republicans vote down minimum wage again

[LoraJ]

Okay, so the extra .10 on a hamburger doesn't bother you -- it'll probably be more than .10 actually, but let's go with that.

Remember that your grocery store clerk is also going to get a "raise" if minimum wage goes up. So every item in your cart will now cost .10 (or more) than it did last week. Plus, gas for your car will go even higher. Your mortgage /rent will increase, as will your utilities. You'll pay higher fees at the bank. Your restaurant meal will cost more.

EVERYTHING will cost more. No one benefits, everyone loses.

Actually, a grocery store would be different. Their product to employee ratio is much different than at a McDonalds. You would hardly feel a price difference.Have you looked at the study links that LuvDuke has been posting? Have you seen that absolutely no one lost the last time minimum wage was raised?

 

[Aidensmom]

They're using exaggerated figures to prove the point. You can fill in any number you like -- the concept is still the same.

Gotcha now. That point being that raising 99% of workers to $1000/hr would have the same financial impact as raising 3% of workers (in those states that haven't already raised their minimum wage) a couple of dollars?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

No the point being you can raise minimum wage to whatever you want--the rest of the salaries and everything will fall into place behind that and those making minimum and just minimum will always be making just minimum and never anything livable.


Okay my turn for questions?

Do we really thinkt that raising minimum wage by $1 per hour makes a non-livable wage suddenly livable?

Do we really think inflation does not take wages into account at all?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Actually, a grocery store would be different. Their product to employee ratio is much different than at a McDonalds. You would hardly feel a price difference.Have you looked at the study links that LuvDuke has been posting? Have you seen that absolutely no one lost the last time minimum wage was raised?

Are there any studies that would show what would happen if wages were raised on a more regular basis?

 

[Cool-Beans]

Oh yeah? Then why do I make less than $3 ph above min wage? And that's with all my years and experience working in offices. Not to mention that I did go to college.



And by the way, for the OP and the Republican bashers:

The vote for the bill ended with 45 yea's from all republicans.
The nay's were 10 republicans and 43 Democrats.

I'd say before anyone makes assumptions over who is at fault for the bill not passing, they need to look to see who voted for and against it.
Also, people need to realize that almost all bills have attachments that may be the cause of the bill's downfall.

For the record, I don't align myself with either party. I am a Libra and I'm all about balance. And the government at all levels should be balanced to serve the masses in the best possible way.

I don't know WHY you make only $3 over minimum wage with a college degree. For answers like that, you need to look at yourself.

You've said before that you have extenuating circumstances in your life that set you back and that is why you live with your parents...did that have anything to do with your employment problems?

All I know is that there isn't any law saying Teddiesgirl can't make very much money. And it isn't anyone else's fault.

I have a friend who has a GED (never finished high school!) who is making $42K working in a hotel. Another friend who never finished college making about the same working for a title company, another who started as a bank teller is now making a bunch doing some kind of high-level banking. And none of them are especially bright. So, it can be done.

Our nurse's aids make $12-14/hour - that takes a one or two week course, I think. You could try that.

I also know a guy who started out with nothing and made millions. But he is really smart.

If you want more money, go get it. It's out there. Or, believe everyone who tells you that you can't (and why) and see how happy that makes you.

 

[Aidensmom]

Are there any studies that would show what would happen if wages were raised on a more regular basis?

If they were raised on a regular basis, as opposed to once every 10 years, it would only have to be raised by a few cents, rather than a couple of dollars, and I am sure there would be much less of a debate about its financial impact.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

If they were raised on a regular basis, as opposed to once every 10 years, it would only have to be raised by a few cents, rather than a couple of dollars, and I am sure there would be much less of a debate about its financial impact.

But everyone is touting a LIVABLE wage.

How exactly does raising your salary 10 cents an hour ($4 per week) amount to making your minimal wage suddenly livable?

It would take more than a few cents to make it livable and the arguments on this thread are to make minimum wage livable.

I have no problems with raising minimum wage on a regular or semi-regular basis and raising it only a few cents at a time. But that will never make it livable.

The magical articles and studies that are posted do not reflect this. The 3%
affected by this raise (which would actually be more than 3%) aren't all of a sudden now making a livable wage.

I have problems with demanding it be livable. To make it livable so that a person with a full time job making minimum wage would require no financial assistance....it would take A LOT more than a few cents to make that happen.

Do you disagree with this?

 

[Aidensmom]

I don't know WHY you make only $3 over minimum wage with a college degree. For answers like that, you need to look at yourself.

