Instead of Corporations, Why Not Invest in People?

[If_I_Loved_you]

So bottom line, you believe that people should get raises just for showing up?

Unfortunately, this is a concept that IILY probably will never understand. 

Personal story:  I have worked at Lowe's.  And about 7 years ago, I signed up, part-time (10-15 hrs/wk) for insurance benefits only.  I had a full time job with shitty insurance.  Theirs was better.  After 6 months of working there, I had to leave.  Why?  Because I did show up.  And my 10-15 started becoming 25, 30. 34...  basically they wanted more of me because if I was on the schedule, I'd show up.  It's amazing how many of these people that NEED a job, can't seem to SHOW UP.  And granted, there are those who show up and bust ass, but they're not the ones crying for a raise in the MINIMUM wage.  It's people like IILY that don't have a clue what the average, lower end employee deals with on a personal level - only what they've :

Well the newspapers and internet have been talking about what fast food workers would like to be paid?

you know, READ ABOUT in the newspaper. 

[JayBird]

So you're really advocating for an across the board minimum wage increase. In 1996 when I first entered the legal workforce working during summers the min wage was 5.15. Today it is 7.35. Do we really have more money? I think it never works out that way, inevitably the cost is passed on to consumer. If the minimum wage was $15, you would still be here posting how they really need $23 an hour.

Not true, besides it isn't going to happen. Corporations will keep the matrix going just about forever?

Which part is not true? And include mom and pop and farmer Joe in there because it isn't a corporation thing, its a business thing. Done the same way across the world, because even the man in Tokyo who is paying $2 a day to make sneakers needs to make a profit.

[peestandingup]

So you're really advocating for an across the board minimum wage increase. In 1996 when I first entered the legal workforce working during summers the min wage was 5.15. Today it is 7.35. Do we really have more money? I think it never works out that way, inevitably the cost is passed on to consumer. If the minimum wage was $15, you would still be here posting how they really need $23 an hour.

Not true, besides it isn't going to happen. Corporations will keep the matrix going just about forever?

I do think its fair to say that corporations do need to invest more in people & the communities around them if they expect to operate in the areas that are beneficial to them & make them money. Before, there was a lot healthier give & take. Now, that doesn't seem to be the case at all. They're hoarding oodles amounts of money, while maximization profits by paying the lowest amount of wages they can get away with, keeping everyone part time, taking advantage of immigrants (both legal & illegal), slave wages in China, etc. All to the point where its almost hopeless to be able to move up that "ladder" at any of these places. Thats just the reality a lot of people are living now, and it doesnt seem to be getting better. http://www.businessinsider.com/companies-need-to-pay-people-more-2013-8

That doesnt mean someone flipping burgers should be making $15 an hour though, but then again, they can't possibly live any kind of decent life without assistant in this current state (usually from big daddy government & us). But the sad fact is, there's a lot of those types of "burger flippers" jobs out there & not much else for many many people nowadays. We've allowed giant global corporations to take over our country, thus take over our lives in many ways. And like I said, they only care about money & the bottom line. Not about improving the lives of anyone or the community.

[Ocklawaha]

Ocklawaha, how to you reconcile that with the reality that during the 50's and 60's when the National Minimum Wage was indexed to the cost of living that not only did it keep almost 70% percent of the population above the poverty level, but that also the increased money circulating in the system from consumer spending kept prices for most consumer good low?

What part of MINIMUM do you not understand?

I'm sure your answer to that will probably be that price invariably go up but wouldn't you, at least, concede that if wages didn't flatline after 1972, that demand would have have slowed the increase in the price of production?

Also during the period of deregulation that happened during the Reagan and Clinton eras, here in the South when many companies came here to take advantage of lower wages, they paid something closer to a living wage. For example in the area it was not uncommon that people make perhaps a few bucks an hour above the minimum of 4.25 an hour. Service industry positions in the Baymeadows area paid as high as 3 to 4 dollars above the minimum and the resulting purchasing power resulted in a boom for local business. Many companies grew as the city grew which slowed as wages flatlined.

