Quick comment about minimum wage.

[SayWhatYo]

I just wanna put this out here, otherwise it would continue to bother me. Often times in the min wage debate people bring up that min wage jobs are not supposed to support families, and that they shouldn't be raised in order to do that. Now, I would agree with that if it was only high school students and perhaps college students working those jobs. However, in the real world it isn't like that. There are many people with kids who do not have any choice to work such jobs. Don't get me wrong, I think people do have a choice if they wish to improve their life, but that often times takes time and does not help their immediate situation. So anyways, my point is that we do not live in a world in which only high school students and single non-children having college students work such jobs, therefore it's not right to pretend that is the case, and say that the min wage should stay as low as possible...


Yeah, I know I'm probably preaching to the choir here.

[wildhorses]

1. its all about the trickle down ---

you know...

whats left after they get through pee-ing on us and then shake their weinie :yoiks:

[Solon]

2. I don't understand why they can't have a national living wage law...

Not a set number, but a wage based on local costs of living, for example, in some towns and cities, it could be 8 to 9 bucks an hour, in other closer to 15 dollars an hour, depending on what the census says. Sounds reasonable.

[Donnachaidh]

6. Couldn't you just hear the HOWLING from the larger cities

"You're DISCRIMINATING against us -- forcing us to have to pay decent wages! WHY should WE pay a living wage to the people who work for us?"

New York has become so expensive because the wealthy in that city don't see the point in making it *affordable* to everyone. Those folks who clean their clothes, or bag their groceries -- they can live elsewhere and take the train in to work for the elite.

Equally low minimum wage keeps out the riffraff, dahling. :sarcasm:

[Solon]

7. Interestingly enough, some cities have passed living wage ordinances...

Just as some state exceed the federal minimum wage.

[kdmorris]

3. "Yeah, I know I'm probably preaching to the choir here."

Well, um... you'd think so, wouldn't you? I agree wholeheartedly with you, making me part of the choir. But in discussions I've seen about this topic in the past... not everyone is part of the choir. I think some of them are from a church that doesn't sing.

[hobbit709]

4. Any job should pay enough to live on.

When I first came to Austin, minimum wage was $3.35/hr. You could work 30 hours/wk pay your rent, eat and go out a couple of times a week on that-the good old slacker days. Now at 40 hours/wk at minimum, you're sleeping under an overpass because that won't even pay the rent.

[MisterHowdy]

5. right-wing opposition to increasing the minimum wage is the smoking gun

that they don't represent the people.
Of course we all know this.

[NYC]

8. That's exremely interesting.

I don't know what year that was, but it indicates that minimum wage was a living wage.

Prices have risen. Minimum wage is no longer a living wage. The best question is: Why not?

[hobbit709]

9. The first place I lived in Austin

This was in 1974-cost me $75/mo for an efficiency with ABP-this was in a fairly decent area. You can't find anything for less then $500/mo now and it will be pretty ratty in a seedy neighborhood. The first house I rented was in 1976 with a couple of friends-we were paying $175/mo for a 3 br + bills. All the bills combined were only about $100/mo.

[Katherine Brengle]

10. The minimum wage should be a living wage. nt

[blues90]

11. I think this Min wage thing is a sick joke .

All it seems to do is make people feel like the Dems have won a battle and the Dems go along with this crap . It should be a living wage as many have said , there is no easy job that pays min wage and no one should end up losing a job or career thay had for many years with good pay and then are forced to try to survive on this tiny bump . Not on state has a living wage even if it's been higher than min wage even $10 per hour won't do it at the rate things continue to rise in the cost of living . A couple both working for $10 per hour may just slide by , maybe with no children or health issues with a reasonable rent and no car reapairs .