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Post by bchevy on Aug 31, 2006 21:13:48 GMT -4
With the election coming up I heard Steele is talking about raising the minimum wage again.
My son just took his 1st job, guess what? $7.00 an hour. That's MORE than minimum wage. for his FIRST JOB, He has zero experience in the workplace, can only work limited hours due to school and sports, and they pretty much hired him on the spot. I'm guessing his grades helped him some.
I think all this minimum wage talk in the political arena is just BS politicians looking for votes.
Who actually works for minimum wage? I never did, EVER. I started working a job at 14, almost 30 years ago. I mowed lawns & sold crabs before that on my own. (yep)
The fast food joints even start above min. wage, and are almost always looking for help.
So just where are these minimum wage jobs at.
I'm not trying to be rude here, just wondering if they are here or not.
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Post by David Elfson on Aug 31, 2006 22:20:57 GMT -4
My first job was at McDonald's when I was 15. It pain $3.35 an hour, 5 cents over minimum wage for a clothing allowance. Pretty funny when I look back at it. Also funny because I laugh at the thread about chain restaurants being cleaner, etc., because I have worked at a Bennigan's and later at a Beefsteak Charlie's (yeah, I'm old), and because they paid us stingy wages, we were pretty terrible to the food. Back on track - By forcing companies to pay higher wages, they will hire less people. It's just that simple. Why do you think that places are hiring illegals as it is?!? I'm not even sure what the minimum wage is (5.15?), but I'm pretty sure that only entry level jobs pay that. It's kind of like the difference between political parties right now... One is great for people who aspire to be wealthy; the other is great if you are only looking to be poor. Either way, you need to get off your butt and do something. Raising the minimum wage only make the butt cushion more comfortable.
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Post by Friendly on Sept 1, 2006 9:38:07 GMT -4
30 years ago, my first job, paid the minimum wage of $2.10 an hour. I was 13 at the time. The wage slowly grew to $3.35 an hour. But it hasn't been raised in over a decade. Believe you me, the corporations, the Wal-Marts, the K-marts, can afford to pay a living wage. Yes, that's right, a living wage. Why in America, in this day and age, we still have millions of people living in poverty? Why are there record profits for oil companies, for corporations, record salaries for CEO's, while a middle class family struggles to survive? Why has our salaries remained stagnant for well over a decade, while the cost of oil, food, housing, and everything else, risen so dramatically? I'm sure we all remember the day, and the dream of FDR, where one would begin their career with a company, and retire 25 years later with a decent pension, and a comfortable retirement?
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Post by falgar25 on Sept 1, 2006 11:19:04 GMT -4
I would agree with raising the minimum wage. The minimum wage amount should be related to something, not just a number. Perhaps it should be the hourly rate required to meet the official poverty level (you shouldn't be allowed to pay your employees so little that they live in poverty). Maybe it could be chosen to be some value and then yearly, and honestly, be adjusted for inflation. It just seems that today the number is too arbitrary and politically motivated.
HOWEVER, and this is important, those who call for raising the minimum wage need to accept that the money is going to have to come from somewhere. A business cannot (or certainly will not) simply absorb the additional cost, it will be passed along to someone. Chances are very good that "someone" won't want to pay those costs.
For instance, the threat is always that a business will have to fire people or not hire people if they have to pay a higher wage. If it was your minimum wage job that disappeared, or your child's, would it still seem like a good idea to raise someone else's pay?
What if the company decided to raise prices to recover the additional money it was now paying its employees? Would you be willing to see your grocery bill go up because, for example, the person who puts the boxes on the delivery truck just received a raise?
Or maybe the business decides the best way to cover rising payroll costs is to cut its staff and reduce customer service. Then, instead of talking to a person, you get to talk to an answering machine. Instead of buying plane tickets from a person you get to order them online and pick them up from a machine. You can purchase movie tickets from a kiosk and in some grocery stores you check out your own groceries.
One thing you can be fairly sure of, the business itself isn't likely to take the increased payroll out of hide. The guy at the top doesn't want a pay cut any more than you or I do and he's likely to do anything he can to make sure he doesn't.
So push for a higher minimum wage if you feel the current one is too low, and I'll be right there with you. But don't be surprised when the cost is passed on to you in the form of higher prices, reduced service, or more unemployment.
