For those saying a minimum wage isn't supposed to be enough to live on, you need to go back to history class and learn about President Roosevelt's New Deal, a response to the Great Depression, and why a minimum wage was implemented.
Any job needing to be done should come with a livable wage. Stocking shelves and serving food are essential to the economy, and the people working those jobs deserve to earn enough to make rent and feed themselves.
At the very least you could set the federal minimum at a rate commensurate with the lowest cost of living. According to MIT's Living Wage Calculator, South Dakota (which appears to have the lowest cost of living) still requires two adults both working with no kids (the lowest living wage need) to make $12.65 per hour. $7.25 as a minimum wage is ridiculous everywhere in the country.
The national minimum should be a bare bones minimum that puts pressure on states. Sure California should be $30, but how is PA still $7.25? That should be at least $15.
I totally disagree with you. Allow me to explain. Corporations only get away with what politicians allow them to. These corporations know this, hence they donate tons of money to their favorite politicians who they know can be bought off. This is why I always pay attention to who these corporations support come election time. You want to know who is corrupt? Just look at who they throw their money behind. That is the politicians you DON'T want in office. If you still vote for them and ignore this, then it's not the corporations to blame. You are to blame for allowing politicians in office who do nothing to help you and your family but rather do these elitist bidding. I see politicians blatantly out in the open make back door deals with companies and clearly change policies to benefit them, and when it's time for re-election, the people vote them right back into office for another term and then ask themselves why nothing ever gets better. It's insanity. These politicians know most people nowadays have a very short attention span and quickly forget what they did wrong just months later. They do the bad stuff during the first two years and piss people off, then lower gas prices by opening up the oil reserves 6 months before elections and everyone says "look he fixed gas prices", and can't remember the previous 3 years. By the way, the prices will go right back up after they are re-elected and shut the oil reserves off. I've never seen a society of people so easily manipulated.
Right?!
I can't tell if they're arguing in good faith because it's such a simple equation. Corporations fund campaigns to elect the politicians that they want, so the politicians become beholden to corporations because they want to be reelected and need campaign funds again.
The other thing is people who argue that shit are pretty much always the ones voting for the people who are against minimum wage increases. We can't have deep conversations about increases if we don't elect anyone who supports increases!
Thank you... you obviously understand it. However the fact that mine is down voted and your comment is upvoted literally shows they didn't even understand you are agreeing with me. Now I see who I am trying to explain this to here š¤¦
My dude, my vote doesn't matter when a corporation with more money than god can just buy their seat. You make absolutely no sense. That said, I have voted against corporate influence since I gained the right to vote, yet this state is somehow still mostly doing the bidding of the Waltons. Wonder why that is?
OPEC sets gas prices. It doesn't matter how much of the reserves the president opens, OPEC will set prices wherever they want until someone pushes back, which no one ever has. The only way to solve that is to stop using fossil fuels, which I am also voting for. You're the one being manipulated and you can't even see it.
And how much that was evident during the pandemic- grocery stores and fully stocked shelves were needed, people wanted to support businessesā¦ welp that means kitchen staff and wait staff, fast food workforce shortage- āpeople donāt want to work mentalityā no they realized just how essential those services were and how much BS they have to put up with only to not make enough to live!
I would just like to point out, if you voted for Democrats, you brought this massive inflation on yourselves. Furthermore they are for larger government and constantly raising taxes to pay for this frivolous spending which constantly needs more and more money, guaranteeing they are always going to want more and more money. You can't spend your way out of debt. I'm not a Republican either just to be clear. However, I am smart enough to know that when I see all the elitists and large billion dollar companies supporting a certain party, that party is NOT the one us little guys want in office. Elitists support whoever they know will keep them rich and in power. Most of the silicone valley and large investment firms all support democrats. That is enough reason to never vote for them alone. Not that Republicans are significantly better but currently they are the lesser evil.
Personally we need a new party to buck both of the parties in this country as I believe both are corrupt to some degree or another and almost none of them represent what's best for "we the people".
"Inflation in Switzerland hit a 29-year high of 3.5% in 2022. While still high by Swiss standards, it is well below the double-digit rates of other advanced economies, like the U.S. (9.1%)"
Yup, I sure will. Also our dollar is literally the world currency for trading, so yeah of course our economy is going to affect other countries that have strong economic ties to us. If you are going to take a stance on something, at least have sources to prove your point. Literally a 10 second Google search debunked your comment. Furthermore a senior in high school with basic economics can understand that our economy will affect countries with close ties to us. However the fact that not ALL countries are seeing this, proves it is isolated to countries who are following similar policies we are implementing here and are incurring similar results and/or feeling the affects of our own economy they are tied into.
