Minimum Wage

[guywithashovel]

I searched Fratching for a thread specifically about the minimum wage, and I couldn't find one.

What should the minimum wage be? How should it be set? How often should it be changed?

Or should there even be a minimum wage? I have heard some people argue that a minimum wage has unintended, and often unseen, side effects on the economy---e.g. making employers unable to afford to hire employees, enticing employers to find ways to get by with fewer employees. Do these criticisms have any merit?

[Crazedclerkthe2nd]

Well the theory behind the minimum wage is that everyone who works a full 36 to 40 hour week should earn an amount of money which is enough to get by on (very subjective I know).

But to put this in perspective, would you ever want to work a job for 40 hours a week and get paid only $3/hr? That's way too much an investment of time for the money you'd get back on it.
The minimum wage has lagged behind inflation for a long time (meaning the cost of products increases faster than the minimum wage increases) and although a person working full time at minimum wage can get by today in some areas, it's extremely difficult to do so.

Obviously from the business standpoint a good chunk of their expenses is on employee payroll. Lower wages equals less expenses equals (potentially) more profit in the end. That's a big part of why the minimum wage is as low as it is. Businesses lobby hard to keep the increases minimal so it doesn't givem them too big a hit on their budgets.

Then of course there's the argument that people should be paid according to experience/skills but the problem there is if a retired engineer applies for a job at wal-mart, Wal-mart isn't going to pay him a boatload of money to work on the sales floor just because he used to make bank being an engineer.

I bet a lot of people making minimum wage feel they are worth a lot more than what they earn, but there's the theory that making the minimum wage too high, aside from other issues, would cause folks to not desire to move up in their job and attain new career skills. If you could make $16/hr to start working at Mcdonald's, there'd be a lot more people wanting to work at Mickey D's rather than say, aspire to do something more fulfilling.

Also, there's the new demon of the commission based job. Companies love to base as much of your compensation as they can on commission because it (supposedly) motivates you to sell more to get your money, helps them earn profits since you have to sell a lot to make the big bucks and keeps their payroll expenses down because they are paying lower base wages. If I'm not mistaken you have to pay more taxes on commission than base pay, so the goverment nails you there too.

[jackfaire]

, but there's the theory that making the minimum wage too high, aside from other issues, would cause folks to not desire to move up in their job and attain new career skills. If you could make $16/hr to start working at Mcdonald's, there'd be a lot more people wanting to work at Mickey D's rather than say, aspire to do something more fulfilling.

Seriously? Why is it that if your flipping burgers it is "unfulfilling" if someone loved the work and the only reason they aspire to something more "fulfilling" is because of wages then we need to improve the freaking wages.

I love what I do but the wages suck sometimes.

[Mr Slugger]

Around here the minimum wage I think is $8 an hour, but there's no way someone working full time on $8 an hour could survive on that here. You need at least $13 an hour here to survive.

[Dreamstalker]

Companies love to base as much of your compensation as they can on commission because it (supposedly) motivates you to sell more to get your money, helps them earn profits since you have to sell a lot to make the big bucks and keeps their payroll expenses down because they are paying lower base wages.

Game Store boss wanted me to work on straight commission when I was moved to online sales (there wasn't even a basic infrastructure in place; it wound up failing spectacularly due to his meddling). If I had been taking over something that was already established (and if I was guaranteed at least some amount of money in the form of a base wage) I might have said yes depending on the numbers.

I'm meeting for a job interview this week...thank Gord I have my job coach with me. It's a city job of sorts, with library IT. Minimum wage for retail, below minimum wage for what they want me for (they're actually offering me less than another company, but the other guys are dragging their heels--job coach needs a tax ID from them which she asked for 3 weeks ago). And the library only wants to give me 10 hours a week...I can't live on that.

[joe hx]

Check out this graph:


If you believe this graph, it can be interpreted two ways:

1) Increasing the minimum wage has driven the dollar down.

2) Mininum wage has not kept pace with inflation.

[muses_nightmare]

If there were no minimum wage no employer would be willing to pay a living wage. Well at least places like fast food, retail etc. anyway. As it is where I live $8 an hour is not a living wage, not even remotely close, when the average price of rent is $800+ a month, and the cost of everything else is so high.

If they wanted to raise the minimum wage to say $10/h that would be closer to a living wage, but not by much. We even have a "training wage" for people with no work experience, you get $6 an hour until you reach a ceratain number of hours in any employment (I can't remember the number of hours though)

[jackfaire]

Other people I work with typically have two incomes to make it. I make more than minimum wage but not by a lot. I take public transportation and live two cities over so that what I am making fits the cost of living for where I live.

[McDreidel09]

Seriously? Why is it that if your flipping burgers it is "unfulfilling" if someone loved the work and the only reason they aspire to something more "fulfilling" is because of wages then we need to improve the freaking wages.

I love what I do but the wages suck sometimes.

Thank you,jack. My "unfulfilling" job is paying for my college, thank you.

Hasn't anyone noticed that minimum wage jobs are usually the most high stress ones?

[Fashion Lad!]

I do think minimum wage is fine for teenagers, but I think a living wage needs to be paid to adults. People shouldn't have to to work themselves to death in two jobs to just to make ends meet.

And really, it does make me sick when executives that don't think they have enough, get more at the expense of their employees.

And, there's nothing wrong with any job that anyone has as long as it's legal. People who make burgers at Burger King make me one of the happiest people alive about twice a month. (I can't help it. I love their flame-broiled goodness... at least that's what the commercial said they are.)

There was a time when I had a job I truly hated. I went into Petsmart one day to pick up some more dog treats. I saw a girl walking 4-5 shelties. I said, "I want your job." She looked at me and said, "You probably get paid more." But all I could think and said was, "it's not about how much you make, it's about loving your job." But, loving your job to death doesn't always mean you can pay the bills.

[jackfaire]

I hate aspects of my job (numbers having to make the freaking numbers).

And the stress. Can't afford to go do anything else though.

[Crazedclerkthe2nd]

I hate aspects of my job (numbers having to make the freaking numbers).

And the stress. Can't afford to go do anything else though.

By can't afford do you mean you can't afford to move to a city that would offer better opportunities or can't afford the schooling to develop new job skills?

I'm curious because I don't often hear this reason used to explain why someone is staying in a current position.

[powerboy]

Honestly, everyone should be paid a living wage.

[jackfaire]

By can't afford do you mean you can't afford to move to a city that would offer better opportunities or can't afford the schooling to develop new job skills?

I'm curious because I don't often hear this reason used to explain why someone is staying in a current position.

Right now I have back bills that have to be paid off before I can afford to pay for school Then I have to either decide to quit my job or find a different one with a school friendly schedule.

My work currently has shifting schedules depending on the demand. It's how we operate. I like the job well enough but honestly I dont' see myself advancing in the company and I dont' wanna be sitting here when I am 60.

I live in a city with plenty of opportunities but kind of pigeon holed into this kind of work and all offices that do it are very similar.

If I was getting paid more I could pay off my bills quicker possibly afford to put money away and take sabatticals from work to cram with classes and get schooling done quicker.

[musicismylife5]

I do think minimum wage is fine for teenagers, but I think a living wage needs to be paid to adults. People shouldn't have to to work themselves to death in two jobs to just to make ends meet.

I strongly disagree with the fact that it would be okay to pay people of different ages different pay for the same work. Paying someone more for experience or training is one thing, but minimum wage is mostly what people get paid when they have no experience.