The economy is in the tank, smoke and mirrors everywhere and you think a business entrepreneur running a "Boomtown," should give every summer high schooler and college student $15.00 dollars an hour? 

"INCOMING! PREPARE FOR A BROADSIDE! SHES DOWN BY THE BOW MATE," reality check.

[theduvalprogressive]

You're assuming that everyone who works for a big box retailer is a student. That's a false assumption.

[If_I_Loved_you]

You're assuming that everyone who works for a big box retailer is a student. That's a false assumption.

+1000

[Overstreet]

sure......but you've assumed that everyone that works at fast food, retail, etc is making minimum. Some rise. Shoot ask most managers and the worker that shows up when scheduled is golden and likely making more than the  slackers that don't show up. 

[GoldenEst82]

I have worked 40 hours a week at 9.00 an hour- supporting a household of 3.
It left me *65$ a MONTH for groceries.

I have always been grateful for food assistance, because my employer (small business of 7 people) did not offer overtime, (not that I could have taken it, being a single parent of two small children) nor did my employer seem to care that I ate ramen for lunch 5 days a week, (if I could eat lunch at all) and payed my light bill in 20 dollar increments.

People who are against a minimum wage increase seem to overlook the fact that lots of corporations are receiving government "welfare" (subsidies) and they seem to forget where that money actually comes from.

My husband and I both own small business'- and he is badly in need of an employee- but he won't employ someone unless he can pay them a living wage. We both agree that if someone is working 40+ hours a week- they deserve to be paid enough to able to eat and pay their bills. 7.15 an hour doesn't do that.

Did anyone else see the lovely "budget" website that McD's made, trying to prove that employees can live on min wage? Forgive that this link goes to the Colbert Report website (because he did the most entertaining commentary on it) but it certainly is comedic fodder.

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/427948/july-22-2013/minimum-wage---mcdonald-s-spending-journal?xrs=playershare_fb 

*I didn't want to lay out the entirety of my poverty for the whole forum, so if you want to challenge my budgeting on 9.00 an hour, PM me.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Golden,

Speaking for myself, I'm only against the minimum wage increase because of the ramifications that come from providing for those only interested in minimums. 

I strongly believe that the majority of the posters on this thread think that cable TV, gym memberships, yoga classes, a membership at the golf/yacht club, a $400 car payment and $60 for a dinner 2-3 times a week is 'basic living'.  In a word - clueless. 

I feel your pain.  I've been there.  In the blink of an eye, I could be back there.  Am I concerned about the 'job market', with McD's paying minimums?  Hell no.  If I were to fold up my business today, I can promise you that I would be employed by the end of the week, probably part-time and probably at $10-11 / hr at one of the 'evil corporations' and on a track for advancement. 

The thing that the 'clueless' don't get, is that if you apply yourself to even the most menial tasks and work your ass off, you will advance in life.  I think too many people 'expect' things to be given or handed down, but in the real world you have to prove yourself and then you will have to ask - and ask frequently.

[GoldenEst82]

There are two kinds of "lazy" minimum wage worker:
Teenagers who have yet to really understand pride in a job well done, and what that does for you. (something that is getting harder and harder to teach in our "instant" culture.)

And those adults who are uneducated, without skill, and have been working these kinds of jobs since the a fore^ mentioned teenage years.
They often went to schools that were neglected in the district, had NO ONE in their lives that were doing anything of Merit, or if they did, they were made to feel as if that (for a multitude of reasons) that advancement up the ladder would never happen to them.
Mother's like Monique's character in "Precious" are real.

We should not go into the causes of the Victim mentality here.

Back on Topic.

