Why are employers still offering $12.00/hr.?

After taxes, that's less than $20k a year. That's poverty wages. You can't even make a car payment with that, let alone a house payment. This isn't 1988.

• Because employers don't care about your car payments or house notes? Just a wild guess ….

• I'm a degreed accountant with multi-years experience, located in the suburbs of Philly (not exactly a low wage area). I applied as a part-time night auditor position at a new hotel. The starting wage: $10/hour.

• Call a national strike, OP.

• Because they can.

• Op, the only jobs I seem to be able to even get an interview for are $12.00/hr. I have a degree and lots of experience. I was recently let go from a job that was again $12.00/hr with 5 days vacation per year. The situation sucks right now.

• OP, if you think that's bad, last year I worked at state university for a few months and guess how much the job paid? Not even $11.00 an hour. And of course it was only 4 days a week so that way they wouldn't have to give me benefits. On top of that, the job was stressful as hell and the supervisor was a cunt. I said fuck it and quit after a few months. Some jobs really aren't worth doing with the chump change they pay, especially after taxes and the gas it takes to get there.

• As others have said it isn't complicated. Employers only care about their business being as profitable as possible. If they can get away with qualified good workers at low wages they will. And they know they can. It sucks, income relative to inflation has been falling for most Americans for a while now and it doesn't look like that is going to change anytime soon.

• R2, Why did you apply? It only encourages them.

• OP, you must live in a fairly large city? in the sticks, you can see any number of employers offerin minimum wage jobs. Try $7.50. And I have a horrible feeling the federal minimum is even less.

• I don't want to turn this into an anti-immigration rant, but honestly, this is why we need to quit allowing so many foreigners in the country. And I'm not talking about one particular group but people from all around the world. The more immigrants we keep letting in, the less jobs we have, especially considering all of the jobs that keep getting exported. It's a mess.

• Some companies advertise $8.75/hr and then ask you if you are willing to work for only $8.75/hr. You say no, they say goodbye.

• Minimum wage should be around 15. An hour. The fact that thus country allows slave labor is sickening.

• Why do I care? If you don't want to make $12/h, develop the skills needed to acquire a job that pays more than $12/h.

• R12 I agree. How the fuck are people supposed to support themselves on $12.00 an hour when everything is so fucking expensive?

• Idiot at R13, read R2. There's lots of people that have great skills and still can't get shit.

• That is a pretty good wage where I live

• It's $3/hr more than I make.

• American Corporations donate to politicians to keep wages low.

• R15, why is it our fault that R2 lacks skills needed for a decent paying job and lacks the motivation to develop new, useful skills?

• I made $12.00 a few years ago, and did just fine on my own. In fact, was even saving a few hundred each month,.. just left a 10.50 job,..not looking back!~

• OP, we live in a country where tens of millions of unemployed people would KILL to have a job paying $12/hour. Why are you so shocked that such jobs not only exist but are highly sought after? This is Capitalism 101. Also, single-income households these days are the exception, not the norm. It becomes much easier to make car and rent payments if you have two or three wage-earners under one roof.

• My neighbor, who has two grad degrees, worked for the State of Illinois (in Blago's office)for $10.50/hr in 2006 as an administrative assistant. The state hires through a temp agency to avoid a living wage and benefits for employees.

• "... develop the skills needed to acquire a job" And how do I pay tuition? With all that cash that's left over after food, shelter and utilities?

• $12 an hour?!!! If I paid that, Consuela would not have the slightest idea of how to spend all that money. That's why she's very happy to earn the $12 a day that we generously give her.

  Ann%20R

• $12.00/hr? Wow, you must be rich!

  8 year old kid sewing Addidas

• $12.00/hr? How am I supposed to afford Hermes bags?

  Taylor%20Ford%20Russell

• Because, OP, you refuse to pay $50 for a bottle of shampoo, $100 for a steak and $250 to get your hair cut. If you weren't so damned cheap we could afford to pay our employees a lot more and give them full benefits as well.

  US%20businesses

• R13 and R19 seem to be under the illusion that skills are the only factor in landing a high paying job. I happen to be well paid, but I am aware that the old boy network and social connections are a huge factor (and it's an area full of bigots). These discussions often make me think of an old Lynda Barry cartoon. The teacher has told the class, "You can be anything you decide to be." Later Marlys is standing in the lunch line looking at the cafeteria ladies thinking, "Wow, they are stupid. They could have been astronauts or the president, but nooooo!"

• It's called "supply and demand." You could look it up.

• Suggestion: Don't buy materialistic stuff you actually don't need. Don't buy the apps; the high-end cell phones; etc.

• I haul stuff around all day; I make $9/hr plus tits. Not tips. Tits. Manual labor can do wonders for your pecs.

