Minimum wage should match cost of living!

I really don't know what this has to do with a person's wages.

If a person cannot produce or work at all for whatever reason they have a family to take care of. I don't know why you're coming up with these random arguments which have nothing to do with the labor market.

I don't think you're talking about productivity and how it is related to the labor market. I'm talking about a person's skill set and what they can contribute to an industry. And if you increase your knowledge and your skill set then of course there is no limit to productivity. Why do you think people have Resumes in the first place? What is a Resume besides a measure of how much you can product in the labor market?

 

You said higher wages come from higher productivity.

In what you've said about a persons skill set, There are many things that could hinder this, And not all of them are the fault of the employee. High paying jobs require a college degree, And I don't make enough money at my present job to afford college. Even If I could, I only have a few spare hours a day that I could use for schooling, So it would take many years before I could get any kind of degree, Not to mention many fields that pay well are fields I would not be suited for. I wouldn't make a good doctor or scientist.

Also, There are a limit to the number of high paying jobs available, And there are many more people than there are high paying jobs. I've read about people with college degrees working at McDonalds because they couldn't get a job in their field.

Point I make is, There are going to be many people that will not be able to get a high paying job. And as the cost of living increases, Their low paying jobs won't be enough to pay for the things they need to live. We need to boost the bottom upwards. The doctors and engineers do not have a problem, But the customer service rep, The waitress, The trashman? The average person like me needs all the help I can get.

Anyway, Going to bed, I'll check back tomorrow. Thank you for your time.

 

Poverty level most likely covered the minimum wage back then was most likely due to the fact that historically barely anyone earns minimum wage. Back then it was probably 2 percent of income earners. These days, about 4 percent of people make minimum wage.

 

You must concede that when minimum wage was a dollar an hour, people could see 2 movies and buy popcorn and a drink to boot. People these days would have to work an hour and a half for one ticket in. Either join us in the fight to get rid of the FED and their policy of destroying American wealth, or support higher pay to match the monthly losses. Anything less is the support of the destruction of the American market. I don't think that is your intention, but you must come to grips with reality.

 

Its a good idea, but you'd have to define the cost of living.
If you mean just enough to pay the bills and put food on the table, fine - but what about medications, petrol for the car and small luxury items like a DVD?

Minimum wage here is around $550 (I think) I can live on half of that quite easily but that's only because I live alone and rent. If I were living anywhere else, I'd need more than that to get by.

 

I don't know why you're trying to convince me of this. I'm going based on the information someone else found.

 

I don't know if you have seen this or not, but it's pretty funny, and sad.

http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmem...ervative-hypocrisy-on-class-warfare-video.php

 

Also, There are a limit to the number of high paying jobs available, And there are many more people than there are high paying jobs. I've read about people with college degrees working at McDonalds because they couldn't get a job in their field.[/quote]

Back then if you had a high school diploma you could get 95 percent of the jobs out there. The college degree today is barely enough to get a job now. There are so many college graduates out in the labor market who don't have jobs. It's not because the work force now require a new set of skills. It's because we have driven down the value of a college degree. Now it's not enough. You have to get a Master or Doctorate if you want to be guaranteed.

In the long run, is it worth it? You spend more time in school, accumulate more debt and still enter the labor market with a job that's outside of your career choice.

The cost of living when the hourly wages go up. Not before.

 

Minimum wage should be commensurate with the basic cost of living. To pay a worker anything less is to expect him to starve.

 

For everyone who is a proponent of raising minimum wage:

You do realize that no other wages would be affected. Anyone who currently earns more than minimum wage won't get a raise, right?

Anyway, I thought you might like to know a little about minimum wage workers:

Most are under 25.
Most were never married.
Most work part-time.

Once again, minimum wage is for young people just starting out, not for established workers. Most established workers already earn more than minimum wage and any raise to minimum wage will not increase their wages and may only delay their next raise.

 

When did they become a right?

When I was earning less, I worked 14 hour days and lived on a very tight budget.

 

Raising the minimum wage does not raise affordability. The market will adjust around it. You can thank this recession on improper government intrusion into the market, minimum wage is just another improper intrusion.