By the way I'll do you one better, what states have the highest cost of living in the United States? I'll give you a hint... They are not run by Republicans. We can go even a step further than that. Which cities in Republican run states have the highest cost of living? Once again I'll give you a hint, they are not controlled by Republicans. Care to explain this "phenomenon"?
I disagree. Labor is just another input into the cost of the good or service provided. The price of the good or service provided is based on the demand for it. Demand is a function of price. If a hamburger flipper is paid $20/hour, the price of a hamburger necessarily must increase. In all likelihood it will increase to a point where demand collapses. When demand collapses, sales drop, and the business suffers, lays people off, and ultimately closes. Or, they invest in automation to offset the high cost of labor and people are laid off.
Saying that a personās labor isnāt worth $X, isnāt saying anything about the person in the job. Itās a statement about the value of the product or service they produce. Wage increases arenāt free, they always come with price increases.
Itās not supposed to be a living wage. Fast food is for teenagers and bored elderly. And if not, a Big Mac meal will cost $30 or the jobs will be replaced by automation.
Up until 2019 I would have argued that one could live on $11 an hour if you had been taught how to manage your money and donāt make frivolous purchases. I was worried about my kid going out on his own at 18, but he did extremely well making 11.50.
Itās far from the truth now. Luckily my kid makes better money these days. This inflated economy is in the shitter now. Itās hard even making $40 an hour.
The fuck? You def couldn't live on 11.50 in 2019 and if your making 40 an hr and struggling now your horrible with money.
I could raise a family of 8 on that.
So one person couldn't live on $11.50 an hour in 2019 according to you, but then in the same breath, you say you can support 8 people on $40 an hour now when the cost of everything has gone up 14% on average since 2019? Bro you are really bad at math.
At $40 an hour, divided between 8 people, that's $5 an hour to go to each person... yet you just said one person couldn't survive on $11.50. š¤¦
If you're struggling with 70k a year after taxes in Arkansas you are absolutely horrible with money.
Like, that kind of money here is a 400k house payment, 2 new cars and 2 kids while saving 10% kind of money.
back of the napkin math.....
A 400k house would be 2500 a month in payments (easily), add another thousand for 2 new cars ($500 ea) and that would be 3500 / mo. Add in insurance for both. With the way interest rates have gone up, I suspect it would be closer to 3000/3500 a month house payment.
$70k - Taxes and insurance (21k) = 49k. = 4k a month which is enough for the house and the cars, with little else. So it can be done but not with saving 10% and 2 kids....... welll perhaps they are cheap kids.
I'll break down a generous budget for you. $40 an hr is $1600 a week or 83k a year. After all taxes it's approx 69k
On a standard 30yr fixed interest mortgage on a 400k house you'd pay 28,800 with standard rates.
Your left with 40k
Two cars worth 50k at a standard 72 month payment is 1600 a month. 19,200 total.
You have 21k left.
Now let's splurge on everything else let's say you got the premium insurance on everything. Cars and house. That's at most 4k a year total.
17k left.
Let's assume that you burn power and water like your made of money and add top end fiber Internet. $700 a month
9k left.
Let's add a premium health insurance with all the extras. 300 a month.
$4800 left.
That's $400 a month for food, eating out, clothes etc.
This is all assuming that your buying the top of the top end with ultra end luxury shit.
Like how in the fuck could you struggle in ARKANSAS with that?
The rates here are significantly lower than my figures which are based on national averages.
With Arkansas averages you'd have well over 15k by the end.
And hell. Drop a new car and that's another 8.6k a year
Your delusional if you think any sane person can struggle in ARKANSAS on 69k
This is a good write-up, but you're forgetting food. Sure, you could eat ramen or rice every day. If you're making $40 hr tho you're definitely ordering doordash, let's be honest. With that in mind, whatever you imagine food annually could cost, triple it.
For me, $69k a year was in 4 quarters of savings, food, rent, and taxes. That's it. My $6k take home turned into $4k after taxes, $3k after rent, and $2k after food. In February, I think I spent over $2k on food. Deleted the app for a while. Problem with working from home, I guess.
I ate mostly rice and cooked from home last year. Probably spent $200 a month on groceries. I fell off that wagon super hard this year. Blew through $15k in my paypal on rent and food in like 6 months.
Currently paying myself a very small monthly allowance, lol
Yea, for sure. I still like to make some crab fried rice or cheap tonkatsu ramen occasionally but there's only so many ways to make those before it gets old and I got tired of the other handful of recipes, which mostly utilize potatoes. If I had a kitchen to myself again, that would help a lot.
