The minimum wage should be at least $15

Fuck that! People with college degrees are making barely above that it some parts of the US.

I work at Macy’s and make $13.69.

And they also deserve to paid a higher wage based on this reality.

Everything is so expensive just to live now. Something has got to give.

You can't just keep paying people the same amount of money for 40 years while the price of everything goes up.

People made $15 an hour for yard work and that was in the 1970s.

Factory works made $25 an hour back in the 80s, but people are supposed to live on scraps now while the price of a home is like a million dollars now.

Even bread is $5 a loaf now.

It should be more like $25 dollars an hour but Americans don't have any self-esteem any more and will take whatever slop you give them.

[quote]Even bread is $5 a loaf now.

You are so full of shit! You can get bread at Walmart for $0.88.

People made 4 and 5 dollars an hour in the 80's. Of course they should be making 15 dollars an hour.

Bread is $5.00 (Dave’s Prison Bread)

$15 is the least you could pay someone for god's sake.

Walmart is a bad example because they don't pay their employees enough money to live. All their employees are on welfare. That is a shame. Meanwhile, Alice Walton buys another painting?

These huge corporations and their hedge fund owners are all scum of the earth.

And every day it get's harder to defend their behavior. As more Americans become clear how these hedge funds prey on average workers and suck the life forces out of the working classes, they are finding less accommodating shadows to hide in.

Senate ruling says Democrats can't put $15 minimum wage in Covid relief bill:

r11 Walmart has pamphlets for it's employees on how to apply for SNAC and Welfare, they also take a life insurance policy out on their employees making them the beneficiaries, so if you die they get the money.

R1 - so your point is? That since a lot of employers are cheap assholes, let's continue the cycle of creating poverty for those working full-time.

R2 - I am sorry to hear that. If my old hookup from Woodland Hills hadn't inherited his mom's condo, he would he out onto the streets and he was a makeup artist at Nordstrom 10 years!

The powers that be don't care that more money in American pockets means more money in the country's economy. This while they're flying to Europe on vacation or spend the weekend in Cancun.

In 1966 I was making $10/hour as a dishwasher at age 15 (adjusted for inflation to 2020).

In 1968 I was making $17/hour as a short order cook at age 17 (adjusted for inflation to 2020)

These were starting wages.

If you want a decent paying job, go to school! Unskilled labor don't pay a living wage because they are aren't meant to. They are just suppose to be a temporary job.

Well we can do a stand alone bill after the stimulus is passed. Which ought to be soon now that this is temporarily settled.

Could we see a completed stimulus bill next week?

r17 is the last living koch brother

[quote]If you want a decent paying job, go to school! Unskilled labor don't pay a living wage because they are aren't meant to. They are just suppose to be a temporary job.

Let me refer you to EVERY thread on Biden's thoughts on college from free community college to 10K forgiveness.

According to many of the people there, you just shouldn't go to school if you can't afford it! You'll be fine!

Why is it so hard to pay people a decent wage? It is not going to put anybody out of business.

R12, that ruling is just advisory. It's been overruled in the past.

R17 Not everyone is cut out to be a doctor or a lawyer and we are always going to need janitors, bartenders and waitresses. They deserve to be paid a living wage.

Minimum wage should be pegged to rent.

"Walmart is a bad example because they don't pay their employees enough money to live. All their employees are on welfare."

"Walmart has pamphlets for it's employees on how to apply for SNAC and Welfare, they also take a life insurance policy out on their employees making them the beneficiaries, so if you die they get the money."

I'd like to know from where you've obtained this incorrect and false information.

[quote] Unskilled labor don't pay a living wage because they are aren't meant to. They are just suppose to be a temporary job.

R17, ya idiot. Look at the comment DIRECTLY BEFORE YOURS at R16

You're merely repeating some gaslighting spread by 1980s voodoo economic greedsters.

"Unskilled jobs" used to pay a living wage, and they did this in the decades when the the middle class was growing to the strongest in history.