Look at herself, or at some of the skewed values society holds on who deserves more pay? What she makes may be a product of the field she chose to go into, but that does not necessarily make it a bad reflection on her. I know that when I first graduated, I went into the field that I got my degree in, pscychology and sociology. I worked in a mental health center. I made a whopping 50 cents an hour more than someone without a degree. Not because of MY abilities or motivation, but because this society deems people who work to find housing, jobs, medication, and social outlets for the mentally ill of our country as worth only a small step higher than those flipping burgers at McDonalds. I did go into a higher paying field, for which I had no training actually and was lucky to get, but the people that remained in that field, IMO, are more admirable than me for sticking with something they want to do to help people despite the low pay.

 

[Aidensmom]

But everyone is touting a LIVABLE wage.

How exactly does raising your salary 10 cents an hour ($4 per week) amount to making your minimal wage suddenly livable?

It would take more than a few cents to make it livable and the arguments on this thread are to make minimum wage livable.

I have no problems with raising minimum wage on a regular or semi-regular basis and raising it only a few cents at a time. But that will never make it livable.

The magical articles and studies that are posted do not reflect this. The 3%
affected by this raise (which would actually be more than 3%) aren't all of a sudden now making a livable wage.

I have problems with demanding it be livable. To make it livable so that a person with a full time job making minimum wage would require no financial assistance....it would take A LOT more than a few cents to make that happen.

Do you disagree with this?

I've lived on minimum wage before, when I was in college. $16 a month would have actually made a big difference to me. It would have meant I could take the bus to work when it was raining whether than walking, and that actually would, to me, been a big deal.

I am not advocating making the minimum wage what is deemed as the "living wage". But when someone is making $200 a week, that extra $4 is actually a big deal.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I've lived on minimum wage before, when I was in college. $16 a month would have actually made a big difference to me. It would have meant I could take the bus to work when it was raining whether than walking, and that actually would, to me, been a big deal.

I am not advocating making the minimum wage what is deemed as the "living wage". But when someone is making $200 a week, that extra $4 is actually a big deal.

I agree wholeheartedly.

But that is not what some are talking about.

A $4 increase per week won't impact prices just as everyone is saying that it won't.

Making the wage liveable..would require a heck of a lot more money than that and that WOULD affect prices of good and services. And in the end would not make a difference in making their lives any better b/c there would be a trickle affect across the board to even those who were above minimum wage before but now are just below and need to be brougth up as well or even get paid more b/c there jobs require more skill.

 

[Cool-Beans]

Look at herself, or at some of the skewed values society holds on who deserves more pay? What she makes may be a product of the field she chose to go into, but that does not necessarily make it a bad reflection on her.

Look at herself. If she wants more money, she has to make changes in her own life - she can't change society's values. I never said it was a bad reflection on her. Are you finding stuff between the lines that isn't there?

I know that when I first graduated, I went into the field that I got my degree in, pscychology and sociology. I worked in a mental health center. I made a whopping 50 cents an hour more than someone without a degree. Not because of MY abilities or motivation, but because this society deems people who work to find housing, jobs, medication, and social outlets for the mentally ill of our country as worth only a small step higher than those flipping burgers at McDonalds.

So the reason you didn't make much was that you choose a field that didn't pay much. My best friend did it, too. Got a masters in Psych and didn't realize until she was actually working (as a case worker, basically) for a couple years that the money DID matter to her. So, she went back to school.

I did go into a higher paying field, for which I had no training actually and was lucky to get, but the people that remained in that field, IMO, are more admirable than me for sticking with something they want to do to help people despite the low pay.

There is nothing wrong with doing work you enjoy and not making much money, nor is there anything wrong with deciding you want more money and dumping your job. If you are supporting your family (or yourself), you are doing something admirable, regardless of the type of work you do.

I do work that is generally considered Do-Gooder type stuff. DH is a business guy, which is sometimes considered greedy and evil. I don't think my work makes me a better person than him. He's a really good man (for a heathen ). I don't rate people by the work they do, or how much money they have...more by how they treat the people around them.

I'm not saying there is any shame in having very little money. I also have a friend who cleans houses for a living...although that is starting to take off and I don't think she's going to be poor much longer! I'm just saying that you can try to get more if you want (like you did) or you can sit around blaming society or the democrats or the republicans.

 

[Planogirl]

I'm not pushing for minimum wage to be a livable wage by any means. I'm simply pushing for a raise just as other segments of the workforce get raises as the cost of living rises. I believe that minimum wage should track along with other economic factors and shouldn't just remain frozen in time.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I'm not pushing for minimum wage to be a livable wage by any means. I'm simply pushing for a raise just as other segments of the workforce get raises as the cost of living rises. I believe that minimum wage should track along with other economic factors and shouldn't just remain frozen in time.

Fare enough..the OP started off that one cannot live off of $5.15 an hour and the thread has metamorphisized (sp?) from that starting point.

Minimum will always be minimum whatever the number is. Beyond that it is what the employee is worth in terms of the job they are doing.

Truth be told, scrubbing toilets ain't a fun job--but a high paying job it will never be!

