Is US Minimum Wage really $7.25?

reply to post by theovermensch


You have yet to define how Walmart is a monopoly.

Are they the only producer/seller of their products?

Do they have no competition?

I disagree with Walmart with my wallet. What is stopping you?

Edit to add:
You have great passion, now back it up with details.

I'm from Australia and you know why our minimum wage is so high? Come to Australia and find out. Everything here is twice as expensive as America or any other country for that matter. I would love to see a comparison of prices for basic every day items between countries (2 litre milk, loaf of bread, tub of butter).

A 2 litre milk in Australia will set you back in most places (unless you're rural) $2 AUD. A loaf of bread if you get the supermarket no name bread for 800g will set you back about $2.50. However, housing is comparitively more expensive than the US and a lot of other places.

A really crappy rundown house in Brisbane for example near the CBD will easily set you back about $600,000 if you're within 8 kilometres from the CBD.

A rundown crappy house outside of the CBD maybe 30 or 40km will still cost you about $250,000 to $300,000. My girlfriend was looking at real estate in the US and you can purchase massive massive houses (and nice ones) in nice areas for about $250,000.

So our minimum wage is higher, but so to is the cost of living. Fuel is sitting at around $1.45 per litre at the moment for 91 Unleaded...

reply to post by peck420

Text Why is greed acceptable if it is from 'the worker', 'the poor', etc, but not tolerable when it is from a person well off?

The worker is just as important as the capitalist. And it isnt greed in regard to workers on minimum wage.It is about fairness.This is a cool Oscar Wilde quote.

"Why should they be grateful for the crumbs that fall from the rich man’s table? They should be seated at the board, and are beginning to know it." Oscar Wilde.

reply to post by DigitalSea

Text I'm from Australia and you know why our minimum wage is so high? Come to Australia and find out. Everything here is twice as expensive as America or any other country for that matter.

Read the thread. Ten people have said that already.

Also there is a thread after this one that compares prices around the world for basics and utilities.It was inspired by this thread.
Seeya.

reply to post by peck420

Text You have yet to define how Walmart is a monopoly. Are they the only producer/seller of their products?

You are being pedantic.

reply to post by theovermensch


So your defense is because 'it is unfair'.

I suspected as much, but hoped for more.

People with money did not get money by waiting for others to give it to them. Neither have their children (for the multi generational fortunes), although this is a common internet fallacy. They went out and got it. Whether they earned it, created it, or stole it is largely irrelevant. What is relevant is that they were people of action. They were willing to do what was needed to further their goals.

So once again, why is it different for me to want more, but not for you to want more? Is it because I have more than you?

reply to post by peck420

Text I disagree with Walmart with my wallet. What is stopping you?

As I just pointed out with my example of Qantas,they had 65% marketshare and grounded their flights in a premeditated hissy fit with no regard for our economy or its customers.Why would they be so conficent they could pull something like that off? Because there isnt much we can do about it.

Who was stopping the Qantas passengers getting to their destinations? Qantas thats who.

Corporations have too much power.

Walmart has raped the American economy.Keeping your wallet in your pocket wont fix things.

reply to post by theovermensch

You are the one that used Walmart as an example, not me.

Then, when asked for evidence, you used a different company (in a different industry no less) as your evidence.

Currently you are doing nothing more than spouting off the current left centric talking points du jour.

Try to come up with something credible.

Originally posted by peck420
reply to post by theovermensch

 

So your defense is because 'it is unfair'.

I suspected as much, but hoped for more.

People with money did not get money by waiting for others to give it to them. Neither have their children (for the multi generational fortunes), although this is a common internet fallacy. They went out and got it. Whether they earned it, created it, or stole it is largely irrelevant. What is relevant is that they were people of action. They were willing to do what was needed to further their goals.

So once again, why is it different for me to want more, but not for you to want more? Is it because I have more than you?

When is enough enough?

And what are you suggesting by saying "went out and got it" If you think it is irrelevant how they got it you should think about that. Because smug greedy gluttenous people like you may end up in a revolution similar to what happened in France or Russia. Or Cuba.

But we dont have to use force my friend. We will do it legally.So maybe you should sell those shares and invest in something a little safer.

Originally posted by peck420
reply to post by theovermensch

 

You are the one that used Walmart as an example, not me.

Then, when asked for evidence, you used a different company (in a different industry no less) as your evidence.

Currently you are doing nothing more than spouting off the current left centric talking points du jour.

Try to come up with something credible.

You dont seem to be interested in a discussion. You seem more interested in chipping away and being pedantic.
How is Walmart not a monopoly? Are you going to put a dictionary def on here? What the heck are you getting at? Walmart has a disproportionate market share.There is no denying that. They monopolize and dominate markets and it needs to stop.

I'm a little late for this conversation, and haven't read the whole thread, but as an American that has lived all over the country, I do have some insight on this topic.

first of all, the cost of living in this country varies greatly. I am currently living in New Hampshire and minimum wage just doesn't cut it here. However as I stated above I have lived all over and for about 7 years I lived in Missouri, and the cost of living there is dramatically lower, to the point where a miminum wage full time job does in fact not only cover your living expences, but you will have a decent surplus of cash each month for whatever you want to spend it on.

in the OP you went on about how the minimum wage in Australia is $15+ and most adults would not work for less than $20 an hour. What you failed to show in your opening statements was the actual cost of living. How much is the average monthly rent? Cost of utilities? Insurance for home/rental, vehicles, health, life, etc...