R1, are you deliberately dense? If the minimum wage rises, so do the salaries of those 'above' the level of minimum wage. Duh. And even if they didn't, why be such a cunt about it?

People under 70 apparently don't remember when America had a middle class. It was nice. Not the dystopian nightmare we're descending into with Hunger Games-mega-rich at the top and completely destitute masses at the bottom. Bring back unions, high wages and 80% taxes on the wealthy.

[quote] If you want a decent paying job, go to school! Unskilled labor don't pay a living wage because they are aren't meant to. They are just suppose to be a temporary job.

Wow. You should’ve taken your own advice.

Walmart Sued For Collecting Life Insurance on Employees

Walmart and McDonald’s are among top employers of Medicaid and food stamp beneficiaries, report says

$15 is the bare minimum people should be paid. Anything less is an insult and should be a crime.

15 dollars federally. The minimum wage in places like NY, SF, and possibly Seattle should be $25. People deserve to earn a living wage without having to work multiple jobs.

I read what was intended to be a sympathetic article about a woman making minimum wage. In the middle of the article, it stated that the woman had turned down a job offer with higher pay because she liked her minimum wage job. So, no sympathy for her. We need more analysis of who these adults are who make exactly the minimum wage. For many, we may find it’s not the law’s fault.

It should be risen everywhere. A strong middle class makes life better

[quote] People deserve to earn a living wage without having to work multiple jobs.

After college, I had to work part-time at night in addition to my full-time day job, in order to pay the bills. Not having to work multiple jobs is not a right.

Anyone who is willing to go out and work a full weeks should not be struggling to survive. The working class is doing nothing wrong. We needs people to do all those jobs and if someone wants to flip burgers or work at a mall forever nobody is on a position to judge them. It’s still honest work and somebody has to do it. Not everyone can be a doctor.

[quote] A strong middle class makes life better

There’s a strong middle class with the current minimum wage. The question is what are the middle class people doing right and how can we get people on minimum wage to do likewise.

[quote] We needs people to do all those jobs and if someone wants to flip burgers or work at a mall forever nobody is on a position to judge them. It’s still honest work and somebody has to do it. Not everyone can be a doctor.

Not every adult can act like a teenager and do teenage things like flip burgers. As a society, we need adults to act like it.

The best way to increase the size of your economy is to make the minimum wage a true living wage and (more controversially ) increase Welfare/Social Security benefit payments.

Poor people spend money, they don't squirrel it away in bank accounts or 401k's.

Sure. More illegals with fake SSNs will get hired.

[quote] Poor people spend money, they don't squirrel it away in bank accounts or 401k's.

That’s a great point. What poor people need is someone to teach them to change their ways and save to build up a nest egg.

[quote]After college, I had to work part-time at night in addition to my full-time day job, in order to pay the bills. Not having to work multiple jobs is not a right.

We are so fucked. Why can't people look back at the hard road they've traveled and want to see it paved for people who come after them? I've been called a faggot multiple times on the street (an accurate assessment but still) and had a bottle thrown at me for kissing a boy on a street corner (in front of the NYU housing in the East fucking Village no less) and I don't want that to ever happen to someone else. I've worked a second part-time job after working full time while getting my bachelor's degree part time and it was demoralizing and awful and if the full-time job paid enough to keep the lights on I would have wept with joy.

I had it shitty. I don't want other people to have the same experiences.

R24, rent where? They are talking about a NATIONAL minimum wage; I can assure you that rent cost are widely different across the country.

I'm not against raising the minimum wage, but I do wonder if it will have the hoped for effect. It isn't like the businesses are going to just eat the difference; they are still going to want to make the same amount of money they already are. Because of that, they will raise prices on whatever goods or services they sell. When they do that, it makes the overall cost of living go up and the people who couldn't afford to buy those goods and services before STILL can't afford to buy those goods and services. It also ends up raising the cut-off for the poverty level and so people are technically making more than they were but still could be considered in poverty.

