Bernie Sanders: Time For A Federal Living Wage

originally posted by: beezzer
a reply to: daskakik
It will lessen the value of the salary I currently receive.

The reason raising the minimum wage will affect you, or anyone else, in any significant way is because that you and everyone above that wage has depended on keeping some sector of society at that level so that you can gain more for yourself. You may have not personally or willingly acknowledged that your spending actions and employment depend on that, but it does.

We have millions of people that qualify for varying forms of assistance from the government who work more than 40 hours per week. Do we decide that our bar for assistance is too low or do we decide that the wage is too low?

There are cycles of poverty and systems in place that keep people poor. What Sanders is suggesting here is just one of many, many ideas to end that.

a reply to: beezzer
Raising the minumum wage will get more people off of government subsidies.

There isn't enough trade or manufacturing jobs left for everyone anymore and there won't ever be again unless something cataclysmic happens.

originally posted by: Isurrender73
a reply to: AlaskanDad

I posted this in another thread about creating a maximum wage but I feel it is relevant here.

Min wage increases will do nothing. As wages go up retails go up to consume the extra income.

Because the ones at the top have no cap on their income they will keep raising prices until your wage increases end up having a negative impact.

This has been proven, time and time again.

Wages are not a majority cost at most businesses. Thus a 25% raise would not equate a 25% increase in the price of the goods produced. There is a balance somewhere where prices will match a living wage. I think a 100% increase in minimum wage would produce about a 30% increase in prices.. Such a minimum wage increase would reverberate through the wage structure allowing all to keep up with the cost of this one-off inflation surge. With such a move the economy would be vibrant. There would be little need for welfare or charity. Social security and medicare coffers would start to fill up. Taxes could go down. Life would be better for the 99%, and in reality not much worse for the current 1%. Ok ,maybe they can't build college library's and such any more, but then again we wouldn't need them too.

Some contend that they don't want to pay for this. Over the last few decades no one has paid for any of this stuff. Tax rates have decreased while deficits increase. It has all been borrowed and will continue to simply be borrowed until it all crashes or an equilibrium is met which allows full employment at living wages. Is anyone actually against full employment at a living wage? It doesn't have to be a choice for socialism. It could simply be a rules based form of capitalism. Do you what you want but you need to support the part of society that you use. As a country we cannot afford to allow the quest for individual wealth to override the basic needs of the citizens. It is time for everyone to grow up already in this regard.

a reply to: beezzer

With a $15 minimum wage there would be a strong cycle of spending which would boost the local economy. Many of the businesses that raised wages would see an immediate boost in sales such as Walmart and the fast foods industry.

The raising of minimum wage might really hurt a few collection agencies though, it would be a shame having people that are able to pay their bills!

a reply to: onequestion

OQ now they have 3D printers making homes and buildings, even parts for rocket engines. That equals many more trade jobs gone in the next few years, maybe the machines should pay for socialism?

a reply to: AlaskanDad

You've not addressed the higher costs, the devaluation of the dollar.

Sure people will spend more.

They'll have to because everything will cost more.

Inflation will result because there will be an introduction of currency into the system.

This economy will collapse if the wage structure and lack of job security isn’t rectified. The key to a vibrant economy is demand.

There’s no demand or spending on products when people are insecure in their jobs and insecure in their wages.


When our products don’t sell people don’t get hired and therefore spending is down: a vicious cycle occurs.


The booming economic era of the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s was based on a highly unionized work force where wages were rising over the years and a heavy manufacturing base of secure jobs pervaded the landscape.


That was rent asunder by bad trade deals of the democrats and bad tax policy of the republicans.


Now we have a low wage state of very insecure jobs therefore demand is down because spending and savings are down.


People save and spend when they feel secure in a job.


That has been wrecked by lost jobs to overseas slave shops, lost unions, and deficits based on the huge tax cuts for the rich since Ronald Reagan.


Solution: raise taxes on the rich, bring back unionism strong, and stop making the NAFTA, TPP type trade deals as well put better controls on banks and bring back Glass Steagle.

a reply to: Willtell

You bring up a valid point..

What would be a better solution would be to increase manufacturing in the US.

We're a service industry now.

The US doesn't create anymore.

We just consume and spend.

a reply to: beezzer

That’s because of the trade deals the democrats made with heavy support of the GOP.


The elite ordered Clinton and now Obama to do these deals so they could easily move to very low wage countries and make more profits and they took millions of American middle class jobs with them.


Ross Perot predicted this when he ran against the Clinton and Bush in 92


America use to be the greatest manufacturing country in the world and kept a good trade deficit.


