Tiered minimum wage?

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by saden1

They do something like this in Europe and some countries factor in age as well.

The 14th Amendment to the US Constitution prevents age from being a factor in employability or wage rates. AKA the Civil Rights amendment.

[Schneed10]

Education should not drive the level of minimum wage. Think about it, if you're McDonalds and you need to hire cashiers, are you going to hire the ones that cost $9.00 an hour or the ones that cost $7.00 an hour?

It doesn't take a high school education to work a cashier at McDonalds, so they're going to hire the cheaper labor.

Besides, education is a means to an end, not an end in and of itself. Education is designed to give you more skills, which makes you a more desireable employee. But if you come out of high school without any skills, you're still no more deserving than the guy who dropped out and doesn't have any skills.

You also must leave room for people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Some high school dropouts work their ass off and gain skills, and move up the old fasioned way.

[724Skinsfan]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Education should not drive the level of minimum wage. Think about it, if you're McDonalds and you need to hire cashiers, are you going to hire the ones that cost $9.00 an hour or the ones that cost $7.00 an hour?

It doesn't take a high school education to work a cashier at McDonalds, so they're going to hire the cheaper labor.

Besides, education is a means to an end, not an end in and of itself. Education is designed to give you more skills, which makes you a more desireable employee. But if you come out of high school without any skills, you're still no more deserving than the guy who dropped out and doesn't have any skills.

You also must leave room for people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Some high school dropouts work their ass off and gain skills, and move up the old fasioned way.

I thought of a similiar point on my drive back to work. It would be difficult to prevent a company from employing "education level" discrimination. Why hire the hs grad when I can pay the 6th grade education guy a lesser rate?

Minimum wage may be a joke and also intended as a launch pad for teenagers but many adults earn minimum wage. Given their circumstances (single parent, medical problems, etc) their opportunity to further enhance their skill set or education is nigh impossible.

I'd rather have an increase in minimum wage instead of unlimited duration of welfare payments.

[GhettoDogAllStars]

I've had a lot of 2 cents lately, why not another?

The reason for minimum wage is not to prevent people from being exploited by thier employers. The real reason is to get votes.

Having a minimum wage hurts the economy, by increasing the amount of unemployment. Bottomline: people will not take a job that's not worth the work. If there's a low paying job and there are people who are willing to work it -- why prevent that, even if the wage is lower than what some people think is acceptable? Minimum wage is a product of the employment market (much like all other markets). Setting it artificially high just means that companies cannot/will not employ as many people as they would like to.

[dmek25]

Originally Posted by GhettoDogAllStars

I've had a lot of 2 cents lately, why not another?



Having a minimum wage hurts the economy, by increasing the amount of unemployment. Bottomline: people will not take a job that's not worth the work.

this statement drives me up a wall. let me see, i can take a job, and try to bust my tail. make my life better. or i can live off the system, and be one of the millions that live off the fat of the U.S. government, and complain about the crappy hand that i have been dealt. i worked 2 jobs for over 2 years. doesnt anyone have pride in their work habits anymore?

[GhettoDogAllStars]

Originally Posted by dmek25

this statement drives me up a wall. let me see, i can take a job, and try to bust my tail. make my life better. or i can live off the system, and be one of the millions that live off the fat of the U.S. government, and complain about the crappy hand that i have been dealt. i worked 2 jobs for over 2 years. doesnt anyone have pride in their work habits anymore?

I'm not sure what you mean ... can you elaborate?

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by GhettoDogAllStars

I've had a lot of 2 cents lately, why not another?

The reason for minimum wage is not to prevent people from being exploited by thier employers. The real reason is to get votes.

Having a minimum wage hurts the economy, by increasing the amount of unemployment. Bottomline: people will not take a job that's not worth the work. If there's a low paying job and there are people who are willing to work it -- why prevent that, even if the wage is lower than what some people think is acceptable? Minimum wage is a product of the employment market (much like all other markets). Setting it artificially high just means that companies cannot/will not employ as many people as they would like to.

