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

[brunette8706]

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

PERFECT ANSWER! Makes perfect sense. If you want a better paying job go to college. Period.

 

[Ck57524]

PERFECT ANSWER! Makes perfect sense. If you want a better paying job go to college. Period.

See I dont agree with this. I see Cornell University educated people getting jobs at Wal-Mart because there are no jobs for them in their profession. Education does not mean a better paying job. Sad, but true. People living on minimum wage have a hard time advancing (already went to college and no jobs, no career advancement, etc) and can't live on minimum wage. They dont get a bunch of government assistance as they're above poverty level, but still can't afford to live. Until you experience this, or see someone you know experience this you dont really know how hard it is. My family is very fortunate as I'm in a medical field (RN) where jobs are always available. However I know of people experiencing this, and went through it before getting my RN license.

 

[writermommy6]

PERFECT ANSWER! Makes perfect sense. If you want a better paying job go to college. Period.

I don't think TVguy meant go to college. Or at least that's not how I read it. I was thinking more along the lines of learn a trade, become an intern or apprentice of someone who is successful but doesn't necessarily have a college degree. My husband doesn't have a college degree but has worked his butt off to make it to where he is. I only started college but never finished. I starting working for $5 an hour and now I make $20+ per hour because I worked hard, learned the necessary skills and continue to learn as my field evolves.

I also would like to add that from age 18-20 I worked in fast food. Worked full time hours, went to college full time and was married. I went from cashier to manager in those two years. I worked hard, was willing to do ANY job they asked and quite often would agree to work for 15-18 hours straight if someone didn't show up. I always had a smile on my face and sent customers away as happy as I could. Went from minimum wage at like $4/hr to $10/hrs plus time and a half over time. I've frequented lots of fast food places and a lot of the time you can tell that the workers would rather be ANYWHERE else and that the job is a burden and you as the customer are bothering them.

 

[crisi]

Years ago - like thirty - in my first job one of the guys I knew and respected (who had a graduate degree) said that "you don't get an education - you get training to do something people will pay for in a field that is in demand" For some professions, that's a college degree in - oh, Accounting, Nursing, Business, Engineering.....for others its a trade school degree to be an electrician.

Its seldom a degree in Art History (although that is my first degree and I did quite well - in IT as a Systems Engineer, NOT as an Art Historian.)

 

[karice2]

A struggle, yes, collapse, no. Here in Sacramento, we lost Mather Air Force Base, McClellan Air Force, and the Sacramento Army Depot. Yup, 3 major defense installations all within 20 miles of each other. All closed. We have survived. Now, don't ask me how in the world we got 3 military installations in one city, probably the same political corruption that got Northern Virginia all their military installations.

I am just going to provide the data on how Northern Virginia got some of their installations.

Ft. McNair - Built in 1791. An arsenal included in the design by L'Enfant to defend Washington DC. Old Guard- Famous for Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Ft. Belvoir - Built in 1930's to serve as Engineering School for Army. Now contains a whole bunch of consolidated basis due to BRAC.

Andrews - Land used by Union Army for church, designated as an airfield by Roosevelt. Most recently famous for Air Force One

Quantico- FBI Training Academy

Most of these were here long before Northern Virginia was the big booming industry that people think it has become.

 

[karice2]

Depends on HOW the budget is slashed. How much cheaper would it be to keep our foreign-based soldiers (and civilian support) on US soil and then just maintain the foreign bases with a skeleton crew rather than a full fighting force? How much economic impact would these people have on the US economy if they were living and spending money in the US instead of overseas?

I don't think this statement has a full understanding of how the overseas military system is supposed to work. Those people are in those locations because they are a fast response to a potential threat. The time that it would take to get troops on the ground for any particular hostile action would create a distinct tactical disadvantage.

Also most people overseas shop at US owned and managed stores on the bases that they are assigned. Yes, one does shop locally for some things but most of their shopping is done on base.

 

[usd2bmd]

I think Trade schools are a great idea and wonder why more parents are talking to their kids about them. maybe it's because kids have this view of trade schools and skilled workers as uneducated.

My nephew attended college went on to law school at a very highly regarded law school. Graduation came and several of his classmates decided after graduation and searching for jobs to go back to school for something else because they could find a job as an attorney. My nephew was lucky enough to find a position with a non-profit and while he works there the school is making his loan payments and if he is there 5 years the payments they make will be forgiven.

