Why Higher Minimum Wage?

[Mountain trapper]

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,it's easy to make comments like yours when you don't know what it is like to be poor,,,,,

I grew up poor and understand how much of a trap it can be,,,many never get out of it and it is not completely their fault,,,there are many who just are not smart enough to do it,,,many make the mistake of having children and it is all they can do to feed them let alone get an education or get in where they can learn a trade

what would you have us do line them up against a wall and shoot them because they don't measure up to your standards

Don't be silly GG. I didn't grow up with a silver spoon either. I grew up outside a small town and did ranch work for $1.25 an hour. Moved out at 16. I graduated high school early and went straight to Alaska and worked on fishing boats and logging for $17 an hour. Even then I knew that I needed to learn a trade so I took a job as a shop helper in a fabrication shop. I worked my ass off, learned how to weld after work, and in 5 years I made shop foreman.
Nobody ever accused me of being smart. I just worked hard and took advantage of any opportunity that came along. When everyone else was drinking and partying I was working overtime and saving my money. I bought my first house at 19, had 2 kids by the time I was 20 and divorced before 30.
I was nothing special. And Yes, ANYONE can learn a skill even while having a family. I learned the welding trade while I was working. I never received a nickel of help from my parents and even less from the government. I've had plenty of setbacks over the years but I never let it get me down. I never said it was easy.

 

[user 6493]

Don't be silly GG. I didn't grow up with a silver spoon either. I grew up outside a small town and did ranch work for $1.25 an hour. Moved out at 16. I graduated high school early and went straight to Alaska and worked on fishing boats and logging for $17 an hour. Even then I knew that I needed to learn a trade so I took a job as a shop helper in a fabrication shop. I worked my ### off, learned how to weld after work, and in 5 years I made shop foreman.
Nobody ever accused me of being smart. I just worked hard and took advantage of any opportunity that came along. When everyone else was drinking and partying I was working overtime and saving my money. I bought my first house at 19, had 2 kids by the time I was 20 and divorced before 30.
I was nothing special. And Yes, ANYONE can learn a skill even while having a family. I learned the welding trade while I was working. I never received a nickel of help from my parents and even less from the government. I've had plenty of setbacks over the years but I never let it get me down. I never said it was easy.

I will give you just one example here at the local Walmart there is a middle age man he spends his days collecting carts and bringing them back into the store,,,he is not quite all there he is ok collecting the carts but he does not have the mental capacity to do much more,,,,,,,,,,,,did I mention he has a running conversation going on all the time,,,,,,with himself

now Walmart does not pay minimum wage but this fellow in a larger city would be living under a bridge somewhere and there are thousand of people like him,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,all you have to do is open your eyes and look,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,you'll see them if you want to

 

[Acdoctor]

People don’t think for a minute that our current government cares about a living wage, they only want $15.00 per hour for the extra tax revenue that it will create. More money for stupid pork projects that they can dream up. $15.00 per hour is going to hurt the economy more than help it, when a small business can’t pay that , they will close the doors and go home. They want to tax the wealthy and choke everyone else out of a living.

 

[rrodscott]

The good old days when a person could get out of high school, take a manufacturing job and live a good life are LONG gone. My dad still talks about when there was only one junk food restaurant (A Hardees) in the whole county, and people were embarrassed to eat there. That's back when very few women had to work because the husband's union job provided a good living. Those days are long gone. If you think about it, the Republicans pass out huge tax cuts to the richest people in the country, and the Democrats balance the scales by jacking up the minimum wage and hopefully giving lower-wage workers some serious tax cuts.
As far as work appearance goes, I'd hire a person with tats and piercings long before I'd hire a fat slob. Being overweight is the main symptom of laziness and a complete lack of self discipline. The kinds of people who base their hiring decisions on whether or not someone has tats, and not on their abilities, are most likely trying to fill low-paying jobs anyway. Jeez, when someone talks about "preschool" teachers, they're really talking about government funded babysitters. The kind of job that could be filled by your average junior high student. "Help wanted. Can be dumb as a brick as long as you don't have any tats or piercings and are willing to work for minimum wage, part time."

 

[GaRp58]

government employees do not pay social security taxes, and they don't. At least in the U.S. they don't.

IF you take the time to read the small print in the Social Security Law...you will find that the leading politicians of the time decided to write something into the law to get it passed at all...THEY do not have to pay into the system...BECAUSE...they will get 100% of their last paycheck FOR THE REST OF THEIR NATURAL LIVES AS A RETIREMENT!!!! No wonder they passed the law...Gary

 

[Amish Heart]

Maybe that's how your preschools are run and set up in Australia, rrodscott, but not so in the USA. Yes, there are some run by the government (Headstart preschools), but most are run by private business. Like the one I owned and operated for nearly 20 years. You'd have to be nuts to put your child in a Headstart program, they are horrible. What you described as a preschool and employees to be like in Australia is nothing like what we have here in our private sectors. Thankfully that is not nationalized.

 

[MOS0231]

If $15.00 per hour will really benefit the economy then just think what $60.00 would do. Some people in congress have actually called for an annual handout, for doing nothing. They do this to get the masses to vote for them. In reality it will just speed up our rush to the cliff. When I was 15 I worked on a farm for $5.00 dollars a day, and I saved money. It really taught me the value of a dollar. Today's kids think they "need" a fancy pair of new shoes, or a new phone or game. They have no concept of what need really is.

Right you are.
We made our daughter get a job while in highschool.
Did she hate it?
Yes.
Does she now have a understanding and value of money and labor? Of what a days wage really is?
Yes.

 

[Amish Heart]

We didn't make the grandkids (that we raise) get a job, and they are in High School. They wanted to get a job. At this point, we have to make granddaughter not take extra hours, and just keep working to Friday after school and Saturdays. Grandson is still looking for something steady, but does get odd jobs on the weekend, usually yardwork. They love working because they can save their money. We only buy them their needs, not their wants. If they want a car, which they do, they have to buy it themselves. And the insurance, and the gas. They understand that if they don't work, then they do without the stuff they want.

 

[Schattentarn]

People don’t think for a minute that our current government cares about a living wage, they only want $15.00 per hour for the extra tax revenue that it will create. More money for stupid pork projects that they can dream up. $15.00 per hour is going to hurt the economy more than help it, when a small business can’t pay that , they will close the doors and go home. They want to tax the wealthy and choke everyone else out of a living.

I am not sure about this nationwide but in my state, California, this $15.00 wage is going to be paid to illegals, men and women in their 30s and 40s working dead end jobs with children at home. They use other people's SS# when applying and their withholdings, if any, just get lost in the system.

I once worked for a company with access to social security numbers and the names with them. I ran my SS# and it came back with my name and four
Mexican names. Four Mexicans were using my SS# besides me. They are doing this to you also. You cannot get credit for those funds. They can get credit if they ever become citizens by filing a form.

 

[Amish Heart]

What a scam! Where we lived in New Mexico, an illegal could buy a social security card at McDonalds for $50