Democrats want to raise the minimium wage. Bad ideal

[Killer Bees]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/03/05/minimum.wage.ap/index.html

Ted Kennedy said, "I believe that anyone who works 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year should not live in poverty in the richest country in the world."

I say if you are adult working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year and making minimum wage, you screwed up. This excludes people who lost their job through downsizing and like. I am talking about people to choose to work for minimum wage.

 

[JSU/99]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/03/05/minimum.wage.ap/index.html

Ted Kennedy said, "I believe that anyone who works 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year should not live in poverty in the richest country in the world."

I say if you are adult working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year and making minimum wage, you screwed up. This excludes people who lost their job through downsizing and like. I am talking about people to choose to work for minimum wage.

There aren't too many people who choose to work for minimum wage.

 

[bluedog]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/03/05/minimum.wage.ap/index.html

Ted Kennedy said, "I believe that anyone who works 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year should not live in poverty in the richest country in the world."

I say if you are adult working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year and making minimum wage, you screwed up. This excludes people who lost their job through downsizing and like. I am talking about people to choose to work for minimum wage.

I say people who have that line of thinking need to sit their butts down and talk to their parents and grandparents and get in touch with reality.

I say people who think like that are the same ones that go around bragging about how great our country is, but yet can?t see a problem with its own citizens dieing having to stand in line waiting on a flu shot as if we?re a third world country, while OUR country spends billions building schools just to keep some raggedy country afloat and we can?t even get our teachers a raise really need to take a good look at themselves.

 

[dSWACizJSU]

well as stated on c-span, this idea didn't get past the senate, plus i thought the min wage was higher than 5.15.

in this day and age, 5.15 is hard to live of off.

 

[Killer Bees]

well as stated on c-span, this idea didn't get past the senate, plus i thought the min wage was higher than 5.15.

in this day and age, 5.15 is hard to live of off.

Exactly. The minimum wage was never meant for someone to live off of. It is only meant to be temporary.

 

[PLOW DOG]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/03/05/minimum.wage.ap/index.html

Ted Kennedy said, "I believe that anyone who works 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year should not live in poverty in the richest country in the world."

I say if you are adult working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year and making minimum wage, you screwed up. This excludes people who lost their job through downsizing and like. I am talking about people to choose to work for minimum wage.

Let me see if I get this right.

Young man, I would like to hire you for a job. You can work for $5.15 or you can work the same job for $35.00 an hour. Which wage do you want?




KB! Please, I know it's hard being a Repub. But dang. What world do you live in? If you really know of people that will take the $5.15 over $35.00 an hour send them my way.

 

[Killer Bees]

If I am a kid having to choose between $5.15 and $35, a course I am going to go after the $35. But if we keep raising the minimum wage, what incentive will there be for people wanting to do what it takes to make more money? There are some people who make choices in life that pretty much put them in the minimum wage category. These people get married and have kids and then turn around and complain that they don't make enough money. See what is wrong with this picture? Eventually, the pressure is on again to raise the minimum wage.

 

[Makaho 2.0]

Economics 101


The law of diminishing returns simply states that at some point the same effort returns less favorable results.

If I raise the minumim wage then I will have to raise the prices of said goods and services in order to accomodate. If I raise the minimum wage at McDonalds to 8 dollars an hour then I will have to charge consumers 5 dollars for a Big Mack, and the rest of the menu will change proportionately. The same holds true for every other good and service.

If I am a mom and pop store or small business with a small work force, I would have to fire say 3 of my 10 employees which gives the 7 remaining employees with 8 dollars an hour and more work to do.

People, this is just a cold hard fact of life, but companies are not in business of supplying jobs....they are in business to make money. If you are employed as a result of their efforts to make profit....then it's a byproduct of that said mission.

This right to work state mentality in regards to minimun wage is borderline socialism in my opinion.

 

[LaMont]

Mak,

The minimum wage debate shows that conservatives no longer have the Midas touch on the economy (if they ever had it). Every time we get into one of these minimum wage debates, the CONS always say it will cause more inflation and higher unemployment. That, simply, is not true. In the 90s, we had a real dollar higher minimum wage than the 80s (when Reagan didn't raise it for 8 years) and yet we had LOWER unemployment and LOWER inflation in the 90s. The rationale behind the right-wingers position is okay in theory, but it has lost touch with the real world. In today's environment, what really drives inflation are fixed commodity costs (gas, electric, food, other unavoidable costs). The minimum wage is so low as to have no real impact on inflation. Besides, the last few times there have even been minimum wage hikes, the Democrats have sweetened the pot for businesses by providing reduced taxes on training costs as well as expanded tax deductions for equipment.

