USA, Lower classes, get off your asses!

I just heard that Sen. R Kennedy is FOR a minimum wage INCREASE. For us working class folks, that means a living wage. (We can afford silly shit like rent and food.) I don't want to start anything, but for people like US, our only hope is to get off our asses, register, then VOTE. I don't belive that "well, my one vote can't make a difference." It's happened in the last 100 years in fact in a public election that I cannot name. Anyway, it CAN make a difference. Especially if the polls reflect an increase in opinion over time.

What can it hurt?!

 

How many people actually make minimum wage? I mean even Walmart and McDonald's pay more than minimum wage. If you are making minimum wage and you want to make more then you should get off your ass, and find another job, get some training to get a better one, or go out on your own and put what skills you do have to making you some money.

 

increase in minimum wage means ncrease in unemployment

 

Many people earn minimum wage, and not all illegal aliens. But to follow a Kennedy is something I will never do after Chapaquitic. It's like voting for a Clinton.

 

i thought r. kennedy was dead - assassinated ?

 

It's bad to increase minimum wage...way worse than if you keep minimum wage the same.

Why would businesses stay open here in the states if they are going to have to pay people more? What is the incentive?

Here in Michigan, it's going to cause a huge problem...

Oh and most places around here...even McDonald's pay only about ten cents more than minimum wage...because they CAN...

 

But it's alright to pay CEOs outrageous amounts....why?

 

Not necessarily. But that's the line that is fed to the common people over and over again while the higher eschelons continue to receive obscenely indecent reimbursements even when they lead their companies into oblivion.

 

Hey, man, I didn't say all that...you know those CEO's aren't going to take any pay cuts...

If businesses can't afford to pay their peons, do you really think they'll take the money away from the big wigs? Fat chance...they'll fire the peons, give the other workers more responsibility with the same pay, and keep getting the fat cats fatter.

 

The argument that a reasonable increase in minimum wages will increase unemployment is specious at best. As has been pointed out here, a lot of so-called minimum wage jobs (McD's, Walmart) already pay more than that, so they won't be affected. What a higher minimum wage does do is protect the few folks who are paid minimum wage now simply because businesses in their area/field can get by with it. Some say that you have no right to earn a minimum wage ... well, I counter that if you can't pay minimum wage then you don't have a right to start and run a business. Closing the slave-labor enterprises will release their market share to someone who knows how to do things right.

 

A Federal minimum wage is stupid. The US is too large and too diverse economically to try to set a standard for the entire nation. $7 (or whatever they are raising it to) in one area might be decent pay while in another area it is a joke. While I don't agree with setting a minimum wage, should there be one I don't think it should be set by the Federal Government but by local governments who better understand the local economy.

 

america is traditonally a country founded on oppression and slavery why would you expect anything else? of course the americans are meant to be slaves, educate them badly, keep them sick with a non existence health care system, keep em in the trailer parks and slums. if they don't like it send them to die in your wars or in your prisons. get them to keep the flag flying and doing anything in the name of the flag. if anyone comes along who complains get rid of them. i just pity the americans now.

 

Well said.

 

Why is a minimum wage stupid? When executives seem to garner untold compensation packages today? There seems to be some sort of standard for them, why not just a little piddly minimum standard for the people actually performing the work? And it should be set at the national level, this is a nation united under one flag, and so far it isn't an international corporate one. Why is it the poor from Mexico stream across our borders to work, because our parents voted for protections on a national level, that used to give us some protections in the workplace. A thing that Mexico refuses to address, because for years their administration and upper classes have been so corrupt that in order to apply for a work visa in the USA you have to pay at least five fees to different people to even get on the waiting list.

Thought NAFTA was supposed to fix all that...has it? Clinton promised us it would. Now they wish to expand that with the SPP, that US citizens aren't even aware of, soon we too will be living like Mexican peons.

 

Yeah, we'll all be smoking shitty Mexibrick, then...

Everyone will be in tears.

 

the federal government sets a MINIMUM that states cannot go UNDER. states still set their own minimum that can be higher than the federal minimum, and if you're saying $7 is ridiculously HIGH, then you are crazy.

many states have minimum wages that are higher than the federal minimum wage, but there are quite a few that stick to the federal minimum

 

okay i wrote this out earlier but it didn't go through.

texas is at the federal minimum wage and there are many jobs here that pay that minimum wage. it was at 5.15 for 11 years! (since 1996) i just saw a sign at work saying it went up to 5.85 in july and will go up again next july and then in july 2009 it will be up to 7.25. even in an area with very low cost of living 5.15 is very hard to get by on.

for wait staff it's $2.65. and if ppl run off without paying, the waiter is expected to pay it.

 

http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm

michigan already pays more than the federal minimum wage so they don't HAVE to raise it until 2009 (and then only 10 cents), but according to this site they are raising it $.25 next july 1.

 

Its interesting to note that those who dont support minimum wage increasing dont seem to understand the issue, or effects it will cause.

Specifficly Annie (and no offence here, you know i love you )Michigan's federal minimum wage is substantially higher than the federal minimum wage, so a raise in the federal minimum wage would not harm your states economy in any way. As a matter of fact, a raise in the federal minimum wage would help your states economy.
As it stands, a manufacturer can pay someone in texas less money to do a job that someone michigan would be paid more for...the manufacturer would chose texas as a state to set up shop. If both texas and michigan have a minimum wage of 7.15 than there would be no economic incentive to go out of state, and subsequently michigans economy would improve (this is especilly true if the manufacturers customer base is located primarily in the norther states). By normalizing minimum wage and having manufacturers set up shop close to where they do business (as opposed to setting up shop in other states for savings on employee wages) more money is made and less resources consumed lowering national debt and increasing output. Less distance to travel means less oil consumed means more money in americas pocket. This is especially true for an over consuming under producing nation.
It could be argued that by removing state minimum wages and only enforcing federal minimum wages the same normalization could be achieved, however unless inflation is reversed (which it never will be) this will only harm lower class citizens. Money circulates more at the bottom of the pyramid, and accumulates more at the top. The more money lower wage workers earn the more they spend, stimulating the economy.

 

Isn't strange that our President's state is one of the few with lowest minimum wage, and he wishes to allow more immigrants in to fill those positions? Think about the motives for saying the poor don't need an increase in living wage for ten years or more, but the upper levels of manufacturing have reaped huge benefits over this same time period.