It has only been 10 years since the federal minimum wage has increased. Since 1997, the purchasing power of minimum wage has only decreased by 21%. Our current minimum wage is $5.15 which is equivalent to $3.95 in 1995 which is lower than the minimum wage at that time. This means that minimum wage is at its lowest value since 1955 which isn't even a hundred years. There is talk by the wealth distributing communists in congress to raise the minimum wage to $7.25. The poverty line for a family of three is around $15,500 per year; currently at $5.15 a minimum wage worker would only need to work an extra 13 hours of extra overtime per week to keep their selves above the poverty line. So, by keeping the minimum wage low, we weed out laziness. Two and a half extra hours of overtime a day shouldn't be a problem for a single mom living in the projects as it should be easy to find a qualified babysitter for her kids since there are so many unemployed people living in the projects. And just think, with time and a half, she would actually be able to afford a babysitter for those extra 2.5 hours.
The drawbacks:
True American's who champion the rights and freedoms of the corporation over the rights of the people (the tenet on which this nation was founded) argue that an increase in the minimum wage would result in higher inflation and more unemployment and job loss even though there seems to be no real direct correlation between increased wages and inflation. We usually don't let stuff like facts get in the way of issues such as intelligent design and the war in Iraq so I see no reason to start now. Inflation, as of late, is typically about 3% per year in the US. Using this inflation calculator I looked at December of 1996 to December of 1997, three months after the last minimum wage increase and it shows a rate of inflation of only 1.7% and a 1.57% rate for the following year. In addition, the State Minimum Wages In Small Business study in 2004 concluded that states that already have higher minimum wages than the federal level saw employment growth that was just as favorable or better than states with the federal minimum wage of $5.15. From 1998-2004, states with a higher minimum wage level saw job growth at 6.1% as opposed to 4.1% job growth in states with the federal minimum wage. In the retail industry, payrolls grew 3.7% in the higher paying states as opposed to 2.4% in the federal minimum wage states. They say employers are finding that they can make up for the increase in wages by the decrease in recruiting and training costs, increased morale and therefore decreased absenteeism. The liberal Economic Policy Institute did a study after the 1997 minimum wage increase and concluded that there were no job losses as a result of that wage increase. David Card and Alan Krueger also did a study that stated there are no negative results due to minimum wage increases but they are probably wrong even though there are no studies stating the contrary.
Who would benefit from an increase?
14.9 million workers (only 11% of the workforce) would benefit from a minimum wage increase. 6.6 million workers (a mere 5% of the workforce) are currently earning less than $7.25. But a minimum wage increase really wouldn't be fair to men because 59% of the beneficiaries would be women, most likely women with children.
Where are our priorities and who needs the governments help?
Since 1997, the year minimum wage was last increased, the estate tax exemption has risen 6 times from $600,000 to 2 million. In the same time the minimum wage has remained at 5.15. This is a good thing. Why should CEOs and stock holders surrender their steadily increasing wealth just to pay their employees enough to keep up with the cost of living? Can't these employees just get food stamps and welfare like Wal-Marts employees are instructed to do? Isn't this America? Anything else would be communism. Why would we want to put money in the hands of people who actually spend it and put it back into the economy when we could let a rich guy just put it in the bank and leave it to his kids when he dies? If you started making millions more dollars per year what would you do? Would you lower prices of your goods, increase pay for employees or would you put it in your pocket and find tax loopholes and cook the books to hide all your illegal activities? You're American; of course you pocket the money and run. 8 out of the 15 richest people or 5 out of the 10 top billionaires in this country benefited from this strategy as they have never had to work a day in their life and inherited their wealth. Why should they have to work and earn their own wealth; their parents and grandparents were rich.
Is it fair?
From 1992 to 2005 the pay of CEOs from major corporations grew 186% while the hourly wage workers only grew 7.2% at a time of record productivity. See, this just shows that the elite are willing to share their wealth; they increased worker wages by 7.2% over the last 13 years.
From 2000 to 2005, the US economy grew in size from $9.8 trillion to $11.2 trillion, an increase of 14%. Productivity also grew %16.6 but over the same period of time, the median family's income slid by 2.9%. They must not have been working hard enough.
Ok, so wages have not kept up with productivity but that's exactly the way it should be. It's nice to see that the American worker is now willing to make sacrifices for the sake company. Why should an employer give more time off for a woman just because she has a baby when they could easily give that job to a man (in India). Why should American workers take more time off for vacations? We are not French! Besides, vacationing doesn't help the economy in any way at all. Why should a company give an employee a pay raise just because productivity goes up; they are paid to be productive anyway so if anything, the company should lower their pay if productivity doesn't increase. How else is the CEO going to buy a 3 story winter home in Aspen and a beach front summer mansion in Naples, FL?
Wal-Mart thinks that an increase in the minimum wage would benefit lower end retailers because their customer base would have more money to spend at their stores... What a crock of shit right?
