House and Senate Democrats introduce legeslation to increase federal min. wage to $15/hr by 2025

toomuchbaloney · Feb 5, 2021

1 hour ago, Beerman said:

Perhaps you should then not have a family until you have a skillset that is of more value in the labor market.

Those jobs are great for people who are gaining work experience

But our economic system doesn't require that skilled or experienced workers get paid more.

Also...if those workers live in certain, conservative regions of the country they will, by design, have decreased or difficult access to reproductive healthcare. That makes it much more likely that poor women will struggle to avoid unwanted pregnancies and will have few options should they get pregnant.

1 hour ago, Beerman said:

The most obvious drawback to this is the inflation that will follow, and in the long nothing has been gained.

That's the most obvious fear...read the book.

guest1163268 · Feb 5, 2021

The problem is runaway capitalism and greed! It is essentially a societal problem. There will always be classes in every society but in America the system is, the haves and the haves not, as opposed to other systems where money isn't the driven factor.

Americans worship celebrities and money, no matter how acquired. So even the trappings can give you self esteem with the statement, fake it till you make it very obvious here. Except, when you BREAK IT DOWN, what does that statement actually say? Fake it!

If that's your Modus Operandi, you will produce many Trumps. GLIB PEOPLE! That creates a society of superficial, fake people with the resultant morals and the society with the LITTLE PIGGIE WHO BUILT HIS HOUSE OF STRAW!

That house(society) can easily be blown down! Using money as a measuring stick to obtain happiness is a recipe for disaster! You can never have enough and therefore can never be happy. People are always scheming re how to acquire more money because MONEY IS EQUATED TO HAPPINESS! Your educational system is predicated as a means of making more money instead of EDUCATION AND INSIGHT! Which is why there are so many scam artists!

Empty happiness hole and an insightless population! You can be fed any old *** couched in flashy, well wrapped package and you will fall for it, because you lack the insight to know better. Even your religions are wrapped in flashy packaging. Other societies can find a cave or adjourn to the mountains etc but not in America! Give me your SEED MONEY! America has a multitude of ways to sell you happiness! Cars, houses, washing machines, boats, fancy dinners, the amount of likes, popularity etc etc.

Other societies, choose quality of life! Family, real friends, health care, reasonably priced education, reasonable retirement, solitude, nature, peace of mind! So they develop SOCIALISM!

MANY HANDS AND MANY HEADS system! Let's share our worries and work load system! Let's pool our resources so everyone can have some, instead of each man for himself! Let's don't all compete like barbarians for limited resources, instead of sharing those resources equally, so everyone has something! Let's all don't act like animals and fight for every scrap instead of sharing the pie so every one gets a piece!

That's why SOCIALISM IS A DIRTY WORD in America! It's a dog eat dog world mentality! Societies that equate happiness with sharing and consideration of others are happier and more content, because it's a much better model! And, easier to achieve with far less drawbacks! You might have a smaller house or car, but since your society doesn't judge you that way, you acquire much less DAMAGE (emotionally, psychologically, interlectually, spiritually etc) by the time you kick the bucket.

And you are more likely to be happier and satisfied while getting there!

guest1163268 · Feb 5, 2021

4 hours ago, Beerman said:

The $15 per hour increase effects only 10% of the working population. Of which a decent portion is part-time workers. For that reason alone, I think it overly optimistic that it's going to solve many of those problems.

Beerman, unpack the Gamestop incident and you will see how our system is so out of wack!

MunoRN, RN · Feb 5, 2021

5 hours ago, Beerman said:

I depends on where the restaurant is located, but it seems those are decent wages for most restaurants.

How did you decide on those wages? Is that what the market is for the type of employee you want? Or, did you decide that was a "living wage" for your area? How many first time job seekers do you employ at those wages?

It's what they're worth, I could probably get away with less although the extra money in my pocket wouldn't be worth guilt. I still 'work' there a bit so I can't really be detached enough from my staff to be able to avoid having a moral awareness of my role in their lives. I think that's the biggest factor in the trend over the last few decades of the loss of livable wage jobs in the service sector.

