Minium Wage/ McD's/ Sense of Entitlement

[ICF]

Minimum wage has not increased since 2009. I have gotten 4 raises since then and don't see that much of a difference because the cost of living has increased. How many raises have YOU gotten in the past 5 years?

You're lucky. I work at a fortune 500 company that you all know well -- and they have given them ONCE since 2008...and that was a 5.2% in 2011. They also for most of that time have frozen all promotions/recognition and the like...and we "downsize" virtually every quarter.

So you should really feel blessed to have gotten 4 of then in the last 5 years...cause that's not the norm in my world.

 

[luvsJack]

You're lucky. I work at a fortune 500 company that you all know well -- and they have given them ONCE since 2008...and that was a 5.2% in 2011. They also for most of that time have frozen all promotions/recognition and the like...and we "downsize" virtually every quarter.

So you should really feel blessed to have gotten 4 of then in the last 5 years...cause that's not the norm in my world.

To be fair, some of these are 1-2% and one was due to a change in position. But I do feel blessed. And at 1% its more than what folks on minimum wage have gotten.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Minimum wage has not increased since 2009. I have gotten 4 raises since then and don't see that much of a difference because the cost of living has increased. How many raises have YOU gotten in the past 5 years?

Funny you should ask. I got laid off in 2009. I hadn't gotten a raise in three years.

Unemployment was a 47% reduction in pay. I was really, really lucky. it took me less than three months to find a new job. That new job considered full-time to be 30 hours a week - so I took another reduction. Only 8% this time, but with benefits. But of course there were taxes and other deductions, which weren't taken from unemployment (my choice, since it happened just after the tax pay-off date that year.

I got a 1% raise the next year, and the next. Then I got lucky again and jumped to 40 hours. And got another 1% that year, and this. So I'm still making 30% less than I was four, five, six years ago.

 

[kaytieeldr]

To be fair, some of these are 1-2% and one was due to a change in position. But I do feel blessed. And at 1% its more than what folks on minimum wage have gotten.

And when folks making minimum wage get a 1% increase, that's seven or eight cents. That's $145.20-$166 per year.

 

[kamik86]

You're lucky. I work at a fortune 500 company that you all know well -- and they have given them ONCE since 2008...and that was a 5.2% in 2011. They also for most of that time have frozen all promotions/recognition and the like...and we "downsize" virtually every quarter.

So you should really feel blessed to have gotten 4 of then in the last 5 years...cause that's not the norm in my world.

Even that depends on the company and sounds different depending on details.

If I say my company gave merit raises every year I have been here (4 years now) to most employees you would think we got much more then you.

Most of these were only 1.5% ish (generally 1.2-1.8 depending on merit, some get none some get 2ish.

 

[lustergirl]

Once again, talking about individuals misses the point. Every person who "pulls himself up by his bootstraps" simply leaves behind a low-wage job that will be filled by someone else. 26% of American jobs are low-wage. That is a problem, because no matter how one individual might change his own fortunes those jobs still require that a significant portion of the overall workforce earn a sub-poverty-level wage. THAT is what needs to change. The social discussion always seems to focus on the personal level and shaming the working poor for the choices that led them to be working poor, but individual choices cannot change the fact that our economy as it exists now requires that 1/4 of its workers not earn enough to survive.

Great post!! Unfortunately we all know that practically everyone on this board is well off, living in a beautiful home, drive expensive cars, and only stay at the deluxe resorts. People ought to feel fortunate that they haven't made bad decisions that will haunt them the rest of their lives. Some people are so quick to judge others less fortunate than them and they have never experienced poverty or close to it. The children who are born into such circumstances are not to blame and someone needs to help them out. Yes some of my tax dollars go to help people less fortunate than myself and family included. I feel fortunate that I am not the kind of person to judge others because of their economic status and try to help others.

 

[ICF]

Even that depends on the company and sounds different depending on details.

If I say my company gave merit raises every year I have been here (4 years now) to most employees you would think we got much more then you.

Most of these were only 1.5% ish (generally 1.2-1.8 depending on merit, some get none some get 2ish.

That's what we used to do -- from when I started thru 2008 -- the target Merit here was 3% most cases (and maybe 2.5 a couple of times). Some would get a little less and some a little more than the target --depending on your reviews. Those stopped in 2008 and the only year they've been given out since was 2011.