Getting a college education does nothing if you graduate knee deep (or worse) in debt and can't find a job.

if you want the minimum wage to stay where it is because those jobs are only for high school students and elderly people looking to make a few bucks then those should be the only people they hire, but they aren't.

 

[manning]

In the early 60s my uncle retired as the treasurer of Lamson and sessions they were and may still be one of the leading manufactures of fasteners and bolt. He started there as a janitor.

Back then a college degree got you a good job without a problem. He shocked me one day when he said "when we hire someone out of college we tell them to forget everything they learned in school. We will teach you the how to do it the right way." I'm sure he meant the right way for the company.

 

[HookdonWDW]

if you want the minimum wage to stay where it is because those jobs are only for high school students and elderly people looking to make a few bucks then those should be the only people they hire, but they aren't.

Hmmm... so your proposal is that if people apply for a job and want it, we should discriminate against them if the pay isn't high enough for their own good??? Do you know how quick I would have the government and the legal system down my throat??? I spent enough time explaining why I didn't think I should have to pay unemployment to someone I released after he came to work high and drunk, crashed a company vehicle, and was arrested by the police...

If people don't like the pay, they don't have to apply for the jobs. If the jobs don't get filled, either the wages will rise or the jobs/industry will disappear. That's what happens in a free market economy. Basically the thinking usually is that people can't find a job so they decide that minimum wage is better than nothing. Most will get a couple of jobs to make ends meet. Most will continue to look for a job that meets their goals and needs. Some will decide to remain where they are. That's the employee's choice. Believe me, there are plenty of areas where high schoolers and retirees looking for casual employment would rather that others didn't take these jobs.

 

[kymom99]

In the early 60s my uncle retired as the treasurer of Lamson and sessions they were and may still be one of the leading manufactures of fasteners and bolt. He started there as a janitor.

Back then a college degree got you a good job without a problem. He shocked me one day when he said "when we hire someone out of college we tell them to forget everything they learned in school. We will teach you the how to do it the right way." I'm sure he meant the right way for the company.

My dad worked for the telephone company as an installer. He called the people with the degrees educated idiots. I'm sure he didn't coin the phrase. No offense because I am one of them, but after they gave dad and a whole gang if older men just like him a retirement offer that was too good to refuse so they could get rid of them, they lured a bunch of them back for part time work to help train the new, more educated employees.

My dad was a very wise, practical man. He told us he didn't care if we went to college or not, but if we went, we had to find a major that would produce a job that we could stand to do until we retired. He said he worked 36 years in a job he hated.

 

[Dakota731]

if you want the minimum wage to stay where it is because those jobs are only for high school students and elderly people looking to make a few bucks then those should be the only people they hire, but they aren't.

What??? It is illegal for human resource managers to ask the kind of questions about age and family situations you would need answered to do that! And there are also middle aged women who go back to work after being homemakers to raise money for kids' college bills. It's no employers business what you are dong with the money you make! People are free to apply for any kind of job they want but they have to realize that they are not going to support a family of four working at McDonalds in an entry level job!

 

[Arielle22]

What??? It is illegal for human resource managers to ask the kind of questions about age and family situations you would need answered to do that! And there are also middle aged women who go back to work after being homemakers to raise money for kids' college bills. It's no employers business what you are dong with the money you make! People are free to apply for any kind of job they want but they have to realize that they are not going to support a family of four working at McDonalds in an entry level job!

There are no laws stating what can and can't be ask during an interview. However any smart HR person would not want certain information because it could lead to EEOC charges when the person is not hired.

 

[HookdonWDW]

There are no laws stating what can and can't be ask during an interview. However any smart HR person would not want certain information because it could lead to EEOC charges when the person is not hired.

There are actually MANY laws that dictate what can and can't be asked in an interview http://www.pacificu.edu/offices/hr/training/interview/pdfs/LegalOrIllegalInterviewQuestions.pdf

 

[TinCup]

The minimum wage has been around for decades, and it has been raised a number of times over the years. Each time the same arguments, pro and con, have been raised. History has shown that raising the minimum wage really doesn’t change anything that dramatically. Any legislation is a zero sum game. There will be winners and losers that will net to zero.

