Fast food restaurant answer to union demand for $15.00 minimum wage?

[karliebug]

I do mind. Entry level jobs are not careers. They need to improve their skills and move up like millions of us have done.

The problem is that college graduates are having such a hard time finding jobs that the are forced to flip burgers to try and pay their student loans so soon fast food workers will all be those with college degrees and high school kids will no longer. Be able to work anywhere. It is Avery different world now then when I was in college. We were told to go to college and get a good job and most of us did but now kids are graduating and unable to find work.

 

[JeremyGNJ]

It used to be that the American dream was that you could live in America, and as long as you were willing to work hard, you could get a house and raise a small family. (even on minimum wage)

This is no longer possible. You now need two incomes, just to raise a single child and be a home owner. IN this way America is "less great" than it once was. (and so naturally we would not attract the low-wage workers needed for manufacturing)

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

It used to be that the American dream was that you could live in America, and as long as you were willing to work hard, you could get a house and raise a small family. (even on minimum wage)

This is no longer possible. You now need two incomes, just to raise a single child and be a home owner. IN this way America is "less great" than it once was. (and so naturally we would not attract the low-wage workers needed for manufacturing)

Our standard of living is very different today than yesterday. How many of your parents lived in 2000+ sq ft houses (almost double that of the average home in the 30's), had 2 cars, various electronics, took vacations every year, etc...? We are not comparing apples to apples.

 

[CAFarmerGirl]

The problem is that college graduates are having such a hard time finding jobs that the are forced to flip burgers to try and pay their student loans so soon fast food workers will all be those with college degrees and high school kids will no longer. Be able to work anywhere. It is Avery different world now then when I was in college. We were told to go to college and get a good job and most of us did but now kids are graduating and unable to find work.

That was the world I graduated in when I go out of college in the early 90's. I took a low wage job as a drafter just to get my foot in the door at an engineering firm. I lived in a very cheap apartment that I could afford on my low wages. I drove a cheap car. I worked hard until I got promoted.

 

[supergoofy]

The problem is that college graduates are having such a hard time finding jobs that the are forced to flip burgers to try and pay their student loans so soon fast food workers will all be those with college degrees and high school kids will no longer. Be able to work anywhere. It is Avery different world now then when I was in college. We were told to go to college and get a good job and most of us did but now kids are graduating and unable to find work.

I have to ask how many of these students have degrees that are in demand/useful?

I just recently graduated for a 2 year school and could not believe the amount of people getting degrees that were so narrow minded that they become "useless". I know we need teachers, social workers and artist but at some point the market is saturated or budget cuts keep it slim so there is 1 job and hundreds trying to get in.


What I am seeing that's even worse than kids coming out of college and being able to find work is schools dropping shop classes.

Yes folks you can make huge money with out a degree but with out shop classes kids don't see this or understand it. How many young adults do you know that make $30 an hour and have 0 college debt and no degree?

The trades are in desperate need for people but guess what folks don't know this as its not talked about as we are barbarians with out degrees

 

[crisi]

That was the world I graduated in when I go out of college in the early 90's. I took a low wage job as a drafter just to get my foot in the door at an engineering firm. I lived in a very cheap apartment that I could afford on my low wages. I drove a cheap car. I worked hard until I got promoted.

I posted this in a recent thread.

My husband and I graduated from college in 1988. I did data entry and clerical work for three years. He worked part time jobs for minimum wage for five years before falling into a job. My secretarial work paid ok, but he lived in a one bedroom apartment with four guys (two guys slept in the dining room).

My grandparents raised five kids - my grandfather was a skilled machinist and my grandmother was a nursing assistant. Five kids in a two bedroom house, one car, with a chicken or ham on Sunday that was stretched for the week and supplemented with sausages (German - the other side was Italian, similar story - fewer kids - substitute pasta for the potatoes). Lots of potatos and turnips - and my grandmother kept a huge garden and canned.

