Re: Galbraith proposes 12 dollar minimum wage
Because it'd be a net benefit for the entire economy as was already mentioned?
People's wages have been declining since the 70's while they've been working harder than ever. Whatever you've paid your workers extra during those years has likely already been wiped out since then.
![](http://i.imgur.com/Ml8Jxl.jpg)
What?! Do you realize how out of touch with reality this makes you sound? You think the workers dictate wages these days? In this economic and pro-rich political climate?! Do you realize how high unemployment is, even using the gov's juked stats? Or how the duration of unemployment has sky rocketed vs. previous recessions and recoveries? Do you even know the middle class is shrinking rapidly? Its really ******* bad out there right now and many will take almost anything they can get, even crap jobs that pay crap wages, THAT is why you've got so many "interested" workers. They're not interested, they're desperate!
The only thing to quibble about with a living wage pay level is the minimum standard of living you want it to support. And except for in fairly poor and/or small communities $10/hr won't be enough to live on. You sure as hell can't retire on it or even pay for most medical expenses and fewer places offer benefits every year. You can't do that with $13-14/hr either of course, but at least you'd be able to keep a roof over your head and feed yourself OK food. Not a good or even decent roof or food, but OK.
That is a lot of maybes that aren't lining up with reality right now given the high unemployment, unless you believe that for whatever reason millions and millions of people suddenly decided to get laid off or fired after 2008 or so. But even if we assume they're true for the vast overwhelming majority why do you believe it is OK that these people should be paid less than what it would cost for them to live on? Do you understand at all how expensive college is these days and how hard it is to pay that off with Mc-wages or Starbucks wages or even $13-14/hr? Or how much medical expenses are even with insurance? Or just high how the cost of living is in general? Very very very very few non-rich work just for the hell of it and even people looking to build a resume need to afford food and a place to sleep.
You can't approach or fix complex societal issues by focusing on fixes that only benefit yourself and/or relatively small portions of the population. Especially if you're going to ignore and/or downplay the current economic situation for the vast majority of people right now in the US. I mean it doesn't it cross your mind at all to ask why so many people are willing to work for $10/hr even if they can't afford to pay their bills on that sort of wage? Sure you can just shrug and say, "well that is the price that the market will bear right now so who cares, CAPITALISM WOOOO" but that view leaves little to room for a good society or morals or ethics or even reality. After all we don't have a free unmanipulated market right now, and never have really its always been subject to the whims of lobbyist directed government and corporations, and if wages keep getting driven down while the cost of everything else rises people won't be able to spend anything but on the bare essentials. So you and others will go out of business anyways, or at least be made much much poorer. Everyone but those able to twist the rules to suit their ends loses in that situation.
Originally posted by rjwjr
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Originally posted by rjwjr
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![](http://i.imgur.com/Ml8Jxl.jpg)
Originally posted by rjwjr
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Originally posted by rjwjr
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Originally posted by rjwjr
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Originally posted by rjwjr
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