(US) Do you support a $15 minimum wage?

[Robert Maxwell]

Simple question: do you support a $15 an hour (or higher) minimum wage? (Aimed at Americans, but if you aren't I'd be curious to hear your perspective anyway.)

I also want to know why you have the position you do on this question.

 

[BillJ]

Without a doubt. People deserve to make a living wage, and I'm more than happy to pay a few cents more across the board for products to help make it happen.

 

[{ Emilia }]

Businesses that can't afford to pay their employees a proper living wage do not have a reasonable business model and should go out of business.

 

[1001001]

I do, but there needs to be a lot of cooperation and support.

For example, we are a subcontractor of the local government. Our contracts are for X amount of dollars. As a non-profit, there is no margin there. X is what we get. X is what goes out.

So in order for us to meet the $15 minimum wage (which is actually happening in California) the contracts need to increase by the appropriate amount, or we drop the contracts and everyone loses their job.

Our fixed costs won't change, and most other costs are increasing slightly (which in general is normal).

Quick math says that to bring the staff we have currently under $15 up to $15, it will cost us about $100,000 a year.

So the government needs to find a way to support non-profits in making this happen.

 

[MacLeod]

This thread would have anything to with a GOP candidate not supporting a minimum wage of US$15 would it? But why not tie politicans wage to the minimum wage, I suspectg they'll be quickly in favour of it.

 

[Doom Shepherd]

Answer: Yes.
Reason: I'm sane.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Curious to hear an explanation from that "No" vote.

 

[MacLeod]

Curious to hear an explanation from that "No" vote.

It's actually two no votes, now.

 

[wew]

I don't support a $15.00 an hour wage, especially if you are talking across the nation and across the board.

When I started minimum wage was about $3.55 an hour. I definitely did not like receiving such a small wage but was encouraged to better myself to move out of the minimum wage job. Spent years using my money to acquire skills to get better-paying jobs.

When I visit the McDonald's where I live and watch minimum wage workers essentially goofing off on the job, failing to do their job properly, and not caring, I can't see rewarding such behavior with higher pay.

I've worked with companies that budget only so much for payroll according to a sales goal and when they exceeded the amount they could add hours, but if the dropped below the goal, they cut available hours. (Burger King, Target, and Wal-mart).

I think a $15.00 an hour wage would actually result in some individuals losing their jobs and reduce hiring in other cases; especially in areas with lower cost of living requirement exist.

 

[wew]

It's actually two no votes, now.

You asked I've responded; I was the second no.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Absolutely yes.

The current federal minimum wage doesn't keep pace with inflation (it was at its peak in the late-60s/early 70s), productivity, or cost of living. If the minimum wage were adjusted to keep pace with the increase in productivity from American workers, it would currently be around $19 dollars an hour (it was nearly up to $23 a few years ago), and yet it's a struggle to get less than half that amount from the federal minimum wage.

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/01/04/5-facts-about-the-minimum-wage/

People still conjure up the image that the minimum wage is just something kids get paid as they're working a summer job or paying their way through school, but it's become a reality for a great many adults struggling to care for their families. And since that's the case it's wrong that it doesn't provide even a basic attempt as serving as a living wage for anywhere in the nation. Yes, individual states and cities can set their own standards, but the federal government should lead the way on making sure the workers of the country are making a fair and livable wage.

We're at about the middle of the pack of Western nations in terms of providing a minimum wage, and that's in addition to not providing many of the other benefits those nations provide as a default, like universal health care and low cost higher education so you can try and lift yourself out of your situation without going into massive debt.

Even when approaching it from a greed standpoint, it makes sense even from an economic perspective. If workers have more purchasing power that is going to immediately go back into the economy as they use it to purchase homes, cars, merchandise, and services they previously couldn't afford. Workers in minimum wage fields like retail and fast food tend to spend a lot of their money in their place of work out of convenience and due to having an employee discount, so a lot of the money businesses pay to workers gets immediately funneled back into their own coffers when the employees buy lunch at work or purchase groceries and goods from work.

http://topforeignstocks.com/2017/01/11/us-minimum-wage-adjusted-for-productivity/

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I don't support a $15.00 an hour wage, especially if you are talking across the nation and across the board.

When I started minimum wage was about $3.55 an hour. I definitely did not like receiving such a small wage but was encouraged to better myself to move out of the minimum wage job. Spent years using my money to acquire skills to get better-paying jobs.

When I visit the McDonald's where I live and watch minimum wage workers essentially goofing off on the job, failing to do their job properly, and not caring, I can't see rewarding such behavior with higher pay.

I've worked with companies that budget only so much for payroll according to a sales goal and when they exceeded the amount they could add hours, but if the dropped below the goal, they cut available hours. (Burger King, Target, and Wal-mart).

I think a $15.00 an hour wage would actually result in some individuals losing their jobs and reduce hiring in other cases; especially in areas with lower cost of living requirement exist.

Minimum wage hikes in the US have historically had a slight (but not serious) softening effect on future hiring, and less often result in actual staff cuts.

Based on the minimum wage you cited, you started working about 35 years ago. A lot has changed since then.

Here is just one thing that's changed, and one very good reason to raise the minimum wage across the board:

Source.

(Thank you for answering, by the way!)

 

[John Clark]

I'd support it.

I'd also make minimum wage of $15 per hour mean that as where I am today, there are various levels of minimum wage (ranging between £3.50 and £7 or so) and it's just not a liveable wage in my opinion.

When I started, I was probably on just a little less than a quid an hour (back in the 1990s), but that was more of an apprentice position and went up after two years to something a little more sensible.