Can someone explain to me what I am missing? Thanks

A lot of low paying jobs aren't been filled right now because people on unemployment don't want to work for shitty pay. What will happen going forward will be a lot of vacant job positions and no workers. What I fear is that if congress impose the 15 dollar wage on big companies. Robots and machines will fully replace cashier positions. That is millions of people who will be out of work on top of those still unemployed.

r31 I believe those two corporations stand out simply because they employ huge amounts of people. Walmart employs 1.5 million people.

r11, Walmart of 20 years ago is not the Walmart of today. I think their strategy for employee wage is going to end up being the model that most businesses follow. Instead of raising minimum wage across the board to $15, they are making their employee average wage $15. That leaves room for them to adjust for the varying living expenses for employees in different regions of the United States while still increasing pay. To me that is a solution where everyone wins and other corporations can do the same.

[quote] I've been called a faggot multiple times on the street (an accurate assessment but still)

Not to me it’s not. You may be gay, you may be the nelliest Nellie who ever nellied; by the same token you could be the brutiest brute who ever bruted, but either way, my friend, you are no faggot. Not by a long shot.

[quote] After college, I had to work part-time at night in addition to my full-time day job, in order to pay the bills. Not having to work multiple jobs is not a right.

Bully for you. But let’s adjust the minimum wage law anyway to ensure that no one is subject to similar misery. For as you have shown us above, such a trial produces a bitter misanthropy in a man.

Why do people think only teenagers make the minimum wage?

How far would $15 an hour get someone in a very low COL area? It wouldn’t get you very far in NYC or LA but in bumblefuck Kansas is that enough to live well?

[quote] But let’s adjust the minimum wage law anyway to ensure that no one is subject to similar misery.

It’s not beneficial to be an enabler for people who are adverse to working for earnings to fully support themselves.

R51 you are too stupid to be contributing to this discussion. Please stop.

[quote] people who are adverse to working for earnings

Oh, dear!

If you want $15 an hour minimum wage, then you better get ready to see that $3 Big Mac go up to $9. You better be ready to walk into a grocery store and have one live checker (no baggers), and 20 unmanned self-service lines. You cannot expect wages to rise without an impact to product and servuce prices.

^ service

R54 The minimum wage in Australia is $19.84 AUD ($15.30 USD). A Big Mac costs $7.15 AUD ($5.50 USD).

A Big Mac in the US averages around $4.00 currently, maybe if they were 37% more expensive people would make better choices or even cook.

Higher wages don't result in 100 or 200% price increases.

R50 I’m in deepest bumfucke where the cost of living is low. 15 an hour is a solid middle class wage. As in you can buy a house on that pay. Jobs here are going begging. Walmart is starting people at $14. The factories are advertising on the radio looking for help and offer benefits from day 1 and $22/hr.

r1 It has Always been like that. When I was in high school in the 60's I had an English teacher that bitched constantly at how his brother, who was a truck driver, made more money than him who was college educated. He bitched and bitched and bitched and I wanted to ask him then why don't you go get a truck driving job but we didn't speak to our elders like that in that time period

There are attorneys who are only making between $25-$30 an hour.

To give an example of how far 15 an hour does here in flyoverstan: 70000 USDA mortgage, 30 year no money down, mortgage payment including property tax is 423 dollars a month. If you are make of 30k with a stay at home spouse and little Brayden and Neveah, that 600/wk is all take home pay as the EITC more than covers FICA and state taxes, let alone the $530 fed income tax. So 1 week’s pay covers mortgage and utilities for the month. Mom drives a used minivan. So only 1 car payment. Car insurance in cheap here.

Minimum wage should be at LEAST $100/hr, and anyone who disagrees is a Republican shill who doesn’t understand economics!

It has been irrefutably proven that raising the minimum wage does not impact employment levels for lower skilled workers.

Since raising the minimum wage has no impact, not raising it to $100/hr is proof of membership in the GQP, QED.