When I was a kid, I had a friend who's dad sold athletic goods at a locally owned store and made a living doing it, same with another friend who's dad sold electronics, also at a locally owned store, and a friend with a single mom who worked as a grocery store cashier. All those stores went away with the WalMart and other big-box stores, those jobs that supported families, not extravagantly but solidly lower-middle-class, have now been replaced with jobs that hover around poverty-level wages.

It's not that the cost of these goods have significantly decreased that has led to these sharply reduced wages, it's that like me and the business owners by friends parents worked for the owner made more but not exponentially more than their employees, now a good portion of the wages that went with the jobs that WalMart absorbed has been shifted to the Walton Family, who's hourly income is $4 million (yes that's per hour), most of whom play no role in running the business.

allnurses Guide · Feb 5, 2021

When I was a young woman I worked full time for the minimum wage, which was $1.25 an hour. Before taxes I made $50.00 a week. My rent on a one bedroom apartment was $50.00 a month.

Where can a person earning $15.00 minimum wage live and pay $600.00 a month for rent?

MunoRN, RN · Feb 5, 2021

5 hours ago, Beerman said:

I agree. Someone working the cash register at Burger King should not expect to make enough to support a family on that alone.

5 hours ago, Beerman said:

Perhaps you should then not have a family until you have a skillset that is of more value in the labor market.

Those jobs are great for people who are gaining work experience.

The makeup of our economy doesn't change just because everybody in the workforce gets a PhD or MBA. The portion of the economy made up by the service sector doesn't change, it's still the largest single sector, you could argue that other professions effectively only exist to support the backbone of our economy which is the service sector.

I would certainly agree that there should be a reasonable portion of the job market where workers pay-their-dues, so to speak, but not large swaths of jobs where even putting in years and moving up still leaves you at or under poverty level wages.

toomuchbaloney · Feb 5, 2021

2 minutes ago, herring_RN said:

When I was a young woman I worked full time for the minimum wage, which was $1.25 an hour. Before taxes I made $50.00 a week. My rent on a one bedroom apartment was $50.00 a month.

Where can a person earning $15.00 minimum wage live and pay $600.00 a month for rent?

Tiny dry cabins with out houses rent for more than that in the Fairbanks area.

Beerman, BSN · Feb 5, 2021

1 hour ago, MunoRN said:

It's what they're worth, I could probably get away with less although the extra money in my pocket wouldn't be worth guilt. I still 'work' there a bit so I can't really be detached enough from my staff to be able to avoid having a moral awareness of my role in their lives. I think that's the biggest factor in the trend over the last few decades of the loss of livable wage jobs in the service sector.

So, you pay what they are worth to you and your business. Not what a "livable wage" is.

That's how it should be. I am surprised though. That seems to be different then what you've been saying in this thread, and in others over the years.

toomuchbaloney · Feb 5, 2021

4 minutes ago, Beerman said:

So, you pay what they are worth to you and your business. Not what a "livable wage" is.

That's how it should be. I am surprised though. That seems to be different then what you've been saying in this thread, and in others over the years.

That's your interpretation of what Muno said. How is it different from what he's said elsewhere?

Tweety, BSN, RN · Feb 5, 2021

9 minutes ago, Beerman said:

So, you pay what they are worth to you and your business. Not what a "livable wage" is.

That's how it should be. I am surprised though. That seems to be different then what you've been saying in this thread, and in others over the years.

I'm taking the "what they are worth" as he wants to pay a livable wage because he said he could get away with paying less and he chooses to pay more.

But perhaps that is how is should be and not forced on businesses. Especially small businesses.

guest1163268 · Feb 5, 2021

3 minutes ago, Tweety said:

I'm taking the "what they are worth" as he wants to pay a livable wage because he said he could get away with paying less and he chooses to pay more.

My take is, Muno is a decent person but in reality the market dictates unless it's mandatory.

I only go to restaurants where I like the food and the hygienic aspects are apparent. Except for my local pizza joint where the pizza is average and the service is disgusting, but the owner and I both support the same soccer team.

MunoRN, RN · Feb 6, 2021

1 hour ago, Beerman said:

So, you pay what they are worth to you and your business. Not what a "livable wage" is.

That's how it should be. I am surprised though. That seems to be different then what you've been saying in this thread, and in others over the years.

I guess I didn't explain that very well; I pay them what they are worth and what they are worth is a livable wage.