 

[MacLeod]

I don't support a $15.00 an hour wage, especially if you are talking across the nation and across the board.

When I started minimum wage was about $3.55 an hour. I definitely did not like receiving such a small wage but was encouraged to better myself to move out of the minimum wage job. Spent years using my money to acquire skills to get better-paying jobs.

When I visit the McDonald's where I live and watch minimum wage workers essentially goofing off on the job, failing to do their job properly, and not caring, I can't see rewarding such behavior with higher pay.

I've worked with companies that budget only so much for payroll according to a sales goal and when they exceeded the amount they could add hours, but if the dropped below the goal, they cut available hours. (Burger King, Target, and Wal-mart).

I think a $15.00 an hour wage would actually result in some individuals losing their jobs and reduce hiring in other cases; especially in areas with lower cost of living requirement exist.

There are no doubt many people who work in McDonald's who do their job dilligently and with care, so is your argument because of a few bad apples those who do it correctly shouldn't get a decent minimum wage? (But I suspect many companies have some who don't their job as well as they could)

I suspect all companies budget for payroll, but wouldn't that be done an a yearly basis? If comapnies knew from a certain date the minimum wage would be X they would factor that into their account.

 

[Nyotarules]

Humans are greedy bastards, the state has to force humans to treat other humans with dignity. Without a minimum wage there would be a race to the bottom to pay low skilled workers as little as possible. Its bad enough that rich multinational companies in retail used to pay so little that the state had to give the workers welfare benefits. The state was/is funding the low wages policy of billionaire company owners. Capitalism at its best...right?

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I don't support a $15.00 an hour wage, especially if you are talking across the nation and across the board.

When I started minimum wage was about $3.55 an hour. I definitely did not like receiving such a small wage but was encouraged to better myself to move out of the minimum wage job. Spent years using my money to acquire skills to get better-paying jobs.

People generally don't need negative reinforcement to try and improve their lot in life. It's a pretty basic human motivation when given the opportunity. Especially when they have other motivating factors like children to care for, which is becoming a common reality for people on minimum wage as automation and outsourcing cuts into the available unskilled labor market.

Wouldn't it have been better if you (general you now, not you personally) were paid a living wage so that it didn't take so many years for you to acquire those skills and so you could take classes while you were working and still young and childless?

When I visit the McDonald's where I live and watch minimum wage workers essentially goofing off on the job, failing to do their job properly, and not caring, I can't see rewarding such behavior with higher pay.

Well, I don't buy that, because I see minimum wage workers busting their ass and providing quality service all the time. But it seems like you're falling for the minimum wage = young kids slacking off on the job myth that doesn't really apply to the modern work environment. Most minimum wage workers these days are adults who are at the end of their rope and working minimum wage jobs due to a lack of options rather than any lack of dedication or work ethic.

People rise to the level of their expectations. If you treat employees with respect and pay them a fair living wage, they'll be more motivated to be productive. It's a lot easier to be helpful and productive when you're happy and not stressing about how you're gonna pay for your kid's new school clothes or basic living necessities.

 

[wew]

There are no doubt many people who work in McDonald's who do their job dilligently and with care, so is your argument because of a few bad apples those who do it correctly shouldn't get a decent minimum wage? (But I suspect many companies have some who don't their job as well as they could)

I suspect all companies budget for payroll, but wouldn't that be done an a yearly basis? If comapnies knew from a certain date the minimum wage would be X they would factor that into their account.

I have no doubt that many people working in minimum wage jobs do work I know I did and knew many I worked with worked very hard. Yet, it appears in my area that many of the fast food employees, but not all, have a limited work ethic. This usually appears to be the younger employees, the high school and young college students, who don't seem to really care about the job.

Yes, companies do a budget on a yearly basis, but the ones I worked at the budget for the year, but each day also has a target sales goal. When I worked at Target, every $1000 over the sales goal for the day allowed the store to add 7 additional hours of payroll for that week, however, the reverse was also true- every $1000 under the sales goal meant the store had to reduce the number of hours by 7.

I'm not saying get rid of a minimum wage, essentially doubling it will not necessarily make things better. Oddly, the US government policy punishes people who try to make a living by working, if they are on federal assistance. My sister worked a slightly more than minimum wage job, which resulted in her losing assistance; her basic out of pocket expenses at that time for childcare so she could work left her with $12 left over to cover food, shelter, utilities, etc.

However, based on the current poverty level as defined by the US government, about 26,000 for a family of four, $15 would move them out of poverty, but would oddly probably cost them more than by qualifying for federal assistance with a lesser salary.

 

[GabyBee]

Having the minimum wage be as low as it is in the U.S. currently is essentially corporate welfare. It allows giant corporations to pay their employees far below anything that might be considered a "living wage", and then forces those same employees to rely on social welfare programs like food stamps. No person working a full-time job of ANY sort should have to resort to food stamps in order to survive. Artificially keeping pay below a living wage is not responsible economics; it is corporate welfare. It is wealth re-distribution from low wage workers to corporations.

 

[Nyotarules]

There is a reason why the happiness quotient is higher in Scandinavian nations, they worked towards having a large middle class and not having as wide a gap between rich and poor as we do. Damn leftie Socialists have the audacity to have a decent standard of living as well.

 

[O_Kav]

I'm not American but I'm in favor of anything that brings more comfort to the Working Class. It doesn't matter where you are in this planet, Workers produce everything and they deserve to live with dignity. So yes, I'm hopeful you folks get a $15 minimum wage.