Waser said, if the worker is choosing between a $5/hr job and starving, then it isn't voluntary. 

 

The costs of living vary from state to state and city to city. If the point of raising the minimum wage is to provide a “living wage,” why should the minimum wage in areas such as Billings, Montana and Laramie, Wyoming be the same as areas such as Manhattan, New York or San Francisco, California?

 

That's a good point. States and localities should enact their own minimum wage laws, more stringent than the federal standard. But the national minimum wage unequivocally needs to be raised.

[NapisaurusRex]

You are 100% correct. But don't people have ANY connections in their lives? surely they have made friends/acquaintances throughout their years..

We need to get more people involved in this debate! I see many lurkers here... post your opinions!

My connections to drug dealers and the Aryan Nation doesn't mean much in the workforce.
 
As for the iphones thing, my household is more than a couple thousand below the poverty line. We obviously have internet, and I have a droid. We afford these things because I do things like make laundry detergent, cloth diaper, use reusable feminine hygiene products, take advantage of natural resources for food, use a clothesline, and dozens of other things that add up. I like having internet and a smartphone. I don't need to use Tide or Luvs. You can't judge people on what they have, because you don't know what they've given up to have it.

[talbs]

 

That's a good point. States and localities should enact their own minimum wage laws, more stringent than the federal standard. But the national minimum wage unequivocally needs to be raised.

 

 

Many states and localities already mandate higher pay than the federal minimum, and that's fine by me. Good for them and the employees in those places. Where do you feel that the federal minimum wage needs to be at? Something extreme (in my opinion) in the ballpark of $15 per hour, or something along the lines of $10 as the current administration is actively pursuing.

[Bone]

Also, a smartphone is more a necessity than a luxury for a lot of people. They can replace a $500 computer and a $30 (???)/month landline, and for many poor (and homeless) people it is their only way to communicate with their loved ones.

Many states and localities already mandate higher pay than the federal minimum, and that's fine by me. Good for them and the employees in those places. Where do you feel that the federal minimum wage needs to be at? Something extreme (in my opinion) in the ballpark of $15 per hour, or something along the lines of $10 as the current administration is actively pursuing.

 

I don't think $15 is unreasonable.

[Psyduck]

Okay, rant- For those fast food employees striking for $15 an hour, let’s do some math. At $15 an hour Johnny Fry-Boy would make $31,200 annually. An  E1 (private) in the military makes $18,378. An E5 (sergeant) with 8 years of service only makes $35,067 annually. So you’re telling me, Sally McBurgerflipper, that you deserve as much as those kids getting shot at, deploying for months in hostile environments, and putting their collective asses on the line every day protecting your unskilled butt?! Here’s the deal, Baconator, you are working in a job designed for a kid in high school who is learning how to work and earning enough for gas, and hanging out with their equally goofy high school pals. If you have chosen this as your life long profession, you have failed. 

[Eagles]

 

 

the amount of people it would help would greatly outweigh the number of people who might lose their job. 

So what do you say to the people that you just totally fucked out of a job? have fun being homeless?

[NapisaurusRex]

Also, a smartphone is more a necessity than a luxury for a lot of people. They can replace a $500 computer and a $30 (???)/month landline, and for many poor (and homeless) people it is their only way to communicate with their loved ones.

Not to mention a lot of job applications are online or utilize email now.

[Bone]

So what do you say to the people that you just totally fucked out of a job? have fun being homeless?

 

Government welfare pays more than the current minimum wage is most states.

[Eagles]

 

 

I think a lot of people who complain about poor people receiving government aid just don't really know any poor people. Want to know someone who's on medicaid, receives food stamps, and reduced cost heating? My girlfriend. White, college graduate. We live together in an apartment and need all the help we can get. Her parents are struggling and can't afford to help much, and neither can mine. My mom recently got a job teaching at a university, and now my family makes double what it used to, so as a result I did not receive federal work study, state aid, and had to take out more loans, because fafsa saw my family's income and assumed it would all be used to help me. My parents have bills, debt, car repairs, all of which come before my tuition. My girlfriend commutes three hours to NYC to work at her unpaid internship twice a week so she can hopefully get a good job. Government programs aren't making us lazy or making us not want to work towards a better career, they're helping us survive. I'm between jobs right now and it's very stressful. I've got about enough left for my bills/rent this month then..we'll see. If I had been making $10/hr for the last year and a half instead of $8, I'd be in a better situation, so I am in favor of raising minimum wage. If people tell you unemployment will rise drastically, that's bullshit. $10/hr ($15 is a little overboard) would not bankrupt any business, and the amount of people it would help would greatly outweigh the number of people who might lose their job. 