At the peak of my experience living in Missouri, I was paying $440 a month to not only rent one house(two story house all to myself), but I was also buying a house. At the time, I was taking home after taxes approximately $550 a week working at a galvinization plant making just $12 an hour(mind you there was 10 hours manditory overtime each week).

The problem is not so much with minimum wage a it is with peoples knowledge of their options. Most people think that living in an area like the midwest compared to a more populatesd area isn't worth the loss of income, but in fact the opposite is true, While the wages may be lower in the midwest, the cost of living ratio makes it much easier to live there with a minimum wage job


.

I agree. It's just another ploy to keep the people not born into wealthy family's poor. It's a shame that need's to be fixed with our next new president. Ron Paul!

Originally posted by DigitalSea
I'm from Australia and you know why our minimum wage is so high? Come to Australia and find out. Everything here is twice as expensive as America or any other country for that matter. I would love to see a comparison of prices for basic every day items between countries (2 litre milk, loaf of bread, tub of butter).

A 2 litre milk in Australia will set you back in most places (unless you're rural) $2 AUD. A loaf of bread if you get the supermarket no name bread for 800g will set you back about $2.50.

Those prices are about the same as the USA, 2 liter is somewhat more than half gallon which is typically $2 to $3. 800g is 2 punds and that would cost at least $2.50 in the USA.

In AU, your sales taxes/VAT are also paying for some good things, such as the assurance that a minor medical ailment won't bankrupt you or cost you 5 years income (you take a risk) and that a university education won't cost 5-10 years of income (nearly a certainty).

In the USA it's paying for (local level) extremely high health care costs for well-subsidized public employees, (macro level) old people's medical care, military spending and corporate welfare.

However, housing is comparitively more expensive than the US and a lot of other places.

There are indeed many places in the USA where housing is very inexpensive relative to AU or Europe. However, essentially all of them have horrid job markets with little available professional or well paid work or amenities. Somebody coming from Europe would consider it to be on about a level of backwards Bulgaria.

Housing in the USA in the areas which are not very polluted and have good job markets and (especially similar climates as AU) are at that level as in AU and many which are substantially more. For instance, a $600,000 house in San Diego is not particularly nice, in New York City that gets you a studio apartment.

Originally posted by mywhatahorribleworld
I agree. It's just another ploy to keep the people not born into wealthy family's poor. It's a shame that need's to be fixed with our next new president. Ron Paul!

Why would you vote for Ron Paul? He is ideologically committed to oppose any government action which may "fix" things, unless you believe (contrary to empirical evidence) that taxing poor people more, taxing wealthy people less and deregulating powerful companies even more is the right answer. It seems pretty likely that such actions are likely to increase poverty in the USA.

Originally posted by mbkennel

Originally posted by mywhatahorribleworld
I agree. It's just another ploy to keep the people not born into wealthy family's poor. It's a shame that need's to be fixed with our next new president. Ron Paul!

Why would you vote for Ron Paul? He is ideologically committed to oppose any government action which may "fix" things, unless you believe (contrary to empirical evidence) that taxing poor people more, taxing wealthy people less and deregulating powerful companies even more is the right answer. It seems pretty likely that such actions are likely to increase poverty in the USA.

You're so far off the mark. Government action rarely "fixes" anything. Name one example. One.

good tonight this thread is on ats live......
ATS live #87

Are you listening... i am...

the answer to the OPs statement is still NO...

the answer is it is 5.075.... post taxes

reply to post by mbkennel


He is my vote because he want's us military guys back here in the states where we belong! I'm sick of running checkpoints in Afghanistan where I have to stop every innocent afghan and give him or her a TSA approved pat down and detain them because they have some flower that kinda looks like cocain and spend 3 hours waiting for the test to come back and say sorry, it's only flower, sorry for detaining you because we though it was cocain, if it was you know we would have had to of taxed your coke so we can make our profit first! ! Sorry but i'm just cought up in some BS I didn't sign up for. I came in the army August 2001. That's right, one month before 9/11! Now I can't leave because where the hell else am I gonna get a job I can support my family? Maybe If I sold my soul to the devil I could work at G&S!

This is very true. I live in america, and its sad you know, you see and hear about the problems and it's mostly true. When it comes to helping out another country we are not just being asked for help but we are already dealing with this country. We are in foreign affairs due to a lot of things a major one being oil. (which if we don't stop using soon we will be in an even worse position then we are now). But America better then other places for sure.

reply to post by darthlung1


Who said there are only 2 million people in the U.S. working minimum wage. I find that hard to believe. Has to be more.

Originally posted by AwakeinNM

Originally posted by mbkennel

Originally posted by mywhatahorribleworld
I agree. It's just another ploy to keep the people not born into wealthy family's poor. It's a shame that need's to be fixed with our next new president. Ron Paul!

Why would you vote for Ron Paul? He is ideologically committed to oppose any government action which may "fix" things, unless you believe (contrary to empirical evidence) that taxing poor people more, taxing wealthy people less and deregulating powerful companies even more is the right answer. It seems pretty likely that such actions are likely to increase poverty in the USA.

You're so far off the mark. Government action rarely "fixes" anything. Name one example. One.

Roads, fire protection, military protection, the water, energy, and telecom infrastructure, etc...