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

[shapeshifter]

I make MW. About two years ago the state implemented a MW increase which netted me an additional $2 an hour, (+$320 month.)

Life was good, I was rolling in extra cash the likes I had never seen before. For the first time in my LIFE I became able to actually save money.

But soon after, as if every one I paid money to somehow knew I had more to spend started charging more for services. Rent, G&E, insurance, water, all began creeping up.

As of today the huge gains I had with the MW increase have all but disappeared. I am one rent increase (Jan. 2018) away from being back in the same boat I was in before the increase.

 

[BillJ]

I make MW. About two years ago the state implemented a MW increase which netted me an additional $2 an hour, (+$320 month.)

Life was good, I was rolling in extra cash the likes I had never seen before. For the first time in my LIFE I became able to actually save money.

But soon after, as if every one I paid money to somehow knew I had more to spend started charging more for services. Rent, G&E, insurance, water, all began creeping up.

As of today the huge gains I had with the MW increase have all but disappeared. I am one rent increase (Jan. 2018) away from being back in the same boat I was in before the increase.

Cost of things are always increasing, you just happened to get in front of them for two years. But, you should be due for another raise if its been two years since the last one.

 

[Lakenheath 72]

I was reading an article about farm workers. One of them was asked about the increase of the minimum wage. He saw an increase in the wage would lead to an increase in costs. I am seeing in the state, where things have gone up. Wages are not keeping with the cost of living, and having a staged wage increase, where the goal point of $15/hr won't be reached until the early 2020s defeats the purpose of having the increase. In many large cities, many of the poor and working class can not afford living costs. This is a global problem.

This is not raising the fact that many on the right wing are adamantly opposed to wage increases, to the point where state legislatures are blocking efforts by cities and counties raising wages.

 

[MacLeod]

In the UK wage inflation is far behind cost of living inflation. I wonder what other excuses...er reasons folks will come up with to keep working people down at the bottom of the ladder. Even middle class folks earning £60,000 cannot afford to buy a house in the South East of the UK.
And with the devalued sterling things will get worse... Thanks Brexit!

Well the UK has a chroning housing shortage, which is a failure of successive governments to get on top of it.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

It's also not limited to the UK. Germany has a housing shortage, as well, and I've seen reports of similar problems in the US.

 

[Lakenheath 72]

The housing shortage is global. According to survey, for urban dwellers, 1.6 billion people by 2025 would be struggling at affording decent housing.

Decent, affordable housing is fundamental to the health and well-being of people and to the smooth functioning of economies. Yet around the world, in developing and advanced economies alike, cities are struggling to meet that need. If current trends in urbanization and income growth persist, by 2025 the number of urban households that live in substandard housing—or are so financially stretched by housing costs that they forego other essentials, such as healthcare—could grow to 440 million, from 330 million. This could mean that the global affordable housing gap would affect one in three urban dwellers, about 1.6 billion people.

http://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/urbanization/tackling-the-worlds-affordable-housing-challenge

Cities are where the majority of people will be living in the future. We are looking at mega-cities. These cities will be the future battlefields of the future, as demonstrated in this video from the Pentagon.

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[Nyotarules]

Well the UK has a chroning housing shortage, which is a failure of successive governments to get on top of it.

And since a lot of Torys are property owners the housing shortage favours their bank accounts. With no rent control the market dictates everything, and since demand outstrips supply, then the inevitable happens.
I rent out a room and rent below market rates, I could be greedy and get as much as I can, but I choose not to.

 

[scotthm]

This effect is minimal and doesn't even come close to canceling out the wage hike.

Give it time.

But a year after the law’s April 2015 implementation, the study indicates such increases don’t seem to be happening.

Under the law, businesses with fewer than 500 employees will reach the $15 an hour wage in seven years, or 2021. Employers with 500 or more employees (either in Seattle or nationally) will reach that level in three years.

The increase in wages are being phased in over a number of years. It's also possible that job elimination will offset some amount of any increases in labor cost.

