Hike the Minimum Wage!
Barack Obama wants to hike the US Federal minimum wage to $9/hour. Well why not $10? Or $20? Does he not care about the lower class enough to give them a living wage? A higher minimum wage is always better, right? So why not just hike it to $1000/hour?
But seriously, why is $9 a better minimum wage than $8 and better than $10?
But seriously, why is $9 a better minimum wage than $8 and better than $10?
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Minimum wage doesn't change often. It usually goes years before being raised. The current minimum wage is, I believe, the longest-lasting level in decades. Unfortunutely, that is the Nominal wage. The Real wage, or real purchasing power of the money, is far less. Because inflation has been running continuously, one dollar now can't buy the same things it used to be able to. So minimum wage should be raised in order to match the level of inflation.
You're wrong. The minimum wage was raised from $5.15 to $7.25 by Barack Obama in 2009.
And yet, you're using the exact same argument he used then. So, because the minimum wage was hiked by over 40% just 4 year ago, are you going to admit that there's no need to hike it again anytime soon?
And yet, you're using the exact same argument he used then. So, because the minimum wage was hiked by over 40% just 4 year ago, are you going to admit that there's no need to hike it again anytime soon?
No. Minimum wage should be fixed to inflation, so that it doesn't need to be voted on every few years. If it rises at an equal rate with inflation, we wouldn't have to argue whether to raise it or not. It would remain at a Real value that would be appropriate for the current economy.
i like where your head is at
Eh, which is scenario is really worse though?
Scenario #1:
I am able to choose whether or not I buy a burger from McDonald's and pay more for it. I could also decide to go to a grocery store like Costco, which already pays above the minimum wage, and pay what I always have paid for a meal.
or
Scenario #2:
I am forced to pay higher taxes in order to provide public services to McDonald's employees and their families. Although I never eat there, I am forced to subsidize their business by keeping their workers healthy.
Scenario #1:
I am able to choose whether or not I buy a burger from McDonald's and pay more for it. I could also decide to go to a grocery store like Costco, which already pays above the minimum wage, and pay what I always have paid for a meal.
or
Scenario #2:
I am forced to pay higher taxes in order to provide public services to McDonald's employees and their families. Although I never eat there, I am forced to subsidize their business by keeping their workers healthy.
How about we get to choose what we buy, and McDonald's gets to choose what they pay their employees?
That sounds great, except when McDonald's chooses to pay their employees next to nothing we get stuck paying for it. We end up paying for their subsidized housing, we end up paying for their kids free lunch program, and we end up paying for their health care out of our tax dollars.
McDonald's should have to pay it's employees a wage that they can live on, not one that qualifies them for public assistance. I'm sick of government "handouts" being given to people who WORK. It is not the government's job to make sure that McDonald's employees are cared for so that they can continue to work, it's McDonald's responsibility. I don't want to pay for it.
Where I work, my employer takes care of me. My employer provides me with sick time, vacation time, with health insurance, a health hotline, and even a daily exercise class. You know what? My employer still makes billions of dollars every year, people still buy their products, and I don't have to beg the government for a handout. McDonald's can afford it. That is how it should be. It is an employer's responsibility to make sure that if you show up and do your job that you can live an alright life. We should not allow billion dollar companies to run their business like Ebeneezer Scrooge, with us footing the bill to keep little Tim Cratchit fed!
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P.S. I am just using McDonald's as a random example. I actually have no idea what they pay or how they take care of their employees, so maybe a better example would be Wallmart.
McDonald's should have to pay it's employees a wage that they can live on, not one that qualifies them for public assistance. I'm sick of government "handouts" being given to people who WORK. It is not the government's job to make sure that McDonald's employees are cared for so that they can continue to work, it's McDonald's responsibility. I don't want to pay for it.
Where I work, my employer takes care of me. My employer provides me with sick time, vacation time, with health insurance, a health hotline, and even a daily exercise class. You know what? My employer still makes billions of dollars every year, people still buy their products, and I don't have to beg the government for a handout. McDonald's can afford it. That is how it should be. It is an employer's responsibility to make sure that if you show up and do your job that you can live an alright life. We should not allow billion dollar companies to run their business like Ebeneezer Scrooge, with us footing the bill to keep little Tim Cratchit fed!
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P.S. I am just using McDonald's as a random example. I actually have no idea what they pay or how they take care of their employees, so maybe a better example would be Wallmart.
Well said. The times are changing and employers need to suck it up and roll with the punches as the employees have been since the fall of the economy.
Jobs like McDonald's and Wendy's are no longer just stepping stones for teens to get in the work force. We have adults trying to supplement their income with these jobs.
Jobs like McDonald's and Wendy's are no longer just stepping stones for teens to get in the work force. We have adults trying to supplement their income with these jobs.
Thank you! I agree 100% with you! It's not just kids working at McDonald's or Wendy's anymore.
It's really bad business for them to treat their employees so poorly too. I used to occasionally drive through the McDonald's by where I live from time to time. I'll admit I liked the "chicken" nuggets. Now I don't ever go there. I haven't been there since the sad, toothless, elderly man started working there. It's just too freaking sad. If he is working, why can't he have teeth? It bothers me to no end to think about it! I would always try to be very polite to him when I drove through, but I didn't want to be too polite, because then he would think that I just felt sorry for him. In the end the angst was just to much, I avoid McDonald's now. I'll come back when that guy has teeth. LOL.
It's really bad business for them to treat their employees so poorly too. I used to occasionally drive through the McDonald's by where I live from time to time. I'll admit I liked the "chicken" nuggets. Now I don't ever go there. I haven't been there since the sad, toothless, elderly man started working there. It's just too freaking sad. If he is working, why can't he have teeth? It bothers me to no end to think about it! I would always try to be very polite to him when I drove through, but I didn't want to be too polite, because then he would think that I just felt sorry for him. In the end the angst was just to much, I avoid McDonald's now. I'll come back when that guy has teeth. LOL.
