Minimum wage in the U.S.

"When was the last time you paid to see a teacher teach?"

Well you aren't present, maybe your kids are, but you're paying taxes to pay teacher's salaries (and a enormous beauracracy whose sole purpose is to suck money out of the system instead of allowing it to get to schools and teachers who actually need it) so technically each paycheck you're paying a bit in, guess the paystub is your ticket

Sad, when people had to struggle to have a good life for their families and children.

Sad when a 10 dollar an hour job, is not enough to keep a family going.

Top that with the prices of health care for your family and that is why so many children in America go about without medical care.

Sad.

Originally posted by LordBaskettIV
Why rent an apartment? the wise thing to do is buy a house, or get a loan to buy a house.Renting has no future benifit for anyone except the landlord.Also those prices are bull, my monthly house payment is 325$ for a 3 bed,2 bath ranchhouse.Water AND electricity never breaks over the 100$ mark either.The phone is 30$ a month(and it comes with internet hookup as well).Cable,Sat,highspeed modems and such are not nessesities, or eating at resturants non stop.That article I find to be highly inacurate at best.If you cant live off minimum wage then you must think you are some kind of king or queen who deserves the stars.Money does not bring happiness unless your a fool.

LordBaskettIVI, I agree that the wise thing to do is to buy a house but I can't help but wonder what part of the country you live in and what year you took out your mortgage on your ranchhouse? You must have had a large downpayment, maybe, or you have been paying on it for a very long time, like 20 years or something. I am also curious as to what line of work you are in.

I live in Northern California (300 miles north of San Fran) where a 3 bedroom 2 bath home (not new) starts around $250,000!!! The payment on that would be around $1200.00 month. I have been a nurse for 22 years and I would have a hard time qualifying for that type loan. How is a person making minimum wage supposed to: 1) save enough for the down payment and 2) qualify for the morgage?

My daughter lives south of San Fran in the Santa Cruz area. They (she and her husband) pay $1200.00/month rent. They have rent control in that area or they would probably be paying much more. To make matters worse, her husband was laid off his job as a chef and replaced by a less experienced worker who is in this country working on a work visa and was willing to work for lower wages. My daughter co-manages a fast food restaurant and makes only $8.50/hr. without benefits. How do they do it? Both myself and his parents help them, that is how.

I, too, am a renter. I choose to live in a small studio apartment that I pay $425.00/mo. There is not a bedroom but a sleeping loft. This way I can afford to help my daughters family. I pay for thier internet so that we can instant message without the cost of long distance phone bills. My monthly phone costs about $25.00 a month and does not include internet. My internet is $15.00/month for dial up high speed, I pay the same for thier internet service.

My life partner lives in the southern part of this county and rents a 600 sq. ft 1 bedroom cabin for $450.00/month. It has a very small living room, bedroom and tiny kitchen. No tub just a shower stall in the tiny bathroom. His electricity last month was $122.00. Garbage is included in the rent and the water is spring fed so no cost except when it rains it turns brown he must buy bottled water.

The houses in this area rent from around $1000.00/month and up for a 2 bedroom. One bedroom apartments run about $600.00/month most do not include electricity in the cost. How can a person making minimum wage afford that?

My very first job paid $1.22/hr. working for a department store. (Except for the summer I washed dishes as a teen for 75cents/hr.) My first job as a nurse aide was $2.12/hr. Back in those days you could buy gasoline for less than a dollar/gal.and you could buy a gallon of milk for less than a dollar, too! Electricity was only about $18.00/mo. My rent was $175.OO month back then for a 2 bedroom apt. Somehow I made ends meet for my 2 children and myself. I worked my way through nursing school to make life better for us. I did it on welfare (yes, I said welfare) a pell grant and one student loan. I also won a scholarship that included on the job training as I went to school and a guaranteed job afterwards.

My first morgage was $425.00 a month and that was in the late 80's for a 3bedroom/2bath home. LordBassett, you must have been paying on your morgage for a long time to have such a low payment or else you had a huge down payment.

Well, I will probably be making a lot of money picking up those extra shifts this winter thanks to the vaccine shortage. Nurses get the vaccine from their employers so that they don't get sick and can make more money for the corporations that own the health care system. The CEO of the hospital where I work makes an unbelieveable $450,000/year!!! Nurses have had to fight with the hospital for every penny they get in increased wages. It has taken me a very long time to get to this pay level, sadly. And not because I wasn't a hard worker. The raises are given in steps, like 2.5%.

To all people out there who are struggling, go back to school. Apply for grants and student loans. If you are poor enough you will qualify. Unfortunaltely for the young people wanting to go to collage you must become poor first because if your family makes $40,000/year you most likely will not qualify for grants but I am not sure about loans. Education is the only way to a better life. There is a major nursing shortage in this country and in California in pecticular. Think about nursing....huh?