Those trade deals destroyed that

I've been following many threads and articles lately about a "living wage"

I would LOVE for all wages across the board to be raised. I think $8.00 an hour is not even enough to live on.

But the question is CAN IT BE DONE??

Can an employer take the hit? If the Government says 'raise your pay', then Millions of businesses will have no option but to close, automate, or lay off.

What Bernie Sanders is doing, and all politicians LIKE him, is nefarious and disingenuous.

You NEVER hear them speak of costs of living. Never taxation, regulation, high rent, high energy prices, cost of goods, Trade Deals, the value of currency....ALL of which the Government controls

Nope, the onus is on the business owner (Like me) to constantly DANCE around the Govt. And trust me, half of our time is spent DANCING around them.

They're punks and thugs. Bernie Sanders is an idiot and a thug because he wants the Government to 'reign' in the job makers, when the GOVERNMENT does all it can to trip us up and make it hard to even grow.

Government is the problem here, not the JOB MAKERS.

Don't matter, raise the wage and prices go up.

The minimum wage should go up but it is a distraction.

This economy is going to tank because of the trade deals, non progressive tax policies, and the Banksters operations, in other words globalism is going to strangle us


It’s like letting the foxes run the hen house.

Our bribed and useless politicians are just letting the elite globalist corporatists ruin the macro economy and they get bribed and when they leave government they get good jobs with these same powerful companies


There selling us out


Bernie I hope is telling the people these truths if he isn’t then he is bought.

a reply to: Willtell

The economy HAS TANKED a because it's out dated. It's designed for a time when we needed this many jobs in produce what was needed to supply the population. Now with technology we don't need it anymore.

Change is in order.

originally posted by: beezzer
a reply to: AlaskanDad

No.

People should be paid based on merit and ability.

Being paid a certain level based on the fact that you exist is socialism and class-warfare.

Socialism because there is no qualification other than your existence.

Class-warfare because you'll have one group that earns their money from talent, experience, merit and ability and another group that earns their money just by showing up.

I agree.

My boss, however, is an alcoholic. He never shows up to work on time, is never showered, and always smells of a mixture of booze/cologne.

He is salary paid. Full-time.

I am neither.

You see how quick your little theoretics can fall apart when put in practice in the real world?

I suppose it is my fault though. I should work harder and go get another degree, right?

It is a never ending cycle that can not be broken.

If you raise the wages that must be paid to employees, then companies will raise the cost of their products to stay in business.

In a few short years, what you could barely buy on 7.00 an hour, you will barely be able to buy on 14.00 an hour... then the cycle repeats... over and over and over until hyper inflation crashes everything down to the ground to start the process all over again.

There is no solution to this under our form of economy.... no matter how much you wish it to be.

a reply to: RomeByFire

Exactly, most people get promotions or the better paying jobs based on who they know or are related to, NOT by merit

a reply to: AlaskanDad

Yeah this whole idea we use to manage an economy is completely outdated.
G

a reply to: AlaskanDad

This man is an idiot of the highest order.......Progressive pipe dreams for fools and idealists. And it is also unconstitutional and a very slippery slope.


Progressives have a very hard time seeing reality because of ideology. Look at Greece and the progressive utopia that is......It will fail.....over and over again. The people that buy into this crap and ideology fail to see the tyranny waiting for them.....Irony at it's best. Wealth redistribution does not work and causes epic failure. If we just followed the constitution all the economic problems would vanish and people could live the American dream again.



Think I am way of base.......Look at the past 30 years and the rise of the nanny state.....Are we better off today.....It is a direct reflection. The masters/bankers push progressive ideals for a reason. It is self inflicted slavery and it also cause people to become followers and not leaders.

The problem isnt the wage its the cost of living. An apartment should never cost 60 percent of what you make when everyone is taxed 30 percent of income. In california apartments cost 800 to 1200 for one bedrooms and studio apartments in bad cities. The government needs to cap how much people can charge for rent its non sense. Im going to say this once small business owners who make over 120,000 profit a year and pay their employees close to minimum are scum who take advantage of the employers markets while acting like god because they gave someone a deadend job. I dont want to hear if you dont like it start your own business thats a bs line made to give the illusion that in order to succeed you need to abuse people or that the success is all the owner when it isnt.

a reply to: Boadicea

i agree minimum wage doesn't work , it really decreases employment opportunities for people who could trade a smaller wage to get hired and hinders firms to hire the inexperienced and train them. As long as no one is forced ,there's no real issue.

The proportionate wage is a great idea i prefer this, an exception being that the creator of the business should be able to decide how much he/she is compensated. Since without them there would be no generation of income for anybody.