southwind
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It would be nice if "ANYONE", especially the ones crying "We need a living wage", to explain what a living wage is !
Union française Pneus Faits Quelqu'un ?
- Thread starter delldude
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It would be nice if "ANYONE", especially the ones crying "We need a living wage", to explain what a living wage is !
RDU Jetblast
Veteran
A living wage is one that keeps people off food stamps, welfare and sometimes medicaid..
The whole purpose of the fair labor act was to keep people off the dole.
McDonalds has 2.3 BILLION DOLLARS in cash and cash equivalents in 2011; Delta Airlines has 2.7 Billion in cash and cash equivalents in 2012. That is a lot of burger flipping and hiney's in seats!
So, if mcD's paid 15/ hr and Delta did too, And if a whole lot of other corporations that sit on cash, they could pay for it with the interest on 2.5B. You and likeminded people wouldnt have anything to complain about.
I'll bet people would work for McD's instead of volunterring for military service.
The whole purpose of the fair labor act was to keep people off the dole.
McDonalds has 2.3 BILLION DOLLARS in cash and cash equivalents in 2011; Delta Airlines has 2.7 Billion in cash and cash equivalents in 2012. That is a lot of burger flipping and hiney's in seats!
So, if mcD's paid 15/ hr and Delta did too, And if a whole lot of other corporations that sit on cash, they could pay for it with the interest on 2.5B. You and likeminded people wouldnt have anything to complain about.
I'll bet people would work for McD's instead of volunterring for military service.
SparrowHawk
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Not a strong argument. Suppose we double the minimum wage? Prices for goods and services will also rise proportionally. That's why when it comes to earning a living wage as defined by you above, the Free Market offers the best opportunity to meet or exceed the goal of earning a living wage.
RDU Jetblast
Veteran
may not be a strong argument. But it is in fact the reason for the fair labor act.
Anyway, the question was what is a living wage and the answer is one that keeps a person off the govt dole.
Minimum wage should, at the very least, track inflation
SparrowHawk
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Why not a minimu income instead of a minimum wage since you seem to be the only who grasps basic economics?
RDU Jetblast
Veteran
Because a minimum income is not possible when most minimum wage jobs are part time to keep overtime unavailable and not offer benefits like sick time and vacation. As result, many work more than one job to achieve or exceed 40 hours. So a minimum income is not practical.
SparrowHawk
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See you tomorrow here, I want to expand this a bit. Just need some research and time and I need to sleep and go to dead end job number 1.
RDU Jetblast
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Careful with research. Much of it is biased and conclusions can be countered by more biased research.
777 fixer
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Who controls the House? If you're mad about it send the crying man a letter.
southwind
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So, everyone should make $15 an hour, doctors, pilots and hamburger flippers !
Don't know what happened to where people think your suppose to raise a family of 4 , working at McD's, but it use to be where high school kids and college students could make a few bucks,..................not retire from !
Ms Tree
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The free market is not the best manner in which to determine wages. For someone with a rare or specialized skill set it would be. That person is in the drivers seat since their skill set is rare and in demand.
For those who are unskilled or for trades that are easily learned the free market is the worst possible scenario for a god wage. Simple supply and demand dictates that if as an employer you have ample people to select from, you are going to get the lowest possible wages. There will always be someone willing to do the job for a little less than the other guy so that they can get a job. That is why there are minimum wages in the first place.
For those who are unskilled or for trades that are easily learned the free market is the worst possible scenario for a god wage. Simple supply and demand dictates that if as an employer you have ample people to select from, you are going to get the lowest possible wages. There will always be someone willing to do the job for a little less than the other guy so that they can get a job. That is why there are minimum wages in the first place.
RDU Jetblast
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KCFlyer
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I'll try. I was born in 1957. I was the 3rd of 4 kids. My mom and dad bought a nice little house in Orlando. Mom stayed home with the kids. We had one newer car. We took vacations every year. My dads job at that time? Clerk in a paint store. He was able to support a wife and three kids and live a middle class lifestyle...and pay taxes and put money back into the economy as a clerk in a paint store. Today that clerk would need to have his wife work too, they'd most likely rent, and they most likely would be on food stamps. Pay someone enough where they don't need food stamps and you've got a "living wage"
SparrowHawk
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You know sometimes you're thick as a brick. A lady friend of mine raised her family and went to college working at Wendy's. Now here's the trick. Got divorced needed a job, Wendy's was walking distance, she applied and was making under $6.00/hr at the time. She worked her ever loving assets off, eventually got promoted to General Manager of her own store and promptly went to College. She graduates in June and she is already fielding offers that pay pretty damn well.
She never took food stamps or any assistance except student loans. However, prior to promotions and education she had to earn enough to eat and live indoors. This is the primary role of a minimum wage/income, to keep one alive long enough for them to pursue their goals and dreams.
The problem with the concept of a minimum wage is the number established by government is arbitrary. Can our society/economy absorb an increase in the minimum wage? Likely the answer it yes if it's pegged properly. Right now they're saying $9/hr. Is that 2 high or to low? Answer is no one really knows until it's implemented
I'm doing the dead end job thing now myself trying to save up enough to get a few more certifications that will immediately boost my marketability and wages. F.A Hayek and Milton Friedman have both endorsed the economic concept of a Minimum Income. Friedman viewed something he ca;;ed a "Negative Income Tax". Hayek as always has more vague i how it would work. The premise is similar to a comment Henry Ford made when asked why he's paid so well. His response was elegantly simple, "People who work for me should be able to afford to buy the product they make". The free market is the best arbiter of a minimum wage/income as long as counter balance such as a trade union movement that has some teeth and a pair of testicles.
I would not bet my economic security/future on the very same group of people that gave us the DMV.
KCFlyer
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The reason there is talk of a minimum wage is because we've changed so much as a country over the past 40 years that it isn't funny. I'm 56...I remember when I was growing up, stay at home moms were the norm. My dad worked in a paint store, then sold TV's for RCA....the guy next door worked at a tire shop. My best friends dad was a cop. The guy across the street was an auto mechanic. The guy behind us was a cab driver. NONE of their wives worked and we ALL have a great life in a nice neighborhood. Yeah, I know...back then you could buy a Chevy Impala for $2500 too...but while the costs of goods kept going up up up...the pay for labor stayed stubbornly low (unless you were a CEO). Then in the late 70's and early 80's, more moms were entering the workforce in order to make ends meet. Anybody notice that about the time families REQUIRED two incomes to make ends meet kinds of coincides with the delinquency of a lot of our kids?
