Aug 12, 2015 So, I've got a few questions about minimum wage and the whole thing with $15/hr, I didn't realize it was such a huge thing. First of all, I've heard this mostly applies to McDonald's workers, but is this a movement to make the minimum wage $15/hr? Secondly, when and how exactly did this thing begin? I just remembered from seeing a campaign commercial for governor cuomo about how it says he'll be pushing for this to happen. I also spoke to a friend of mine recently about all this, and he says he's in support of it. He explains that for anyone who works full time, 40 hours, they deserve to live comfortably no matter what they're doing. $15 an hour for minimum wage should do just that. And that brings me to my third question. There are some jobs out there that require a little more skill than say a fast food employee. I'm just a bank teller, which isn't anything spectacular, but but it does take a little more skill than working at a fast food chain - and it pays slightly more than minimum wage. So if minimum wage (if it's just minimum wage and not just wages for fast food workers, that is part of the first question) is raised, will the wages for all other jobs that already a little higher than minimum wage also rise? As well as salary and whatever other jobs you can obtain with a college degree & higher - will they be paid more as well? And my fourth question - if this does get implemented and the answer to my third question is yes, then...wouldn't everything just become more expensive? And if that happens, wouldn't that at least partially defeat the purpose of raising minimum wage so high to $15 in the first place, making inflation go off the roof? If you ask me, that'd make things more convoluted, not fairer. If the answer to the third question is no, and fast food workers pay would then outdo jobs that do take more skill...then why in the h--- is this happening Now I didn't make this thread to mock those who work in fast food - my first job ever was at Wendy's (I hated it but I did it) they're jobs that someone has to do - I have respect for plumbers, janitors, custodians, jobs that we need people to do and have. I made this thread to get clarity on the situation.
Aug 12, 2015 I'm sure the average compensation for a plumber/pipefitter is $50/hr in America... Don't know why you would compare them to janitors... I guess complete ignorance maybe?
Aug 13, 2015 I mean the only issue I have is that if they raise minimum wage, they'll just raise the prices of everything.
Aug 13, 2015 Why not just Google an article or a debate about it? Have you seen the morons who frequent this board? My knee jerk reaction is that min wage should be tied to cost of living or something, but I only have Econ101 under my belt lol. Sure, in a vacuum that would be true. In reality, it will be gradual. Regardless, when you adjust for inflation, minimum wage has been trending downwards since the late 60s.
Aug 13, 2015 15 an hour is a pretty good number IF you get paid overtime. Overall it is low if youre not working decent hours
Aug 13, 2015 If certain states want to raise their minimum wages to $15 and further increase their cost of living, then by all means, go for it. But if the federal government sets the national minimum wage to $15, then the cost of living will increase in every state. For a state like California, that wouldn't matter much, since they have already have a high cost of living and a minimum wage of $9.00. But for a state like Texas, that has a low cost of living and a minimum wage of $7.25 (the federal minimum), it would have much more of an impact. The bottom line is that each state should handle it's own minimum wage based on it's cost of living and the state of it's economy. Also, notice that the states that this movement is most popular in (California and New York), all have high costs of living: And lastly, if fast food workers want to get paid more, they need to stop wasting their time at rallies, and instead go to school and get a degree. They need to also stop blaming corporations for their problems in life. They aren't being "robbed by multi-billionaires", they are being paid based on the menial tasks that they perform.
Aug 13, 2015 @Sign Language College has become a debt racket. Just like you said with money, if everybody has some it gets devalued. Not to mention the largest class disparity in US history and the lowest minimum wage of the last 30 years. Don't victim blame. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/23/5-facts-about-the-minimum-wage/ http://inflationdata.com/Inflation/Inflation_Articles/Education_Inflation.asp http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/12/17/wealth-gap-upper-middle-income/ $7.25 in USD = $9.82 in Australlian currency. A little less bad? Still awful.
Aug 13, 2015 I used to feel like this too up until I was laid off of my job which paid me 21/hr and not being able to find employment ANY where in my field. I had to settle for much less and am now in a position that I may lose all the things I've worked for. Having more opportunities to find better paying jobs would be a huge help right now
Aug 13, 2015 College has become a debt racket, but that is a different issue, and that doesn't mean that they shouldn't try to pursue higher education. Lowest minimum wage in the last 50 years?: Btw, I'm not "victim blaming", I'm just saying that they are getting paid according to the tasks that they perform. Here is something I saw that I agree with:
Aug 13, 2015 Didn't get the tag notification, sorry. Anyway, wow, not being able to find a desired position in your field in Louisiana? d--- man, I'm sorry to hear that. Idk if you'd wanna move, but Texas has a low cost of living, one of the best housing markets in the country, and offers plenty of job opportunities for people in the oil business.
Aug 13, 2015 I've actually considered on several occasions contacting you about job opportunities and such. My main reason for not doing so or even moving to texas (which I've also considered) is my desire to be near my children who lI've with their mom