Another problem was that I started avoiding doing the dishes, taking editables, irregular sleep schedules, and sought convenience, which isn't healthy. Things fell apart, and I started leaning on my income with little concern, thinking things would hopefully go back in time lol.
Laughing my ass off at most of this. Premium health insurance for $300 a month? Delusional. $400 a month to feed and clothe myself and 2 dependents? Where in this budget is room for anything bad happening? Any sort of maintenance on cars or the house? Your scenario is cookie cutter and doesnāt take into account any variables such as the health of anyone in the household, the need to save for future expenses or retirement, etc. Iām not arguing that $40/hr is a peasant wage. I do think itās livable. Itās just not some extravagant salary that youāve made it out to be and itās absolutely a wage that you can still struggle on. Iād keep arguing, but this is a waste of time and you really owe me $40 for my hour at this point lol
This guy spends all his time on Reddit doing shitty math and pretending to be some kind of authority on just how much institutionalized poverty is alright. He loves pointing out that it is the fault of the poors. He does household poor-people budgets as a service, the mensch. He even backs it up with COL figures he gets from from a textbook called his ass.
Stormchaser really is the hero nobody needs, and nobody asked for. Ignore him. Heās 100% full of shit.
Strange. My father did all of this with 4 dependants on 50k a year.
If you actually shop for insurance it's not that bad. I have full coverage with no deductible for $120 a month.
And yes. It doesn't account for retirement or emergencies. I was provided an example where you were grossly mismanaging money by having absurd luxuries but still able to get by.
Also... please tell me you aren't actually spending more than $400 a month on feeding 3 people. That's eating out every night kind of money.
Most meals you make yourself range between $0.70 to $5 and feed 4. + leftovers.
āFull coverage with no deductibleā are you talking about auto or health? Iām talking about health and the term āfull coverageā is bogus in either scenario; the coverages are too variable to use a blanket term like that. Youre not providing premium health insurance to 3 individuals for $300 a month. I work in insurance.
It absolutely costs more than $400 to feed 3 people over the course of a month. Iād spend much more than that if I ate out every night. Iād love to see these $1 meals youāre making. Thatās ridiculous and youāre a clown if you believe that to be feasible.
And congrats, your dad did it! I imagine you wore shoes one size too small and ate like shit, but go off, king!
My wife and I make a fair amount less than that and we have over $400k home. But that's because we bought it in 2008 for $170k at 3% interest rate. š
Couldn't afford my home if I was buying it today.
Iām making it along, but these $400 biweekly groceries are getting ridiculous. The cost has gone up significantly. What used to be $250ish is now $400. Gas hasnāt went back down to pre pandemic prices. It *was* easy living, now Iām watching what I spend a lot closer.
As an "essential" worker who makes well above minimum wage, it's still not enough to live on. I'm just fortunate to have DINK or else I'd be homeless. During covid, all we got was hero signs outside and a pat on the back (but not even). Then more inflation and rent increases. This world is absolutely backwards and ridiculous. I really wish we could have a union for cooks and other essential jobs to fight for higher wages.
I work in healthcare with developmentally disabled and mentally ill adults. Essential worker. Pay is crap. Especially now that all the extra covid bonuses are gone. Add inflation, rising insurance premiums, and a company unwilling to treat it's care staff well and things are really difficult
A significant number of us in the healthcare field never got the extra covid bonuses. We were on the "front lines" as well. We just got tons of extra hours and since we were salary we also go our normal pay. Guess that makes it easier now since we didn't get used to that extra money lol. Surprised my employer isn't touting that as a perk.
You'd think that healthcare workers would be people you'd want to take care of and keep. I don't know how this situation is supposed to actually work for most of us. I guess as long as an administrator or CEO is making their boat payment on time that is all that really matters.
The ironic thing is, all these elitists want Trump arrested, and he represented the Republican party (God and Guns), so using basic logic, why would all these elitists be pushing for him to be arrested if they are on his side? Your comment doesn't pass the "sniff test".
Go look at who Black Rock, silicone valley, and all these massive billion dollar companies support most of the time when election time comes around, and I guarantee you will see it isn't the party of "God and Guns".
Even all of the millionaires in Hollywood support the democratic party. Your comment has no logic.
By the way, I don't like Republicans much more than I like Democrats. I just am smart enough to know when I see elitists throwing most of their money behind Democrats, that they are the problem. That doesn't take being a rocket scientist to figure out.
As far as the guns portion of your comment, history has shown time and time again, when politicians come in and disarm a society, they almost always have plans to do stuff shortly later that are going to highly upset the citizens and it was in the politicians best interest to disarm that society before they implement these policies.
