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Originally Posted by gimpy117
"aren't supposed to be jobs you can live on"
are you supposed to eat food "you're not supposed to be able to live on" while you're gaining experience?
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Well, my first question would be how one managed to get oneself in such a situation in the first place. Minimum-wage jobs aren't supposed to be support mechanisms. They're supposed to be entry-level jobs, meant for people who typically need entry-level jobs, which is to say that they are meant for young adults or teens with parental support or minimal financial ability. If you're trying to live on one, you've obviously made some kind of mistake, one which any number of government tuition and subsidy programs are ready to address and fix.
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listen, there was a period where congress raised their own wages 10 times for inflation but never for the minimum. I can see where you have a point where nobody wants to work a minimum wage job...but it's the reality for some in this country, and I find you "let them eat cake" attitude a little insensitive. We need to ensure all Americans have a living standard worthy of the USA
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And what? Congress raised their wages 10 times and that somehow translates into a mandated wage-increase for minimum-wage workers? As much as I hate the idea of congress raising their own pay, that doesn't really make a case for raising the minimum wage, as it would be economically unfeasible. Off the top of my head, given a 40-hour work week, it would cost this country roughly five-hundred trillion dollars to match such a pay raise when it comes to minimum wage, and that's not factoring in the economic costs applied over time, tax inefficiencies, or anything like that. That's a very conservative estimate.
Of course this attitude is a little insensitive, but then, that's how the world is. People are only sensitive when they aren't overly concerned about providing for themselves or their families. Given that, the obvious solution is to create more jobs by doing something sensible, like encouraging business. More business= more jobs=higher wages. Minimum wage does the opposite of that. It effectively penalizes business for utilizing unskilled employees. Business won't stand for that. They have profits to make, orders to fill, products to make, and employees to pay. Forcing them to pay more for employees is largely counterproductive, for reasons mentioned in my original post. Championing minimum wage does nothing more than eliminate jobs, eliminate means by which people can get a start in the business world, and ultimately eliminate cheap products the rest of us can utilize to save money and get ahead. Sheer folly, no matter how you slice it.