This whole argument, however, just shows how much the right-wing has won this debate. Democrats have to BEG just to get a modest minimum wage hike, which is nearly 50% less than the real dollar minimum wage of the late 60s.

But here's what really soils my pants. CONS say that the rich having more money in their pockets spurs the economy. But they also say that the WORKING poor having more money slows it down. How can that be possible? If consumers having money is good, then let?s make it so. A multibillionaire getting a few million in tax cuts that they can't spend is good. But, the WORKING poor that works hard and plays by the rules and gets what amounts to little more than $700 after taxes is bad? I mean, EVERY DIME that the minimum wage worker EARNS gets immediately placed right back in the economy in more goods and services.

But again, the economy (to right-wingers) is more about hegemony than anything else. How sad this country has become?

Right-wing logic is simple:

* Billionaires getting millions = GOOD

* The WORKING poor getting hundreds = BAD

Any questions?

LaMont

 

[BLAQUE PRINCE]

Its a probelm either way. Raise it and yes prices may go up. If you don't raise it then some people can't live. Not everyone is going to be able to get a job making more than minimum wage...thats impossible. Its not a only a matter of people not making a better way for themselves but also having better jobs available for them. We can't all be lawyers, doctors, engineers, etc. Like Makaho said a job is a by product of some company's quest for money and not a given.


So either we pay more for goods or we end up paying for the people who can't afford to live one way or another. Maybe the flaw is with capitalism to begin with.

 

[The Riddler]

Economics 101


The law of diminishing returns simply states that at some point the same effort returns less favorable results.

If I raise the minumim wage then I will have to raise the prices of said goods and services in order to accomodate. If I raise the minimum wage at McDonalds to 8 dollars an hour then I will have to charge consumers 5 dollars for a Big Mack, and the rest of the menu will change proportionately. The same holds true for every other good and service.

If I am a mom and pop store or small business with a small work force, I would have to fire say 3 of my 10 employees which gives the 7 remaining employees with 8 dollars an hour and more work to do.

People, this is just a cold hard fact of life, but companies are not in business of supplying jobs....they are in business to make money. If you are employed as a result of their efforts to make profit....then it's a byproduct of that said mission.

This right to work state mentality in regards to minimun wage is borderline socialism in my opinion.

It truly is just that simple.

 

[dSWACizJSU]

most of the places paying min wage are fast food joints, chuck-e-cheeses type places, and daycare's.

i have always believed that fast food joints and chuck-e-cheese places are and should be an outing for the high school/college students as a means of income as a temporary basis.

i do believe child-care employees pay should be higher, but they should also be certified considering the high fees parents pay weekly for the services.

5.15 is hard to live off of but it is up to the person to equip themselves with the education, experience, and the drive to do better. if not, i want my big-n-tastie's to remain a 1.00. it makes no sense for a 30 yr old adult to be making 5.15 being a crew member for the past 8 years. at least aspire to become a manager or work yourself up within the company. it is harsh, but a lot of us want something for nothing.

 

[CEE DOG]

If I am a kid having to choose between $5.15 and $35, a course I am going to go after the $35. But if we keep raising the minimum wage, what incentive will there be for people wanting to do what it takes to make more money? There are some people who make choices in life that pretty much put them in the minimum wage category. These people get married and have kids and then turn around and complain that they don't make enough money. See what is wrong with this picture? Eventually, the pressure is on again to raise the minimum wage.

What about the people who graduate from high school with Special ED Diplomas who can only work those jobs to survive? What about the person who has done time in jail who can't get a better job but is trying to get themselves together to be a productive citizen? Are we to discourage them or turn them back to the streets for trying to live?

 

[mighty hornet]

ummmmm, KB
Your title is very misleading. Or do you think that it was just a "bad idea" for the Democrats to want to raise the minimum wage, (keeping in mind that there was also a proposal by Republicans)


Some of the posts on here really give the impression that some of us look down on people in lower paying, minimum wage jobs.
:smh:

Sorry, but I was raised to respect honest work, regardless of what it is or the salary

 

[BLAQUE PRINCE]

What about the people who graduate from high school with Special Diplomas who can only work those jobs to survive? What about the person who has done time in jail who can't get a better job but is trying to get themselves together to be a productive citizen? Are we to discourage them or turn them back to the streets for trying to live?

