How is 'livable wage' defined?

$8.10 per-hour, assuming the person earning the wage works 40-hour weeks, is the sole wage-earner in a family of 4, and works 49 weeks per-year. Another assumption is that a "livable wage" does NOT equal "minimum wage", for minimum wage is insufficient for someone with a 4-person family. Someone planning a family should begin working for minimum wage prior to starting his/her family, and start his family when he/she has advanced to a higher hourly rate that can support it.

 

Of course you don't ask why the small markup. Food prices are heavilly influenced by consumer savvy shoppers. You can't raise prices and make more revenue all the time. If you believe all the fat cat garbage then why do they not raise prices now am keep all the extra revenue? Charity to the consumer? ( not just store vs store but for substitute goods. Burger instead of steak etc... You need to move product to stay alive in the food biz. )

 

Market pressure not only keeps prices low, but wages as well. That's where the minimum wage comes in.

 

Right and everyone should have healthcare a roof over their heads and have fairy dust sprinkled on their heads. I got laid off, I made $24 an hour. Now I'm back looking for a minimum wage job because technology has made my career obsolete. What am I supposed to tell my family? Die?

 

It's not that simple. Labor is one of the few controllable expenses. You don't raise or lower your prices to increase employee compensation. You price your products to be competitive and profitable. Wal Mart has very low margins and makes money by selling a lot of very cheap goods. If it suddenly raises its prices it could lose out to Target or other competitors and find itself hurting. Its profit margin was less than 4% in 2012, not something that you want to toy with. You're viewing this from the perspective of a humanist and not from a business perspective.

Finally, if Wal Mart did raise its wages by 50% from 10 dollars an hour to 15 dollars an hour the demand for employment there would increase. Employee turn over would lower dramatically and Wal Mart could be much more selective in its hiring practices. This would quickly filter out the people with GEDs, crimminal records, or other less competitive people. In essence, the very people you're trying to help would be alienated from working at Wal Mart. Instead, they'd hire more educated and competent employees which they could command at a higher rate. The whole "bonus" in working at Wal Mart is that they will hire almost anyone, albeit at a low wage.

 

People below the minimu wage because they lack training get to be permanently unemployed or are stuck in jobs that offer little training for specialty advancement. (you killed apprenticeships and now kids have to go to expensive trade school)

 

I know this will sound stupid, but think about it.
Go back to school ... There is assistance or a scholarships to pay your tuition (especially in circumstances like yours).

If you don't want to go for a full-term degree, then do Continued Education (CE Courses).
For example, most colleges offer CE Courses for stuff like Licensed Certified Pharmacy Technician ... A few months in class and they get you ready to take the State or Federal Licensing Exam.
That is just one example, and depending on what part of the country you live in, you can start anywhere from $60-80k.

Good Luck in Your Endeavors.

 

http://www.indeed.com/l-Indianapolis,-IN-jobs.html


Interesting... Looks like there are jobs outside of Walmart in your area.

 

None that pay that well. Most of the factories pay less than 8 dollars an hour. The ones that pay more require a college degree. There is one factory Rexam, that starts at 15, but you have to take a test on engineering in order to even get hired on, and most people around here know nothing about engineering.

 

It also varies based on family dynamics. Therefore, there would habe to be discrimination in order to define livable wage for everyone.

 

Exactly!

 

and for that wage that is about all you will be doing, it's enough to keep ones family alive and that is about it

any medical issues and your in trouble

.

 

I knew a guy who quit his job because he though it didn't pay enough (though since he said has no GED, I don't know what job he thinks he can find). He doesn't have a car, and is staying with his mom and dad (since he has no job).

And he told me he's trying to have a kid with his girlfriend.

 

I used grants and loans to get me an AA degree and it's not helping me to get a job. I owe $52,000 dollars because I had to drop out of school twice to work more and pay bills.

 

Replying to myself because this should've been an edit.

I didn't pay all the bills. I paid 1/3rd of the bills. My family can't cover the third that I'm not paying so their survival is at stack too. I can't just move. Not only do I not have the money I have a family to take with me to live in whatever homeless camp we could fine. (someone suggested I move to N. Dakota where there is plenty of employment and I can't seem to find the post).

The only solution is for me to find a job. Or my entire family winds up homeless.

 

I don't have any kids and I make more than that, and work from home my own hours (which saves gas). I rent a trailer for only $220 a month. Ideally I could work maybe 4 days every 2 weeks and make just enough to get by. If I work 42 hours a week then that'd still leave me about $1300-1500 a month left in savings even after all of my normal expenses (taxes not included).

I'll just have to be careful then. I could buy my own insurance but I don't really feel the need to. Though if I had an emergency and couldn't pay it, they couldn't turn me away for the ER - it might affect my credit score if I didn't make timely re-payments though, but that's about it.

 

I'm guessing he's probably already on Food Stamps or some other kind of assistance, and just assumes it'll be there for his kid as well.

The sad thing is a lot of people just grow up talking about this like it's the norm. Back in the 1950s I've heard that it would have been an embarrassment to admit to being on welfare- it was something people strived to get off as soon as possible, but nowadays people talk about it like it's just an everyday thing, and that it's actually "weird" to be a working class person, or raising a family and not on some type of govt assistence.

Hell, some people even talk about it like it's a bragging right because in their minds it means they're "salt of the earth" if they're 'poor' or on welfare.

 

If no one in the area knows anything about engineering then how can the factory hire anyone? Obviously there are people out there who do. You're probably exaggerating the toughness of this test. Why don't you buy a few books and study up on the basic material you need? I'm sure you could call the company or look up the test and figure out what you need to know. It may take a little time on your part, but it would pay dividends down the road.

 

You have to pay 200 dollars to take the test, so the temporary agency that gives it can make a profit. I do not have 200 dollars to waste if I did not pass it.

 

Then learn. Problem solved. Sometimes I question whether some of you people really want to fix your problems or just complain about them. It seems that often times the answers are quite simple but you're not really that interested in pursuing them.

 

Slyhunter, you're in a damned tough spot, and I know it must be frustrating. I think it would be a great idea to start a thread or set aside an area of the site for members to discuss issues like the one you're facing. There are so many factors that must be considered, including age, experience, transferable skills, re-education opportunities, etc. For someone who was making $24/hour, going to minimum wage or close to it can only work for a person short-time. Those of us who spent almost our entire careers working in an economy that was competitive but vibrant had it lucky. The destruction of our economy stinks.

 

I don't believe him when he claims "there's no other jobs" in his town besides Walmart - there's always opportunities, even ones that the average person might not think of.

For that matter there are lots of job opportunities that allow you to work at home online, and these are available nationwide.