10 Companies Paying Americans the Least

[JayBird]

^ Completly disregarding the fact that a lot has changed between today and April 2012 I really don't see this worth commenting. If you would just like someone to say you are right, than finehoe you are right. The corporations are running the world and forcing Americans to either be upper class or mere peasant slaves. Thank you for boosting my ego and pride as I've never been considered part of the 1% before. You are awesome, much appreciated.

This quote from BT, good points I agree and couldn't say it better myself.

It certainly may be part of the problem... but Americans themselves need to take a good look at what they are doing and not doing.  It begins with our HS graduation rate which hovers at 70% and is as low as 50% for certain groups.  This ensures that 30 -50% of our workforce is destined for minimum wage jobs.  This is a surplus our top ten is more than happy to help employ.

To excaberate the surplus of minimum wagers... we are allowing millions of new (illegal) immigrants who are willing to work for less than the minimum.  There appear to be plenty of employers willing to hire them.

Next our best students who do go to university and graduate... are getting degrees in fields they "like" rather than the fields "available".  This of course requires companies to hire people from other countries to fill the void with the aid of the US government.

[BridgeTroll]

Research shows the US is a low wage country

Recent research from John Schmitt of the Center for Economic Policy Research shows that the US leads developed countries in the share of workers earning low wages. The research also shows that increased wage polarization over the last several decades is one of the reasons for the large share of low wage-work in the US.



http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505144_162-57415828/research-shows-the-us-is-a-low-wage-country/

Cool... now corelate those figures with drop out rates for for high school aged children... then compare illegal immigration pressures on wage scales and you will find your answer.

Stay in school... 30 to 50% dropout rate ensures a huge supply of low wage labor.
Get a degree companies want... reducing their need to look outside the country
Curtail illegal immigration to reduce downward pressure on wages.

[finehoe]

30 to 50% dropout rate

Where are you getting this figure from?  The DoE says it is below ten percent:

^ Completly disregarding the fact that a lot has changed between today and April 2012

Really?  What has changed so much in the last 18 months?

[BridgeTroll]

30 to 50% dropout rate

Where are you getting this figure from?  The DoE says it is below ten percent:

^ Completly disregarding the fact that a lot has changed between today and April 2012

Really?  What has changed so much in the last 18 months?

I posted this link earlier...  where is your link?

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/06/10/34swanson.h29.html

You will find differing figures... DOE likely includes GED and alternative forms of "graduation".  By most measures GED is not an equivilant.  Those that get GED's usually require intense remediation to continue to advanced college or university.

[Tony B]

And which one of those countries invented the following: the Internet, GPS, the microprocessor, the transistor, is home to most of the world leading technology companies as well as leading most of the world in entertainment and music.

The USA.

It's so easy to forget the greatness of this country and it's accomplishments.

Research shows the US is a low wage country

Recent research from John Schmitt of the Center for Economic Policy Research shows that the US leads developed countries in the share of workers earning low wages. The research also shows that increased wage polarization over the last several decades is one of the reasons for the large share of low wage-work in the US.



http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505144_162-57415828/research-shows-the-us-is-a-low-wage-country/

[BridgeTroll]

http://wamu.org/news/morning_edition/12/02/21/graduation_rates_increase_around_the_globe_as_us_plateaus

Graduation Rates Increase Around The Globe As U.S. Plateaus

Other countries have pulled ahead, and the U.S. falls behind

By: Kavitha Cardoza
February 21, 2012

More than at any other time, getting a good job requires a strong education, especially in a global market. But in international rankings of high school graduation, the U.S. is near the bottom of the list of developed countries. It's a statistic that has not gone unnoticed by educators and policymakers at the highest levels, and many of them are now looking to other countries to see where American schools can improve.

In 2009, President Obama spoke to students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, carrying a strong message: dropping out is not patriotic.

"If you quit on school, you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country," he said.

The president has said other countries were "out-educating us." It seems they're also out-graduating us.

The United States used to be number one for high school graduation. But times have changed. In 2009, the U.S. ranked 21st out of 26 OECD countries when it came to high school graduation rate, according to Andreas Schleicher, Deputy Director for Education for the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

"Basically the completion rate is pretty low, by international standards, in the United States," Schleicher says. Portugal and Slovenia were tied for first in the rankings, Japan and Finland hold the number two spot, and the Czech Republic ranks 17th.

Internationally, a greater focus on academics

Romana Dvoracek and her family moved from the Czech capital of Prague to D.C. two years ago.

"I ask them what happens in school and what did they learn. It's usually my first and last question every day," Dvoracek says, adding, with a laugh, "They say nothing happened."

Her children may be similar to American teenagers, more interested in messaging friends online than chatting with parents. But their educational experiences are very different from those of their American peers. Tomas, 19, is a senior at Bethesda Chevy Chase High School in Maryland. He found classes in his home country much more challenging.

"When I came here I had biology, physics, chemistry, all the credits for all three classes," Tomas says. "There, it was common.  Here, if you take all three you're like a hero or something!"