Wages/wages vs productivity
12 comments:
But consider the TRICKLE DOWN effect of all those dollars in the economy! You gotta get down with the supply side of Booshonomics...
Those CEOs are the only people smart enough to be stewards of that money. If you give it to the working poor, they will just spend in on luxuries like insurance and housing.
If these people making minimum wage had any sense at all, they would have been born into a rich family like Tucker Carlson.
Yes rich people spend their money wisely, like 2 million dollar birthday parties for their wife and 12k dollar shower curtains and homes they only live in one week out of the year.
People talk about supply side economics when it comes to minimum wage and say things like "let the market determine minimum wage". The problem with that is for one the borders are as open as the legs of an Amsterdam whore on a Friday night and that if all fortune 500 companies simultaneously dropped their compensation packages for CEOs by 2 million dollars don't you think there would still be people willing to do those jobs??
If I was lee Raymond, I would drill my chin for oil.
Class Envy, anyone?
What, pray tell, does the salary of any CEO have to do with whether the Minimum Wage should be raised or not?
Are you motivated by anything other than Class Envy and Jealosy?
I actually agree that the Minimum Wage should be raised.
I think it should be $250,000 per year, no matter HOW many hours someone works. (I mean, if you are going to do something, then, DO IT.)
Actually, I have been considering quiting the job that I have, and looking for a Minimum Wage Job.
Do you have any suggestions?
McDonalds in the town where I live starts you out at $7.45 per hour, (more than the increase that the compassionate Democrats are suggesting,) and Wal Mart starts new workers at more than $8.00. (Ajnd provides health coverage for full-time workers...)
Really, I have looked around, and NO-ONE is willing to hire me, a Forty-year-old, white, Drug-Free, high school graduate, at Minimum Wage. (The lowest offer I have had was around $11.00 per hour, and that was in a retail store as a Recieving Clerk.)
As soon as anyone sees me, and talks to me in person, they want me for positions like Assistant Manager, Operations Manager or Foreman, and those jobs pay WAY more than Minimum Wage... (Even after the Democrat proposed increase...)
I just cannot seem to land a Minimum Wage Job, no matter how hard I try.
Can you help me, Toad?
Sorry...
Double-Posted there...
Maybe if I could become a Black Single Mother, or Drug Addict, THEN someone would consider allowing me to join the ranks of the oppressed, exploited Minimum Wage Workers...
By the way, Toad...
Do you have any concept of how utterly Racist and Biggotted your constant references to the Black Single Mother working for Minimum Wage sound to those of us who actually pay attention to who actually works for Minimum Wage?
Here are some facts for you. (Un-massaged by me, unlike all of the figures that YOU distort and publish...)
Who Works the Minimum Wage?
The 1.6 million paid-hourly workers who earn minimum wages can be broken down into two broad groups.1
Over half (53 percent) are teenagers or young adults under the age of 23. More than half (54 percent) of these young workers live in families with incomes two or more times the official poverty level for their family size and 18 percent live in poor families. The average family income of these young workers is almost $50,500 per year. The average income for single young workers is $11,200. Over 63 percent are enrolled in either high school or college.
The other half (47 percent) are workers ages 23 and up. More of these workers live in poor families (29 percent). Yet, even within this half of the minimum wage population, the average family income is over $38,100 per year. The average income for single workers is $19,300. Over 30 percent of these older workers did not graduate from high school and another 36 percent had only a high school diploma.
Almost 43 percent of all minimum wage workers are children, 26 percent are married family heads or spouses, 11 percent are single family heads, and 17 percent are single people (another 3 percent are other relatives).
Less than 21 percent of minimum wage workers are the sole breadwinners of their families and less than 5 percent are sole breadwinners that work full-time year-round. Less than 5 percent of minimum wage workers are poor single mothers over 18 years old.
Over 57 percent of all minimum wage workers work part-time voluntarily. Only 25 percent work full-time year-round while over 28 percent work part-time part of the year.
The average family income for all minimum wage workers is $45,200 and their wages account for 35 percent of their total family income. The average income of single-nonfamily minimum wage workers is $16,800.
These figures are from an actual scientific study by the Heritage Foundation.
So, if you want to continue to Lobby for the rights of upper-middle class white teen-agers to make more money, then go ahead.
But at least realize that THAT is indeed what you are doing...
TBC: I bet you waste a lot of time bitching about how Martin Luther King didn't right that speech and how much you hate Jesse Jackson.
Tug:
Yes becoming black or getting a felony on your record would do it. A possession charge would work great.
Even though I don't know much about the Heritage Foundations these numbers don't seem too unrealistic. But you are only making my point stronger:
Half of minimum wage workers are over the age of 23.
An "average family" doesn't tell me much. I can tell you it would be near impossible to live on 38k per year in a place like Chicago, NY, Boston or SF, if you had 4 kids.