Well, this is an excellent post.
Thank you! 
You're welcome!
I'd love to get more money, but increasing the minimum wage would just raise the price of everything else so in the end it really isn't worth it...
For the record, prices go up whether they raise the minimum raise or not. So what you have is the cost of things going up and people being able to afford less and less because their wages are not going up at anywhere near the same rate. All not raising the minimum wage does is put larger profits into the pockets of the rich and pushes those on the bottom further down the economic hole.
I agree with you in that prices do generally go up over time and as inflation increases the minimum wage should be slowly raised, but not hiked as suggested here.
However, what keeps prices low are the competition between producers, not the money in our pockets. If the target market of can't afford their products then they aren't making any money, so by saying that "not raising the minimum wage puts more money into the hands of the rich" doesn't really make much sense because without spending there isn't any money being made.
I don't mean to sound ignorant here, but rather than complaining about the minimum wage perhaps individuals should work to better themselves by getting into skilled professions or furthering their education. It's not easy, and there's a lot of work involved, but there are numerous ways the federal and state government provide opportunities to those looking to further their education and get out of the "unskilled" workforce.
However, what keeps prices low are the competition between producers, not the money in our pockets. If the target market of can't afford their products then they aren't making any money, so by saying that "not raising the minimum wage puts more money into the hands of the rich" doesn't really make much sense because without spending there isn't any money being made.
I don't mean to sound ignorant here, but rather than complaining about the minimum wage perhaps individuals should work to better themselves by getting into skilled professions or furthering their education. It's not easy, and there's a lot of work involved, but there are numerous ways the federal and state government provide opportunities to those looking to further their education and get out of the "unskilled" workforce.
I don't know where you live, but $10 an hour isn't going to pay the bills in any home in any significantly large city. Also, I don't know what you call slow, but according to the records ([link]) the minimum wage did not rise for the 10 year period of 1997 to 2007. Then it went up twice more and hasn't risen again since 2009. So from 1997 to 2009 the minimum wage raised $2.10 and hour from $5.15 to $7.25. There is no where in this country where you can make a living off of that salary. No where.
Your argument explaining why my argument doesn't make sense ignores the fact that a company that becomes more productive makes more money from a smaller workforce. That's called increased productivity. Productivity has risen incredibly over the last few decades upwards of three fold. That means that companies are making MORE MONEY with less staff because their productivity has changed. Well, if they are making more money and not paying their staff any more money, where does that extra money go?
I don't mean to sound rude, but you do sound ignorant. Is it your assumption that everyone who works to better themselves succeeds and thus anyone making minimum wage simply didn't try hard enough? Maybe I just misunderstood your argument but it sounds very naive.
Your argument explaining why my argument doesn't make sense ignores the fact that a company that becomes more productive makes more money from a smaller workforce. That's called increased productivity. Productivity has risen incredibly over the last few decades upwards of three fold. That means that companies are making MORE MONEY with less staff because their productivity has changed. Well, if they are making more money and not paying their staff any more money, where does that extra money go?
I don't mean to sound rude, but you do sound ignorant. Is it your assumption that everyone who works to better themselves succeeds and thus anyone making minimum wage simply didn't try hard enough? Maybe I just misunderstood your argument but it sounds very naive.
Exactly. 
When the person who scrubs toilet bowls has his wage raised to the same level as the scientists in the building, two possible things can happen:
1.) Toilet bowl scrubber is fired and the scientists end up having to take time away from their research to scrub the toilets themselves, reducing their productivity; Or,
2.) Toilet bowl scrubber keeps his job and his artificially high wage, and that money will be squeezed out of the consumers who end up buying the technology the scientists are producing. Toilet bowl scrubber still can't afford to buy that technology, because he's spending all of his extra money on the higher price of food after the food producers were also forced to hike the wages of their toilet bowl scrubbers.
When the person who scrubs toilet bowls has his wage raised to the same level as the scientists in the building, two possible things can happen:
1.) Toilet bowl scrubber is fired and the scientists end up having to take time away from their research to scrub the toilets themselves, reducing their productivity; Or,
2.) Toilet bowl scrubber keeps his job and his artificially high wage, and that money will be squeezed out of the consumers who end up buying the technology the scientists are producing. Toilet bowl scrubber still can't afford to buy that technology, because he's spending all of his extra money on the higher price of food after the food producers were also forced to hike the wages of their toilet bowl scrubbers.
Imagine your favorite burger restaurant having to pay their workers $1000/hour. What would your burger cost?
But yeah, some kind of minimum wage is good, provided you level the playing field by imposing tariffs on countries with lower wages. Otherwise, jobs from your country will simply disappear.
But yeah, some kind of minimum wage is good, provided you level the playing field by imposing tariffs on countries with lower wages. Otherwise, jobs from your country will simply disappear.
Imagine your favorite burger restaurant being allowed to pay their workers $5/hour. What would your burger cost? What would happen to the price of food?
I like spit on my burgers too.
All this talk about minimum wages, I think the government is keeping wages low so the majority of people on low wages can't get to travel to other country's and see how good the rest of them have it!
It's not "the government" keeping wages low. They are being lobbied by liars who pay politicians to vote against raising it because they'd rather line their own pockets with the increased profits.
Because bounds of reason do exist on the minimum wage. It has to at least allow the barest standard of living, Schemer, and it wasn't doing that before (likely still isn't even after the increase).
I never really figured out your opposition to a minimum wage. Why not just ask for slavery to be made legal again?
I never really figured out your opposition to a minimum wage. Why not just ask for slavery to be made legal again?