He loves the extracurricular activities that his American school offers, though.

"In my school, there's a club for anything and if there isn't one, you just make one," he says. "Chess, model UN, crew. In Czech Republic, there's nothing like that."

American schools: too much of a social focus?

But the reasons Tomas loves the U.S. schooling system could be why the U.S. has lost its competitive edge, says researcher Tom Loveless with the Brookings Institution. Loveless says American schools have diluted their academic mission, by emphasizing the social experience: sports, proms and clubs.

Graph showing US ranking...

http://www.scribd.com/doc/82204617/Global-Graduation-Rates-By-Country-Source-OECD

[fsquid]

Costco is a well run company but if all businesses were run like Costco, where would the unskilled, uneducated find work?

[finehoe]

where is your link?

http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=16

DOE likely includes GED and alternative forms of "graduation".  By most measures GED is not an equivilant.  Those that get GED's usually require intense remediation to continue to advanced college or university.

No, it doesn't include GED.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/06/10/34swanson.h29.html

That article is from 2010...according to JayBird that is much too old.  Apparently there has been massive changes in the employment picture in the US since last year. 

[finehoe]

It's so easy to forget the greatness of this country and it's accomplishments.

It's also easy to sit on one's laurels while other countries pass you by in the mistaken belief you will always be number one.

[JayBird]

That article is from 2010...according to JayBird that is much too old.  Apparently there has been massive changes in the employment picture in the US since last year. 

A lot has not changed in the past year (technically it is 18 months, but since facts aren't your strong point we will stick with your year), but one improvement has been jobs. I think everyone, whether working at McDonalds, the Pentagon or a major corporation can say they have seen an uptick across the board in hiring. Not as quick as we would like, or for as much as we would probably like, but it is kind of hard to ignore.

Also, "a lot" and "massive" are two very different measurements. I believe your interpretation of my words are what is causing such confusion for you

[finehoe]

...since facts aren't your strong point

This from the person who hasn't offered a single shred of evidence to any posting in this thread (and no, stating the number of job openings on your company website doesn't prove or disprove a thing).  You've told us what you think and how you feel, but that and two bucks will get you you a cup o' joe at low-wage employer Starbucks.

Since facts ARE your strong point, how about some backing up these claims of changes in the labor market that have transpired since Spring of 2012?

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

i guess I'll chime in from a view point (which won't be backed up with fancy graphs and charts) that there is a definite LACK of skilled workers in the SE.  From Miami to Memphis to New Orleans and everywhere in between.  Probably other places, but I haven't tried to source skilled labor in other places.

I'm  referring to trades people in specific fields of course:  Millwork, stonework, carpentry, sheet metal & framing (both shop and field specific).  All of the skilled labor is pushing 40+ on average, and in my recent experience I've noticed and it's been noticed industry wide that there seems to be a complete lack of both talent, ambition or any combination of the two in the 20-30 year old age group.  It's like it doesn't exist. 

You can toss around $$$ and wages and national averages and all of that other 'stuff', but you don't need a GED to learn a trade with the majority of those jobs starting between $9-$14 with average journeyman pay rates hovering around $20/hr. 

[finehoe]

Since we're recounting anecdotes, let me share one of mine.  Recently I was conducting interviews for a position where I work.  The requisition that the corporate office had put out for the job wanted the candidate to have fifteen years experience (which is more than I, who would be this person's boss, have), yet the salary they were offering was about half of what I make.  The truth of the matter is, we could get a bright recent collage grad and train them for the position and everyone would be happy, but instead we got these over-qualified candidates who once they found out the pay, weren't interested.

So when I hear this line about "we can't find any qualified applicants" I think about what is going on in my own line of work and I can't help but wonder how many of these employers are doing the same thing:  Setting the qualification bar way too high, low-balling the salary, and then crying because they can't find anyone.

[I-10east]

IMO it would be impossible for the US to catch up to these smaller countries, in terms of having minimal low wages. For many reasons, the US's significantly greater population, diversity etc. Notice the top two diverse superpowers (US and UK) have higher rates in low wage work; Not to mention the obvious China which is a superpower. IMO the US's greater low wage has nothing to do with it being complacent. It would be a virtually impossible tall order for the US to compete with significantly smaller countries like France or Belgium. 

[fsquid]

Since we're recounting anecdotes, let me share one of mine.  Recently I was conducting interviews for a position where I work.  The requisition that the corporate office had put out for the job wanted the candidate to have fifteen years experience (which is more than I, who would be this person's boss, have), yet the salary they were offering was about half of what I make.  The truth of the matter is, we could get a bright recent collage grad and train them for the position and everyone would be happy, but instead we got these over-qualified candidates who once they found out the pay, weren't interested.

So when I hear this line about "we can't find any qualified applicants" I think about what is going on in my own line of work and I can't help but wonder how many of these employers are doing the same thing:  Setting the qualification bar way too high, low-balling the salary, and then crying because they can't find anyone.

Sounds like you need to push back on the requirements to corporate.