 

Are you personally willing to pay 20 bucks for a Big Mac to ensure that the teenage kid behind the counter gets a "living wage" to take his girlfriend out with?

 

This is a limiting goal.

Minimum wage should actually be enough to afford a house. A mortgage should be an option to anyone. We are still under the lord, servent system in which many people pay someone else to live in a building that is not needed beyond for a source of income.

People are now able to take one home rent half of it and pay less than market rent per month AND keep an asset.

If you want a battle fight to end income tax. Follow me on twitter endincometax2020 and help me get the word out about big moves in making the lowest paid wealthy enough for homes of their own.

 

Oh, I'm sure baggdag, you just did loads more work than every manager in the entire store. I'm sure you were much smarter, too. And they just didn't appraciate you, poor baby.

I'm sorry to hear you didn't survive.

For most people, minimum wage jobs are starter jobs. Very, very few people are like you and choose to just stay there.

 

And the movie is in 3D, and has all kinds of amazing effects, and the seats are more comfortable, and the theater is air conditioned, etc.

People compare apples to oranges on wage discussions.

Sure the "average" person might not afford a brand new Chevrolet today, but if I took the features on a brand new Chevrolet in 1955, and put out a modern car with just those features, everyone would be able to afford it (but no one would buy it, because our standard of living is so much higher).

 

And what was your education level at the time? What kind of living place did you have? Did you ever consider having a roomate? Did you have a car? How much credit debt did you have? Did you go out looking for a second job if you were so poor? Did you eat ramen noodles? Did you have cable, internet, cell phone, or land line phone?

Don't hate on those that have paid their dues. It is why in the military those that just get in are also usually the shop cleaners, you always start at the bottom. Did you complain everyday about your pay or did you work hard to try to get promoted? My wife started at Home Depot less than 2 years ago, she has already jumped in pay by 25%. She is also getting full time and overtime cause she actually tries and doesn't complain when she has to actually work.

 

On principle, I agree with you. Everyone should be able to get a job that they can live on.

Practically, that is nearly impossible. First of all, who decides what is livable? How do you calculate that?

Second of all, if you raise the minimum wage for everyone, then companies, in turn, raise their prices to compensate for the extra cost. Suddenly, you are making more money and also paying more for everything you buy. There you are back below the standard of living again. Raise the minimum wage again and the same thing will happen.

What is the solution?

 

Minimum wage is for high school kids, college students and energetic retiree's....raising it to "living wage" levels would eliminate their employment opportunities...

and any mature, able bodied adult over 25 who expects to subsist on a 'career' of entry level wages is lazy, a dullard or a (*)(*)(*)(*) up seeking social acceptance / economic rewards for their own incompetence or self imposed bad behavior.

 

Raise minimum wage, prices increase. Don't raise wages that are above minimum wage. They usually raise them the same percentage and that leaves everyone in the same boat from before raising the minimum wage.

Make it more expensive for rich people to live.

 

I'm going to assume you are kidding. Otherwise your solution only seems to make life worse for everybody, as far as I can see.

 

The minimum wage should be a million dollars an hour. Woot.



Seriously though, it shocks me that people advocate price controls on anything, even labor. I think price controls are covered on day 2 of any intro economics class. Read a book, and quite advocating this nonsense.

 

I mostly agree, except for the last part. There is a lot of hard work that can be done for minimum wage. I don't see anything lazy or shameful about working a minimum wage job. You might be a dullard or unfit for a lot of things if that is all you can find, but anybody who works is contributing something to society in my book.

To quote the wisdom of a campy 80s comedy film, "The world needs ditch diggers too."

 

Actually, it works out even worse than that, when wages increase, prices increase even further, leaving the lowest paid workers even worse off.

If labor goes up, not only does the end manufacturer have to increase prices, but so do all of the other steps in the chain - component manufacturing, raw materials, transportation, advertising - all parts of the chaing go up, compounding the increase of the final price. Add in the fact that taxes, unemployment and other employee costs increase as well, and the compounding gets even worse.

Minimum wage earners may see a 10% increase in income, but the prices will likely increase more than 12% to compensate.

 

The harsh truth. Minimum wage and Living wage are no longer synonomous.