PLease read and Act!! It only takes acouple minutes to send an email!!

[tink2dw]

Did you see Oprah Winfrey...Living on Minimum Wage show today??

Here is a link to her site it tells about the show.
http://www2.oprah.com/index.jhtml

Please Read this and DO IT to help all of America.PLease Please send your Congress people an email, for yourself your neighbor or the person at the bus stop!! It only takes a minute to send a email!!
http://www2.oprah.com/tows/slide/20...4_284_205.jhtml

Oregon has raise their M. wages. READ THIS!! IT does work!! Our state has Heath insurance for children and low income people, too. It works!
http://www.ocpp.org/cgi-bin/display.cgi?page=nr040917

Find your State and this lists the emails of your congress people!!
http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/

 

[tink2dw]

Please ask that the National Minimum be raised to a livable wage, Please send an emial??

 

[summerrluvv]

Please ask that the National Minimum be raised to a livable wage, Please send an emial??

..really what is a "livable wage?" Raise it from $5.xx to $10? Even $10 isn't enough to support a family on.

 

[cardaway]

Please write them and tell them to convince Americans to find the better paying jobs and do what it takes to qualify for them.

 

[Jabber_Jaws]

Please write them and tell them to convince Americans to find the better paying jobs and do what it takes to qualify for them.

 

[Golf4food]

Minimum wage is not meant to be a living wage, nor should it be. I have no desire to spend more money on products and services - thus weakening my ability to support my own family by virtue of having "less" expendable income - just to support the lifestyle of someone who in many cases never paid attention in school, didn't try to earn grades good enough to go to college, and doesn't have much interest in learning a skill that would allow them to make a better living in a "real" job that pays higher than minimum wage. This doens't cover everyone, and it might not even be the true majority, but it is certainly a very large percentage and I have serious issues with handing out free money and services to people who have done nothing to even try to deserve it - and how do we weed out those that have tried and fallen on hard times vs. those that are just apathetic and want a handout?

And if the minimum wage is raised to be a "living wage" (whatever that is - a living wage in NYC is much higher than a living wage in Podunkville, <Insert Southern State Here>) then all of the high school kids just working for a little spending money will suddenly be earning the same amount as well, which is not the point at all. Why should some part-time student working for MP3 money suddenly make more money than an entry level college graduate in some industries? (I started out making the equivalent of $9/hr after college before working my way to my current level of considerably less than a school teacher!)

What we really need is better education, better parents who encourage their children to learn, less emphasis on standardized test scores and more emphasis on REAL learning, better (and cheaper!) opportunities for college education, and politicians who make much less money than they do so that the difference can be put into socially responsible programs such as health care for the poor, etc.

America does not need to become a Socialist state (Communism doesn't work - ask most Russians or Chinese or North Koreans), but it does need to be more responsible with what it does have.

 

[monarchsfan16]

And as soon as the minimum wage goes up so will the cost of all goods and services. Sorry, if people want to make more money they need to get a second job or hey, here's a thought, get an education like the rest of us are

 

[perdidobay]

Minimum wage is not meant to be a living wage, nor should it be. I have no desire to spend more money on products and services - thus weakening my ability to support my own family by virtue of having "less" expendable income - just to support the lifestyle of someone who in many cases never paid attention in school, didn't try to earn grades good enough to go to college, and doesn't have much interest in learning a skill that would allow them to make a better living in a "real" job that pays higher than minimum wage. This doens't cover everyone, and it might not even be the true majority, but it is certainly a very large percentage and I have serious issues with handing out free money and services to people who have done nothing to even try to deserve it - and how do we weed out those that have tried and fallen on hard times vs. those that are just apathetic and want a handout?

And if the minimum wage is raised to be a "living wage" (whatever that is - a living wage in NYC is much higher than a living wage in Podunkville, <Insert Southern State Here>) then all of the high school kids just working for a little spending money will suddenly be earning the same amount as well, which is not the point at all. Why should some part-time student working for MP3 money suddenly make more money than an entry level college graduate in some industries? (I started out making the equivalent of $9/hr after college before working my way to my current level of considerably less than a school teacher!)

What we really need is better education, better parents who encourage their children to learn, less emphasis on standardized test scores and more emphasis on REAL learning, better (and cheaper!) opportunities for college education, and politicians who make much less money than they do so that the difference can be put into socially responsible programs such as health care for the poor, etc.

America does not need to become a Socialist state (Communism doesn't work - ask most Russians or Chinese or North Koreans), but it does need to be more responsible with what it does have.

Ditto!

 

[AllyandJack]

Go ahead and support a raise in the minimum wage....sign it and give people your address so the ones that are laid off as a result of a small business being forced to give everyone a massive raise can contact you and thank you for your support.

You are not going to own a home, have 2.5 kids, a parent staying home volunteering with the PTA and baking cookies, a dog, a car, and a white picket fence if your only skill is mopping the floor and/or emptying trash cans. Those are noble JOBS, but they are not CAREERS.