If corporations/big box/multiBILLION dollar profit generating entities want to cry poor when it comes to wages- they should NOT have tax breaks. They should NOT have subsidies.
They should pay MORE taxes than the minimum wage earner. (And I DO NOT want to hear any line about "the poor don't pay taxes" because all those mandatory payroll taxes ate 100 a week out of my 360 dollar paycheck. It was damn real taxes to me.)

What I think is at the root of the issue is that we value a desk job over labor.
Is carpal tunnel a workplace concern? Try a hernias as a Fabricator!
Hope you got benefits!!
Sweat is no longer seen as a virtue in work, and as a result there are manufacturing jobs all over the place that no one wants, or no one is trained for, because most kids went to school to be able to work in the a/c and make more than 10.00 an hour. (and I realize I am getting snarky.)

Non- Redneck Westsider- as someone who might have to return to the job pool, you really should care.  11.00 part time isn't gonna afford you very much- even if you are (?) a single dude.
The biggest issue for a family is the neighborhoods that such rent(?) rates relegates you to, and the issues associated with that. 

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

Non- Redneck Westsider- as someone who might have to return to the job pool, you really should care.  11.00 part time isn't gonna afford you very much- even if you are (?) a single dude.
The biggest issue for a family is the neighborhoods that such rent(?) rates relegates you to, and the issues associated with that.

You hit on some good points, but that's exactly why re-entering the 'normal' workforce doesn't bother me, basically because I came up through the ranks and did all the things you stated that most don't. 

[GoldenEst82]

You are right, you wont stay in the "low wage" category for long.

But- there are other issues, in line with "starting at the bottom" that you should also be concerned with in relation to benefit trends.
That higher wages would be in the hands of workers, would mean shifts in how and what benefits are offered for "X" job. If people can't afford their benefits package, does it really matter how shitty it is? No.
If you can't contribute to your 401k- it doesn't matter how badly it preforms...that is until you CAN.

That is why we should care, even if we are not at the bottom. If the bottom moves up, we all do.

[Ocklawaha]

You're assuming that everyone who works for a big box retailer is a student. That's a false assumption.

sure......but you've assumed that everyone that works at fast food, retail, etc is making minimum. Some rise. Shoot ask most managers and the worker that shows up when scheduled is golden and likely making more than the  slackers that don't show up.

Either a student, a retiree, or someone without enough education for a highly skilled job... AKA: ENTRY LEVEL.

Fast Food?  Work hard and as Overstreet has stated so well, SHOW UP, onetime, ready for whatever challenges that come along and if you like the environment, climb the ladder.

FAST FOOD COOKS
Quick Facts:
2010 Median Pay    $20,260 per year
$9.74 per hour - average
Entry-Level Education   
Work Experience in a Related Occupation   
On-the-job Training   
Number of Jobs, 2010   2,050,800
Job Outlook, 2010-20   8% (Slower than average)
Employment Change, 2010-20   161,800

FAST FOOD MANAGEMENT:
Average Salary Per Hour   Average Salary Per Year
Arby's   $23.00   $48,000
Burger King  $21.50    $45,000
Chick-fil-A   $21.50   $45,000
Chipotle   $24.50   $51,000
McDonalds   $23.00   $47,000
Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits   $22.00   $46,000
Sonic Drive-In   $24.50   $51,000
Subway   $21.50   $45,000
Taco Bell   $20.00   $42,000
Wendy's   $21.00   $44,000
- See more at: http://www.job-applications.com/fast-food-jobs/fast-food-general-manager-job/#sthash.Zdk0dEVB.dpuf

[ChriswUfGator]

I have employees who earn nearly double minimum wage, and still struggle sometimes. The actual minimum wage is so far below the reality of what's required to subsist its not even funny.

[Non-RedNeck Westsider]

I have employees who earn nearly double minimum wage, and still struggle sometimes. The actual minimum wage is so far below the reality of what's required to subsist its not even funny.

Not my typical 'against the little guy' rants lately, but ask yourself why your employees are struggling?

Is it truly because you're not paying them enough for the work they're doing or is it possibly them trying to live outside of their means?