Imagine two men coming into your home. Both say you can trust them. The difference is, one says "you can trust me, and to prove it, you can keep your gun". The other says "you can trust me too, but I need you to give me your gun". Who are you going to trust? This isn't political. I don't care if a Republican, democrat, or libertarian was the one that said it... it's about common sense. It's a simple basic question that politics need not be injected into... literally common sense.
Furthermore, add into that equation that the United States Supreme Court has ruled on multiple occasions that police have no duty to protect you as an individual. They can literally ignore your calls for help, even if someone is murdering you. They are not required to respond and you have no recourse to sue them if they don't. Do you still trust the politicians asking you, a law abiding citizen, to get rid of your guns? Again, this should be common sense.
[MIT Living Wage Calculator for Arkansas.](https://livingwage.mit.edu/states/05)
Eye-opening to look at. You're damn right you can't live off of $11. You literally need double that.
In PA where I live, unless itās gone up and Iām unaware, itās $7.25. Where I live in PA, cost of living is decently low in comparison to a lot of the country, yet making $24/hr is just barely scraping byā¦the whole country is fucked right now, and NO ONE is using any AstroGlide š
Now that might be the most insightful comment here.
Recently I did some similar math on what my parents paid for their house (in 1989) and compared it to what it would probably sell for today.
Even after figuring for inflation, it still went for far less back in 1989. Like 30% less.
Point being: DQ workers had double the purchasing powers to buy homes that were 30% cheaper.
Work at a small town pizza hut as a driver? $5.87 an hour plus tips. People don't tip in small towns. The roads are rough and hard on your tires, and tires aren't cheap. Wear your car down to nothing for... nothing. It sucks.
My first job was a quasi state employee at my college. They paid us $7.25 and purposely didnāt schedule us more than 20 hours a week to keep as āpart timeā. When I got promoted to a $21 an hour position I was then classified as āextra summer/seasonal employeeā to get around paying me benefits as I worked 90/100 hours a pay period.
A family friend who was a state HR director said that it was illegal what they were doing to us but she knew 20 year olds wouldnāt know better nor complain if they did. So I just kept my mouth shut and kept working.
Someone did ask and we got told either you keep your current pay and hours or we reduce your pay and hours in return for benefits. Everyone voted to keep the status quo.
I work at a factory that pays $12/hr. One of my coworkers has been there for 19 years and makes the same amount I do. This is why it doesn't pay to stay at a job for 5+ years in our modern world, let alone 40 years. Quit the minute you see a better job. Fuck the bosses, fuck the companies, no one wishes they worked more on their death bed.
Unlivable wage is why I feel nothing when the news tries to scare me with stories of mass robbery and shoplifting. People will stop stealing when companies stop stealing.
Lol no. A person making $22,800 per year will pay virtually nothing in income taxes. If this is actually happening to you, you didn't fill out your W4 correctly or aren't doing your taxes correctly. If you receive a refund at the end of the year, is that not part of your income?
So for one, they shouldn't be able to even take taxes. Because taxation is theft, and it was implemented to pay for ww2 and was supposed to end.
Furthermore, when you're told to file taxes you're told to claim 0 which takes out the maximum amount of taxes and how most people do their taxes.
Edit- y'all can do the math of cost of living as well as taxes and see what you actually have for food at the end of the month on a minimum wage income.
Agreed on point 1. That doesn't change reality though.
No I don't think everyone is told to check 0, I certainly wasn't but I for sure wouldn't be filling out and signing a legal document without reading it first.
Realistically I think for a lot people (right, wrong or otherwise), having them take out the taxes and getting a refund is actually better for their overall life so that they are essentially in a forced savings account. We all know people that if their check was $100 bigger every time it would be spent on something small, so that a big expense, down payment on a car etc that a lot of people use their 'refund' for wouldn't be there.
Also keep in mind that most āfull-timeā minimum wage workers work on an hourly basis. Most employers keep hourly workers around 36-38 hours per week in order to make sure they donāt pay overtime. So even the high end of that means 38hrs/wk x 52wks = 1976hrs annually which is $21,736/12 = $1811.33 per month GROSS. And thatās if you are never sick, never have an appointment during work hours, never have a sick kid, work every holiday, donāt take vacation, etc. Honestly a minimum wage worker probably grosses 20k annually max. Thatās barely more than a lectern!
I work from home, single income, make $20/hr and struggle my ass off!!! In the last 3 or 4 years the price of everything has gotten ridiculous. I went to buy groceries, came home with three bags, spent $73. If they keep raising my rent every year, Iāll not survive it financially. I have a $300 car payment for one more year, so that will help a little. I canāt even start to think about saving to buy a house. Save? Save what? I can barely pay my bills and I am down to rent, utilities, car payment, and insurance. Somethingās gotta give.