Learn a trade. Learn to cut hair. Do something.

I would pay more for goods/services if it meant employers were able to provide health insurance though. That's not what this is about from my perspective. I'll pay more for bread if the company will pitch in more toward employee health insurance. But, giving everyone a raise just because they happen to be on the bottom of the pay scale? No.

 

[tiggersmom2]

Please write them and tell them to convince Americans to find the better paying jobs and do what it takes to qualify for them.

 

[Luv'sTink]

$5 is the national minimum. Here in WA it is almost $8 and it was one reason that caused my family to sell their business. By the time you pay wages and pay the companies part of the employee tax's and the companies regular tax's, B&O, unemployment (it is company paid, NOT employee paid) We just couldn't do it any longer. It was a small company but everything went up and you cant always just raise prices to comensate for it.

I understand what your saying and what Oprah was trying to show and I don't know what the answer should be either.

 

[MrsKreamer]

Minimum wage is not meant to be a living wage, nor should it be. I have no desire to spend more money on products and services - thus weakening my ability to support my own family by virtue of having "less" expendable income - just to support the lifestyle of someone who in many cases never paid attention in school, didn't try to earn grades good enough to go to college, and doesn't have much interest in learning a skill that would allow them to make a better living in a "real" job that pays higher than minimum wage. This doens't cover everyone, and it might not even be the true majority, but it is certainly a very large percentage and I have serious issues with handing out free money and services to people who have done nothing to even try to deserve it - and how do we weed out those that have tried and fallen on hard times vs. those that are just apathetic and want a handout?

And if the minimum wage is raised to be a "living wage" (whatever that is - a living wage in NYC is much higher than a living wage in Podunkville, <Insert Southern State Here>) then all of the high school kids just working for a little spending money will suddenly be earning the same amount as well, which is not the point at all. Why should some part-time student working for MP3 money suddenly make more money than an entry level college graduate in some industries? (I started out making the equivalent of $9/hr after college before working my way to my current level of considerably less than a school teacher!)

What we really need is better education, better parents who encourage their children to learn, less emphasis on standardized test scores and more emphasis on REAL learning, better (and cheaper!) opportunities for college education, and politicians who make much less money than they do so that the difference can be put into socially responsible programs such as health care for the poor, etc.

America does not need to become a Socialist state (Communism doesn't work - ask most Russians or Chinese or North Koreans), but it does need to be more responsible with what it does have.

You said it so well that I had to post it again!

 

[rayelias]

How about insisting on higher graduating standards, better work ethic and learning a skill so that our poor children aren't cornered into taking unskilled positions that can not (and should not) be paid the same as one where a skill, education, and work ethic is involved.

Then, maybe, "minimum wage" wouldn't be so much of an issue of "living wages", but as a starting point for a persons career, instead of the ending point.

It's not only a money issue.

 

[shortbun]

Please write them and tell them to convince Americans to find the better paying jobs and do what it takes to qualify for them.

So who's going to do ALL the jobs that pay poorly? Non-registered immigrants? Are those jobs just going to go away-poof? Are we going to employ children to cover them? Isn't there a law against that? I JUST LOVE it when some people think everyone should be just like them because ya know, they are just puuurrrfect!

 

[AllyandJack]

So who's going to do ALL the jobs that pay poorly? Non-registered immigrants? Are those jobs just going to go away-poof? Are we going to employ children to cover them? Isn't there a law against that? I JUST LOVE it when some people think everyone should be just like them because ya know, they are just puuurrrfect!

High school students. College students. Graduate students. People who want/need a 2nd job. Someone that was a SAHP and now that the kids are grown they want to do something. People who were laid off/fired and are between jobs. People going back to school for a career change and need to/want to work in the meantime. People currently on welfare. People starting out in a company and moving up from hair sweeper to hair washer to hair stylist.

 

[shortbun]

High school students. College students. Graduate students. People who want/need a 2nd job. Someone that was a SAHP and now that the kids are grown they want to do something. People who were laid off/fired and are between jobs. People going back to school for a career change and need to/want to work in the meantime. People currently on welfare. People starting out in a company and moving up from hair sweeper to hair washer to hair stylist.

You're kidding, right? High school students won't work for $5.15 an hour. College students have to make more than that too!!! College is really expensive!! A SAHP is going to stop taking care of their home and children for $5.15 an hour? Doubtfull! People currently on welfare? How are they supposed to live on $5.15 an hour? That's $206 a week BEFORE deductions and IF they get 40 hours. Hair sweeper to hair washer to hair stylist? You are deluded. No insurance, no benefits, no transportation, no clothes and barely rent and food IF that. How are they supposed to pay the electric bill?
I'm sorry, I know you're not stupid. How can you be so blind to today's reality?