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Post by Friendly on Sept 1, 2006 14:45:08 GMT -4
But the thing is, these company have already cut costs. Majority of the things bought and sold in America, are made overseas. At drastically reduced prices. The people who make these things, whether they be shoes, shirts, electronics, are being paid less than what an American worker makes in the factory. It shouldn't be that lame old line, if the min. wage is raised, the cost will have to be passed along. Once again, look at the record profits. What happened to Made in America. Go to your favorite Wal-Mart, and pick up any item, and see where it was manufactured!!
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Post by falgar25 on Sept 1, 2006 15:51:05 GMT -4
Hey, no argument here; there is less and less made-in-america every day. A lot of stuff is made overseas because the cost of making it there then shipping it here is less than the cost of making it here. Simple math.
That "lame old line" that costs will need to be passed along is simple math along with simple human nature. What you call "record profits" someone else considers well-earned salaries. Not passing costs along means less money for the business. Less money means less growth or less salary. Less growth leads to failure so that's not an option. Less salary means someone gets a pay cut and I don't imagine you'll find too many people volunteering for that.
I work in an air-conditioned office and make a decent salary. I see people tarring roofs in 90 degree weather who make much less than I do. I'm sure they feel I get paid way too much for the little work that I do, but that doesn't mean I'd be willing to share with them. The executives at the companies that are making the record profits feel they've earned every penny they're paid; partly because they have saved the company so much money and maximized profits by sending the manufacturing overseas.
What happened to made-in-america? Mostly greed, but not all of that greed is owned by the manufacturers. When was the last time you went out of your way and paid extra to buy the product that was made in the USA? Or, do you shop around and find the best price regardless of where the product is built? It is human nature to want more for less; sometimes, at least today, that means buying foreign-made products.
Please don't take this as me criticizing you personally, I don't even know you. Further, it is not my intent to criticize anyone who is trying to make their money go as far as possible. I complain about the lack of US manufacturing at the same time I buy foreign electronics and clothing and vehicles; I'm as much a part of the lack of US products as anyone else.
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Post by bchevy on Sept 1, 2006 16:00:39 GMT -4
Are you saying Kmart & WalMart starts at Minimum wage? I don't know but I seriously doubt it. Kmart paid more that that 20 years ago in Annapolis. (another early job of mine)
This is what I mean. WHERE are the minimum wage jobs at? I don't know. And I doubt there's that many around.
Don't raise the minimum wage, it's sort of a welfare issue. If someone is in a minimum wage job I would think that THAT alone is an incentive to do more to better themself to make more money. Raising the MW will just reward someone for not doing anything to better themself.
Money is the motivater, quit throwing it out the window and make people work for it, and better themself to get more.
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Post by Mike on Sept 1, 2006 16:50:27 GMT -4
Go work for one of the family owned and operated resturants around here, they'll pay minimum wage!
If they had chains around here they pay way more!
hehe
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Post by bchevy on Sept 1, 2006 19:24:27 GMT -4
Go work for one of the family owned and operated resturants around here, they'll pay minimum wage! If they had chains around here they pay way more! hehe
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Post by ljp on Sept 1, 2006 21:28:46 GMT -4
and he strikes again.....lol
Actually I have an answer for it all, really I have thought long and hard, well actually it is my husbands idea but a great one...
Stop income tax. It is unfair anyway that the more money you make annually, the higher percentage income taxes you pay. Flat tax legislation will never pass because the ones voting are in the top 20% of workers and they have too many write offs etc etc. The current tax laws as they stand can benefit only those with the most money as they can afford investment write offs. Thus steadily wiping out middle class.
When I got married we went from paying 31% of our annual salary in taxes to paying 47% of our salary for taxes.
The answer is to impose an across the board much higher sales tax. That way EVERYONE pays the same taxes including the under the table workers, and illegals. That way the salaries can come down because the employers aren't matching employment taxes and companies don't have to go broke or move their jobs out side of the country because American inflation is screwing them. just my thought... and y'know ... that and 50 cents...
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Post by jake on Sept 3, 2006 22:51:14 GMT -4
why not raise the min. wage to $50k per worker per year, so all workers can be in the middle class, that would be more fair and end the poverty in the usa, right?
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