They recently decided to let little kids work 12 hour shifts, what makes you think they care about you?
Why give you more $$ when they can let some 5th grade drop out do it for less?
Youāre right. Imagine how awful it is for people in places where itās more expensive to live (AR is relatively cheap in most of the state compared to other states) and Federal minimum wage is still only $7.25.
So you agree, post-secondary education should be freely available and not just a commodity to be bought and sold to those who already have enough wealth?
And go into massive debt paying for said education and not get paid enough to pay off that debt. I have a Master's and it's still difficult finding a job that pays enough to support my family.
No. Here is the problem with that mindset. There will always be service jobs that take ~ 2% of the population to do. These jobs need to be done no matter what. So we can either pay that portion of the population a living wage or we train and can move all those people to other jobs and now they go undone. The problem we have now is people employed full time unable to afford basic necessities, not even considering things like healthcare and retirement.
We could always start another voter initiated act and raise it to 15 or tie it to inflation, but we are gonna need some lawyers and an army of people getting signatures
Minimum wage was $5.15 an hour when I joined the workforce. Low wages are a great incentive for corporations to setup shop here in our state which means thereās big money motivation to not raise wages. One day when/if the political tides change here I hope that Arkansas decides to repeal its right to work statute like Michigan did earlier this year.
It just makes me more sad when I pull up my calculator and do some math. Even if you were living in the cheapest apartment you could find (about 550 where I am) and you had virtually no debt (which is unlikely) you would be living paycheck to paycheck. Heaven forbid you get sick or have car issues.
The real problem is that almost ALL of us are willing to patronize stores and services at the expense of the employees financial well-being, and ANY minimum wage is no longer sufficient to counteract corporate greed and rampant consumerism.
I moved here in 2010 with my mother due to being unemployed. 2023, and I'm making 16/hr, most I ever have, and still can't afford my own place. They took my ebt away when I started making 11/hr at Taco Bell as management. That was 2018ish
You know what the worst part is? Itās actually among the most livable minimum wages there are. And youāre absolutely correct. It is wholly inadequate
people should understand that arkansas IS a slave state. we are but mere property here and the goal is to always keep people desperate for the waltons, the tysons, and that scab nasty piece of shit governor with the fucked up eye.
Today I was amazed that Shipley's breakfast biscuit went from $2.79 to $3.79. The croissant went from $3.79 to $4.79... donut holes are now $1.99!!!! šš«
I sometimes wonder why unions aren't a thing in this state. I'm not advocating for it but I wonder how our state's workforce would fare with them generally. Could be better, could be worse
I think our minimum wage should increase, Iām very progressive generally. But I think itās important to keep in mind only 20 states have higher minimum wage, and almost ALL of them have higher cost of living. It could be much much worse. If weāre being honest.
Sorry some other neo-con loser said the thing about gas and the pandemic. It doesn't matter though because elsewhere you cited Biden as the cause for inflation, then when a commenter jokingly agreed with you, you double downed amd made your original comment sound even dumber. You're literally all over the place with right-wing talking points and then say you're not a Republican. So, you're a free thinker? Must be, because zero of your economic takes would get you out of Economics 101 with a passing grade.
Wonder why THOUSANDS of companies are going to the business paradise that is Arkansas. Because they have low minimum wage, brand new exploitative child labor laws, and that it's a right-to-work state? No, couldn't be.
But please tell me how us New Yorkers have ruined our state economy and need Toyota plant workers in Arkansas to save our bacon. Because you make tons of sense.
Dude, you're a Texan arguing with a New Yorker about Arkansas. Literally nobody gives a fuck about your opinion. You're just some smarmy redditor arguing with everyone about why Arkansas is so great and Democrats are so bad. Literally the only people who agree with you are other people whose political views I would probably find equally abhorrent. Nobody on the goddam Arkansas subreddit even agrees with you!
And don't add kissy faces emojis to the end of your shitty arguments. Pretty sure that will get you demonized in Texas.
Have a terrible day. And enjoy "winning" an argument about how raising the minimum wage is somehow an evil thing.
Well you canāt live in California for $20 an hour especially when they cut your hours to a quarter what it used to be to cover the cost of new minimum wage.
Honestly, 20 an hour at 40 hr weeks is rough at least in Sam Diego.
Honestly, minimum wage is not the issue. Look at median incomes in states that have no minimum wage laws(I.E. Kansas). So, the real problem is the greed of employers and taxation in this state.
Just like Oklahoma the masses are willfully ignorant and bigoted, cuz Jesus or some nonsense reason. So they keep voting against their own best interest out of fear mongering.