(And yes i have done that for a living!)

 

[bsmcneil]

I totally agree!

We can raise the minimum wage to $100 per hour. Then we can have "minimum car" where everyone gets a Lexus. Ooohh, how about "minimum house" and "minimum private school".

Think about it. If you had to pay the same per pound for ground beef as you did for filet mignon, would you buy the ground beef? As a true capitalist, I believe it's every American's right to underbid the next guy and keep healthy competition. He'll do it for $11 per hour? Fine. I can make it work for $10.50, $8 or $6 etc.

On another note, I have 11 people working for me. 6 of them are hourly. Raise the minimum wage, and somebody's loosing their job! I'm not being mean, it's just that my boss will demand that I stay within the budget we agreed to for this fiscal.

Well, with any luck, it would be you that lost your job. Oops, capitalism sucks.

FWIW, it amazes me how companies still make record profits. Not really, they do it with greed and on the backs of low-level employees. Ever stop to realize that 10,000 less PROFIT could mean a considerable raise or bonus for employees? Yes, in a capitalist world, it's better to make the money for yourself and let others flounder. In a just world, that's reprehensible.

 

[Planogirl]

Truth be told, scrubbing toilets ain't a fun job--but a high paying job it will never be!

(And yes i have done that for a living!)

I've done it at home over the years and that's bad enough.

I think that minimum wage was set at a certain level for a reason. Since then the cost of living has increased and I just want the minimum wage to track along with it. It seems only fair.

I'm a bit puzzled by those on this thread that keep talking about $100 an hour or the minimum wage worker making the same as higher level workers. Such extremes seem a bit bizarre and offer nothing to the conversation IMO. Keeping up with inflation doesn't seem exactly all that demanding.

 

[bsmcneil]

Honestly, about the only people who make minimum wage are students and deadbeats.

Honestly, you're either ignorant, stupid or just plain rude. My mother was neither a student or a deadbeat, but a single parent in a small town.

 

[DISUNC]

Excuse me? I know plenty of people who CHOSE a minimum wage job, myself included. There's nothing wrong with me - I could have easily gotten a job in the field that I got my college degree. I CHOSE not to, and to work in retail. My coworkers CHOSE to be there, for whatever reason.

Oh, and by the way - I landed four jobs in the last five years (husband's military, what can I say?) Only one was based on "who I knew" (secretary for the Episcopal church in town) - the rest, two newspaper jobs and one retail job, were based on my skills as a writer and a people person. If I couldn't write, why would a newspaper hire me just for knowing the right person?

You are kidding right? You had the choice to work 10.00 a hour or Mimimun wage...So YOU CHOOSE MINIMUM WAGE??????? If all these jobs were so good, why didnt you keep any?

The newspaper hired you because you work cheap, not because of your skills!!!

 

[DISUNC]

You're kidding right?

NOBODY chooses. So EVERYONE who is in a minimum wage job is taken there by force.


I *thought* when I worked my minimum wage jobs that I was there by choice. I had no idea that I didn't actually choose--that I was forced to work there. I am amazed. I had no idea. Can I sue for being forced to work against my will?

So AGAIN you too were offered a HIGH PAYING job but said...NOOOOOOOOOOO Give me the Minimum wage job????
Lets be honest here...YOU TOOK THE MINIMUM WAGE JOB...BECAUSE THAT IS ALL WHAT WAS BEING OFFERED TO YOU!

Jeez!

 

[DISUNC]

Bull. With very few exceptions those who make minimum wage do indeed make that choice. People are faced with choices every day that will affect the rest of their lives and a lot of people just make the wrong choices. Oh sure, some people have it easier than others but it's easy to do nothing to try to change your life. But doing nothing is a choice. Not a single person is born with a minimum wage stamp on their forehead.

Talk about a crock, that's one of the saddest things I've ever heard.

It all comes back to choice. One person networks, meets different people, makes sure people know who they are and what they do, takes the time to get out and get known. One doesn't. Then when the big job or promotion comes along it's pretty obvious which one gets it. Of course the one that chose to do nothing will whine and cry that old line, "It ain't what you know, it's who you know."

It ain't just what you know and it ain't just who you know. It's do you know what to do with what you've got?

It's your choice.

Stop with the Right Wing CULT garble! Wake up & think for yourself!

 

[Planogirl]

So AGAIN you too were offered a HIGH PAYING job but said...NOOOOOOOOOOO Give me the Minimum wage job????
Lets be honest here...YOU TOOK THE MINIMUM WAGE JOB...BECAUSE THAT IS ALL WHAT WAS BEING OFFERED TO YOU!

Jeez!

Some people don't need a lot of money but work for love of something. Volunteers would be an extreme example of that.

That still doesn't mean that a minimum wage worker that does a good job and enjoys that same job doesn't deserve a raise at some point. Just like anyone else.