What do you think is an acceptable Minimum wage?

[pritchke]

I would say it would depend on where you live. Minimum wage should allow one to afford the lower mortgages or rent per month as well as put food on the table with out having to work 2 jobs. Though seldom true this is what it should be, rent in cities is generally much higher than small towns so minimum wage should be higher. Since minimum wage is usually determined by state I would pick an average of what people can afford to live on (probably $7 an hour) mind you this will force some city dwellers to go homeless or work 2 jobs but what can one do. I did not vote has my options were limited.

[Stormymystic]

Figure this up for those that live on minimum wage.....

Average cost of rent : $500 a month for three bedrooms
average cost of food per month : $200 to feed a family of five
Average utilities : $350
Average car care ie gas oil washing : $300 a month
Average household items, ie detergents light bulbs: $$150
Average Hygine items : $100 a month

this is based on my family

500
200
350
300
150
100
----
$1600 devide it now by 4= 400 devide it again by 5= 80 devide it again by 8, you get $10 an hour, that is how much it cost us just to live and that is not counting unexpected things, or being able to go out once in a while and he works more hours than that, but still that is what he gets paid for his work
he works 6 days a week at around 12 hours a day

[Rokenn]

Originally posted by Stormymystic: Figure this up for those that live on minimum wage..... Average cost of rent : $500 a month for three bedrooms average cost of food per month : $200 to feed a family of five Average utilities : $350 Average car care ie gas oil washing : $300 a month Average household items, ie detergents light bulbs: $$150 Average Hygine items : $100 a month this is based on my family 500 200 350 300 150 100 ---- $1600 devide it now by 4= 400 devide it again by 5= 80 devide it again by 8, you get $10 an hour, that is how much it cost us just to live and that is not counting unexpected things, or being able to go out once in a while and he works more hours than that, but still that is what he gets paid for his work he works 6 days a week at around 12 hours a day

These cost vary widely based on region. In the San Francisco bayu area a three bedroom apt would run about 1800/mo

Well Timber, I can't really disagree with you on that [img]smile.gif[/img] It would be fun and I would throw my share of pies....but I just can't see someone putting an arbitrary cap on how much one person can succeed.

Stormy, Im quite aware of how much it costs to live [img]smile.gif[/img] Im saying minimum wage jobs are not where family supporters should be looking for work....they are supposed to be entry level jobs, not carreers.

Not relating to Stormy or any one in particular here,
My thoughts are:
If you choose to marry and raise children

(note I say Marry and raise children..I do not believe it is moral to choose to have children outside of a comitted relationship)

you should also be planning on how to raise those kids and support the family. This is one place our families are letting their end down. I don't have the answers to fix it all, but I do know how it should work. From what I can tell (and Ill admit I have a limited view of things right now) It is not all that hard to find jobs with a $10 to $12 salary. But most of those jobs don't come with much inthe way of benefits.

Edit: Here in the DC area, my 540 square foot 1 bedroom was $776 a month And that was a low cost place.

[ 06-09-2003, 03:42 PM: Message edited by: MagiK ]

[harleyquinn]

Originally posted by MagiK: Here is a thought...no one ever intended the "minimum" wage to be a living wage. You are supposed to be starting out at this wage and then using your god given brain and talents and hard work to improve your skill then move to a job that pays according to your worth. If you can only do what every other idiot with 2 arms and two legs can do, your work is worth less than if you can do somethihng only one in a thousand can do. If you advocate a $7 wage..why not an 8$? why not $10? $20? $50? in the end I think we are better served to have a low or no minimum wage...lazy folk and those who have no skill or intelligence do drop to the bottom of the rung..but hey we spend billions on social programs any way. Timber, exactly how would you get your federal maximum income level past the constitution? We already know that no one in congress would pass it of course..but Im curious about the methodology and authority to implement such a thing.

Majik,
I think you're being a bit harsh, and based on conversations with you in the past, I'm sure that it's not your intention. I'm assuming that you've been lucky enough to not have tragedy befall you. Not everyone is so lucky. Children can get horribly sick (cancer for example) and suddenly there are extremely high bills to pay for medical even with insurance and savings are quickly gone as a result. Then because of the economy, one loses their high paying job and because of the bad economy, one can't find a better job in their salary range, so one, needing to put food on the table must make ends meet with a minimum wage job. This happens, more than you might think. I can't tell you how many "professionals" I worked with in high school and college who were there only because the economy was poor and they couldn't find anything else.
This is just one scenario where one might be on minimum wage. There are many others. You should not assume that because one is making minimum wage that they are lazy, or ignorant. Life is not always easy, and sometime bad luck falls upon good people. I'm glad you've been so lucky, but your post comes across as looking down on those less fortunate then you. I'm sure that's not what you intended, which is why I'm pointing out how it has come across to some (or at least to me).
This is not an attack against you, just against the viewpoint that those on minimum wage are lazy or uneducated. Plus, if there was no one to do these jobs, then who would ring you out at the store, who would help you find items when you're trying to find them at the store, who would keep schools and buildings clean, who would serve you dinner or cook it if you went to a restaurant, who'd be there to run the gas station, to drive the buses that take your kids to school, to be the crossing guard to help them cross the street, and so on. Think how much harder our lives would be if there weren't people willing to do these jobs.

Thanks for pointingout my lack of Clairty Harley.

Ok all of what I said in the obove posts are or should be prefaced with the following:

I apply these standards ONLY to Healthy people who have not suffered some obviously mitigating tragedy or illness. Life has a way of bringing us suprises we have no way of anticipating, and when that happens obviously there should be mechanisims in a benevolent society to help us deal with it...The minimum wage is not the way to address those who have had huge tragedies thrown upon them (in my opinion)...There are and should be other mechanisms for this.

Hope that clears things up a bit, because I am not a truely unfeeling uncaring person.

Thanks again harley [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]


[ 06-09-2003, 04:01 PM: Message edited by: MagiK ]

[khazadman]

I am strongly against a cap on earnings. And I'm also opposed to raising the minimum wage. Just how many people working for the minimum are actually raising families, and how many of them are students and retiries looking for extra money?

[NiceWorg]

I make heavy physical job, and earn 7e. Six hours a day, if there was more I´d have probably quitted already. I still have to say this.. for certain jobs, 6e is enough. Some jobs are not demanding at all and don´t directly help anyone. You gotta work for the money.

[NiceWorg]

Originally posted by khazadman: I am strongly against a cap on earnings. And I'm also opposed to raising the minimum wage. Just how many people working for the minimum are actually raising families, and how many of them are students and retiries looking for extra money?

Well, as a student I must say that there is no such thing as extra money for us.. if you dont work on semesters, every penny you earned the previous summer will likely be gone by the spring.. not trying to sound picky or anything, because a minimum wage for those supporting families should be set.

[Chewbacca]

Here in Mass we have $6.75 minimum wage, but we have a very high cost of living here, particularly within 30 miles of Boston.

I'm in favor of the living wage concept. Based on rent around here, anything less than $9.00 full-time for a single person is going to leave you either homeless or without groceries and utilities unless you have roomates. I really feel for the people making this much who have kids, but I guess thats why we have food-stamps.

On a national level I would go $7.00-$7.50.