Great. 80+ my apologies. Have you ever cared/asked them about their legal status? If you found out they were "illegal," any of them, would you fire them? Would you stop patroning the restaurant?
SS, Medicare, Medicaid are running out of money sooner than previous estimates
- Thread starter bdgan
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see here's the thing....I am sort of old school. I'm one of those people who stay within the lines (20+ years Army). So I don't "card" people, but I ask if employees are authorized to work in US. Sounds kind of nerdy, but I'm within the lines. I do care if someone is in the country illegally.
Now for Mexican restaurants, no I do not ask my waitress if she is legal. Would I stop patronizing the restaurant? I don't know. I've never found myself in that situation. Why would you think that people that work in Mexican restaurants are Latino/Mexican? Where I live there are non Latinos on staff as well.
Oh, you'll probably find this interesting. Not related to your question but....I don't buy a heck of a lot anymore - got more than enough clothes to last me , shoes wear out so might buy them. Got 3 houses full of furniture,. But my wife, she buys!!!! And you know what she asks when she shops" Are these made in the USA? I know kind of nerdy
I'm just simply pointing out how LUDICROUS this bs about undocumented individuals are. Glad you are common sense on it, as everyone should be.
see here's where we might disagree. I believe in the law...I follow it, no matter how crazy it might seem.
So I expect everyone to follow the law. I don't particularly like allowing people to shoplift up to a certain amount without consequence, I expect people to follow tax laws..you get the picture.
On immigration, I expect people who want to come to the country to come legally. I don't like the law as it exists, but it is the law. So if someone comes in illegally he/she should be deported.
So, I'm clear, I think our immigration law is outdated, unfair and needs to be changed. But for now, we have to live with the law we have. I feel for someone who wants to come to this country to better themselves and their families. But under our current law, that is not a sufficient reason for residency.
I'm not real keen on how ICE is going about it business. We should be able to do better. But I also am not real keen on assaulting ICE officers. If we let ICE do it's job, maybe the ICE process would be a little more "normalized". Or maybe not, we'll never know.
That’s exactly what you’re saying. Everyone who says minimum wage workers should be teenagers are just doing mental gymnastics to justify their comfortability with hard working Americans not being able to afford to live.
I still ask, why would someone work for minimum wage when even fast food places are paying double that.
No they aren’t. Give me some examples of jobs for 30 year olds that pay minimum wage?
I don't think he's an idiot, I just think he has a warped sense of how our economic system and worker pay calculations work. He doesn't seem to understand that workers are paid for their worth. I don't think he has a thing for wage theory. He seems to believe that a worker, be it low wage or high earner should get paid what he spends. In other words, and I've had this happen, a worker asks for a higher salary because he spends more than he's paid, and the company should make up the difference. So the burden is on the company rather than on the worker (again high, low or mid earner) to improve his productivity or skill set to make himself more valuable.
A living wage? define it! easy to say, but nobody can set a specific amount. It's easier to just blame billionaires.
I think republicans have made a political mistake by not giving in on a minimum wage increase in exchange for some of their priorities. That said I think the minimum wage argument is little more than a silly talking point.
I believe 32 states have set their own minimum wage above the Federal minimum wage and hardly anybody makes only $7.25/hr in the states that haven't set their own minimum wage. McDonalds is paying $15/hr+ almost everywhere in PA. Where I live they're paying $19.50 to start. Most manufacturing companies are offering $20/hr + benefits to start. Amazon advertises $23/hr in most places.
OK maybe scothtiger was right. But you still didn't answer the question, what would anybody work for minimum wage? There are plenty of jobs available that pay more than that that require minimum skills.
