Minimum Wages Goes Up Today

[piemaker720]

Originally Posted by rhertz

Piemaker I understand how you feel, but here is the truth. "Supply and Demand" is your friend, if you understand how it works. Using your example, if there are lots of people available to work in fast food joints, and a limited number of joints to work at, then wages are low. What is the solution? To artificially manipulate the market? Or else perhaps a portion of these fast food workers could go to school and learn a trade that is more "rare" and therefore more valuable and demands a higher wage because the demand is high and supply is low. In other words, "supply and demand" works for people (careers) as well as goods. Now if somone *chooses* to stay in a high supply and low demand job, that is their business, but it doesn't have to be that way.

I understand what you are trying to say but I still disagree. You say everyone that works for minimum wage should go to school and do better. What about the high school kids that work summers, nights or weekends or the college kids that work their way through school to buy books, pay tution, but they do not deserve a wage increase. What about a retired person that is trying to supplement their retirement income, they don't deserve a wage increase, they should get off their duff and go to school uh. It is not just about fast food jobs, what about Wal-Mart[ your elderly door greeters], your grocery store workers, your convience stores[gas] and so fourth. Then there is the CNA's that take care of your elderly, they don't deserve a wage increase and your elderly don't deserve to be taken care of. Your CNA's go to school, they are state licensed but alot don't make but minimum in small areas. There is a lot of companies that could give raises without being told to but they don't because they say that cuts into the profit, they just don't want to give a raise. So now what happens. My daughter works for Ryan's on Airline, They were just told they would not get any raise because of tips, they stay at $2.13 a hour. She goes to school. At first it was told fast food would go to $4.00 a hour, but guess what, I guess they don't deserve a raise. Supply and Demand, think, who's going to care for you in your golden age, hopefully you want have to be a people greeter.

[Isabella]

Piemaker, it is rare people don't get raises after they have worked for a period of time. The mininum wage is a beginning wage. Normally, if you do a good job then your pay will increase over time. Why do you think college & high school students deserve to make as much as people with years of experience? They are learning how to work.

[piemaker720]

Originally Posted by Isabella

Piemaker, it is rare people don't get raises after they have worked for a period of time. The mininum wage is a beginning wage. Normally, if you do a good job then your pay will increase over time. Why do you think college & high school students deserve to make as much as people with years of experience? They are learning how to work.

This is true they may not need to make as much, I believe if a person stays loyal to a company they should gets raises. But this is the first raise in 10 years, I guess you think the economy has not risen in 10 years. I came from a small town where there was not enough jobs for workers, those companies did not give raises because they didn't have to. In a small town minimum wage is not just a starting wage, it is it. If everyone that had minmum wage jobs went to school to better their self who would then do the job, a retired elderly person that don't count. It may be rare for a person not to get a raise in a large city but it is in a small town. Then you have your CNA's that go to school and they start out at minimum wage. I will tell you because I have been there, It takes a special person to work in a nursing home, they really have to like the elderly and be dedicated, it take alot of patience, love and turning the other cheek to work there. They will never be paid enough in my book.

[AnimeSpirit]

Personally, I'm glad minimum wage finally went up. The average cost of living is slowly rising and everyone needs a little bonus every now and then.

[Isabella]

Where I live mostly students receive minimum wage. A greeter at WalMart are nomally retired persons. Why do you think greeting people should be a higher paying job? Most retired people have an income and this supplements their income and gives them something to do. Most people don't settle for minimum wage after they have been in the work force after a period of time. They will move to get a better job.

[piemaker720]

Originally Posted by Isabella

Where I live mostly students receive minimum wage. A greeter at WalMart are nomally retired persons. Why do you think greeting people should be a higher paying job? Most retired people have an income and this supplements their income and gives them something to do. Most people don't settle for minimum wage after they have been in the work force after a period of time. They will move to get a better job.