 

[tvguy]

Not everyone is capable of going to college. That could be because of mental or physical ability or other reasons. Not everyone lives in an area where there are jobs that make much more than minimum wage. Sure rents may be a little less than a job with better paying jobs but everything else costs the same. So none of those people deserve to be able to afford a roof over their head, food in their mouth, or to take care of their health?

College has nothing to do with it. I'm in the middle of remodeling my home, and I have had several hard working people here who never finished high school let alone college, and they are in jobs paying $20 to $30 an hour. Heck, minimum wage for a construction zone flagperson is $20 an hour*.

And the government support systems are there for those who can not work or can not work higher skilled jobs. But there is a huge difference between not being able to do something because of a physical or mental disability, and not WANTING to do what it takes to advance to a higher paying job.

*Unless they are working on a project under a local government contract. We have a law called "prevailing wage" that says the minimum compensation (value of pay, and all benefits) has to be at least $52.50 an hour.

 

[tvguy]

The problem is that college graduates are having such a hard time finding jobs that the are forced to flip burgers to try and pay their student loans so soon fast food workers will all be those with college degrees and high school kids will no longer. Be able to work anywhere. It is Avery different world now then when I was in college. We were told to go to college and get a good job and most of us did but now kids are graduating and unable to find work.

Certainly the economy is far from recovered from the recession. I'm not sure, however, in a situation where there is a shortage of higher paying jobs, that making unskilled entry level jobs higher paying jobs is going to do anything other than eliminate some of THOSE jobs. I know where I work, the entry level jobs, mail room, delivery driver, building upkeep have all gone away (we have to sort our own mail now, make our own deliveries and when a bunch of light bulbs burn out, they bring in an outsider company to change them).. If minimum wage jobs have been cut already due to the economy, the wages are already too high.
I think, frankly, the battle we need to fight on wages at this point, is not over minimum wage, but over sub-minimum wages. $7.25 is great compared to the $2.13 an hour some states allow.

 

[KEEFy88]

In addition, those making over $15 an hour already loses purchasing power as their burger just went up in cost, their rents went up, their gas went up, but their wages stayed the same.

My personal opinion is that minimum should be increased some, then tied to the yearly inflation number similar to social security. $15 isn't that number, nor is it close.

I personally love this idea, and have been trying to argue in its favor for years.

 

[wiigirl]

I personally love this idea, and have been trying to argue in its favor for years.

 

[TravelMommy]

 

[MrsPete]

Not everyone is capable of going to college. That could be because of mental or physical ability or other reasons. Not everyone lives in an area where there are jobs that make much more than minimum wage. Sure rents may be a little less than a job with better paying jobs but everything else costs the same. So none of those people deserve to be able to afford a roof over their head, food in their mouth, or to take care of their health?

There's a lot of jobs in between minimum wage and gotta-have-a-degree. In fact, the majority of jobs in America fall between these two ends.

 

[nooneshome]

I'd rather pay gov assistance to those who hold a job rather than those who do nothing. You can't start working your way up the job ladder unless you have a job.

This is a political election thing. These politicians can't think this is actually good, right? Force companies to increase minimum wage and think that the rest of the universe doesn't change? Maybe aliens have invaded planet Earth!

They darn sure have taken over DC.

 

[Arielle22]

Many that are making minimum wage are on government assistance programs. Are these businesses that can't pay a living wage and force taxpayers to subsidise their workers really worthwhile?

There are other factors going into government assistance such as number of household members, number of children and household income. So it is possible to be working above minimum wage and still need government assistance.

So by your theory, a business needs to pay the employee enough so the employee can pay their bills, regardless of what the position is actually worth.

 

[angwill]

There are other factors going into government assistance such as number of household members, number of children and household income. So it is possible to be working above minimum wage and still need government assistance.

So by your theory, a business needs to pay the employee enough so the employee can pay their bills, regardless of what the position is actually worth.

By your theory, some people are more worthy than others? Who gets to make the decisions on who is more worthy? The billionaire children of the Walmart fortune or someone like you?

With inflation and the cost of things today a person making minimum wage even in an urban area where the cost of rents are lower still can not make it even with no extras like cable tv and still feed themselves let alone pay for healthcare. People don't need five children to be poor and hungry nowadays.

