Do employees have a right to a living wage?

[Wingates_Hellsing]

Yes everybody does have a right to a living wage. If someone is working full time and not able to live on it. Then it is a problem.

Tricky bit's figuring out how to pay them that wage without boosting inflation .

If anyone's got some ideas, I'd be glad to hear 'em but just plain mandating more money doesn't seem like an acceptable answer.

[Fryk]

Holy crap, protege, I used to work at Seven Springs! So glad I wasn't there for that.

[muses_nightmare]

See what I don't get about where I live, is that the price of things just keeps going up and up. We have one of if not the highest costs of living in Canada, yet our minimum wage is the lowest, and it hasn't changed in something like 8 years. And our government taxes the living bejeebuses out of us, and they're wanting to make some things even more expensive with a new tax they're implementing (well, it could still be stopped maybe, but it will probably go through), it will increase the amount of tax on things like eating out at restaurants, or even buying a cup of coffee by like 7% So sales tax will be 12% even on things that we were only charged one tax on before. And where is this money going? Not to minimum wage workers that's for sure.

[jackfaire]

In my area if I was working full time and making minimum wage and was an adult living on my own I would be on public assistance because I wouldn't make enough money to be above it and I would quickly end up homeless.

[Tanasi]

I think anyone and everyone has the right to earn whatever their talents and the job market will bear. The more exclusive the talent the higher the wage the less exclusive the talent the lower. The thing to remember is if you're working for someone else you must make your employer more money than you cost otherwise they won't need you have a while.
I know people that can survive on a full time minimum wage job. They live a very modest life and they have aspirations to improve and earn more. I also know folks that make mid-six figures and can't live on that. What it boils down to is what you're willing to sacrifice to live within your means, it's not always easy and lots if not most of the time it's down-right hard but it can be accomplished.

[jackfaire]

What it boils down to is what you're willing to sacrifice to live within your means, it's not always easy and lots if not most of the time it's down-right hard but it can be accomplished.

If I paid only rent, food, transportation had no phone or anything else then I could make it squeaking by.

[Pagan]

This isn't necessarily true - here in the Phoenix area, one pretty much "has" to have a car in order to get around to all parts of the city......our public transit system is NOT the quickest, most convenient way to get around. (especially on weekends or after 7 pm)

Same here. Our bus system, frankly, sucks ass.

Or what about all the civil servants that work at White Sands Missile Range? The can't live on-base and the closest cities are Las Cruces (on the other side of the Organs), Alamogordo, and El Paso. There are buses that run out there, but they can only handle so many. Not to mention like when my dad was out there, they had to be out in the early morning, before it got too hot, for some missile tests. Or when he was having to go down to Bliss for rail tests?

I do happen to live within easy walking distance of a lot of places (including Wal-Mart and Sam's), but if I go shopping and have to buy a lot of stuff or heavy things, how am I going to get them home?

It's great to say you shouldn't rely on a car, but it's just not practical in all circumstances.

Tricky bit's figuring out how to pay them that wage without boosting inflation .

It's very much a double-edged sword. Especially living in a state that very much depends on tourism.

Take Santa Fe. They decided to institute a "living wage", which is all well and good, until you take the cost of living into consideration. A very popular restaurant, Cloud Cliff, that had been in business 25 years wound up having to close because of it.

The owner used local and organic (it being the City Different, you kind of have to) whenever possible. With cost of that and the wage hike, he couldn't make the rent on the building. About the only places that didn't have problem were mostly down around the Plaza, because of all the damntourist buisness.