I don't recall what the target level was (or if I ever knew) in 2011 -- just what my final % was. It did probably help (as bad as this sounds) that one of our team members was fired about 6 weeks prior to the merit's being announced so my manger had that % in her "pool" to give out and essentially nobody to give it too...so the 4 of us left all got to share her amount.

 

[Lisa_M]

And when folks making minimum wage get a 1% increase, that's seven or eight cents. That's $145.20-$166 per year.

My two raises since 2009 were each not more than that and I don't work a minimum wage job. we've had pay freezes otherwise with increases to health insurance, COL, etc. DH was laid off in 2009 on unemployment for a long time. When he got another position, it wasn't in his field, but in a warehouse for the last two years. Between 40 hours per week there and 8 at his old job, he still makes 8k less than before he was laid off. I think pretty much every one is struggling and would like to see higher wages. The only difference is you don't expect to struggle as much with college degrees or advanced training.

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

I find it fascinating, but unfortunately not surprising, that those most apt to suggest others "pull themselves up by their own bootstraps" are least familiar with the etymology of the term.

Just as it is physically, as in the actual laws of physics, impossible to pull oneself up by one's own bootstraps, so is it impossible for any one person to claim complete self-credit for their success.

There but for the grace of God go I...

 

[lustergirl]

My two raises since 2009 were each not more than that and I don't work a minimum wage job. we've had pay freezes otherwise with increases to health insurance, COL, etc. DH was laid off in 2009 on unemployment for a long time. When he got another position, it wasn't in his field, but in a warehouse for the last two years. Between 40 hours per week there and 8 at his old job, he still makes 8k less than before he was laid off. I think pretty much every one is struggling and would like to see higher wages. The only difference is you don't expect to struggle as much with college degrees or advanced training.

True: nowadays a college doesn't mean anything except student loan debt

 

[Art 1]

True: nowadays a college doesn't mean anything except student loan debt

Not always true. My Son graduated this past spring and had 3 job offers in his degree, played the 3 against each other for a higher starting pay. He is in a good major. Most of his friends got jobs too right away. And he has no debt, I paid for his school. He is a good Son and it's the least a parent can do and really is a parents duty to educate their children and guide them into the correct fields of study.

 

[FireDancer]

True: nowadays a college doesn't mean anything except student loan debt

That isn't true. College isn't an automatic job, nor should it be, but it is one piece of the puzzle. It seems like a lot of people graduate and think that piece of paper is all they need. They are sadly mistaken. What jobs did you work while in college and how do they apply to the job you are trying to get? What professional connections did you make? Is the degree in demand? These are the kinds of things I ask if I'm interviewing someone right out of college. You have to stand out when you interview, not only bring to the table the exact same thing 50 other applicants are bringing. Personality is also a very big component. I'd sooner hire a dog than an introvert for example. They wouldn't work well in my department.

I also paid my tuition as I went by working. No loans and no parents paying any of the bill. Graduation with massive debt and no prospects is quite often poor planning and/or poor money management.

 

[lustergirl]

Not always true. My Son graduated this past spring and had 3 job offers in his degree, played the 3 against each other for a higher starting pay. He is in a good major. Most of his friends got jobs too right away. And he has no debt, I paid for his school. He is a good Son and it's the least a parent can do and really is a parents duty to educate their children and guide them into the correct fields of study.

Well aren't you just a peach I believe it is the kid's duty to educate themselves by standing on their own two feet. Sure a little guidance won't hurt but my sons were able to pick the field of study that they wanted, not what I wanted them to do. And not all parents can afford to pay for their children's education, what about those kids? Again you live in a minority as to be able to afford your child's education as I believe the majority people in our country can't afford it. I didn't expect my parents to pay for my education and still am paying off student loans.

 

[lustergirl]

That isn't true. College isn't an automatic job, nor should it be, but it is one piece of the puzzle. It seems like a lot of people graduate and think that piece of paper is all they need. They are sadly mistaken. What jobs did you work while in college and how do they apply to the job you are trying to get? What professional connections did you make? Is the degree in demand? These are the kinds of things I ask if I'm interviewing someone right out of college. You have to stand out when you interview, not only bring to the table the exact same thing 50 other applicants are bringing. Personality is also a very big component. I'd sooner hire a dog than an introvert for example. They wouldn't work well in my department.

