Minimum Wage
- Thread starter Monorail
- Start date
So are you saying that the waitress working 3 jobs a day to barely support her family doesn't deserve a living wage? Are you saying that someone who works 50+ hours a week to barely make rent isn't hardworking?
This viewpoint is incredibly misinformed and stems from simplistic views that people who are working minimum wage jobs are only doing so because they are "lazy" and "lack motivation". Wake up and take a cold hard look at society: Not everyone went to a good school. Not everyone can go to college. Not everyone can "work their way up".
I will admit, I am privileged. I grew up in privilege. Not everyone has that same experience. As a matter of fact, many of people don't. From an American perspective, we like to think that the "American Dream" is possible for anyone who simply puts in the work and effort; this really isn't the case, though.
it's not supposed to be. Minimum wage jobs are not meant to be a sole source of income. I'm sorry, but someone with a job that requires little to no skill should not be paid as much as someone with a job that requires a college degree. Of course you're probably going to come back with "that's not fair" because some people are not presented with a good job, while others can access one quite easily. Well if you want everything to be "fair", maybe we should switch to communism, where everyone makes the same. Oh wait, you'll lose basic human rights in the process.
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But the thing with waitressing is, it doesn't require that much skill at all. Sure, you have to be coordinated, but most people generally are. Think about it. If we raised minimum wage, we would have less doctors/lawyers etc, simply because people would just take the high paying minimum wage job flipping patties.
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But the thing with waitressing is, it doesn't require that much skill at all. Sure, you have to be coordinated, but most people generally are. Think about it. If we raised minimum wage, we would have less doctors/lawyers etc, simply because people would just take the high paying minimum wage job flipping patties.
I'm sorry but raising the minimum wage to make things fair isn't communism, but that's besides the point.
Could you explain why minimum wage jobs should not be a soul source of income solely based on the amount of skill required?
Another question, should we rid ourselves of minimum wage all together then?
Could you explain why minimum wage jobs should not be a soul source of income solely based on the amount of skill required?
Another question, should we rid ourselves of minimum wage all together then?
Wait, what? I'm sorry, but that has to be one of the most ridiculous arguments I have ever heard of. We're not proposing that people who are "flipping patties" be paid on the same level as doctors, lawyers, or other highly skilled professions (which, might I add, tend to go to those who are born into privilege or have access to the resources necessary to pursue those career paths). Other factors also go into a person's decision to pursue certain career paths such as prestige and genuine passion in that area. What I'm saying as that people should be entitled to a living wage. On the subject of human rights, under Article 25 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
This is sorely lacking in the U.S.
Minimum wage jobs are not meant to be a career. They don't make enough. It's a supply and demand sort of thing. Pretty much anybody can work a minimum wage job, so obviously they will not get paid that much. However, there are less people that are able to be white collar workers, so of course they will get paid more, due to there being less. The purpose of minimum wage jobs was to help people entering the workforce get a feel of what working is like, before they go to college and pick their career for the rest of their lives. Of course, throughout the years, people have turned it into a career.
I don't think we should get rid of minimum wage. Anyone who is able to work should go to work. However, our country simply cannot afford to raise the minimum wage. Inflation would happen, not to mention other things.
I don't think we should get rid of minimum wage. Anyone who is able to work should go to work. However, our country simply cannot afford to raise the minimum wage. Inflation would happen, not to mention other things.
but dat is communism
Seriously though, thanks for looking this up. you did the work I was too lazy to do :3
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http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-02-25/when-minimum-wage-goes-up-the-menu-price-also-rises
Please read this and tell me what you think.
Seriously though, thanks for looking this up. you did the work I was too lazy to do :3
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http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-02-25/when-minimum-wage-goes-up-the-menu-price-also-rises
Please read this and tell me what you think.
Here's an example of raising wages of all walmart employees so that they are no longer eligible for food stamps, and the effects on price of product.
http://youtu.be/vAcaeLmybCY
http://youtu.be/vAcaeLmybCY
Minimum wages are meant to be a base rate of pay, and from there you're meant to get raises as you excel in the work place. Your minimum wages should however, be enough to start with to afford to live. I worked extremely hard at a job where I made $9.32 to start off, and I was barely, just barely able to make rent.
Another thing, to say that someone who works for minimum wages vs. a salary doesn't deserve good pay because it doesn't "require the same skill" is an extremely skewed perception of income and employment.