Why rent an apartment, you ask, LordBaskettIV? The benefit of renting is having a roof over your head which is better than being homeless. The homeless problem both here and where my daughter lives is horrible, as I am sure it is in other places, as well.

You are right, LordBaskett, money can not buy happiness but it sure does make life a lot more comfortable and pleasant. I wonder when the last time it was you had to live on minimum wage with todays prices for food, gas and medical costs, LordBaskettIV? People living off minimum wage should expect to at least provide for thier basic needs of food, shelter and medical costs. I don't think that is too much to ask. I really doubt that ppl who make minimum wage think of themselves as queens and kings. If they are working they have a right to affordable housing and food. At least they are working and not being dead beats.


Humm...when was the last time anyone wanted to pay to see a nurse empty a bedpan, I wonder?

I don't understand this whole minimum wage thing. A person is worth what other people are willing to pay him. Randy Johnson, one of the players on our home-town baseball team, makes millions of dollars, but it's not for throwing a ball; it's for selling advertising revenue on television.

Having the government mandate wages is like having the government mandate prices; the result always seems to be a black market, a failure of the attempt, and a huge inflationary spike when the controls finally go away.

People who want a higher minimum wage always seem to re-think their position when I suggest raising the minimum wage to $35/hr. Hey, if we're going to force employers to pay their workers a specified wage, then why not set that wage to the point where, instead of us beating back poverty a little, we can all be rich?

The answer, of course, is that raising the minimum wage to $35/hr would put most companies out of business, and/or would creat tremendous inflationary forces.

Raising the minimum wage to $10/hr wouldn't put most companies out of business, but it would put a lot of them out of businesses. If Burger King were forced to pay its employees $10/hr, it would have to sell its Whoppers for $8.50 in order to stay in business. And, of course, those people on a fixed income, like retirees, would end up eating cat-food.

Hasn't anyone here taken Econ 101?

Psychogirl says:

i'm a nurse now...only make 19 an hour

Before she was swept off her feet by a handsome Arizona cowboy, my wife was a single mother LPN who also made around $17/hr. Going back to school to get her RN (while still a single mother) was a real challenge, but it paid off.

Here's my advice: If you're an LPN, find a way to go back to school, even if you have to work extra shifts to pay for child care. It'll pay off big time down the road.

If you're an RN, move to Arizona; even though it's not a high-paying state, you can get $30-35 if you have a couple of years' experience and an ACLS certificate.

Originally posted by ShadowXIX

Originally posted by jeeze louise
shadow XIX you are right, we are a capatalistic world, but I do not think that every one should be paid the same,

I am just saying that some professions are more important than others. Playing football or smiling at a camera cannot equal what a nurse or fireman does on a daily basis, they hold our very lives in their hands.

Do you not agree that a profession like that is worth more than a quarterback tossing a football?

You are making a good point But I do think football players in particular should make good money. The average career in the NFL is like 4yrs According to research by gamesover.org, 78 percent of NFL players are unemployed, bankrupt or divorced within two years after playing their last game. The lifespan of a average NFL player is much lower then a average person. There is also only about 1020 players in the NFL.

Im a big NFL fan so I help feed the league , really if it wasnt for people like me they wouldnt be making the big bucks in the first place.

Not that what they do is more important then nurses or firemen but I think as long as they pack the stadium bring in good TV ratings and sell NFL gear they should make the big bucks.

If they would pay nurses more maybe there wouldn't be such a terrible shortage of nurses. If they paid nurses more there would be more nurses to care for the injured and sick NFL players. Nurses put themselves at risk every shift they work. They are exposed to deadly viruses and at risk for back injuries and stress disorders. Nurses rank amoung #1 for divorce rates, too. They are also at risk for burnout, drug addiction and alcoholism as coping mechanisms. Many of them do not have long careers, either. The work is hard and dirty and extremely stressful. The hospital administration can treat them terribly at times. Sometimes the patients treatment of nurses is not any better, either. The pay does not seem to outweigh the benefits. No wonder there is such a terrible nursing shortage.

Can't an NFL player find another job, like, coaching high school football after their 4 year stint is done? It seems to me that they would be hot items after being NFL players.

Originally posted by ShadowXIX
In a capitalistic society Sport figures and Models produce millions for company or team thus they get the bigger paychecks.You cant expect to pay nurses, teachers, policeman millions. But if you think everyone should have equal wages and nobody should make millions its communism and noone has got it to work and I doubt they ever will.