I agree that wages are terrible. But they should aim for $12 an hour. You asking companies that have been playing 7.50 or 8:00 to give a 100% raise.

I do agree that 20 years ago it was the same but prices and the standard of living have gone up. But then employers had to offer you more money to get a better employee. And the minimum wage jobs were left for kids and those unskilled. 20 years ago I made more than I do now. Go figure that out.

The union busting and low wage jobs that were added have done nothing to help people. So many are being paid low wages. But you can't expect things to change in 5 years maybe by 2030 it can be up to $15.

This is what 400/mo buys in flyoverstan

[quote] Unskilled labor don't pay a living wage because they are aren't meant to. They are just suppose to be a temporary job.

If you attended school you certainly didn't learn English. With your lack of writing skills you're hardly in a position to be lecturing others about the necessity of education.

[quote] After college, I had to work part-time at night in addition to my full-time day job, in order to pay the bills. Not having to work multiple jobs is not a right.

This is an example of the thinking of people who vote Republican against their own economic interests.

[quote] What poor people need is someone to teach them to change their ways and save to build up a nest egg.

This is an appallingly ignorant thing to say.

How are people supposed to save money when they can't adequately meet their basic living expenses?

Sure, I agree with paying people a decent hourly wage. Anyone busting their ass to put in an honest day's work should expect a paycheck they can support themselves with. But I do think that too many people consider living within their budgeted means as something they shouldn't have to do. Even elevating minimum wage to $15/hour will require people to execute quite a sense of economy. I've been there, I've done that, and there is only one road out of that way of life--skill! Either it be through education (trade, collegiate or otherwise) or clever entrepeneurship, having good skill makes a person immediately more marketable. Bottom line & sad truth, unskilled labor is only worth so much to employers who only offer unskilled labor. It's also naive to think those employers won't adjust to make this new minimum wage work in their favor as best they can. Small businesses will cut hours or eliminate positions completely, making others have to work that much harder for their $15/hour. The big cats are already making great strides toward automation eliminating employees altogether, like McDonald's, Walmart, Amazon--and they're getting praised for their innovation! So sure, a higher minimum wage sounds terrific, but that will not happen without the employers cutting those checks making sure it works as close to their bottom line as they possibly can. This is going to be a very minuscule victory for American minimum wage workers.

[quote] It should be risen everywhere.

Oh, dear!

The problem is it should've been raised gradually over the past two decades. Imagine you're a deli owner who is barely hanging on right now and tomorrow you suddenly have to pay your part-time teenage workers $15 an hour when you were paying them $8 or $9 today. I

[quote]If you want $15 an hour minimum wage, then you better get ready to see that $3 Big Mac go up to $9.

Let's try actual economics on this. Since more people will be buying the $4 Big Mac (you even got the price wrong), there will be very little or no change in price.

[quote]You better be ready to walk into a grocery store and have one live checker (no baggers), and 20 unmanned self-service lines. You cannot expect wages to rise without an impact to product and servuce prices.

Uh huh. Except real world experiences across the board have shown that after stores have put in tons of self-checkouts, they've ended up removing many of them and reopening check out lanes with cashiers because not only did a lot of people hate them but they caused so many problems that they had to hire the people who would have formerly been cashiers to babysity the self-checkout stations. They proved to be not worth the hassle.

Quite simply, you have no idea what you are talking about.

R70 not true with the self checkout issue because I have been in stores where the manager had to help customers at the self checkout. There were no actual staff in each checkout. Big stores will still find ways to cut down on staff since some stores cash register are empty and customers have to wait on a very long line because only two cashiers were working that day. Sometimes we have to suck it up as customers and deal with the inconvenience and wait for the one staff at the checkout been pulled in different directions.

[quote]New: @ onefairwage is suing the restaurant group behind Olive Garden & LongHorn Steakhouse, claiming its policy of paying servers less than minimum wage contributes to sexual harassment & race discrimination in violation of civil rights laws. @ CourthouseNews