57% are not children, they are adults.
63% are enrolled in high school or college. Ok do you want to talk about how much the cost of college has risen over the last 10 years?? Are you saying that people in college, who are trying to better themselves, should be exploited by fast food and retailers? Are you saying that we should try to pay them less as their tuition and housing costs go up every year?
Lets look at the "less than 21% (which means between 20 and 21 percent) of minimum wage workers are the sole breadwinners of their family" portion of your statement. That’s exactly my point; if minimum wage was higher, and it was worth it and paid more to not be on welfare, don't you think more people would be inclined to work those minimum wage jobs? These would be people who currently live on welfare and don't work because the cost of childcare in conjunction with the money they could earn making minimum wage wouldn't even be as much as they get staying home and receiving welfare and food stamsps.
I thought you were against welfare and free hand outs?? Wouldn't you rather see that tax money put to better use like funding more unnecessary wars??
Imagine how many Arabs we could kill if we got rid of welfare...
Anyway, who are you defending here? Are you trying to make sure the Walton's or McDonalds CEO gets a bigger bonus this year or something? Do you have stock in McDonalds or Burger King?
Other than wages in general rising, why do you care if people are allowed to make more money? Do you just want to keep the poor poor? Are you the champion of all things rich and greedy?
And no, for your information I don't have class envy; My household income last year was well above 6 figures; theres no reason for me to be jealous. I do however see my brother who has a felony and a high school education and realize that he is not getting offered jobs at $11 per hour.
And as far as your comments about McDonalds and Wal-Mart goes, yes, Maybe in Florida which has a high cost of living, McDonalds pays over minimum wage and yes Wal-Mart pays over minimum wage and is more than profitable and is proof that if they can do it, anyone can do it. However, the "benefits" you were referring to at Wal-Mart don't count the majority of the people they refuse to hire full time and then instruct them as to how to get medicade, foodstamps and get on welfare.
UPS did the same shit a few years ago; they paid more than minimum wage but refused to hire anyone full time. They would give you just enough hours to make it impossible to have another job but not enough hours to live on or to qualify for benefits and vacation time. If minimum wage was increased they would have a harder time attracting employees as there would be plenty of full time work with benefits which paid almost as much as UPS.
So lemme see if I understand this right.
You want to increase the minimum wage so taht more people will make more money, right?
Sorry bud, you only have to look at the last time the minimum wage was increased to see what happened. I notice in your post you refuse to look at the recent history of minimum wage increases. Perhaps you should take a gander back and see that inflation went UP, unemployment went UP, the number of people in poverty INCREASED, and overall productivity FELL.
If you're out there championing the minorities, perhaps you should recognize that right now at this very moment, minority ownership of housing is at it's all time high, that minority wealth is higher than it's ever been before and that 1.6 million out of 300 million making the minimum wage is a damn good thing considering that just a short 8 years ago the number of people making minimum wage was MUCH MUCH MUCH higher. So was the number of people who had no job to speak of.
There are many other things you can chase after in economic policy to make a positive change, hiking the minimum wage isn't one of them.
Of course if your goal is to raise unemployment, reduce productivity, increase inflation and create a bigger gap between the classes, then by all means, go ahead and champion a hike in the minimum wage.
SG
PS - A quick scan of the local paper job boards for hourly wage jobs in my area list NO, NONE, NADA minimum wage jobs, I expanded it to the entire metro area, and there are 6 listings, ironically 2 of them are Democrat political action groups, 2 are part time retail help and two are private party hires (babysitters).
Seriously man, think before you type. You raise minimum wage when times are bad, and right now only the most moronic of imbeciles would consider the U.S. economy to be in bad shape.
Please cite your sources. I did talk about the last minimum wage hike; thats what the 1997 study was about. It concluded there were no negative affects of the hike except that poor people made more money.
The inflation that occured after that hike was lower than about any period during the Reagan administration and was only slightly above the years prior.
So are you saying we should pay poor people less?
What does paying poor people more have to do with inflation??? Find me a study that says only when poor people make more money does inflation go up. How come no one ever bitches about inflation going up when rich peoples incomes increase??Its the same principle except for the fact that poor people are more likely to put their money back into the economy.
You don't think paying $12000 for a shower curtain contributes to inflation?? Thats what happens when rich people make too much money.
Are you saying that minimum wage jobs take out ads in the Tribune?? No they give jobs to the people who ask them for applications.
Just because poor people have it better now than ever before (according to you) doesn't mean that they aren't being exploited by rich people who are only getting richer due to the lower wages they are paying to the people who have increased their productivity.
I guess youre right. Minimum wage should stay at 5.50 forever. Forget cost of living, inflation, or the fact that workers are more productive as CEOs salaries increase drastically every year. Only poor peoples wages should decrease. That makes a lot of sense.
If you don't sit behind a desk all day, you hardly deserve to get paid at all.
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