Shadow,

there are other ways. You'd be surprised (or not) that despite not-so-vibrant economies in Scandinavian countries, the living standards and general lifestyle are quite good. Healthcare is free. There are wonderful arrangements for maternity pay (a mom can sit another baby, somebody else's, along with her own and get a stipend from the state, which allows her to spend more time with the kid etc etc).

I think that $4M salary to a baseball player is sick. But that's just me.

Originally posted by Off_The_Street
I don't understand this whole minimum wage thing. A person is worth what other people are willing to pay him.

Well when a person is deperate to get moeny to buy food, that makes a lot of room for the "negotiation", right?

Randy Johnson, one of the players on our home-town baseball team, makes millions of dollars, but it's not for throwing a ball; it's for selling advertising revenue on television.

Doubt that that's productive. On the other hand, if there are people that have no better things to do with their money than spend them on a baseball game, why not take the cash.

Having the government mandate wages is like having the government mandate prices; the result always seems to be a black market, a failure of the attempt, and a huge inflationary spike when the controls finally go away.

There are laws agains gauging, which is good. The price of de-icing salt a few years ago went up like 10-fold during the emergenecy despite the adequate supply. Free prices aren't always great.

People who want a higher minimum wage always seem to re-think their position when I suggest raising the minimum wage to $35/hr.

You can always take things to absurd.

Raising the minimum wage to $10/hr wouldn't put most companies out of business, but it would put a lot of them out of businesses. If Burger King were forced to pay its employees $10/hr, it would have to sell its Whoppers for $8.50 in order to stay in business.

For one, this poisonous food should be taxed as tobacco, so $8.50 whoppers are fine. Second... If the min wage is $10, then the companies would think twice about who they are hiring for seemingly menial jobs. I'm tired of unqualified associates at Radio Shack, Wiz etc.

It is the fact that they can pay little that leads to low quality of personnel, high turnover etc. You get what you pay for.

Originally posted by elevatedone
AHHHH.... Bullsh...

I lived on $10 an hour and supported a wife and a child....

we didn't have the best of things, but we had rent money, food and could still enjoy a movie and dinner from time to time.

I also had money to golf, and do other things.

I think the minimum raising to $7 is a good thing and if you don't want it, then don't take it, someone else will.

I started working when minimum was $3.25 per hour and was happy to get it. I worked hard and tried to learn as much as possible on my job so that I could advance and make more money.

I've done that on every job that I've had, and it works.

I am wondering how many years ago it was that you lived on $10/hr. and supported your family and had money for other things, too?

Originally posted by ShadowXIX
But if you think everyone should have equal wages and nobody should make millions its communism and noone has got it to work and I doubt they ever will.

Yep, it sure is communism. Worked pretty well for us Cherokees for several tens of thousands of years before y'all showed up in America. Of course, it wasn't Marxism (that weird Euro death cult!). It was just everybody working best they could and sharing what they had so no one got left behind. Giant silence here in America about Scandinavia, Canada, Mexico- anything peaceful and socialist. You see, Americans are composed of two classes: one very small sadistic ruling class, and a very large masochistic toiling class. A subset of the masochists thinks they will be allowed to rise, and so practice sadomasochism on their fellow underlings. Except when fighting overseas, where it is practiced preferentially upon the designated enemy.

[edit on 21-12-2004 by Chakotay]

My husband makes over $15 an hour and where he works offers overtime.

I think we're fortunate. Our two-bedroom apartment is $535 plus electric, and we have gas heat (landlady pays for the gas). So electric isn't high.

I'll just be glad when our son is finally potty-trained and save some $$ on diapers! I'm working on that right now.

We get by on his salary and we're a family of 3. I prefer to be a stay-at-home mom. Besides, it's not worth it for me to get a job. I can't stand on my feet for extended periods of time due to a bad ankle, and jobs are leaving our area in droves--all I'd be able to get is some McJob, and we'd have to pay for a babysitter. Which would put us back to square one--and I do NOT trust a stranger with my child.

Hi Peoples,
I really find it amazing that you have such a low minimum
wage there in the US, being such a prosperous country and all, it wasn't
till that long ago that someone told me what the minimum wage is over
there.........man that sucks

I think the debate here overlooks that many, if not all, other 1st world countries have minimum wages, and ones that give a degree of living for their people as well.

It is america that is out of sycn over this issue. A civilized society cares for those at the bottom. Pure capitalism only cares for profits, and has no interests in people. It produces a society with a few elite and a massive poor base.

If you want a society where people are safe on the streets, where people don't have to turn to crime to survive, where there is a good humane minimum health care, low child mortality, low disease, then minimum wages help towards that.

What is the fear in minimum wages? That it will cost more in prices? That you will have to pay more for consumer items, and posessions? Its the ideology of selfishness and greed that hurts a society in the end and makes it a place where few are happy.

