Raising minimum wage -- $15/hr fast food emplyees

vol·un·tar·y
ˈvälənˌterē/
adjective

1. 1.
   done, given, or acting of one's own free will.

 

This is exactly what I meant, thanks for not posting something sarcastically Xier0.

If people are working minimum wage jobs, its usually because they have no other immediate available option. I've had dozens of new employees who have just gained employment with my restaurant not have enough expendable income for basic things like work shoes, food ect.

They're applying at a min wage job out of necessity, not choice. Additionally the majority of min wage workers are living paycheque to paycheque due to the wage they make vs what a living wage should be.

Approximately 62% of Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts and 21% don’t even have a savings account, according to a new survey of more than 5,000 adults conducted this month by Google Consumer Survey

 

Don't let the doublethink fry your brain. They choose to work there. That's what voluntary means. If they don't want to work for those wages, they don't have to.

 

Note: I'm 17.

Personally I view this as a bad change. I don't believe I or anyone deserve $15/hour for bagging food and handing it to someone. It's the people who never take a risk in their life who end up flipping burgers till the age of 40 and they need to either take a leap or just accept the fact that they get what they are given.

 

The problem with a massive increase to minimum wage is it hurts the unskilled worker, which needs the help more then anyone else. When an unskilled worker and a skilled worker are competing for the same job, and the minimum wage is the pay, then the unskilled worker can't compete. However, if there was no minimum wage, the unskilled worker could compete with his paycheck, by offering to work less then the skilled worker, giving an actual chance at the job.

 

Increase to minimum wage would be a good thing, but maybe not something so drastic.

People who say you shouldn't be able to live off of a minimum wage is completely ignorant to history.
Back in the 50's/60's/70's/80's the minimum wage of then was more than enough to survive if not even have extra spending cash to live off of minimum wage

Minimum Wage and What It Buys You: 1950s to Now

Right now it's pathetic, the people who work these bottom tier jobs also tend to be the hardest workers and they can't even afford to live.
Something needs to be done and raising the minimum is one of those ways.

Also to people who believe that it'll lead to immediate inflation, that's just not how it works:

Minimum Wage Mythbusters


But to solidify my stance. Yes the minimum wage needs to be increased.
When counting for inflation our minimum wage is the lowest its been since the great depression.

 

minimum wage is based off of an equilibrium of supply and demand which makes everything as efficient as possible, however if you move the minimum wage it will only disrupt the equilibrium and cause more damage than good to society as a whole, since prices and demand for everything would be unstable and chaotic

 

We don't know if this is because they do not make enough or if they are just bad with money. Many people spend far more than they should on things that they simply do not need.

 

Not disagreeing here. But the fact is these people are almost homeless, And working in a situation you can make under $25k a year is insane in today's economy.

People often use the argument "Well I'm a firefighter/emt/whatever else, And I only get paid $15 an hour why should somebody who works an entry level job get paid the same." Comparison is not good in this situation, because they are asking for a living wage. Everybody who is not an owner of a company, or is not the highest of ranking in the company is underpaid.

 

It's because people don't make enough. A person who makes 8 dollars an hour will be spending nearly everything they have on food and shelter only, and usually that shelter will be piss poor on the verge of homelessness, especially in more expensive states such as California and New York. And god forbid you need to support anyone besides yourself.

It's basic math.

 

It is not just basic math. You can not use math to show that people are not buying houses that are too large and too expensive or that people are not buying new cars that are too expensive. Let's take a look at savings rates around the world: Gross savings (% of GDP) | Data

High income earners only save 21%. Low and middle income saves 32%. Clearly if you make more you are able to save much more of a % of your income because cost of living does not grow with income growth but that is not what we see. As people earn more they spend more for whatever reason.

 

Yeah because people with minimum wage jobs are buying homes and buying new cars LOL.

 

You've missed the point of my post. Exchange cars and houses for anything you want, game consoles, phones, cable, TVs, etc. If people's cost of living is too high for them to live because they are buying things that they do not need and can not afford then that is there own fault and I shouldn't be forced to subsidize them.

 

Then make your point clear, it's not my job to extract the meaning of your post in what is a debate forum where you should putting your stance down clearly.

Anyways would you argue that having internet is a luxury? Having a console for your kids something that's too extreme?

Should people be living with zero creature comforts?

 

I'm sorry I wasn't clear enough. I thought I had been more than clear enough.

In this day and age internet is like having a telephone, essentially required to do much of anything. The prices that are charged for it are absolutely ridiculous and everyone should be able to have a very inexpensive (maybe like $10 / month) option for home internet service rather than raising the minimum wage so people can afford it.

 

This guy gets it. Unfortunately most people hear "More money" and salivate uncontrollably. Of course we all want more money, but fast food/minimum wage jobs are not meant to be careers.

Work your way up the ladder, find new opportunities and make a better living for yourself. That is what America is about and always has been about.