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[suarezguy]

LOL, nice to declare victory and lack of harm before the policy has been implemented.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Gosh, I guess you guys are right, we just have to keep the minimum wage at poverty levels otherwise we'll destroy the economy.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

It's really quite simple.
Poor people are almost certain to put all their income back into the system, while it is also almost a certainty that rich people keep a large part of what their income put away in a figurative or literal safe, and such out of the system.
So, in order to boost the economy, it's better to give people with low income a small increase through social security or a raised minimum wage, than to give a large increase to with people with high income with tax breaks, because that money spent by society actually stays inside the system and keeps the economy going.

Having a living level minimum wage, as well as a social security system that doesn't try to keep the money away from those in need, is not only the humane thing to do, it's also the economically smart thing to do.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

It's really quite simple.
Poor people are almost certain to put all their income back into the system, while it is also almost a certainty that rich people keep a large part of what their income put away in a figurative or literal safe, and such out of the system.
So, in order to boost the economy, it's better to give people with low income a small increase through social security or a raised minimum wage, than to give a large increase to with people with high income with tax breaks, because that money spent by society actually stays inside the system and keeps the economy going.

Having a living level minimum wage, as well as a social security system that doesn't try to keep the money away from those in need, is not only the humane thing to do, it's also the economically smart thing to do.

Yup.

Not to mention, the people who shit on minimum wage hikes apparently imagine that there's no negative effect from rising income and wealth inequality--when in fact we are seeing those effects right now. What do people think all this rising political tension and conflict is about? It's not because there's "fake news." It's because the system is coming apart at the seams, in large measure because a tiny sliver of the population is profiting at the expense of everyone else, and we're all looking for someone or something to blame. This trend is not sustainable. And if we don't find a way to improve the lot of the working class and halt the shrinkage of the middle class, things are going to get a lot worse.

 

[BillJ]

LOL, nice to declare victory and lack of harm before the policy has been implemented.

The article says nothing of the kind. Noting it is a preliminary study and the full effects are not yet known.

Is reading and comprehending really that fucking hard? It says it right in the article header...

Early analysis of Seattle’s $15 wage law: Effect on prices minimal one year after implementation

 

[Jayson1]

Yup.

Not to mention, the people who shit on minimum wage hikes apparently imagine that there's no negative effect from rising income and wealth inequality--when in fact we are seeing those effects right now. What do people think all this rising political tension and conflict is about? It's not because there's "fake news." It's because the system is coming apart at the seams, in large measure because a tiny sliver of the population is profiting at the expense of everyone else, and we're all looking for someone or something to blame. This trend is not sustainable. And if we don't find a way to improve the lot of the working class and halt the shrinkage of the middle class, things are going to get a lot worse.

I agree. We all know this stuff will lead to a increase in crime not to mention things like that guy shooting the congressman. People like to dismiss those people as extreme nuts but I actually think it's simply that some people have limits to just how much shit they can handle before they snap.
Of course the right already have the answer for this with profit based prisons. Create situations that lead to more crime and thus create more customers for the prisons and not only that you can even create more low paying jobs by using them as slave labor. The bonus of course is they can use all this new crime as political points to win over voters by telling them they will protect them not to mention help out the NRA by giving people the feeling they need to own guns for self protection.

Jason

 

[psCargile]

I support no minimum wage.

 

[BillJ]

I support no minimum wage.

I'm sure the poor are happy to know that.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I support no minimum wage.

I support you working for $0.00 then.

 

[Kai "the spy"]

I support you working for $0.00 then.

Oh snap.

But of course, minimum wage should be unconditional. Just because someone has a stupid opinion doesn't mean they deserve less than minimum wage.
This is just a disclaimer, because some people have no humor, therefore don't recognize sarcasm, and might scream "Leftist Thought Police".

 

[Balok's Decoy]

$15 minimum wage which adjusts up or down with inflation.

 

[psCargile]

I support you working for $0.00 then.

A supporter of slavery. No surprise.