So here's something we may agree on - if an employer is paying a full time employee a wage that still qualifies the employee for government assistance (single, not family), that should not be allowed. That is not the free market at work, that is a company using/abusing the government to subsidize their wages.A living wage, as in a wage you can actually live off of without assistance, in Orange county for a single adult is considered $18.85/hr
Hopefully the contract gets settled soon, they are not that far off and if $19 allows you to live ok in central FL, then with a room mate or spouse also working, you might be ok with a little less.
This is simply my economic supply/demand view - a job which requires little specialization can be done by many many more people, with minimal training, than other skilled trade jobs or desk jobs. Now, it seems that we may be reaching a point where that large labor pool is actually shrinking, and if so, the supply/demand magic should force wages up naturally.I always hate this argument. 'Low skill jobs' is just a fancy way to say you think their work is worth less then someone sitting in an office putting in the same 40 hours of work a week.