Elmer: You are certainly entitled to your opinion, however, do not, for any reason "shame on me" for mine. I've worked minimum wage jobs, and more than 1 at times. I also have done a number of things to better myself and my family so I didn't have to rely on anyone to set a minimum wage for me to do that.

 

I will go against the grain and "agree" with you that we should raise the minimum wage across the board, every state in the union to $15 and require anyone who wants to earn that wage to perform 2 years of service to this country, either through the military or general service. During that two years, they learn a skill or a trade, but once that 2 year period is over, they get what they earn. If they stay in the military, they progress through pay grade based on their service and development. If they choose general service, and want to pick up garbage on the highway for 2 years and not better themselves, I'm still good with paying them $15/ hour, but that's it, no more freebies.

 

I don't know if you have ever been to Seattle, but $15 / hour isn't going to help a lot of the issues there….as an example, have you ever heard of this little place called Starbucks…it's where you spend $4 + on a coffee…do the math, it's not getting cheaper at Starbucks and I'm not willing to pay $8 for a coffee or a Big Mac.

 

I commend your effort on this one though

Minimum wage is no longer just a wage for teenagers. Many people are supporting families on one or more minimum wage jobs. As college costs soar and the ability to pay for postsecondary education wanes, more people get stuck in low wage jobs with little advancement opportunity.

 

I'm not sure raising the minimum wage is the answer. But to act like there is no problem is adding to the problem. If we want people to look at social aid programs as a last resort instead of a permanent way of life, there needs to be a wage that can feed, house and provide the means to support a family.

 

I don't think anybody is implying there isn't a problem. $15 an hour is not even remotely possible for minimum wage, IMO.

Elmer: You are certainly entitled to your opinion, however, do not, for any reason "shame on me" for mine. I've worked minimum wage jobs, and more than 1 at times. I also have done a number of things to better myself and my family so I didn't have to rely on anyone to set a minimum wage for me to do that.

 

I will go against the grain and "agree" with you that we should raise the minimum wage across the board, every state in the union to $15 and require anyone who wants to earn that wage to perform 2 years of service to this country, either through the military or general service. During that two years, they learn a skill or a trade, but once that 2 year period is over, they get what they earn. If they stay in the military, they progress through pay grade based on their service and development. If they choose general service, and want to pick up garbage on the highway for 2 years and not better themselves, I'm still good with paying them $15/ hour, but that's it, no more freebies.

 

I don't know if you have ever been to Seattle, but $15 / hour isn't going to help a lot of the issues there….as an example, have you ever heard of this little place called Starbucks…it's where you spend $4 + on a coffee…do the math, it's not getting cheaper at Starbucks and I'm not willing to pay $8 for a coffee or a Big Mac.

 

I commend your effort on this one though

 

I'm not shaming your opinion sir/ma'am. I believe that Republicans just look at things through their red glasses and need to look at things with an open mind to see the bigger picture. The people spoke in November of 2012, and the people said that the Republicans were the problem in our country.

 

Prove to me that prices will increase drastically if minimum wage increases. Prices of coffee may go up a quarter, maybe 50 cents, but the amount made through the minimum wage increase will be more than enough to offset the price increases.

 

Thank you, BirdBrain, for the response. I wish some of these other conservatives would use your logic instead of calling me a plant and other offensive names.

Are there any credible economic studies that show raising the minimum wages spurs the economy?

I wish some of these other conservatives would use your logic instead of calling me a plant and other offensive names.

It's far from just a bunch of conservatives who strongly oppose your opinion and/or question the comments you have made here.

I'm not shaming your opinion sir/ma'am. I believe that Republicans just look at things through their red glasses and need to look at things with an open mind to see the bigger picture. The people spoke in November of 2012, and the people said that the Republicans were the problem in our country.

 

Prove to me that prices will increase drastically if minimum wage increases. Prices of coffee may go up a quarter, maybe 50 cents, but the amount made through the minimum wage increase will be more than enough to offset the price increases.