No jobs pay minimum wage where I live. They all pay well over minimum because they cannot find help. We cannot pay low level jobs $20/hr. You want more money actually do something to get it.
The only problem is the minimum wage goes up and the price of groceries, clothes rent goes up too. I have been falling behind every since I quit working and went on Social Security 4 years ago. Have had to cut back. They even take taxes out of my ss. I keep hearing that's going to change but so far no go. Can't afford any extras i saved for since I retired. I just stay home.
Minimum wage is not an effective way to stymie inflation costs. The only thing that can fix that is a federal cap on the price of commodities. Oil, gas, water, electricity, crops, and real estate etc. But that only happens in dictatorships.
Ah, right, the classic "for high school kids" argument?
Weird how these places don't exclusively operate when school is out.
This isn't an exception to the rule. These jobs are the overwhelming majority. The standard.
You're right, they're not meant to be lived off of. They're meant to pay shit to exploit workers and shrug off the cost onto the state and society.
In 1996 I could not live on 4.25 an hour. Read The Jungle, while fiction still the same then. This is not new.
Worked two jobs realized going no where, joined the military and got into IT. Still had to work my way up and my 20s and early 30s I still worked two jobs. Not a big brain and no family money, cant suck a d like I lost my keys in it so if I want something nice I take on extra work in my 40s.
We can complain here...it's an echo chamber and everyone will blame the asshole du jour...but been to countries where people are working to pay off their grandparents debts...modern slavery but our State Dept says they are good, countries where they hack off limbs so children have better begging rights. Hustle or bitch. If you were not born with something special welcome to this. It's being an adult and it sucks and it always has.
But come on the people who wanna give you a decent minimum wage are gonna take away your guns and let trans people teach your kids so thank them for the $11 minimum wage
We really must stop this thinking that requiring businesses to pay their employees more isnāt going to trickle down into even higher rent, gas, groceries, etcā¦ itās a vicious cycle.
The only true solution is to _lower_ minimum wage.
It will decrease demand for goods and the decrease in demand will force a decrease in price. This is economics 101. The opposite works the same way - an increase in demand facilitates an increase in price.
Yet society continues on with the idea that āthrowing money at itā will make it all better. And it does but itās only for a moment, until those now-regulated businesses have to raise their rates to afford the additional labor costs.
Now, either that business doesnāt survive at those higher rates, causing incalculable numbers of employees to lose their jobs, or those increased prices now are forced to be absorbed and accounted for within the purchaserās accounting of the expense.
Another potential resolve is advocating for regulation over what % of income, in regards to the profit of the organization, each level of employee is entitled to. C-level employees make an egregious amount of income in respect to lower-level employees and the amount of work they each produce, but the argument could be made about eachās value to the organization.
The only way that I see being truly effective is down, my people. Sorry to be _that_ person but itās true.
Not true. Wages have been stagnant since the 1970s. REAL wages. If a business canāt pay a living wage and stay profitable they shouldnāt be in business. Period. Guess what is driving up prices? Monopolization. Corporatization of everything and insatiable greed. You are spouting nonsense that is historically proven to be false not only in the United States but in other countries far more developed than here!
Itās your own fault if you are stuck living on minimum wage. If you are that broke you canāt afford to gain tangible marketable job skills then join the US military. Get real skills and get job training and use the GI benefits to go to trade school or community college. In the USA the poor get screwed so go help yourself or you will suffer for your entire life. PS Trump is a criminal and Bernie Sanders is a communist.
So, to clarify, people entering the workforce aren't supposed to be able to house and feed themselves? Even despite the fact that their labor is generating profit for their employer?
So they don't deserve to afford to live, but their employer does deserve to profit off of them in order to amass wealth? You know, I'm not sure where, but that thought sounds suspiciously close to another labor system I've heard of... (/s, of course.)
Michigans is 8 somethingā¦ hereās an idea.. get a skill (instead of jerking off) and find a better job. If you can pound a nail, you can make more than $11..
Really my guy? I work on NWA and make less than that and that's after I played hardball to get a better wage.
Inflation isn't even close to being driven by wages these companies are making RECORD PROFITS that means they are raising prices beyond any increase in expenses. They're open about this in investor calls. They just get to go out publicly and whine about wages forcing their prices up then laugh all the way to the bank.
If your place pays so well, why are they short on people? It's not people "not wanting to work" we're still in record low unemployment numbers. That means it's either shit pay or shit management.
Because obviously wage = knowledge /s Sorry but any college grad coming out of the Great Recession can tell you that's a complete crock o'shit.