I beg to differ, if a retired person has 30 to 40 years paid on a house, they are not just going to move on a whime. Why do you think they don't deserve to get a raise in minimum wage. If a person has invested 30 to 50 years in a job to retire and they work to supplement their income, your saying they don't deserve it. Listen to the news it is filled with stories of elderly who can't afford their medicine on a fixed income or have trouble paying utilities on a fixed income because of high fuel cost. Besides you ask awhile ago why I thought a student deserved a higher wage, but you say you live in a place where mostly students recieve minimum wage, but they don't deserve a raise.

[Isabella]

Originally Posted by piemaker720

I beg to differ, if a retired person has 30 to 40 years paid on a house, they are not just going to move on a whime. Why do you think they don't deserve to get a raise in minimum wage. If a person has invested 30 to 50 years in a job to retire and they work to supplement their income, your saying they don't deserve it. Listen to the news it is filled with stories of elderly who can't afford their medicine on a fixed income or have trouble paying utilities on a fixed income because of high fuel cost. Besides you ask awhile ago why I thought a student deserved a higher wage, but you say you live in a place where mostly students recieve minimum wage, but they don't deserve a raise.

You should pay a person according to the type of job. They start out at a wage an after a period of time if employer is satisfied with their performance they get a raise. You know, WalMart could do without hiring greeters. Many jobs for elderly will be eliminated.

[rhertz]

Originally Posted by AnimeSpirit

everyone needs a little bonus every now and then.

Everyone should get a bonus regardless of how many people want their job without a bonus? And regardless if they do a good job or not? I would say that a bonus under those circumstances nearly amounts to stealing.

On top of that, it shows quite a lack of faith in a person to believe they need the government to artificially increase their wage rather than the free market and the person's abilities set the price.

[joepole]

>Personally, I'm glad minimum wage finally went up. The average cost of living is slowly rising and everyone needs a little bonus every now and then.

That's shows an incredible lack of understanding. You know one of the best ways to raise the cost of living? Increase the minimum wage.

The least productive members of our society just got raises. Everyone else just got a pay cut.

[piemaker720]

<That's shows an incredible lack of understanding. You know one of the best ways to raise the cost of living? Increase the minimum wage>

What a joke, HaHa, very funny. The cost of living has been rising for several years with fuel adjustments on your lights. gas for your home, gas for your car and minimum wage ain't went up in 10 years. Funny!

[rhertz]

Originally Posted by piemaker720

I understand what you are trying to say but I still disagree. You say everyone that works for minimum wage should go to school and do better. What about the high school kids that work summers, nights or weekends or the college kids that work their way through school to buy books, pay tution, but they do not deserve a wage increase. What about a retired person that is trying to supplement their retirement income, they don't deserve a wage increase

OK, lets say that minimum wage goes up 5%. Now what is better? 100,000 people working making say $6 per hour or 95,000 people working making $6.30 per hour and 5,000 people laid off making nothing? Where do you presume the extra 5% comes from? Thin air? Out of the employer's pocket? What if he or she doesn't have it? What then? Shut down and lay off everyone? Is that fair?

[Isabella]

Rhertz, I agree it is not fair. An employer offers a job at a rate of pay he can afford. An individual has the right to accept it or look for a higher wage. If an employer does not give them a raise then the employee has the right to seek another job with higher pay. Me for instance cannot afford to pay someone over $6 to clean my house who works slowly. I will have to let them go. This person has no transportation and depends on employer to give them transportation. How many people are going to be willing to hire this person? She is much better off receiving minumum wage at $5.15 an hour than nothing. She also gets $350 in food stamps each month. I pay social security on her and do not deduct her part out of her pay. She pays no taxes. There is no way I am going to pay someone over $7 an hour to watch TV and do a job that takes 4 hours in 8 hours. I feed her and pay her while she eats, too. I have to hire another person to come every other week to do the work she does not do. I also clean up after her after she leaves. Some people don't deserve to be paid more and these are the people who will suffer. Pay should be determined on perfomance. My husband gets raises he never asks for because he is valuable to his employer.