Actually I was fortunate enough to get an internship in my field of study (forensics) at the local medical examiner's office and still work with them closely to this day as an investigator. Some kids go to school, graduate, and then end up working in a field not their major. Happens all the time.

 

[Colleen27]

Not always true. My Son graduated this past spring and had 3 job offers in his degree, played the 3 against each other for a higher starting pay. He is in a good major. Most of his friends got jobs too right away. And he has no debt, I paid for his school. He is a good Son and it's the least a parent can do and really is a parents duty to educate their children and guide them into the correct fields of study.

And that is all well and good... if you're fortunate enough to be born into a family that can afford a six-figure outlay for education. But for most, a college education does mean loans. Especially for the children of the working class that everyone here expects to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" and "make good choices". The maximum Pell grant is about $5500/year, and state university tuition and fees are triple that (assuming a commuting student). "Financial aid", even for the very poor, is mostly in the form of large loans. And for low income students to whom even $10K is an unimaginable sum of money, those loans often prove a deterrent to higher education.

 

[lustergirl]

And that is all well and good... if you're fortunate enough to be born into a family that can afford a six-figure outlay for education. But for most, a college education does mean loans. Especially for the children of the working class that everyone here expects to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" and "make good choices". The maximum Pell grant is about $5500/year, and state university tuition and fees are triple that (assuming a commuting student). "Financial aid", even for the very poor, is mostly in the form of large loans. And for low income students to whom even $10K is an unimaginable sum of money, those loans often prove a deterrent to higher education.

I think an education should be a given to all people regardless of economic status.

 

[Art 1]

I think an education should be a given to all people regardless of economic status.

Would I be entitled to a refund.

 

[skylizard]

Not always true. My Son graduated this past spring and had 3 job offers in his degree, played the 3 against each other for a higher starting pay. He is in a good major. Most of his friends got jobs too right away. And he has no debt, I paid for his school. He is a good Son and it's the least a parent can do and really is a parents duty to educate their children and guide them into the correct fields of study.

Well you're one of the lucky ones then. I can guarantee you most college graduates aren't that lucky and can't find a job. About 40% of graduates are underemployed, most of them taking whatever low paying job they can get (McDs maybe?) since they are having such a hard time finding decent paying jobs.

Salaries overall have not kept pace with inflation and have barely risen across the board over the last several years. I'm all for raising minimum wage, but $15 is excessive.

 

[Lisa_M]

True: nowadays a college doesn't mean anything except student loan debt

Yes, unfortunately I know all about that part for my husband. My masters degree it's what allows me to have my relatively secure but no pay increase job. I'm grateful for that, but unfortunately when I have a bad day it's a bitter pill to keep paying on those student loans that never seem to go down.

For those that think it was poor planning, I graduated undergrad in three years while working part time took a year off after and worked ft at Walmart while figuring the next step. Then three year grad school program that was required for my field. Unfortunately, my parents were not in a position to pay for any of my schooling. Not ideal, but I did the best I could to minimize the debt.

 

[Colleen27]

I think an education should be a given to all people regardless of economic status.

I wouldn't go that far. I think higher education needs to be returned to a saner position in our society - if everyone gets a college degree, it will be worth as little in the job market as a high school diploma is today. We need to return to two forgotten principles, IMO - the idea of a fair wage for an honest day's work without exception, and the conception of college as specialized training rather than a minimum general expectation. We're devaluing college degrees in our rush to make sure that our kids aren't one of that permanent underclass our economy demands, to the point where college now is only worth what high school was a generation ago but requires tens of thousands of dollars invested (often borrowed) to attain.

Well you're one of the lucky ones then. I can guarantee you most college graduates aren't that lucky and can't find a job. About 40% of graduates are underemployed, most of them taking whatever low paying job they can get (McDs maybe?) since they are having such a hard time finding decent paying jobs.

Salaries overall have not kept pace with inflation and have barely risen across the board over the last several years. I'm all for raising minimum wage, but $15 is excessive.

And once again I'll take this up from a societal view - 44% of college graduates are either unemployed or employed in jobs that don't require a college education. More than 60% of college students graduate with debt. The average debt for the class of 2011 was over $26K, continuing a pattern of increases at 5-7% per year.

On salaries, wages have been stagnant since the 70s relative to inflation, and have actually fallen in the last decade. The median household income now is about 10% lower than it was in 2000.