Is US Minimum Wage really $7.25?

Originally posted by peck420
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.

edit on 10-12-2011 by peck420 because: (no reason given)

Originally posted by steppenwolf86
reply to post by notquiteright

 

www.forbes.com...
But, in fact, most minimum wage earners are not actually trying to support a family on a single minimum wage income, or at least they don’t have to do so for long. Under 5% of the US wage earners make the minimum wage or less, which means that since wage earners only represent a bit over half the total work force (the rest are paid a fixed salary), those who earn the minimum wage make up less than 3% of the total work force. Of these, more than half are under 25 or over 70, and many who earn a minimum wage have other jobs or other family members who works.

also: www.getrichslowly.org...
(End of quotes, now me talking)

If you want to raise minimum wage, force walmart to allow their employees to form a union. In fact, I would argue that in states without right to work laws, unions actually keep employees from earning more money. Instead of being promoted or given a raise on merit alone, you are forced to join a union and make more money only after you put in enough time(and pay enough monthly dues).

edit on 10-12-2011 by steppenwolf86 because: (no reason given)

Originally posted by e11888
reply to post by theovermensch

 

Once upon a time America was the apple of the world's eye. We we're a well educated people and mass produced everything from cars to steel. A man could not only be respected for working hard but could also feed his entire family on a single salary. Today women call it an equal right to kill their unborn children when it should be called what it is: murder. Its seen as equal treatmen that both the man and the woman must now work to earn the same salary a single income brought in the 50s. This should be called slavery... but then again its okay because the state can raise your children. Afterall, this was the purpose of the feminist movement. To destroy the family while making the female sex of the species a slave to the state instead of her husband. There was never an equal medium.

We are slaves without the constant whip to our back. We are criminals until proven innocent. We are cowards labeled brave. We are rednecks and idiots. A nation built on religious freedom with the inability to call a Christmas tree by its name. From dont tread on me to use me as a door mat. We have become domesticated to the point that our founding fathers would sooner spit on us than lift a finger to defend us. We are a stupid, lazy and sheepish people. The blind being lead by the stupid. A country that drops bombs on others in the name of domocratic freedom. We are Rome as the fiddle sounds once more.

Those that dont know history are doomed to repeat it. I hate the scum and corrupt that have ruined this once great nation along with the media sell outs that should be labeled traitors.

Originally posted by Asgardian
Bitching about $7.25/hour ?

Here in Portugal the Minimum Wage it's 2.5€/hour (450€/Month) ^^

Originally posted by sean
reply to post by cloaked4u

 

Temp agencies need to be outlawed. It gives employers a way to not pay benefits or be held liable for anything. Which tells you a lot about the companies integrity. The temp agency has this gimmick where they tell you that they are going to give you benefits after 3 months. Guess what happens after that 3 months? You get the boot! Very few ever get hired on perm. So now you're out looking for work with no unemployment benefits. You go to the employment office and a lot of the jobs there are temp agency jobs! Then the employment office workers there wonder why you have a crappy work history. They all come out smelling like a rose while your health and way of life diminishes.

Originally posted by nukepineisland
Sorry if this is redundant , this is off salon.com; www.salon.com...

In short it says that the six Waltons( like the number of fingers on your hand plus one.) running the WALLY world empire are worth the bottom 30% of americans ( many of whom work for wal mart at minimum wage, and are cut off at 32 hrs a week so as not to be eligible for benefits .)

I used to work at wal mart doing overnight stock and truck unloading in cape coral FL about ten years ago, and one of my pasttimes while waiting for my ride in the morning was to sit up front by the registers pull my pay stub out of my wallet and look at it while the morning crowd was filing in and out and listen to the beeping that occurred several thousand times a minute. NONSTOP as long as I'd sit there (my rides were not punctual usually) I could literally hear the waltons getting richer. Every beep is a item being rang up, made possible nearly entirely by cheap oil in one form or another. Which the u.s taxpayer pays dearly for in many different ways.

Now that was one of their stores there is about 9000 thousand of them in the u.s , next time you are in the neighborhood of one of them. Stop in and do the same sit up front and close your eyes and listen to the beeping and imagine the same frequency and amount of beeping multiplied by almost ten thousand (practically every cashier doing the check out is damn sure making the min. wage),and know the fastest way for a wally world employee to lose their job is to merely mention the most evil word known to the waltons .

UNION.

The people I worked with were for the most part great(some crazy ones and turds) and for many of them working overnight was a second job , and every time the end of the month came up I'd say about half of the folks I worked with really started sweating the bills coming up. One co-worker and a friend Steve had three jobs "one for each kid." he'd say , his youngest was always sick and he could barely keep his head above water , except for his one day a week off ,the most sleep he got was on our two fifteen minute breaks and a half an hour lunch.