 

[RUDisney]

High school students. College students. Graduate students. People who want/need a 2nd job. Someone that was a SAHP and now that the kids are grown they want to do something. People who were laid off/fired and are between jobs. People going back to school for a career change and need to/want to work in the meantime. People currently on welfare. People starting out in a company and moving up from hair sweeper to hair washer to hair stylist.

That's exactly it! I have a hard time finding students to work for my 4 hour PT shift M-F, 3-7. I pay more than $7 for this clean, computerized work. I can understand that a SAHP wouldn't want those hours, but a student? I can't believe how hard it is for me to find someone. Once I get someone, they usually stay until graduation, but then the process starts again.

So, what I don't understand is why can BK offer $6 per hour from which you come out smelling like fried food and I can't find someone for better, stable hours, from which you can leave and go straight out because you're still clean.

All raising the minimum wage does is exaggerates the minimum point at which you must pay labor. These people will be in the same position when all settles out because goods and services will adjust to accommodate the increased wages. OH, but at the same time, your pay and mine becomes deflated because we don't get an automatic raise, but we get to pay more for the things we need. Hmm, if I get that right, I went to school, got my MBA, found a well-paying job, and can support my family with or without my DH's help. Yet, raising the minimum wage lets the drop out who has no skills to do anything more than iron my DH's shirts make more money. Boy, that seems fair, doesn't it. Oh, and the end result is that I get to pay more per shirt for the minimum wage employee's services.

Maybe when you're Oprah, and make gazillions each year, it doesn't matter if the price of basic necessities goes up. For me and the majority of us, even though we'd be considered well off in some circles, why should we be penalized for the lack of ambitions of others?

I know that Oprah showed how hard these people work. But, without the skills to work hard at other types of jobs, they're just spinning their wheels, at $5 per hour or at $10 per hour. Not getting ahead is not getting ahead... period.

Oh, and another thing... I can't understand why these grotesquely poor people choose to live in big cities like Chicago. It would seem that they'd be better off moving to small town somewhere instead of being in Chicago, NYC, LA, etc. $5 per hour would stretch much father in a small town with a low cost of living than in a big city.

 

[AllyandJack]

You're kidding, right? High school students won't work for $5.15 an hour. College students have to make more than that too!!! College is really expensive!! A SAHP is going to stop taking care of their home and children for $5.15 an hour? Doubtfull! People currently on welfare? How are they supposed to live on $5.15 an hour? That's $206 a week BEFORE deductions and IF they get 40 hours. Hair sweeper to hair washer to hair stylist? You are deluded. No insurance, no benefits, no transportation, no clothes and barely rent and food IF that. How are they supposed to pay the electric bill?
I'm sorry, I know you're not stupid. How can you be so blind to today's reality?

No, I'm not kidding. If some student would rather not work than work minimum wage, that's their own problem. If they can get a higher paying job, more power to them.

And maybe a SAHP would LIKE to go out and work.

People on welfare can live off of minimum wage if they're getting free housing, free healthcare, and free childcare, and WIC and foodstamps, and there are utility subsidy programs. How much do you think they get? My cousin gets about $300./month. Wouldn't a minimum wage job be better?

And, I've known people who started sweeping the salon floor and now they're a stylist. It's not brain surgery and it CAN be done. If someone isn't motivated enough to sweep the floor during the day/on weekends and take a class at Blaine, not my problem, not the problem of the business owner.

I know about reality. I grew up in the projects. I didn't come from money. I went to a high school where kids threw desks out of windows and punched teachers in the face. That WAS my reality. I worked minimum wage. I was the file clerk in the law office for $5.25/hour. I was the receptionist for $5.50/hour. I was the student taking "quickie jobs" off the board to make $50. in a weekend serving little appetizers at the parties the wealthy threw. Those were fun days. Running out of dining points because it wasn't "party season" and eating Wheat Thins 3 meals a day until I got another $50. party job and could put that on my dining card so I could get back into the dining hall.

I know reality and I'm not deluded. I just don't think anything short of a physical disability is an excuse not to do something with your life. Others disagree and prefer to have the government and rich politicians determine their earning potential.

 

[drakethib]

You're kidding, right? High school students won't work for $5.15 an hour. College students have to make more than that too!!! College is really expensive!! A SAHP is going to stop taking care of their home and children for $5.15 an hour? Doubtfull! People currently on welfare? How are they supposed to live on $5.15 an hour? That's $206 a week BEFORE deductions and IF they get 40 hours. Hair sweeper to hair washer to hair stylist? You are deluded. No insurance, no benefits, no transportation, no clothes and barely rent and food IF that. How are they supposed to pay the electric bill?
I'm sorry, I know you're not stupid. How can you be so blind to today's reality?

Wow. I must have been dumb to allow myself to make min wage to put myself through college.

I wish I would have know that.

 

[Dagny]

Please try to play nice, this thread is going downhill fast