Thats the catch 22 about the whole thing. I too get tired of paying higher prices in the grocery stores where I live because of the unionized grocery store workers that make a living on checking groceries. They fight tooth and nail to keep Super Walmart out of here. But the other side of the coin is that we all fall if they fall. Super Walmart would put them all out of business and we'd have a rash of unemployment. Unemployment means no money in the economy and we all suffer.

So what do you do...raise the minimum wage and pay for it? Or end up paying for the the people who can't afford to live in other ways.

 

[CEE DOG]

Thats the catch 22 about the whole thing. I too get tired of paying higher prices in the grocery stores where I live because of the unionized grocery store workers that make a living on checking groceries. They fight tooth and nail to keep Super Walmart out of here. But the other side of the coin is that we all fall if they fall. Super Walmart would put them all out of business and we'd have a rash of unemployment. Unemployment means no money in the economy and we all suffer.

So what do you do...raise the minimum wage and pay for it? Or end up paying for the the people who can't afford to live in other ways.

One way or the other we pay. If people can't survive they turn to the streets. That means crime rates shoot up. There has to be service jobs to make this country run. Everyone can't have a white collar job. These people have a right to make a living like everyone else.

 

[dSWACizJSU]

ummmmm, KB
Your title is very misleading. Or do you think that it was just a "bad idea" for the Democrats to want to raise the minimum wage, (keeping in mind that there was also a proposal by Republicans)


Some of the posts on here really give the impression that some of us look down on people in lower paying, minimum wage jobs.
:smh:

Sorry, but I was raised to respect honest work, regardless of what it is or the salary

i don't look down on people with lower paying jobs and i do respect honest work becuase i have worked for 4.35 when it was min wage in 96. my point is that i feel it is basically high school work and of course i was in high school. there are some employers who don't pay what the work and employees are worth but just like the work i do now, i aspire to do something greater. it is just like having the mindset that because most of us have college degrees, master's etc., especially coming fresh out of college, we expect that our jobs should pay 35k plus per year. the realty of it is that many if not most will end up with a lower paying job and will eventually work ourselves up to that point if we are motivated enough. due to other situations, many people find themselves in working lower paying jobs. i would agree to a raise, if we could afford it. however, there are so many people not working and not willling to work for min wage as a temp form of income that the idea is almost moot. the fact remains that someone has to work the jobs we are not willing to take and the corporate offices set the standard. now if i lost my job today and couldn't find another, i would work mcdonalds in the morning and taco bell at night to get what i need done.

 

[Killer Bees]

ummmmm, KB
Your title is very misleading. Or do you think that it was just a "bad idea" for the Democrats to want to raise the minimum wage, (keeping in mind that there was also a proposal by Republicans)


Some of the posts on here really give the impression that some of us look down on people in lower paying, minimum wage jobs.
:smh:

Sorry, but I was raised to respect honest work, regardless of what it is or the salary

If there is a proprosal by Republicans to do the same thing, then they are wrong too. Personally I don't look down on people in lower paying minimum wage jobs. I worked plenty of lower paying jobs in my life. I been a busboy and a dishwasher. I worked at Arbys and Pizza Hut. I washed cars for Hertz Rent-a-Car and I lifted heavy equipment at an appliance store. I am no stranger to hard work. I am just curious how would raising the minimum wage affect an individual's desire to move up and also how much would it affect to owner of the business?

 

[J C]

These arguments have been made since FDR first proposed a minimum wage. Yes, it's inflationary and will be passed on to consumers. The one week 20 cent jump per gallon of gas is far more inflationary than this minimum wage proposal. The employees making minimum wage have to pay the same price for a gallon of gas as all drivers. My first job paid $1.35 per hour. Was I happy with the pay? No. Now I make over $38.00 per hour. Raising the minimun wage make sense because the cost for goods and services are constantly rising. If prices stayed stable then there would not be a need to raise the rate.

 

[Makaho 2.0]

How many people here have owned their own business or were business majors?

The first rule of managing a business or formulation of a business plan is to determine how much you can sell a product for and pay your employees while maintianing a profit! Period!

It's just that simple. If I sell Sprockets or Cogs then If I raise my minum wage then I also have to raise the other salaires withing the company proportionetly!