 

Thank you, BirdBrain, for the response. I wish some of these other conservatives would use your logic instead of calling me a plant and other offensive names.

 

All you have to do is look at a P&L report of a basic retail/restaurant which will likely employ quite a few minimum wage workers. An increase in Payroll expense comes right off the bottom line. In order for your bottom line to stay the same something has to give. Either you cut expenses, and your biggest of which (Payroll) just went up significantly. Typically there just isn't enough room to make significant cuts elsewhere, such as occupancy (rent, insurance, utilities are very difficult to manipulate in a way to quickly reduce..there's a certain price required just to open the doors). So your right back to payroll. If you were paying 15 people $8 an hour for 30 hours per week (there are very few full time workers in retail outside of management, so to keep the model simple, we'll leave them out) you're looking at $3600/week of expense. If minimum wage goes to $15/hour your now at $6750/week of expense, $3100 directly off the bottom, or little over $160k/year. Big jump. So you could reduce your staff by about 7 people to get expense back in line. But now you've got a smaller staff doing twice the work, which will result in decreased production and likely lower sales. Not good. So your other option is to raise prices. Prices are not totally elastic, and as they go up, people will find a way to do without, whether they are making more money or not, even if you're dealing with necessities. If you're talking luxury items, forget about it. Bottom line, a huge increase in minimum wage will likely result in some loss of jobs AND some raising of prices in order for a business to maintain profitability. And this model is overly simplified. All wages will have to increase, taxes go up, etc. I'm all for some form of minimum wage, but to raise it so high so rapidly, would be a disaster for small businesses, retail, restaurants, and other industries that rely on unskilled labor. Sorry, there are just a lot of jobs out there that simply aren't worth paying $15 an hour to do. In my 17 years of retail, I went through a couple minimum wage increases. Every one resulted in loss of jobs. And the group that takes the hardest hit would be working teenagers and young adults in entry level jobs, who now won't have as many opportunities to work and develop skills needed to transition into positions of greater responsibility down the road.

This is a ridiculous idea.

Government micromangement of economic issues is almost always conterproductive. This will be another example. In retail, service is already declining at many establishments, and this will push it further down for the smaller and medium businesses that survive and complete off of their service while trying to compete with the national chains who enjoy greater purchasing power. This will help the Walmarts of the world but it will choke the local and regional retailers. Then, with the competition gone, the Walmarts can increase their prices to cover the cost increases. Unless of course the liberals see creeping inflation then want to enact pricing controls..... Then, we will have product shortages which will then need to be managed by the government with rationing coupons for necessities..... And, of course, the government officials and their connected associates will have first dibs on the resources, and the rest of the population will have to wait.... oh wait, that's socialism.

 

A quick Ronald Reagan joke:

 

In the USSR, there was a waiting list to buy an automobile. Finally, a factory worker was awarded his ticket to purchase an automobile scheduled 10 years out into the future. The worker was ecstatic and asked the dealer if he could pick his up in the afternoon. The dealer said of course, but "why the afternoon"? The worker stated: "the plumber is scheduled for the morning". :lol2:

All you have to do is look at a P&L report of a basic retail/restaurant which will likely employ quite a few minimum wage workers. An increase in Payroll expense comes right off the bottom line. In order for your bottom line to stay the same something has to give. Either you cut expenses, and your biggest of which (Payroll) just went up significantly. Typically there just isn't enough room to make significant cuts elsewhere, such as occupancy (rent, insurance, utilities are very difficult to manipulate in a way to quickly reduce..there's a certain price required just to open the doors). So your right back to payroll. If you were paying 15 people $8 an hour for 30 hours per week (there are very few full time workers in retail outside of management, so to keep the model simple, we'll leave them out) you're looking at $3600/week of expense. If minimum wage goes to $15/hour your now at $6750/week of expense, $3100 directly off the bottom, or little over $160k/year. Big jump. So you could reduce your staff by about 7 people to get expense back in line. But now you've got a smaller staff doing twice the work, which will result in decreased production and likely lower sales. Not good. So your other option is to raise prices. Prices are not totally elastic, and as they go up, people will find a way to do without, whether they are making more money or not, even if you're dealing with necessities. If you're talking luxury items, forget about it. Bottom line, a huge increase in minimum wage will likely result in some loss of jobs AND some raising of prices in order for a business to maintain profitability. And this model is overly simplified. All wages will have to increase, taxes go up, etc. I'm all for some form of minimum wage, but to raise it so high so rapidly, would be a disaster for small businesses, retail, restaurants, and other industries that rely on unskilled labor. Sorry, there are just a lot of jobs out there that simply aren't worth paying $15 an hour to do. In my 17 years of retail, I went through a couple minimum wage increases. Every one resulted in loss of jobs. And the group that takes the hardest hit would be working teenagers and young adults in entry level jobs, who now won't have as many opportunities to work and develop skills needed to transition into positions of greater responsibility down the road.

 

Thank you for the respectful and non-offensive response, I would still like to know your plan for evening the income gap though. Could you please provide some insight into that?

Thank you for the respectful and non-offensive response, I would still like to know your plan for evening the income gap though. Could you please provide some insight into that?

What would you consider is fair as far as the income gap? Would it be better if everyone regardless of their job or performance received the same pay, would that be fair.

This is similar to a union tactic. We know how well this has turned out for the auto industry, steelworkers, US Mail, airlines......

Thank you for the respectful and non-offensive response, I would still like to know your plan for evening the income gap though. Could you please provide some insight into that?

 

In a free market system, there will always be an income gap. Jobs that are more specialized or require more skill, will always make more than the ones that aren't/don't. Even with a high minimum wage, some sort of gap will remain, as those higher end jobs will still be "worth" a lot more, except there will be quite a few less jobs. Then you have the gap of working vs not working which is an even bigger gap, which many would expect to be made up with entitlement programs. Furthermore, "evening" pay scales will create many problems in the workplace, from lack of desire for upward mobility (there would be little incentive) to productivity (if I already make a great wage, why would I want to work harder or take more responsibility for a chance to make only a little more?) Raising bottom end wages so high, creates a terribly vicious, and destructive cycle of lost profits, jobs, and productivity.

I would still like to know your plan for evening the income gap though. Could you please provide some insight into that?

 

Unfortunately too many people feel such responsibility to lift up those at the bottom of the income spectrum falls 100% on the government. To some degree I think some of that responsibility falls on those at the bottom of the income level.

 

I don't know why, but the US labor force compared to the European labor force (especially Germany) and the Southeast Asian labor force does not strive to continuing education or job training. In Germany or many Southeast Asian countries, it is so much more common for high school grads to continue on in technical training. That is why in most cases, the European and Southeast Asian labor force is much better trained than the US labor force. Many economists lament on how there is such a shortage of skilled labor in the US and the number of open jobs available to them if Americans would just get the training.

 

In the US, we have a hard enough time trying to decrease our numbers of students who drop out of high school much less finish high school and continue on afterwards. And the biggest advantage the US has over those countries, we have a very large military which will pay very good while training you for numerous skills so I just don't understand the hesitancy of so many not to take advantage of these job training opportunities available to them.

In Wyoming, the starting pay at mcd is between 10.50 and 12 an hour, same with gas station clerks. When you go for lunch and it's 20 dollars for 2 people to eat or a 20oz bottle of pop is 2.00 at a gas station it doesn't seem so great.

Thank you for the respectful and non-offensive response, I would still like to know your plan for evening the income gap though. Could you please provide some insight into that?

 

Minimum wage jobs are meant to be starter jobs, not lifetime jobs. Go learn a trade or get a degree. I worked for minimum wage and decided I wanted more, so I went to college and got a degree. Self improvement is an option.