[piemaker720]

Originally Posted by Isabella

Rhertz, I agree it is not fair. An employer offers a job at a rate of pay he can afford. An individual has the right to accept it or look for a higher wage. If an employer does not give them a raise then the employee has the right to seek another job with higher pay. Me for instance cannot afford to pay someone over $6 to clean my house who works slowly. I will have to let them go. This person has no transportation and depends on employer to give them transportation. How many people are going to be willing to hire this person? She is much better off receiving minumum wage at $5.15 an hour than nothing. She also gets $350 in food stamps each month. I pay social security on her and do not deduct her part out of her pay. She pays no taxes. There is no way I am going to pay someone over $7 an hour to watch TV and do a job that takes 4 hours in 8 hours. I feed her and pay her while she eats, too. I have to hire another person to come every other week to do the work she does not do. I also clean up after her after she leaves. Some people don't deserve to be paid more and these are the people who will suffer. Pay should be determined on perfomance. My husband gets raises he never asks for because he is valuable to his employer.

You are talking about someone to clean your house, I would get rid of that one that does nothing. I'm talking about companies as big as wal-mart, even convience stores that are a chain. That restaurant that I worked at in Jonesboro for 3 dollars a hour. You know why he got by with it. They say he has to have 5 or more working that was not related to him and he didn't because his wife, son, daughter worked there. I know because other people have tried to turn him in before. You know his son or daughter sure did not work for $3.00 a hour. Its true some people don't deserve what they get but that is not to say everyone is that way. But in truth if this lady does this to you it is because you let her get away with it.

[LateNight]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to explain why I oppose a bill to raise the federally-mandated minimum wage. Raising living standards for all Americans is an admirable goal, however, to believe that Congress can raise the standard of living for working Americans by simply forcing employers to pay their employees a higher wage is equivalent to claiming that Congress can repeal gravity by passing a law saying humans shall have the ability to fly.

Economic principles dictate that when government imposes a minimum wage rate above the market wage rate, it creates a surplus `wedge' between the supply of labor and the demand for labor, leading to an increase in unemployment. Employers cannot simply begin paying more to workers whose marginal productivity does not meet or exceed the law-imposed wage. The only course of action available to the employer is to mechanize operations or employ a higher-skilled worker whose output meets or exceeds the `minimum wage.' This, of course, has the advantage of giving the skilled worker an additional (and government-enforced) advantage over the unskilled worker. For example, where formerly an employer had the option of hiring three unskilled workers at $5 per hour or one skilled worker at $16 per hour, a minimum wage of $6 suddenly leaves the employer only the choice of the skilled worker at an additional cost of $1 per hour. I would ask my colleagues, if the minimum wage is the means to prosperity, why stop at $6.65--why not $50, $75, or $100 per hour?

Those who are denied employment opportunities as a result of the minimum wage are often young people at the lower end of the income scale who are seeking entry-level employment. Their inability to find an entry-level job will limit their employment prospects for years to come. Thus, raising the minimum wage actually lowers the employment and standard of living of the very people proponents of the minimum wage claim will benefit from government intervention in the economy!

Furthermore, interfering in the voluntary transactions of employers and employees in the name of making things better for low wage earners violates citizens' rights of association and freedom of contract as if to say to citizens `you are incapable of making employment decisions for yourself in the marketplace.'



Mr. Speaker, Congress should not fool itself into believing that the package of small business tax cuts will totally compensate for the damage inflicted on small businesses and their employees by the minimum wage increase. This assumes that Congress is omnipotent and thus can strike a perfect balance between tax cuts and regulations so that no firm, or worker, in the country is adversely effected by federal policies. If the 20th Century taught us anything it was that any and all attempts to centrally plan an economy, especially one as large and diverse as America's, are doomed to fail.

In conclusion, I would remind my colleagues that while it may make them feel good to raise the federal minimum wage, the real life consequences of this bill will be vested upon those who can least afford to be deprived of work opportunities. Therefore, rather than pretend that Congress can repeal the economic principles, I urge my colleagues to reject this legislation and instead embrace a program of tax cuts and regulatory reform to strengthen the greatest producer of jobs and prosperity in human history: the free market.

-- Ron Paul

[Isabella]

LOL, I was reading and I was thinking, wow he is so right and great points, truly impressed with Latenight then I see the name Ron Paul at the end. Anyway, Ron Paul could not have said it better. The little man will be the one who suffers in the end. Unemployment will rise.