Nobody is forcing anyone into poverty. As I posted, and you either didn't read or chose to ignore, join the Army, learn a skill, get your college paid for, 3 meals a day, place to sleep, clothing provided. Or join the navy, same benefits and you get to travel. Problem solved.
yea, somehow ClemsoninAtlanta either isn't aware of these or chooses to ignore it. Down here in Florida, many fast food places advertise help wanted and some start at $20/hour. I have seen similar signs in Virginia. Jobs are available and significantly higher than minimum wage.
bdgan, you're right. Adjusting the minimum wage higher would have little impact.
I'm not getting into this pissing match, but here's a good article on minimum wage in the US with data answering all of the questions asked.
www.zippia.com
20+ Crucial Minimum Wage Statistics [2023]: Facts, Predictions, And More - Zippia
Since last raised 14 years ago, the federal minimum wage has lost 37.4% of its purchasing power.
www.zippia.com
That's more than 2 years old and wages have risen quite a bit in the last couple of years. But let's go with it for discussion purposes:I'm not getting into this pissing match, but here's a good article on minimum wage in the US with data answering all of the questions asked.
20+ Crucial Minimum Wage Statistics [2023]: Facts, Predictions, And More - Zippia
Since last raised 14 years ago, the federal minimum wage has lost 37.4% of its purchasing power.
- The article claims 247,000 workers earn $7.25/hr. Total payroll employment in the USA was just under 160 million in August. You're talking about 2 tenths of one percent or all workers.
- The article also says that 1.6 million earn less than $15/hr which is about 1% of all workers.
- The article shows that 44% (nearly half) of these people are ages 16-24. In other words high school and college kids. Now add those who work to provide income to supplement that of the primary wage earner in the family.
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some of the points are valid though. A $7.25/ hour minimum wage is ridiculous in 2025. But that doesn't invalidate the point that no one needs to work for that when so many jobs are available paying higher starting salaries.
I agree that debating over the current minimum wage is a silly talking point.
Look at all the virtue pouring out of this MFrs ears …
guarantee John is the first person to clutch his purse when he sees a homeless person BUT pats himself on his own back and believes he is a good person because he “thought” about giving a bum money.
I'm not taking a stance one way or another, I just wanted to provide literature for everyone to mull over because it seemed none was ever going to get posted. I'd rather read the debate when both sides have reviewed the same analysis because that's more entertaining than reading people argue when no evidence/support has been reviewed.
Edit: to be devil's advocate though. If your argument is that it's such a small subset of the population that's actually affected and really isn't that big of a deal - I'd argue the same argument could be made about trans athletes in athletics.
I think the trans athlete issue is a matter of fairness to women. I told you that I'd agree to increase the minimum wage. Maybe to $12/hr adjusted for inflation but that wouldn't make a dent in poverty.
I'm concerned about things like the wealth gap. I just don't think redistribution is the solution. It's quite easy for a high school educated person with a work ethic to earn $20/hr + benefits and that should rise quickly with experience. If that person's significant other or roommate does the same that household would earn $83k per year which is well above the median household income in the U.S. That seems like a very low bar to me and more than half the country is below that. I think we have a big problem with culture and work ethic in this country.
It’s a very smooth brain line of thinking with almost no understanding of reality. I’d love for him to provide an example of a grown adult trying to raise a family that can only get a minimum wage job, and what that job would be. And if you are a 30 year old who can only get a minimum wage job, it’s probably best if you don’t reproduce anyways.
I understand that it can be difficult for young people to be able to raise a family. That's especially true because of the cost of childcare. But that's a separate conversation than people making $7.25/hr or even $15/hr. It takes very little to get a $20/hr job with benefits to start and move up from there. Employers are starving for people like that with a good work ethic. You seem to suggest that a large part of the healthy working age population simply can't find anything better than a minimum wage job.
Because they are required to work 15 hrs per week to keep their social welfare going?
I asked that same question on a different message board and somebody responded with an article about the struggles of a 17 year old unwed mother with 2 kids. He was correct that this person is in a very bad spot but I don't think her problem is minimum wage laws.
It's the same culture issue that has resulted in 1/3 of high school graduates not being proficient at 8th grade reading and math.