Which means I have to sell way more Sprockets and Cogs and then raise their prices as well.

If any of you have ever had to meet payroll then you would understand this.

 

[ALJSU3]

If I am a kid having to choose between $5.15 and $35, a course I am going to go after the $35. But if we keep raising the minimum wage, what incentive will there be for people wanting to do what it takes to make more money? There are some people who make choices in life that pretty much put them in the minimum wage category. These people get married and have kids and then turn around and complain that they don't make enough money. See what is wrong with this picture? Eventually, the pressure is on again to raise the minimum wage.

So you are saying just because some people choose to get married and have children they don't deserve to make any more than minimum wages? I don't agree, because if people work hard and they are doing the same job some of us are doing they deserve the same pay that we are getting. We are too rich of a country to have people living below poverty level. Most people don't want to live and work for minimum wages but circumstances happen and they don't have much of a choice.

We are too quick to forget that we didn't make it by ourselves and we are still standing on the shoulders of our forefathers that bled and died for us to be where we are today. We need to become more compassionate about each other because what if God had not given His Son for us; where would we be?

We, and I am talking about some of our black people who are so fast to forget about each other. We think because we have a well-paying job, the new house, a new car, a few clothes and our little rugrats are priviledge to attend private schools or the more exclusive schools in the neighborhood then we have what the white man call "arrived" and are considered successful and not like the other blacks.

I am sick and tired of our people thinking that we are better than each other. We need to always try to build each other up and not tear each other down. "We are our brother's and sister's keepers." We should never forget from whence we came.

 

[Killer Bees]

So you are saying just because some people choose to get married and have children they don't deserve to make any more than minimum wages?

No, if I am making minimum wage, I wouldn't dare try to create and raise a family on that income. One of the main complains about the minimum wage is that it is not enough to support a family. If a person is making minimum wage and they have a family, then they shouldn't complain about not making enough money.

 

[EB]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/03/05/minimum.wage.ap/index.html

Ted Kennedy said, "I believe that anyone who works 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year should not live in poverty in the richest country in the world."

I say if you are adult working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year and making minimum wage, you screwed up. This excludes people who lost their job through downsizing and like. I am talking about people to choose to work for minimum wage.

I generally do not get into name calling, especially on this board. But I guess we can also talk about elitism and being snobbish. BTW I used to earn minimum wage.

Well, my mother gave me something that was a Native American saying. It is still up at home. I will paraphrase it here. But I will watch what I say about others until I walk a mile in their moccasins.

Hey, many rich folks can thank the government, federal, state and local, for helping them get and stay rich. Maybe the poor can used a little, just a little, of their rich "friends'" tactics and get more money for themselves.

ummmmm, KB
Your title is very misleading. Or do you think that it was just a "bad idea" for the Democrats to want to raise the minimum wage, (keeping in mind that there was also a proposal by Republicans)


Some of the posts on here really give the impression that some of us look down on people in lower paying, minimum wage jobs.
:smh:

Sorry, but I was raised to respect honest work, regardless of what it is or the salary

mh, don't apologize. I was raised the same way too and am glad I was raised that way.

 

[The GSU]

Exactly. The minimum wage was never meant for someone to live off of. It is only meant to be temporary.

How temporary should it be when all the well paying jobs are moving over seas to third and second world countries. Are are you just like the president and feel like one should just be retranined to do something else, without providing any clue to what that something else is you should be retrained to do. You probably one of those that also believe that the only moral issues in American is gay marriage and abortion.

 

[The GSU]

Economics 101


The law of diminishing returns simply states that at some point the same effort returns less favorable results.

If I raise the minumim wage then I will have to raise the prices of said goods and services in order to accomodate. If I raise the minimum wage at McDonalds to 8 dollars an hour then I will have to charge consumers 5 dollars for a Big Mack, and the rest of the menu will change proportionately. The same holds true for every other good and service.

If I am a mom and pop store or small business with a small work force, I would have to fire say 3 of my 10 employees which gives the 7 remaining employees with 8 dollars an hour and more work to do.

People, this is just a cold hard fact of life, but companies are not in business of supplying jobs....they are in business to make money. If you are employed as a result of their efforts to make profit....then it's a byproduct of that said mission.

This right to work state mentality in regards to minimun wage is borderline socialism in my opinion.

With this right wing logic, a pair of Nike's would only cost $25.