Salaries, are fixed rates of pay that stay consistent unless raised regardless of the amount of hours you work. Why would you want to take a job where you're given a salary but expected to work exorbitant amounts of hours, when you can take a job that starts pay at minimum wage and you can work just as many hours but get paid more for overtime and time/and a half? (Unless you're making a 6 figure salary).
On topic with the OP however, I believe the rate of minimum wage should be uniform throughout the United States. So therefore, it should be raised to a livable amount and be the same for each state. Right now the federal minimum wage rate is $7.25 /per hour. However, each state varies in their wages. For example, Washington's minimum wage is $9.32, Florida is $7.93, California is $8.00, and Oregon is $9.10, whereas a vast majority of the East coast is uniformly $7.25 or $7.35 /per hour. If the people on the East coast are working the same jobs that require the same skills, as the people on the West Coast, the rate of minimum wage should be raised to be relatively even across the nation.
Not everyone has equal opportunity (though they'd like us to believe) to go to college and earn a degree(s) to get a higher paying salary based job. Some people can't afford the tuition, or student loans (I only went to technical school and wracked up a bill of $10k in student loans, which I can't even afford to pay right now because jobs are scarce where I live, and the minimum wage is only $7.25 here, but that $10k doesn't even scratch the surface of other peoples loan payments for college).
If you want people to further their employment by going to college to be able to get better paying jobs, you have to increase the pay they're getting from the only jobs they can get so they can afford to go to college.
Regardless of whether you have a degree and work at a law firm making 6 figures, or a high school diploma and you ended up working for Walmart for minimum wage, the work put in to your job is the same.
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Thank you for posting that video, it was very informative
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Another thing, to say that someone who works for minimum wages vs. a salary doesn't deserve good pay because it doesn't "require the same skill" is an extremely skewed perception of income and employment.
Salaries, are fixed rates of pay that stay consistent unless raised regardless of the amount of hours you work. Why would you want to take a job where you're given a salary but expected to work exorbitant amounts of hours, when you can take a job that starts pay at minimum wage and you can work just as many hours but get paid more for overtime and time/and a half? (Unless you're making a 6 figure salary).
On topic with the OP however, I believe the rate of minimum wage should be uniform throughout the United States. So therefore, it should be raised to a livable amount and be the same for each state. Right now the federal minimum wage rate is $7.25 /per hour. However, each state varies in their wages. For example, Washington's minimum wage is $9.32, Florida is $7.93, California is $8.00, and Oregon is $9.10, whereas a vast majority of the East coast is uniformly $7.25 or $7.35 /per hour. If the people on the East coast are working the same jobs that require the same skills, as the people on the West Coast, the rate of minimum wage should be raised to be relatively even across the nation.
Not everyone has equal opportunity (though they'd like us to believe) to go to college and earn a degree(s) to get a higher paying salary based job. Some people can't afford the tuition, or student loans (I only went to technical school and wracked up a bill of $10k in student loans, which I can't even afford to pay right now because jobs are scarce where I live, and the minimum wage is only $7.25 here, but that $10k doesn't even scratch the surface of other peoples loan payments for college).
If you want people to further their employment by going to college to be able to get better paying jobs, you have to increase the pay they're getting from the only jobs they can get so they can afford to go to college.
Regardless of whether you have a degree and work at a law firm making 6 figures, or a high school diploma and you ended up working for Walmart for minimum wage, the work put in to your job is the same.
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Thank you for posting that video, it was very informative
.
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I don't think you're giving people with minimum wage jobs enough credit. Although most minimum wage jobs don't require very much skill, often times they require a lot more time and hard work. Anyone can be a waiter or a waitress, but not everyone can deal with the work, effort, tolerance, service, etc required to do the job right. It seems like it would be an easy job, but it can get exhausting fairly quickly and because of low pay rates, waiters and waitresses have to pick up many hours just to be able to afford to live somewhat comfortably which further increases the amount of work and effort that goes into these kinds of jobs. Also, not everyone can afford to go to college and work towards a higher paying job like doctor/lawyer. I don't know of many people who would choose to pay the fortune of schooling to be a doctor/lawyer if they didn't have an interest in that career path so I doubt raising minimum wage would significantly reduce the amount of doctors/lawyers in the population. Not everyone is as lazy as you seem to be making them out to be