Minimum Wage

Inflation happens. Why not whine about fuel inflation due to right wing war making in the Middle East?

If you can Only make it on Cheap labor; go to the third world.

 

Ahhhh that happens now and why almost half the country pays no income taxes and makes about 70% of those make money off the tax system.

 

I realize this will zip right by you, but I will throw it out anyway.

Every species in the world has flourished for thousands of years- without any kind of government, religion, welfare or any of the man-made means of "control" that we deem critical to our survival. Of course, those things are only necessary because individually, we don't understand how the world works- or refuse to.

Other species adapt to the world. When things change, from seasons to earthquakes... the living things adjust, and still- they thrive.

Humans want the world to adapt to them. To billions of them, who all want things in different forms... conflicting forms.
When an animal crossing a field comes to an obstacle, he walks around it. Problem solved- he goes on about the business of being responsible for himself and navigating the changing world.

When a human comes to an obstacle, he is frequently offended at the inconvenience or injustice as he sees it. He is inclined to alter his priorities, to protest, demand correction or compensation, and hold someone else responsible for the inconvenience.he has suffered. If it is a crack in the sidewalk and he trips because he wasn't watching where he walked, he may get a lawyer and sue the city. For other things, he may decide to make a sign and protest. He may chose to cause disruption until somebody make the offending thing go away, or change to his liking. Now he could simply take life as it comes and adjust himself- adapt to the realities- but by choice, he thinks he is important enough that the world should adjust and accommodate him.

IF everyone accepted personal responsibility, if everyone had god values and self-regulated, most of the laws and processes we use, that certainly don't work very well- would not be necessary. Just as some of us will refuse to be responsible for paying attention to our own path, those same people will always demand that someone else should be, and that others- or the system- are responsible, and should address their grievances. Adjusting is something that applies to all things except them.

This is why that the most intelligent and advanced species in history cannot do what all other species have been doing for millions of years... thrive, independent of any contrived means of regulation, and even with that we remain the first species most likely to be directly responsible for our own extinction.

Stop blaming the system or anybody else for you position and condition; that is a tar-pit. When you take that responsibility yourself, you have the power over your own life, regardless of most external factors. Then, you simply adjust and move forward, instead of stopping and wailing about the injustice of life.

 

And the seven businesses I have founded and run over the last 50 years back it up.

Opportunity is everywhere- and moreso today than ever in my lifetime. The shortage of people with ambition and drive, however- is steadily shrinking, being replaced by those who think they are entitled to income without working for it.

There will never be total employment, because there will always be a percentage of people who do not wish to be employed. They want a check, they just don't want a job. That number is somewhere around 3%. If they can't live off the government, they will live off family, friends, or what ever gets them by. Now if you want to send them a check for staying home and call them employed..... you need a reality check. Welfare IS NOT employment. It destroys self-respect and dignity, it is dependence- and that makes you a lot poorer than a shortage of money.

 

was this intentional, or should it read : "if everyone had good values". i ask because i'd like to copy your comment, change 'god' to 'good' and pass it along... if that's ok with you...

 

My- it was a typo; is is supposed to be "good".

I had friend who was a district court judge, and I used to discuss law and legal issues of society with him once in a while.
One day he explained that the best regulator was the self regulator, and a society of good men with good values would need little regulation- but we must have laws, because a number of people refuse to self-regulate. He also pointed out that if everybody had good values and self-regulated, he would be out of a job.

If one thinks about that for a bit, just imagine what it would be like to live in a society where people were regulated by their own sense of honesty, of honor and integrity. Nobody would be lying or taking unfair advantage, people's word would be better than a legal contract.

There are many such people among us of course, and at one point in my life I decided the thing to do was learn to recognize those who were- and, those who were not. Then, build my personal world and business world by being one of them and dealing only with others of similar beliefs. That works very well- provided you can develop the ability and discipline to read people's character in advance, and act accordingly.

 

In the end 15 dollars winds up being the 7.50 then what 30 bucks an hour? Ad infinitum til a loaf of bread is ten grand and a dollar is worth less than a penny?

 

and the employees that put in years to achieve just above that $15, got shafted, because they now earn about the same as an entry level moron. why should they continue working while having responsibilities , when they could quit their current job and go flip burgers for the same pay...

 

Gas prices peak during the summer and then roll back. Why not answer what I asked?

And then it will be $21 and then $24 dollars and the $28 and what about those who were making that much with more experience and a better work record?

 

Given the widening income gap I'd like to see the MW tied to the percentage of average income gains for the rich.

 

Good idea!

Not enough connection to economic changes. It should be tied to something.

It wouldn't. That's what states' MW laws are about. Look at what Washington state did.