I congratulate you being able to overcome what you have. You are doing an exceptional job. But the bottom line is, youre surviving. Sure it might not be the greatest lifestyle yet, but you have a roof over your head and are working towards a better career. I certainly understand where the extra money in your situation would go to, but how can you say that you need more money if you know for a fact that people, any amount of people, will lose their jobs? How would you like to be in your situation without a job? 

 

 

 

$10/hr ($15 is a little overboard) would not bankrupt any business

As far as that statement goes, I would have to disagree. 

[Bone]

Not to mention a lot of job applications are online or utilize email now.

 

Yep. And while you can use the internet in a library (if there are any near), having a phone number is invaluable. 

[Eagles]

 

 

Government welfare pays more than the current minimum wage is most states.

So you would like to force government dependency onto someone when they are perfectly capable to working a minimum wage job?

And in NO way is a smart phone a necessity. say that to a homeless person. Its a necessity that i need my iphone... do you know how ridiculous that sounds?

[Bone]

So you would like to force government dependency onto someone when they are perfectly capable to working a minimum wage job?

 

If it means an increase in the long- and short-term quality of life for millions of others, yes.

[NapisaurusRex]

So you would like to force government dependency onto someone when they are perfectly capable to working a minimum wage job?

You never answered this.
 

So, instead of 'poor people' (I'd really rather just call them people) relying on the government to raise minimum wage, you'd rather them rely on the government for things like food, shelter, insurance, and childcare instead of being able to pay for them themselves?

I messed up my quotes, hang on

[Eagles]

 

 

increase in the long- and short-term quality of life for millions

you don't think its selfish to force someone on welfare just to increase another's quality of living? The welfare subject is completely separate topic that could be debated for weeks, but for now, you think thats acceptable?

[Bone]

you don't think its selfish to force someone on welfare just to increase another's quality of living? The welfare subject is completely separate topic that could be debated for weeks, but for now, you think thats acceptable?

 

As it stands, minimum wage-paying corporations are effectively being subsidised by the government, since a large proportion of minimum wage workers receive government welfare in one form or another. Increasing the minimum wage to a livable level would ensure that people who are employed do not need to be dependent on government support, reducing spending and ensuring that those who need it actually get it.

[Eagles]

A 10% increase would yield approximately  $1500 of increased revenue yearly for a person working 40hr/wk 52 weeks a year. In the same aspect, it is going to cost each business around $1700. I don't know you think that businesses can afford this, let alone willl $1500 even make that much of a difference?

[Bone]

Raising the federal minimum wage is a tricky business. Raising it to $15, a 100% hike of the current minimum, will definitely hurt businesses. The increase is way too much of too little time to adjust, which hurts businesses dependent on low paying manual jobs. However, a smaller increase of 10% is much more reasonable and easier to adjust to.

 

Is anyone demanding an instantaneous shift to a $15 minimum wage? 

[Eagles]

Your article clearly says that there are plenty of willing people to work for the minimum wage of 7.25. Is it just the greedy people that want the money? Because it seems pretty clear that SOMEONE will those minimum wage jobs

[Bone]

A 10% increase would yield approximately  $1500 of increased revenue yearly for a person working 40hr/wk 52 weeks a year. In the same aspect, it is going to cost each business around $1700. I don't know you think that businesses can afford this, let alone willl $1500 even make that much of a difference?

 

Are you only going to attempt to address arguments that you have a canned response for?

Your article clearly says that there are plenty of willing people to work for the minimum wage of 7.25. Is it just the greedy people that want the money? Because it seems pretty clear that SOMEONE will those minimum wage jobs

 

Can you please provide some evidence for anything you just said?