• The bare minimum wage should be $12/hour. It should really be close to $20 so people doing honest work can actually live on it. What would happen if Obama executive ordered it? Is that something he could do in line with FDR's fixes for the great depression? Remember back to that asshole who owns Papa John's complaining about how giving health insurance to everyone would add 11 cents to every pizza. Well, I would think upping the minimum wage (especially since employers no longer offer any fucking benefits at all) would have very little impact on businesses bottom lines but drastic effects on the workers' abilities to live a decent life. So?

• $20/hr lololol

• Its true, unless you want to live on the murder side of town, you need to make a minim of 15-20/hr. America has turned into a caricature of itself.

• Sure, but if min wage was raised to $20/hr, the price of everything would inflate accordingly...and we'd end up exactly where we are today, only with higher prices & wages.

• R10 it has nothing to do with immigration. The CEO of our company just came back from India giddy because he can get people to do the same type of high tech work we do here, college educated and everything for 7,000 a year. Most of us are averaging about 50,000. Guess where the jobs are going. Plus no health insurance, taxes or labor laws. let the exploitation begin.

• In So. Calif., both skilled, degreed US born are working alongside immigrant (both legal and illegal) domestics who make the same hourly wage $10/12/14 an hour. One woman I know w/ an MBA, who was trying to enter the workforce after a few years of at-home parenting told me she had to turn down a job offer because the job (for a non-profit) paid the same low hourly amount she'd have to pay a sitter to watch her 2 kids--and the non-profit couldn't offer any benefits to make it worthwhile except for "flex time." I agree a living wage needs to be higher.

• Shit man, there was a fast food place opening up in a city I visited in the south a couple months ago advertising $9/hour as if that were a big fucking thing.

  Eat the Rich

• I live in Chicago and make $12/hr and do quite well on it. I pay $510 for my studio flat, all utilities included in Bucktown, a nice Chicago neighborhood. I get around on public transit for $100 a month and my food bill is $75/month. My Internet and phone is $55.00 a month. So it only costs $740.00 to live in Chicago. That is $8,880/year. I take home $21,216, after taxes and health insurance is taken out. That leaves me over $12,000 in disposable income per year. I guess you spend too much at the bar.

• $75/month for food? You are on the wrong thread, R39. Get over to the "No one can live on $5/day in food stamps" thread and post your menu.

• So, [R39] you never go to the doctor or dentist. You have no medication needs, nor do you need to buy sundry for yourself or your apartment (shampoo, soap, toilet paper, cleaning products). You never need to buy new clothing or shoes. You don't need to save for retirement. And you claim to be able to feed yourself on $2.50 per day, or $0.83 per meal, which I simply don't buy, unless you are receiving government assistance or are being treated to food by the parents and/or friends.

• I agree, R41. R39 needs to enlighten us all how to do this. I personally think his is a hollow boast.

• I'm starting to wonder if R39 is 58 but gets mistaken for 19...

• [quote]Sure, but if min wage was raised to $20/hr, the price of everything would inflate accordingly...and we'd end up exactly where we are today, only with higher prices & wages. And unemployment would skyrocket and businesses would fold. It would be a national economic disaster. The minimum wage is a false cure. It's one of those things politicians throw at us to gain votes.

• R36, I think immigration is at least a part of it. I happened to be in the house this week when my lawn service came to cut it, and was surprised that a team of 5 people cuts my teeny, tiny lawn--naturally not on of them speaks one word of English. (I've had the same lawn service for years, but the lady who started it, who was a friend of mine, sold the company, and I'm not usually here when they come.) And I sort of thought, "Wouldn't it be better to give the $25 to one single guy, who could cut my lawn in 20 or 30 minutes, instead of 5 guys who share the $25.) And then I thought of two couples in my family who both have illegals--one full-time nanny, and the other has two housekeepers. There are entire neighborhoods, where I live, where every house on the street has illegal domestics. And if we didn't have the illegal population to draw on, I imagine those sorts of jobs would have gone to (realistically speaking) working-class black women. So that's 4 jobs, just in my family, that should have gone to legals but didn't. Multiply that by thousands.

• I'm not in the top any percent, live in a southern state where wages are low, and still paid my yard guy $14 an hour for keeping up my 2 acres.

• My yard can't be more than 3,000 square feet--and actually, I think it's closer to 2,000.

• R19: you are so fucked up I don't know where to begin. My husband is degreed and has a variety of skills and has worn many hats over successful career. He now stocks shelves and bags food for $14 an hour. He can't even get interviews because he is too old or overqualified. You have no idea what's really going on out there. Oh, I think you are a miserable fuck.

  rot in hell

• I just applied for an office job paying 8.50/hr. How fucking pathetic is that? R48 I'm in the same boat. I'm 48 and it seems no one wants to hire anyone nearing 50 no matter that I'm more experienced and much more reliable than some twits right out of college who will go get drunk and call in hungover.

• Because of people like R13, basically. And you've got a Republican party full of evil assholes, and a Democratic Party that's basically the 80's Republican Party at this point. There's no one fighting for the people anymore.