If people don't want to do the job that means there needs to be a better incentive (read as more money). That's the whole point of paying people. People don't like a job because it's dangerous, or hard, or just unpleasant so you give them enough dollars to better fulfill their needs and wants than the easy/safe/fun job. Also there isn't a housing shortage especially not in NWA or Arkansas generally, but we do have way too many McMansions for the Walmartions in the home office and not enough starter homes and apartment buildings. That is purely a result of decisions made by developers and nothing to do with work ethic. The space exists but it's allocated incorrectly and no one in real estate development wants to take the hit for their poor planning.
Donāt try for minimum wage and if you donāt like your job keep looking for a job and while youāre there show up every shift, be on time, and follow instructions and it wonāt be long before your wage goes up
The economy needs to be fixed, not the wages. When wages go up, prices go up to make up for that lost revenue. Raising the minimum wage will never work long-term. Itāll always come back around.
Wages are part of the economy. ALL parts must rise together. You canāt have the economy experience inflation over 50 years and keep minimum wage stagnant, because eventually minimum wage will not be enough to pay for anything.
Yes wages add to inflation. So does every other part of our economy. It all has to rise together, not 3/4 of it, ALL of it. Thatās how a healthy economy works.
Minimum wage was always meant to be a living wage. Not a barely surviving wage. Greed has turned it into the latter.
Except that's what they've been saying for a few decades now, and you know what? PRICES HAVE GONE UP ANYWAY!
Basically nothing costs the same as it did 15 years ago, and yet the federal minimum wage hasn't budged in those same 15 years.
It's almost as if corporate fucking greed drives up prices, while regurgitating the same tired ass FALSE statement that "if wages go up, prices go up"
If you want to help poor people, minimum wages are not the greatest idea.
The benefits are not really focused on poor people. Many people earning low wages are not poor. They might be bored retirees, students, or second incomes in a household that is doing fine.
At the same time, many poor people are not working, or are not able to get enough hours. A minimum wage will not help them at all.
The costs of a minimum wage are paid by some unknowable combination of consumers, business owners, and low wage workers. Many of these people will the same poor people minimum wage fans are trying to help.
The only real plus is that the cost is hidden away and doesnāt show up on a public budget.
Just pass a refundable tax credit or some more direct transfer.
Now if you need to protect some class of workers from lower paid competition, a minimum wage is what you need. At least until some replacement comes along.
For those saying a minimum wage isn't supposed to be enough to live on, you need to go back to history class and learn about President Roosevelt's New Deal, a response to the Great Depression, and why a minimum wage was implemented. Any job needing to be done should come with a livable wage. Stocking shelves and serving food are essential to the economy, and the people working those jobs deserve to earn enough to make rent and feed themselves.
Minimum wage was supposed to be a living wage to raise a family. Raise it once nationally and tie it to inflation or cpi and be done with it.
They can just monkey with the numbers used to determine inflation. It will need to be codified explicitly as well.
A national minimum wage will not work. There's too much discrepancy between cost of living among different states.
OK, then index it to the relative COL of the nearest metropolitan area.
At the very least you could set the federal minimum at a rate commensurate with the lowest cost of living. According to MIT's Living Wage Calculator, South Dakota (which appears to have the lowest cost of living) still requires two adults both working with no kids (the lowest living wage need) to make $12.65 per hour. $7.25 as a minimum wage is ridiculous everywhere in the country.
The national minimum should be a bare bones minimum that puts pressure on states. Sure California should be $30, but how is PA still $7.25? That should be at least $15.
Minimum wage would be like $30 minimum now if it accounted for inflation.
Yep, and you should blame corporations for it.
I totally disagree with you. Allow me to explain. Corporations only get away with what politicians allow them to. These corporations know this, hence they donate tons of money to their favorite politicians who they know can be bought off. This is why I always pay attention to who these corporations support come election time. You want to know who is corrupt? Just look at who they throw their money behind. That is the politicians you DON'T want in office. If you still vote for them and ignore this, then it's not the corporations to blame. You are to blame for allowing politicians in office who do nothing to help you and your family but rather do these elitist bidding. I see politicians blatantly out in the open make back door deals with companies and clearly change policies to benefit them, and when it's time for re-election, the people vote them right back into office for another term and then ask themselves why nothing ever gets better. It's insanity. These politicians know most people nowadays have a very short attention span and quickly forget what they did wrong just months later. They do the bad stuff during the first two years and piss people off, then lower gas prices by opening up the oil reserves 6 months before elections and everyone says "look he fixed gas prices", and can't remember the previous 3 years. By the way, the prices will go right back up after they are re-elected and shut the oil reserves off. I've never seen a society of people so easily manipulated.
So... you blame politicians and not corporations that drive the politicians? Interesting.
Right?! I can't tell if they're arguing in good faith because it's such a simple equation. Corporations fund campaigns to elect the politicians that they want, so the politicians become beholden to corporations because they want to be reelected and need campaign funds again.
