Raising minimum wage ..RN Salaries increase?

brandy1017, ASN, RN · Oct 13, 2017

I am trying to wrap my head around ,raising the minimum wage /nursing salaries .In my area CNA 11/hour ,Lpn 17/hour,Rn 25hour .
Recently they mandate RNs to have a 4 year degree ,which costs between 40-200 k.
If minimum wage increases to 15 hr ..this would force an increase..How can you pay McDonald's workers more ..when CNA's are
doing backbreaking work ,nightshift ,leaving thier families on weakends and holidays ? This would force a increase all the way up .I do worry though ..that this will make staffing short /and healthcare insurance prices to rise .

If you are going to become an RN choose the cheapest way available, state two year community colleges are usually the cheapest route, then consider an online BSN from WGU Western Governors University. Don't go into debt and if you have to keep it to a minimum. Live at home or with roommates if you have to. Believe me you will be so glad you aren't swimming in debt. It took me over 20 years to pay off my student loans because I went to a private college and it was only $22,000 but the interest was very high and I was only making $13\hr when I started! Many years I regretted school and felt I should have just stayed as a secretary when I had to make the loan payment. To top it off I liked my secretarial job much more than being a nurse. Nursing is so overrated and I don't recommend it!

kcochrane · Oct 13, 2017

I am not sure if income disparity equates to opportunity. I believe they are distinct, both are important considerations but distinct from each other.

I agree. There is also a motivational aspect to that. Getting my RN meant student loans, working full time nights and being tired all the time. Most people are not going to want to do that. Starting a business with my boyfriend means working full time days, OT and working at the store evenings and weekends. We didn't have grants or start up money, it was all week to week. Again tired all the time. New York State has free tuition now for students. There are opportunities.

Roz, RN, BSN, RN · Oct 13, 2017

I earned my BSN in 1980. My first job as an RN earned me $6.85/hr. Right now, I'm making just over $27.00/hr. When inflation and cost of living are figured in, I'm not making that much more than when I started!

Roz, RN, BSN, RN · Oct 13, 2017

Why not put a cap on how much CEOs and their ilk make? Their salaries and benefit packages are nothing like the rest of us have. No one needs a to make millions of dollars in one year. If they made less, those a teddy the bottom should make more.

jay_prn · Oct 13, 2017

I wish the United States would treat education like a public health issue, as many European nations do. Democracies are strengthened by an educated populace. If we had the sense to fund public universities with tax dollars and make them essentially tuition-free, we'd eliminate the burden of student debt for the next generation. That and raising the minimum wage would go a long way toward a stronger economy and, frankly, a healthier, happier nation.

Daisy Joyce · Oct 13, 2017

Well, let's put it this way.

Sometimes I get a wee bit grumpy when I remember how the cast of "Friends", in the final season, made $1million/episode.

To act out a fictional story.

On the television.

I don't think any nurse get made $1million per shift.

LM NY · Oct 15, 2017

When you're a teenager working to save money after-school, the weekends or just during the summer then $15 does seem excessive. However, when you are a head of household or the spouse trying to make ends meet, it really doesn't cut it.

BogieRN · Oct 15, 2017

I'm satisfied with my pay. $20 an hour to sit on my butt for 9 hours a night watching a kid on a vent sleep while on watch tv. I should be doing more with my degree bit for now this will do!

BogieRN · Oct 15, 2017

But the cost alone to pay back that 170 grand usually isn't worth it. My 40 grand monthly payback is 402. That's more than my car payment

Volley88 · Oct 15, 2017

Like you, I am in favor of raising the minimum wage.
But, of course there are downsides, or dangers, as you put it.
And, there are studies that support this.
How hard did you look? It took me around a minute, and I am old.

Can you link the articles you've found? I am very interested. I am not pro/con, yet. I would like to have evidence based research to formulate my opinion.

Mini2544, ASN, RN · Oct 15, 2017

Mini 2544, Let me remind you we live under socialism already: Medicare, the Military, Medicaid, the Police, the Fire department, Education, Roads/Highways, Parks, and several other public funded programs. Do you like your water clean? Do you like to drive on your roads without constantly having to change your tires? These are small examples of the public funding something for the people as a whole to benefit. Also, as long as the top 1% keeps hiring lobbyists in congress to funnel taxpayer money in their direction, along with sending trillions of dollars to banks abroad, we are not following a model of Capitalism, we are following a model of theft.

All of what you said is true. However we do not live in a socialistic society. That is not how our Govt is designed, or wasn't supposed to be at least. Our social programs are out of control and don't make sense anymore. They were never designed to be life long, but to help out monetarily to those who are in need. However that's an entire different topic. I think it's insane that some in this country want to villainze the wealthy and successful. "Let's raise taxes on the rich to pay for the poor." That is a socialist train of thought and it is disturbing. We will always have income inequality and to try to close that gap through taxing top earners is a slippery slope.

Mini2544, ASN, RN · Oct 15, 2017

Agreed. And, it's plainly obvious from recent and not so recent events and socioeconomic reports that there most definitely not plenty of opportunity for everyone in this country, and not nearly solely due to income inequality. Claiming, "plenty of opportunity for everyone" is an incredibly specious and flippant claim, and is easily refuted with a bare minimum of research.

Accountability for someone's life falls in their own hands. If someone wants to do something, make something of themselves they can. It is absolutely harder for certain individuals to do this because of background, family, etc. That does not mean the opportunities doesn't exist just because the road is rockier.