Raise in minimum wage

[Patrick]

Fed min wage is $7.25. DC is $8.25. DC has just voted [or about to vote] to raise the min wage to $12.50 and is only directed toward large box stores such as Wal Mart.
Minimum wage in NY is currently $7.25 and about to go to $9.00.

[..]

Yay Raise the minimum wage.

Yay let's have to pay more for stuff we buy. Like fast food, clothes, etc etc

[WayneH]

And I assume you are posting this because you think it is a good thing?  I agree.

Consider... at a new New York minimum wage, a person who works 40 hours per week will earn $360 per week.

At 4 1/3 weeks per month (52 / 12), this works out to $1560 per month, and $18,720 per year.

Is this bad?  This is under the poverty level.

[art]

Consider this ,in 1993 I was making $18 an hour as a machinist and housing was around$75000 for a nice home in socal.Today the wages are less than that and even with the realestate bubble burst the housing is still more and the cost of living is way above what it was then.How in hell do we keep up.My son-in-law was offered a miserable $13 an hour for a steel fabricator and welder in Or. Its not even enough to pay his bills and mortgage.In 93 I was doing that and had two cars and an rv to boot on one paycheck.Minimum wage what a joke.

[Tropic traveler]

And I assume you are posting this because you think it is a good thing?  I agree.

Consider... at a new New York minimum wage, a person who works 40 hours per week will earn $360 per week.

At 4 1/3 weeks per month (52 / 12), this works out to $1560 per month, and $18,720 per year.

Is this bad?  This is under the poverty level.

WOW.

[Tropic traveler]

Consider this ,in 1993 I was making $18 an hour as a machinist and housing was around$75000 for a nice home in socal.Today the wages are less than that and even with the realestate bubble burst the housing is still more and the cost of living is way above what it was then.How in hell do we keep up.My son-in-law was offered a miserable $13 an hour for a steel fabricator and welder in Or. Its not even enough to pay his bills and mortgage.In 93 I was doing that and had two cars and an rv to boot on one paycheck.Minimum wage what a joke.

WOW again.

[PAVALKER]

Minimum Wage is what it is... the Minimum, usually "starting" wage.   Like with most occupations, there are (or should be) increased raises and benefits.   Is it a bad starting point?.... no, I don't think so, provided there is opportunity for promotions, raises etc.  Look at our Military Pay Scale....  most of the junior pay grades are below or at the poverty level as well.  The idea is to move on up and leave the low Minimum Wage jobs as a stepping stone to something better.  We can't pay executive wages for a burger flipper at McD's or a Cashier at WW.

Should one state have a higher minimum wage than others..... I don't think so, but I bet there could be some good arguments for it.   As for implementing a Minimum Wage just for "big box type stores"...... that would be unfair and hopefully illegal.   Like Unions have driven some stores out of states or out of business and increased overall unemployment in some cases.... I can see the higher Minimum Wage in DC directed at Big Box Stores driving up unemployment rates as well.... or driving the stores out of that state.  Or driving prices up at that very least......

[Cotton Mouth]

Walmart said they will not build several planned stores in DC because of this. 

The less $$ the front-line employees get at most companies, the more and more millions $$$$ the CEO receives.

[cookiedough]

The less $$ the front-line employees get at most companies, the more and more millions $$$$ the CEO receives.

Tell me something I don't know, dah.

All I know is in my job market it is an employer's market not an employee's market meaning there are few full time and tons of part time jobs with NO benefits being offered and the list of applicants to choose from is huge.  Getting a decent full time job with decent benefits is like finding a needle in a haystack LITERALLY!   

I started off 7 years ago making 8.50 per hour now around 13 earning every single cent the cheap A-holes in charge give to me and know tons more than the new employee we hired just recently also making darn near what I make and I am training her how to do her job.  Tell me that is fair! 

[Patrick]

I don't or wouldn't pay anyone minimum wage, but, there are many that aren't even worth the minimum. To me its irrelevant and I don't believe in it. I especially don't believe in 'selective' minimum wages. I'm glad to see Wal Mart moving out, or not expanding, in DC. Don't get me wrong, I don't like Wal Mart. I like the Marion Barry types even less.

[FLAVALK]

And I assume you are posting this because you think it is a good thing?  I agree.

Consider... at a new New York minimum wage, a person who works 40 hours per week will earn $360 per week.

At 4 1/3 weeks per month (52 / 12), this works out to $1560 per month, and $18,720 per year.

Is this bad?  This is under the poverty level.

Minimum wage jobs are typically held by people with zero skills....Z-E-R-O. Why the hell should they be paid $12/hr? If you increase minimum wage to $12, the now $12 guy gets pushed to $16-$17 per hour and on and on up the scale. This drives up the cost of everything. If you can't do ANY better than a minimum wage job, you (not the government) need to find a way to improve your worth. BUT DON'T LOOK TO THE FREAKING GOVERNMENT TO GIVE YOU A RAISE!!!  This is typical liberal mentality 

[Robert]

Socialism has never worked for anyone, If you have no skills, no training, no real interest in working and need a job raising the minimum wage stops people from hiring you and stops small business getting the help they need. It becomes to costly to hire someone with all the benefits because lets not forget about health care, unemployment. workers comp,vacation, and employers pay half that persons taxes, and with some new hires attitude, sick time, personal problems, this is really the cost of each employee. Small business have started and trained many to go into good higher paying positions this starts to become to costly. How quickly we forget the real costs of hiring someone with all the associated government mandates. We are making the US a place no longer able to have start up businesses and big places like Walmart that hire these that are unemployable by any other means. With so many mandates you do not hire a worker at fair wage you are in business with the government hiring one of their cronies. No longer is it free market that you pay a worker what he is worth.  We will pay the ultimate cost at a time when the economy is not good. As for the heads of companies, Washington gave a green light to fraud corruption and greed and hasent prosecuted any one for the housing collapse and gave them trillions. Do we have a model for corporate America right here?