My personal feeling on getting ahead in life is to take responsibility for yourself and your career. If you don’t take responsibility for yourself you step into the shoes of a victim. People with a victim mentality typically don’t get very far in life. Those with victim mentalities make it easier for those who take responsibility for themselves since there is less competition.

To get ahead a person needs to distinguish themselves from their competition. They need to acquire marketable skills and knowledge that employers will find valuable and will be willing to pay a premium wage for. I don’t think it matters if you go to college or trade school or whatever. What does matter is that you get marketable skills/knowledge.

Isn’t the primary goal of college/trade school to get training/education that will enable you to be a self-supporting contributing member of society? Students need to choose a field of study that will allow them to earn a living, rather than a field of study that will leave them with few job prospects when they graduate. This is nothing more than commonsense.

To get a job in your field you have to be willing to go where the jobs are. You also have to be willing to start at the bottom and work your way up. A college degree gives you an understanding of theory. It doesn’t give you an understanding of the practicable application of that theory in the real world. To say this another way, most college graduates aren’t even green yet, they are blue. They need to learn and experience the real world before they move up to green.

I get tired of reading stories in the media of college graduates who can’t find jobs in their field of study because their field of study is not readily marketable. They then complain that they are also saddled with tens of thousands of dollars of debt that they can’t payback. Finally, they blame anyone they can because no one ever told them that their degree choice wasn’t marketable, and that they would have to pay back their student loans. Again, where is the personal responsibility and commonsense. These people are college graduates who clearly have the grey matter to understand the natural consequences of their choices.

As far as there not being enough jobs, that is a whole other issue. It is my opinion that our population is out growing our economy. Our economy cannot employ everyone. This results in an increase in the normal rate of unemployment. Retiring Boomers will take some pressure off of this, but unemployment will continue to rise as our population increases.

In addition, federal borrowing could lead to a global financial collapse. It is my understanding that currently for every dollar the government spends it must borrow about 40 cents, and this borrowing rate has historically increased as the population has increased. This debt is dragging down our economy and our government. If this continues the government will eventually reach a point where it will simply cease to function. Look at what happened to Grease, except there is no other economy big enough to bail us out. If our government, and economy tanks, the rest of the world will follow it.

The majority of the federal budget is for things that must be paid such as servicing the debt and entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. Any meaningful plan to balance the budget and eliminate the debt will clearly need reforms to the entitlement/social programs. This is just a hard fact. It should also be noted that government debt is nothing more than future taxes. One example of how fiscally irresponsible our government is, is that it costs 2.5 cents to produce one penny. How messed up is that?

Some people will say keep the social programs and raise taxes. The question becomes who will end up paying these tax increases? The wealthy and big corporations have the resources to restructure their lives/activities to minimize their taxes. For example, when France raised its taxes not that long ago many of their wealthy left the country and renounced their French citizenship to avoid paying taxes. The so called 48% pay no federal income tax. That leaves the shrinking middle class to pay the piper. The middle class does not have the resources to pay down the debt and fund the social programs.

It is also my opinion that most of the world’s pressing big issues is the result of over population. We have too many people competing for a dwindling supply of resources such as food, water, energy, etc. The human species is out growing the carrying capacity of the Earth, and is destroying our habitat in the process. When a species out grows the carrying capacity of their environment there will typically be some event(s) that will reduce the population to the current carrying capacity of the habitat.

We are headed towards a global Easter Island event. For thousands of years the world population hovered around 1.5 to 2 billion people. Shifting to a fossil fuel energy platform allowed the world population to increase to its present level of almost 7 billion people and growing. Overpopulation and dwindling resources will likely result in some kind of population crash similar to what occurred on Easter Island.

 

[MillauFr]

The majority of the federal budget is for things that must be paid such as servicing the debt and entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare. Any meaningful plan to balance the budget and eliminate the debt will clearly need reforms to the entitlement/social programs. This is just a hard fact. It should also be noted that government debt is nothing more than future taxes. One example of how fiscally irresponsible our government is, is that it costs 2.5 cents to produce one penny. How messed up is that?

I agree. There is this myth that people seem to believe that if the government just cut the "waste" they could balance the budget. Unless they reduce the growth in the entitlement programs and military spending there is no hope for reducing the debt.