 

[angwill]

There's a lot of jobs in between minimum wage and gotta-have-a-degree. In fact, the majority of jobs in America fall between these two ends.

Maybe in a big city and the suburbs of those cities, there are between jobs, but their are millions of Americans who do not live in big cities where those between jobs don't exhist. Where the factories and such closed years ago and they are stuck in their homes that are worth half of what they paid for them 10-20 years ago and even less than what they owe on them. I guess those people don't count?

 

[AquaDame]

The raises in costs really wouldn't be as dire as everyone seems to think... which is the corporate tag line BTW. Not everyone is going to automatically make more money, we're just going to force companies to not subsidize their labor force and perhaps the billions in taxes that will be saved will take care of those pennies on the dollar.

http://www.upworthy.com/the-shockin...ost-us-all-if-walmart-paid-living-wage?c=ufb1

 

[tvguy]

I think the most valuable lesson I learned about money came from the janitor at the first TV station I worked at. I don't think he ever made much more than minimum wage, but he was willing to work, willing to work more than 40 hours a week, and disciplined enough to save money.
He made a whole lot of money every fall cleaning out gutters on people's houses for $25. So, what I learned is, you may not make a whole lot per hour, but there are a whole lot of opportunities and hours to make more money.

 

[HookdonWDW]

The raises in costs really wouldn't be as dire as everyone seems to think... which is the corporate tag line BTW. Not everyone is going to automatically make more money, we're just going to force companies to not subsidize their labor force and perhaps the billions in taxes that will be saved will take care of those pennies on the dollar.

http://www.upworthy.com/the-shockin...ost-us-all-if-walmart-paid-living-wage?c=ufb1

If minimum wage is increased, it's not just the Walmarts that will have to increase the amount being paid. As I stated earlier in this thread, my employee's don't make minimum wage, but if minimum wage was raised to $12 - $15, they would suffer from wage compression, and find themselves as part of the new group of people working for minimum wage, as well as face the possibility of fewer hours/ reduction of one or more positions.

Small business owners don't always have the luxury of the same margins as Big Box stores. Currently, due to the fluctuations in the business market, my payroll costs are out of line (high) during the first quarter of the year. We continue to overstaff because we don't want our employees to suffer due to the vagrancies of our business. If minimum wage was increased by 25%, I couldn't justify continuing in this manner. It just wouldn't be feasible.

This is not a "the sky is falling" statement. It is the reality of my business. I don't know what the solution is to the loss of middle income jobs, but I do believe that increasing minimum wage will lead to wage compression and the further slowing down of job growth. Many employers will take another look at the books, and try to make due with fewer resources and employees.

 

[writermommy6]

By your theory, some people are more worthy than others? Who gets to make the decisions on who is more worthy? The billionaire children of the Walmart fortune or someone like you?

With inflation and the cost of things today a person making minimum wage even in an urban area where the cost of rents are lower still can not make it even with no extras like cable tv and still feed themselves let alone pay for healthcare. People don't need five children to be poor and hungry nowadays.

Arielle didn't say that the people weren't worthy only that certain jobs are "worth" more than others. The person that cleans the toilets at McDonald's doesn't get paid the same as the CEO of Coke because the positions are not equal.

The general conversation that I see here is that a minimum wage job is a starting point. If 40 hours doesn't pay your bills then you work 2 jobs. Or you become so amazing at the job you have that you move up through the ranks to a higher paying job. You go to school or become an apprentice to learn a trade! The world needs plenty of lawncare people, car mechanics, and so much more. When my husband got his job 20 years ago at a manufacturing plant he started at the very bottom with ZERO skills working a minimum of 60-100 hours a week. He has learned everything possible about every single position in his plant and worked his way up to the plant manager position which is almost always held by a college educated person-which he is not. He went from minimum wage to $50k+ a year in the first 10 years and in the last 10 he has broken through the six figure mark.

Hard work, persistance, and a DESIRE to learn can go a long way.