[FLAVALK]

How quickly we forget the real costs of hiring someone with all the associated government mandates.

Math for dummies....(and liberals)

Minimum wage in Florida is $7.79/hr.
The burdened rate at our mom & pop shop with 30 employees is currently 46%.
That means it cost the company $11.37 for a $7.79 job. That's a difference of $3.58.  
If the employee goes to $12/hr, our cost increase to $17.52. That's a difference of $5.52.

So, the minimum wage guy got a $4.21 increase, but it cost the company $6.15 to give it to him.

...and our enlightened will reply......SO WHAT?

[cookiedough]

And I assume you are posting this because you think it is a good thing?  I agree.

Consider... at a new New York minimum wage, a person who works 40 hours per week will earn $360 per week.

At 4 1/3 weeks per month (52 / 12), this works out to $1560 per month, and $18,720 per year.

Is this bad?  This is under the poverty level.

Minimum wage jobs are typically held by people with zero skills....Z-E-R-O. Why the hell should they be paid $12/hr? If you increase minimum wage to $12, the now $12 guy gets pushed to $16-$17 per hour and on and on up the scale. This drives up the cost of everything. If you can't do ANY better than a minimum wage job, you (not the government) need to find a way to improve your worth. BUT DON'T LOOK TO THE FREAKING GOVERNMENT TO GIVE YOU A RAISE!!!  This is typical liberal mentality 

Why I don't necessarily agree with your statement totally at least where we live,  there are a ton of people somewhat skilled maybe not making minimum wage but definitely not above say 12-13 bucks per hour.  Most employers pay above the 7-8 dollar mark anyways, so raising the minimum wage I agree with you will cost the employer even more dough out of their pocket which isn't fair to the employer. 

[fubar606]

 feds wont be happy til every one is making about the same income think that's (Obummer) wanting to redistribute the wealth 

[..]

Ze feelthy Capitalists must be exterminated. FOREVER.

Cause the communist, socialist countries like Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Cuba, numerous African countries etc etc etc are the MODEL of how society should work. Ha f'in HA.

I'm sure the Lib/Dem/Prog business owners already overpay their workers far above whatever industry standard . Yeah right - hypocrites.

Mindless, regurgitating drivel.

[Cotton Mouth]

Is the ongoing minimum wage battle really a way to distract us from the real problems?  Maybe it is.


What about more work on the main problem(s)?  Perhaps no politician from either side wants to go there.  What has happened to our economy where many mom and pop businesses can no longer afford to hire full-time personnel and/or can barely afford to pay the current minimum wage.


I'm not against anybody being rich or making a nice profit, it's the American way and reward for the hard work and risk,  but things are getting more ridiculous each day, with American families paying the price more and more.

Did things seem to really change in America once jobs started going to Mexico, and then China?

ok, off my  soap  box for the day.

[Master Blaster]

Back in the 50s when I joined the Army, I was making 87 bucks a month.  Of course I got 3 hots and a cot along with that princely sum.  Never went on the dole even after I was married.  Pay went up marginally, but notmuch.  Now I go on post, and everyone is driving new or late model rides, using the dole programs at the Commisary, and living pretty high on the hog.   Things sure have changed.   As to raising the minimum wage, I agree its a horrible idea.   Kids that cant afford college, can get a minimum wage job and learn a trade, and work their way up.  I am sick of the entitlement society that think they dont have to earn anything, but it should be given to them because they suck air and deserve it.  By Walley World not opening their stores in DC, hundreds of badly needed jobs will not be there.   Thats on DC, not Walley World.

[..]

Ze feelthy capitalist Romney got pilloried for his low tax and charity giving.

Anyone see Biden's charity giving or Reids tax payment.

Once again vomit inducing hypocrisy. Pathetic.

Unfortunately the majority of the American voting public are willingly ignorant or so simply apathetic they would rather watch crap reality TV, brain sucking E, TMZ etc or waste hours watching their favorite jocks week after week, after week, after week..................................

[alph]

And it STILL won't be enough (for stupid people).  If our government won't live within its means, why should anyone else?

[Oss]

The shame I see every day is folks working dont get help from uncle sam to keep producing and
I dont mean just money

Yet all these Folks not working get help of all kinds

Illegal get help, medical, school etc

A tenant not working can get rent paid by Govmt and even a free govmt lawyer to beat up on his Landlord who is working 2 jobs and falling behind each month more and more  I see it every day in Court

The court does NOT care trust me on that one neither does the legislature or president

That Landlord losing his house because tenants not paying not eligible for assistance of any kind and he cant even sue section 8 in court because of the rules. he is hosed

A working stiff making minimum wage loses his apartment because he is not eligible for a loan because he makes too much eating dog food so kids can eat real food

So yes raise the minimum wage works for me/ provided the worker is working not eating twinkies and watching hbo at home while working off the books selling drugs

Now the CEO making millions by firing thousands does not work for me he is a piece of crap

To me, that CFO or CEO making 40 million, flying around on the corporate jet and boating on the yacht not adding to anything is a blood sucking leach and his corporation a treasonous boil on the ass of america's working people.

There really is no corporate accountability nor government accountability

and I have no answers

sometimes it just sucks but you just trudge on

Like the dude's friend says   Fuk it lets go bowling or at least lets ride to Lacrosse and have a good time