[edit on 21-12-2004 by Netchicken]

Originally posted by Cherish

Originally posted by elevatedone

I am wondering how many years ago it was that you lived on $10/hr. and supported your family and had money for other things, too?

less than 5 years ago...

I don't make much more than that now... as a matter of fact I don't mind telling you that I make almost $16 per hour now...

I do not own a home, I pay rent and utilities, child support, car payment ( new car ), insurance, credit cards, etc... and live pretty well...

I know that $16 isn't $10, but it's not that much more...

In Oregon the current min. wage is $7.05 an hour and this will be going up to $7.50 per hour. Perfectly liveable on if two adults are working earnin min. wage. Don't forget overtime, medical and dental offered by most employees as well.

In Oregon you can rent a 2 bedroom house for $600 per month. You won't be living a life of luxury but certainly not poverty with this min. wage.

As always it is not how much you earn that is important it is how much you save. My good friend is a bankruptcy lawyer and it is always the middle income familes who self destruct finanially not the low income families who are forced to live within their means and learn to save every penny.

Originally posted by elevatedone

Originally posted by Cherish

Originally posted by elevatedone

I am wondering how many years ago it was that you lived on $10/hr. and supported your family and had money for other things, too?

less than 5 years ago...

I don't make much more than that now... as a matter of fact I don't mind telling you that I make almost $16 per hour now...

I do not own a home, I pay rent and utilities, child support, car payment ( new car ), insurance, credit cards, etc... and live pretty well...

I know that $16 isn't $10, but it's not that much more...

Please, I don't mean to offend but $16 is $6 more than $10 and can make a big difference. $6 is more than the minimum wage here. I have had wages of both those amounts in the past 10 years. That 6 bucks was the difference of having to watch everything I spent very carefully and plan everything out. Not that I dont budget now but I do not have the worries that I used to. Things are much easier I am sure you will agree.

Just curious but I wonder if any of us will see any answers put to LordBaskettIV. My guess is NO, nothing but a troll. What say you?

I am against raising the minimum wage. It does raise the price of everything. Obviously it is there for a reason, and i know that if we didnt have a minimum people would still be working for very little a day.

Why my opinion should matter at all? I am currently recieving minimum wage ($6.75)

I am still in high school. All the money I make is my own, except for the taxes on my income. I do not own a house, buy my own food or clothing. The only thing i really pay for is gas, but i dont have to drive if i dont want to.

Figure this: Lets say i work 1 hour after school every day for a month.
$6.75 X 30 = $202.50

Now lets see how that works if my minimum wage was raised to $10 an hour

$10 X 30 = $300

and your burger just went up $3.50. Everything's price would go up, food would cost more, etc.

and why?

So that me, a high school student, could buy some junk food, or maybe spend it on a computer game. So keep the minimum wage the same, just dont raise it.

---pineapple

Originally posted by pineappleupsidedown
I am against raising the minimum wage. It does raise the price of everything. Obviously it is there for a reason, and i know that if we didnt have a minimum people would still be working for very little a day.

Why my opinion should matter at all? I am currently recieving minimum wage ($6.75)

I am still in high school. All the money I make is my own, except for the taxes on my income. I do not own a house, buy my own food or clothing. The only thing i really pay for is gas, but i dont have to drive if i dont want to.

Figure this: Lets say i work 1 hour after school every day for a month.
$6.75 X 30 = $202.50

Now lets see how that works if my minimum wage was raised to $10 an hour

$10 X 30 = $300

and your burger just went up $3.50. Everything's price would go up, food would cost more, etc.

and why?

So that me, a high school student, could buy some junk food, or maybe spend it on a computer game. So keep the minimum wage the same, just dont raise it.

---pineapple

Pinapple what we re talking about is supporting a family with a minimum wage. This has nothing to do with being a student. It is fine that you are working and can afford some of those extras. The question here is can you support a family or live on your own at those wages?

Answer thequestion honestly, do you think that you can support yourself all alone on those wages, in your area?

Please understand no offense is meant, I hope you understand.



[edit on 12/21/2004 by shots]

If your wages rise from $200 to $300 per week.

Then divide the difference of $100 by how many meals sold in a week, say 1000, = and you get only an increase of 10 cents! I would imagine that is a conservative estimate as well.

Wage rates are not a big factor in goods prices....

Hmmm, Lord, what side of the tracks are you living on? At any rate, the minimum wage is dictated by the releative economy and the cost of living in a particular area. In the Bay Area, An entry level job at a Starbucks pays about 10-12 an hour. A fast food place like In-And-Out Burger (A California Icon) pays the same rate. In this case local economics has dictated the minimum wage to be more in line with local economies.



[edit on 12/21/04 by FredT]