 

military
Well fit people in mind and body, who want to be successful generally only need to do a few things:

1. Get an education and learn skills soft and hard employers will pay you decently for this can be college or trade school or military given training or apprenticeships or working on the job and simply learning by doing and have a good enough work ethic.

2. Don't consider having a child until you're married and have a career and plan for them.

3. Save something for later on if nothing else start an IRA at eighteen and put away what you can and don't be dumb boring dividend stocks and corporate bonds reinvested over four decades plus and putting away what you can.

4. Make sure debts are sound a mortgage, modest school debt and such over credit card debt for crap.

5. If you have children raise them right and be sure they are expected to help you out, or leave them out of the will and leave them nothing you raise them they should take care of you when your older.

6. Don't get arrested and convicted of anything serious, a felony.

If you get knocked up or knock up a woman in High School, go to prison, drop out of school or run up debts you can't afford for no good reason you won't be nearly as successful in life.

Now I'm disabled and I did everything I could to fit this model but even then I failed to make it, not all my fault, but when you have to work informally to survive and often getting paid crap most of the time what can one do, I tried and did work at what work I could get its more than a good number of people.

 

Why? What does one have to do with the other other than satisfying some envy and jealousy?

 

Sure there is it's happening now.

Real Wages Are Rising
More evidence that faster growth is flowing to workers.

Most headlines from Friday’s August jobs report concerned the 2.9% increase in wages over the last 12 months, the healthiest raise in some time. That figure was probably overstated due to a weak August 2017 falling off the 12-month comparison, but other data are showing that wages after inflation are finally rising as you’d expect in a tight labor market...........

Adding it all up, Mr. Hassett’s team came up with an estimate of a real wage increase after taxes over the last year of 1.4%. that would be 3.4% in nominal terms. With capital spending booming at a 10% growth pace, labor productivity should continue to increase and that 1.4% real wage growth would also rise. More investment after tax reform and deregulation means faster economic growth and faster productivity gains that become higher wages.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/real-wages-are-rising-1536359667

 

Would we calculate the living wage, based on where you live? After all, it is much more expensive to live in Manhatten or Aspen than Toad Suck, Arkansas. (Yeah, that is a real town.)

 

yep, the right always complains when the working class gets a tax cuts, but huge cuts for corps and the 10% they cheer for

 

it's a federal tax, so would be a federal set point, just like it's done today, you would just give everyone rich or poor the same base tax credit to deduct from their base income

if that set point was 20k and you earned 8k

8k - 20k = zero

if you earn 100k

100k - 20k = 80k dollars taxed

 

In both scenarios, you put the responsibility for others well being on other parties. Either you give them your money out of taxes, or you give them your money out of increased costs of goods and services.

I don't particularly like either one of those scenarios.

Wages like anything else in our economy are based on the laws of supply and demand. Good paying jobs are available and unfilled in the trades, yet people don't seek them. Instead, they want to modify the labor market to serve their agenda.

 

So... you have made people that didn't succeed as victims and those that did as lucky.

This is the paramount problem with the discussion.

 

Are we losing some jobs to automation. Sure.

Is that why people are struggling with low wages. Absolutely not.

 

Some of the people I deal with on a daily basis don't deserve $15 an hour.

Sorry, they don't. I go to get breakfast, and this character taking my order is sloppy, unclean, clothes look like they just picked them off the floor, they are rude, they don't listen, and they get the order wrong.

WTF should that person be GIVEN $15 an hour?

Because you decided that them breathing has validated $15? In all honest, I think compared to others in the labor market capable of doing that job, they should earn about $3.50

 

Charities have NEVER been adequate to the task.

I'm all in favor of reducing support if those with the money to contribute would contribute it. But, they don't.

Beyond that, there has to be coverage of the US as a whole. Not even Catholic Charities can accomplish that.

 

"They" don't, or you don't?

State organised charity is just a charity. Proof that the concept is possible.
Anyone can organise it. You can.
You can pay for it and organise it. You just don't want to.


Unemployment insurance however is not charity. It is a service that you pay for.

 

Thanks - this is something that far too many people don't understand.

Here in high tech land we need to remember that those who got wealthy on stock options of skyrocketing companies were essentially struck by lightning. Sure, they went to school, worked hard, etc., but there are literally millions who did that, but didn't get struck by lightning.

And, there are huge numbers who lost jobs due to various market forces, lost their wealth through the recession, lost their health, etc., and are clawing their way back.

It's the least we can do to recognize that we're all in this boat together, and that every individual matters.

 

So is SS. So is Medicare/Medicaid. So are our ERs. So is every other program.

And, no, I'm not going to organize a replacement program and you aren't either.