• THe price of wages have been falling for years. You can bet it has to do with the Global Economy. You know, the race to the bottom. What was that Tom Friedman book from a few years ago? Can't remember the title. When a company like IBM can pay Krishna $9.00 an hour to do IT work from India- you can bet they will. No matter it barely works or the culture is world's apart. The CEO needs to makes his/her multi-million package. Executives in these 'global companies' do very well also. They have contracts. The rest of the grunt works get laid off, downsized, etc. Someday the pendulum will turn. Maybe not in my lifetime though.

  Let%20them%20eat%20curry%21

• [quote] minimum wage...should really be close to $20 so people doing honest work can actually live on it. What would happen if Obama executive ordered it? Do you think money grows on trees?

  Your%20Mom

• If the minimum wage were raised it would not lead to business closure, it would lead to fewer profits for ceos and shareholders. Because more people would have more money to buy more goods and services the economy would boom. The rich would have less, but everyone else would have so much more.

• The biggest economic problem today is not taxes, or the deficit, it is that wages haven't stayed level with the inflation rate. If employers paid more, the tax base would grow. All problems solved. Employers who complain should work for $12/hour. Problem solved.

• R53, That's just not true. Also R54, you have a similarly mistaken theory. It's difficult to debate economics with people who are not informed.

• I'm informed

• Over the weekend I was in Old Navy (whatever) and while all the employees were quite young there was one older man (maybe late to middle 50's) running around and folding clothes and organizing. He was well-groomed, nicely dressed and smelled good (I noticed) but I got a very sad feeling realizing this was proably the only job he could get and I felt sad for him. He was not a manager and probably had kids at home the same age as his co-workers. Sad.

• I think "the biggest problem" with the U.S. economy as it is, is that it is non backed fiat money. With fiat money, there is debt slavery and a large controllable, demoralized workforce. When you look into backed currencies throughout the world at any time in history, you see that there is an explosion of commerce, middle class wealth, education and literacy. The problem for the elite sociopathic types who like to cluster, is that backed currencies do not support their ponzi scheme economies. Self governing, educated, literate and wealthy masses don't need royalty getting fat. They start to poke their noses where they shouldn't.

• [quote] When you look into backed currencies throughout the world at any time in history, you see that there is an explosion of commerce, middle class wealth, education and literacy. Not just untrue, but ridiculous. "Backed currency" was the only currency in the Western world until the 19th century. I'm not going to waste my time explaining what you could read in a book.

• Opinions, like assholes....

• R59 - And that backed currency is how the United States thrived and rose to dominance is such a short time. You're ridiculous.

• How the hell can you even make it on 12 $ an hour? We don't even have minimum wage in my country, but the lowest wages are usually around 20-25 $/hour.

• R61, Wrong again.

• R58 gets it.

• [quote]The biggest economic problem today is not taxes, or the deficit, it is that wages haven't stayed level with the inflation rate. If employers paid more, the tax base would grow. All problems solved. Employers who complain should work for $12/hour. Problem solved. I am a small business owner. I made a significant financial investment to start my business. I took a risk. I would not have done so for $12 per hour. No new start ups = no new jobs for millions of workers

• I love R31 ..........

• R65 With a high minimum then more businesses would thrive, if the guy at the Y makes 25 bucks an hour he can afford a sandwich at the deli and the guy at the Deli can afford a gym membership and new shoes so the shoemaker can afford a new roof. We will NEED more small businesses with a higher wage. Though since you are such a stupid greedy bastard it is okay if your business closes.

• [quote] he guy at the Deli can afford a gym membership and new shoes so the shoemaker can afford a new roof. R67 is posting from 1957. Where does one ever find a shoemaker anymore?

• My business is thriving and growing. It's been successful beyond my expectations, actually. But thanks for the crash course in runaway inflation, R67.

  Sorry%20your%20life%20sucks

• R68 Yes...I can find you two excellent shoemakers in NY.

• [quote]Where does one ever find a shoemaker anymore? all over my part of town

• Start ups which produce $12/hr jobs are not needed in this Country. Go to China.

• The money is all drawn to the top. When the CEO is making 100 times what his workers are, this is what you get.

• America needs anti-pillaging laws.

• I make my own shoes out of chicken patties and rubber bands. I have a part time job at McDonalds and a part time job at OfficeMax.

• Don't exaggerate, R73. I only make about 10 x what my average employee makes, which is more than fair considering the financial investment, risk, years of experience, stress and hard work (24/7) it takes to launch and operate a successful business.

  CEO

• Felix the cat The wonnerful, wonnerfullest cat When ever he got in a fix He reached right into his bag of tricks Felix the cat The wonnerful, wonnerfullest cat You'll laugh so much, your sides will ache your heart'll go pitter pat Watching Felix, the wonnerful cat