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My boyfriend believes in raising the minimum wage. I'm in between not caring and against raising the minimum wage, although I've been leaning toward being against raising the minimum wage.
When we met a couple years back, he was working in a warehouse full time at $12-15/hour. Couple years ago, he quit that job to go back to school studying finance and accounting.
I'm an engineer in management.
With the background out of the way... earlier today, he got a look at my paystub. He then commented that I make more in a couple months than what he made a whole year when he was working in the warehouse. That comment really hit me hard because I didn't think I make that much to begin with. I have the typical salary of a middle manager.
That also got me thinking. When people complain that CEO's make an obscene amount of money more than the minimum wage worker, wouldn't it make more sense to compare what the typical low skilled worker makes to something like what an engineer makes? Why do I say that? Because now that I think about it, I don't know how anyone can survive on something like $12-15/hour with any level of comfort, let alone less than $10/hour.
I'm leaning back towards supporting raising the minimum wage.
How about when a mcdonalds worker makes $15/hr and said engineer is making $20 or $25/hr or factory working busting his hump is making $16/hr. Would that be fair?
Minimum wage jobs are not meant to support a family of four. Do you really think businesses will pay people $15/hr that don't add $15 / hr of value? No, those people will not have jobs and wish for the days they would make $10/hr filling boxes a t dunkin donuts.
Make minimum wage $9,000 an hour. Then off the $1,000 menu at McDonalds, you could get a cheeseburger, fries and coke for $3,000 plus tax.. You would not be better off, but you would feel richer.
Why do you think a job that any one with zero skills, zero experience, no education and a few minutes of training could do is worth enough to live comfortably on? Why would you be surprised that an engineer in management with a few years of experience would make far more than a no skill, no education warehouse worker?
The average CEO makes about $160k, very few make the insane mega million amounts that the minimum wage fans like to cite as if every CEO in the country was paid it.
The median accountant salary in Seattle is $53k, do you think that minimum wage should be 60% of what an accountant makes? Seattle voters do. After all the school, certifications and ongoing training your boyfriend makes do you think he'll still support a minimum wage not much below what he'll bring in?
You've made a few threads about your boyfriend and it seems to me that what you are really asking is, "Why am I with this guy who comes from a low class background and works in a warehouse, when I'm an engineer? Can't I do better than this?"
That's up to you to decide, but I'm guessing that you probably can.
My boyfriend believes in raising the minimum wage. I'm in between not caring and against raising the minimum wage, although I've been leaning toward being against raising the minimum wage.
When we met a couple years back, he was working in a warehouse full time at $12-15/hour. Couple years ago, he quit that job to go back to school studying finance and accounting.
I'm an engineer in management.
With the background out of the way... earlier today, he got a look at my paystub. He then commented that I make more in a couple months than what he made a whole year when he was working in the warehouse. That comment really hit me hard because I didn't think I make that much to begin with. I have the typical salary of a middle manager.
That also got me thinking. When people complain that CEO's make an obscene amount of money more than the minimum wage worker, wouldn't it make more sense to compare what the typical low skilled worker makes to something like what an engineer makes? Why do I say that? Because now that I think about it, I don't know how anyone can survive on something like $12-15/hour with any level of comfort, let alone less than $10/hour.
I'm leaning back towards supporting raising the minimum wage.
If you're an engineer then you ought to be able to understand a simple demand-supply graph and how fiat minimum wage laws hurt the very people purportedly helped, namely low-skill, low wage workers.
If we accept that demand curves have a downward slop, i.e. the lower the price, the more people will buy, then then simple algebra shows that the minimum wage is deleterious for low wage workers.
You're an engineer. What do you suppose would be the outcome and impact on your career if some politician (say Bernie Sanders) decided that hardworking US-trained engineers should get a minimum salary of $500,000 per year?
If you're an engineer then you ought to be able to understand a simple demand-supply graph and how fiat minimum wage laws hurt the very people purportedly helped, namely low-skill, low wage workers.
If we accept that demand curves have a downward slop, i.e. the lower the price, the more people will buy, then then simple algebra shows that the minimum wage is deleterious for low wage workers.
You're an engineer. What do you suppose would be the outcome and impact on your career if some politician (say Bernie Sanders) decided that hardworking US-trained engineers should get a minimum salary of $500,000 per year?
Well, anything can be argued against by taking it to the extreme to a point of ridiculousness.
Suppose I make the argument that in order to prevent food prices from being cheaper than dirt, let's subsidize farmers to not use parts of their farms. Then you come in and make the argument that civilization as we know it would come to an end as people starve due to farmers not growing enough food.
As a matter of fact, I seem to remember conservatives making the argument against same sex marriage being legalized that if everyone was gay the human race would go extinct. Remember that one?
the thing a lot of people forget when they compare a minimum wage worker to the CEO of a multi national corporation is that the level of responsibility is far different between the two for one, and for another the number of hours each works is also completely different. the minimum wage worker is generally going to work 40 hours per week or less, where as the CEO is going to work more like 80-110 hours per week.
the minimum wage worker is responsible for a small amount of work where as the CEO is responsible for the ENTIRE company, and that means those parts of the company that are overseas as well.
as for the minimum wage itself, it needs to be killed at the federal level. a one size fits all minimum wage is a very bad idea since the cost of living in new york city is far different than the cost of living in tucson arizona. if we are going to have a minimum wage, and make it a so called "livable" wage, then it needs to be done at no higher than the state level. keep the feds out of the minimum wage deal.
You've made a few threads about your boyfriend and it seems to me that what you are really asking is, "Why am I with this guy who comes from a low class background and works in a warehouse, when I'm an engineer? Can't I do better than this?"
That's up to you to decide, but I'm guessing that you probably can.
Probably.
You can always tell low rent people.
They go to a 4-5 Star restaurant, drop $100 and then whine they didn't get enough to eat.
If you're an engineer then you ought to be able to understand a simple demand-supply graph and how fiat minimum wage laws hurt the very people purportedly helped, namely low-skill, low wage workers.
If we accept that demand curves have a downward slop, i.e. the lower the price, the more people will buy, then then simple algebra shows that the minimum wage is deleterious for low wage workers.
You're an engineer. What do you suppose would be the outcome and impact on your career if some politician (say Bernie Sanders) decided that hardworking US-trained engineers should get a minimum salary of $500,000 per year?
So every time in the past that minimum wage was raised it hurt workers? Raised unemployment? this is a argument I hear over and over, and its nonsense. Theres no historical record of it. Its when people try a simple answer for a complex reality.
Because while minimum wage goes up....so does demand as those minimum wage workers spend more.
So look towards historical reality, not over simplistic nonsense.
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