Long story short , one day near the end of our first 15 minute break , I woke Steve up to go clock back in and he looked up at me with just a total look of defeat in his eyes. Holy crap did that put a fire in my belly, I turned into Wal marts overnight anarchist and rabble rouser . I was no model employee prior to that but I was one of the faster throwers(the guy in truck loading the stuff on the line to be sorted) Steve believe or not, was the fastest thrower. I was damn sure in terms of cases per hour one of their best stockers.

I was 19 years old no kids and damn cheap rent at the time and the economy was booming there at the time so I figured I'll start saying what Steve ( or many others) could not afford to, it took about two weeks of speaking nothing but the truth to lose my job.

Steve ended up leaving wal mart to work on a oil rig half the globe away from his family doing dangerous work just so his family had enough get by, when I said goodbye to him it was pretty tough emotionally and I said to him to add a little levity "Just think Steve the hardest thing a walton had to go through this year was picking the color on their fourth helicopter."
He laughed hard ,shook his head we goodbyed for the last time .

Originally posted by AwakeinNM

Originally posted by d1g1talgangster
If you raise minimum wage, the company has to bear the burden of that cost. They surely are not going to pass that burden onto their shareholders or ceo, so where does it go? It is applied to their product, thereby driving up prices for the consumer whose minimum wage raise has now been made void by..well, their minimum wage raise.

Ha, I tried telling these morons that before, but it is just too far over their heads.

Evil corporations!

Cut housing costs!

More money for poor people!

Gawd.

Originally posted by peck420
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.

edit on 10-12-2011 by peck420 because: (no reason given)

Originally posted by xlb40

Originally posted by steppenwolf86
reply to post by notquiteright

 

www.forbes.com...
But, in fact, most minimum wage earners are not actually trying to support a family on a single minimum wage income, or at least they don’t have to do so for long. Under 5% of the US wage earners make the minimum wage or less, which means that since wage earners only represent a bit over half the total work force (the rest are paid a fixed salary), those who earn the minimum wage make up less than 3% of the total work force. Of these, more than half are under 25 or over 70, and many who earn a minimum wage have other jobs or other family members who works.

also: www.getrichslowly.org...
(End of quotes, now me talking)

If you want to raise minimum wage, force walmart to allow their employees to form a union. In fact, I would argue that in states without right to work laws, unions actually keep employees from earning more money. Instead of being promoted or given a raise on merit alone, you are forced to join a union and make more money only after you put in enough time(and pay enough monthly dues).

edit on 10-12-2011 by steppenwolf86 because: (no reason given)

Quoting this post just to clear up some retardation from the OP.

People who live on minimum wage in the US, are high school and college students. Not actual working tax payers. Again, its the minimum wage....not the maximum wage. You do rise up fairly quickly in the income department here. Especially if you have a college degree.

As for the OPs claim that you can get $1k a week for picking berries in australia...Good for you guys! You dont have a southern border with Mexico...Which brings me to another point, illegal aliens do depress wages with certain jobs, like picking berries.

Im not to familiar with the Australian system, and how many hours are worked per week basis. And how that would translate into an entire year basis. I do know that the average American actually makes more than the average Australian in median income, per capita GDP income (ppp) and Gross national income.

Now, that is not to say that we do not have our issues in this country. Not everything is rose colored and clear cut. However, I've read several posts in this thread, and posts from people who have likely never been to the US...that have been quite cringe worthy. Suffice to say that many people here are extrapolating out their own misfortunes as if they speak for 310 million other people. I literally know no one who lives on a minimum wage salary. My mother and father both are quite wealth individuals, both own their own separate businesses bringing in a combined $500K annually. I myself am a 25 year old engineer making over $100K after working my ass off in college.

The moral is, if you work hard, get your act together, and do what needs to be done, you can make a # ton of money in this country. So quit making excuses and get out there and "do it".

edit on 10-12-2011 by xlb40 because: (no reason given)

Originally posted by xlb40

Originally posted by steppenwolf86
reply to post by notquiteright

 

People who live on minimum wage in the US, are high school and college students. Not actual working tax payers. Again, its the minimum wage....not the maximum wage. You do rise up fairly quickly in the income department here. Especially if you have a college degree.

The moral is, if you work hard, get your act together, and do what needs to be done, you can make a # ton of money in this country. So quit making excuses and get out there and "do it".

edit on 10-12-2011 by xlb40 because: (no reason given)

I'm not sure what part of the US you live in but where I am from many people here are adults 18+ and working minimum wage jobs because they have to. There are no good jobs within 50 miles from here because of cuts and small businesses shutting down.

I personally have the nice piece of paper that allows me a higher pay rate at a decent job but it's useless atm. I don't care what college degrees people have, outside of being a doctor or lawyer you might find yourself unemployed and collecting government assistance.

Originally posted by skepticconwatcher
But I did some looking around and the cost of living is higher in Australia so it evens out or is better. I see basic apartments renting at $ 700 per WEEK where in America, we can get the same type of places for that much per MONTH.