Jacking up minimum wage does hurt the economy, but if people are working in jobs that can't even put a roof over their head or food on the table, they will begin to resort to crime.

It doesn't take a genius to realize why crime is so bad in our inner cities. The people there are poor and will resort to drugs, prostitution, theft, etcetera to make a decent living. The more people living below the poverty line, the more people will commit crimes.

You have a few ways of dealing with this: beef up the police force to try to deter crime, jack up the minimum wage so more people don't need to resort to crime, or offer welfare benefits to keep people from resorting to crime. No matter which method you employ, they all cost money. And really, you need a balance of all three.

It costs the economy, but that's the price of doing business, unless you want to have crime in our inner cities like in Mexico City. You think it's bad in NY or Philly, try heading down there.

[GhettoDogAllStars]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Jacking up minimum wage does hurt the economy, but if people are working in jobs that can't even put a roof over their head or food on the table, they will begin to resort to crime.

It doesn't take a genius to realize why crime is so bad in our inner cities. The people there are poor and will resort to drugs, prostitution, theft, etcetera to make a decent living. The more people living below the poverty line, the more people will commit crimes.

You have a few ways of dealing with this: beef up the police force to try to deter crime, jack up the minimum wage so more people don't need to resort to crime, or offer welfare benefits to keep people from resorting to crime. No matter which method you employ, they all cost money. And really, you need a balance of all three.

It costs the economy, but that's the price of doing business, unless you want to have crime in our inner cities like in Mexico City. You think it's bad in NY or Philly, try heading down there.

True. If people aren't satisfied with their lives and there is no visible hope, then they resort to whatever means are available. It's the foundation of communism -- people get so fed up with their employers eventually that they revolt against the people/system which holds them down. It's the minimum wage which makes them more complacent, and less willing to revolt. So, I guess maybe it's not just about votes?

[724Skinsfan]

One could make a (weak) argument that a person earning more is happier and thus production increases. An increase in production yields greater output which could lower consumer costs.

Also, the people now earning more money have more spending power on luxury items (cars, electronics, etc) which increases overall revenue.

[Schneed10]

To add, there should be no excuse to commit crimes if you have a minimum wage job right now. The minimum wage is currently set at a level that makes life livable (though not comfortably). But it won't be that way for long, unless they do something to keep minimum wage on pace with inflation growth.

I take issue with those who say it should be jacked up to a more comfortable level. NO. Minimum wage is not supposed to be comfortable. It should provide the BARE essentials to help you get by: shelter, food, water, heat.

But if you want it to provide even the bare minimum, it needs to keep pace with inflation.

[BDBohnzie]

DOL WHD: Minimum Wage Laws in the States

Over half of the states (and the District) in the Union have their state minimum wage set higher than the Federal law. And this is the level it should be at. The state should be able to take into consideration what bare minimum is for their area, and set it appropriately.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by BDBohnzie

DOL WHD: Minimum Wage Laws in the States

Over half of the states (and the District) in the Union have their state minimum wage set higher than the Federal law. And this is the level it should be at. The state should be able to take into consideration what bare minimum is for their area, and set it appropriately.

Yes. But taking that even further, many states have not increased their own minimum wages over the last seven years. So even though they have a geographical adjustment for cost of living built into their minimum wage, they don't increase it for inflation every year.

[EEich]

Devil's Advocate time:
Why would I as an employer care if my batallion of burger flippers has high school diplomas? I mean... they're flipping burgers. I just want them smart enough not to bob for french fries. Sure, I'll have one or two grads around in case the others have trouble making change, but I want to hire the cheapest labor I can get, leaving most of those pesky, expensive high school grads without jobs in a tiered system.

[BDBohnzie]

But if you'll notice, there are several states looking to correct that trend over the next 6-12 months.

I just think it should be up to the individual state to make such a correction, rather than the Federal Government.

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by BDBohnzie

But if you'll notice, there are several states looking to correct that trend over the next 6-12 months.

I just think it should be up to the individual state to make such a correction, rather than the Federal Government.

Yeah either way is fine with me, Federal or State level. I just think it should keep pace with inflation.