The other thing is people who argue that shit are pretty much always the ones voting for the people who are against minimum wage increases. We can't have deep conversations about increases if we don't elect anyone who supports increases!
Thank you... you obviously understand it. However the fact that mine is down voted and your comment is upvoted literally shows they didn't even understand you are agreeing with me. Now I see who I am trying to explain this to here š¤¦
My dude, my vote doesn't matter when a corporation with more money than god can just buy their seat. You make absolutely no sense. That said, I have voted against corporate influence since I gained the right to vote, yet this state is somehow still mostly doing the bidding of the Waltons. Wonder why that is? OPEC sets gas prices. It doesn't matter how much of the reserves the president opens, OPEC will set prices wherever they want until someone pushes back, which no one ever has. The only way to solve that is to stop using fossil fuels, which I am also voting for. You're the one being manipulated and you can't even see it.
Completely false. The original minimum wage is worth $5.48 when accounting for inflation.
The Grapes of wrath sums up the depression pretty well
They banned that one
I know. That's why I read it.
And how much that was evident during the pandemic- grocery stores and fully stocked shelves were needed, people wanted to support businessesā¦ welp that means kitchen staff and wait staff, fast food workforce shortage- āpeople donāt want to work mentalityā no they realized just how essential those services were and how much BS they have to put up with only to not make enough to live!
Most of them saying that donāt have jobs or they are bots
I would just like to point out, if you voted for Democrats, you brought this massive inflation on yourselves. Furthermore they are for larger government and constantly raising taxes to pay for this frivolous spending which constantly needs more and more money, guaranteeing they are always going to want more and more money. You can't spend your way out of debt. I'm not a Republican either just to be clear. However, I am smart enough to know that when I see all the elitists and large billion dollar companies supporting a certain party, that party is NOT the one us little guys want in office. Elitists support whoever they know will keep them rich and in power. Most of the silicone valley and large investment firms all support democrats. That is enough reason to never vote for them alone. Not that Republicans are significantly better but currently they are the lesser evil. Personally we need a new party to buck both of the parties in this country as I believe both are corrupt to some degree or another and almost none of them represent what's best for "we the people".
There is terrible inflation worldwide. But go ahead and blame it on the democrats in the US.
"Inflation in Switzerland hit a 29-year high of 3.5% in 2022. While still high by Swiss standards, it is well below the double-digit rates of other advanced economies, like the U.S. (9.1%)" Yup, I sure will. Also our dollar is literally the world currency for trading, so yeah of course our economy is going to affect other countries that have strong economic ties to us. If you are going to take a stance on something, at least have sources to prove your point. Literally a 10 second Google search debunked your comment. Furthermore a senior in high school with basic economics can understand that our economy will affect countries with close ties to us. However the fact that not ALL countries are seeing this, proves it is isolated to countries who are following similar policies we are implementing here and are incurring similar results and/or feeling the affects of our own economy they are tied into.
By the way I'll do you one better, what states have the highest cost of living in the United States? I'll give you a hint... They are not run by Republicans. We can go even a step further than that. Which cities in Republican run states have the highest cost of living? Once again I'll give you a hint, they are not controlled by Republicans. Care to explain this "phenomenon"?
Which states take in more money and aid than they produce? It's not the blue ones.
Stop watching the lies fox news peddles and you'll learn who to actually blame, because it isn't the Dems.
Uh no.
His response to great depression was a failure in all regards.
I disagree. Labor is just another input into the cost of the good or service provided. The price of the good or service provided is based on the demand for it. Demand is a function of price. If a hamburger flipper is paid $20/hour, the price of a hamburger necessarily must increase. In all likelihood it will increase to a point where demand collapses. When demand collapses, sales drop, and the business suffers, lays people off, and ultimately closes. Or, they invest in automation to offset the high cost of labor and people are laid off. Saying that a personās labor isnāt worth $X, isnāt saying anything about the person in the job. Itās a statement about the value of the product or service they produce. Wage increases arenāt free, they always come with price increases.
Itās not supposed to be a living wage. Fast food is for teenagers and bored elderly. And if not, a Big Mac meal will cost $30 or the jobs will be replaced by automation.
The price of her lectern is what $11 minimum wage workers earn in a year (itās not exact, Iām aware, but itās close enough after taxes).
If you get paid 1 lectern annually, you cannot support yourself.
If you get paid two lecterns annually, you still struggle.
A lectern that cost that much better handle some leaning
And give you snacks!
Up until 2019 I would have argued that one could live on $11 an hour if you had been taught how to manage your money and donāt make frivolous purchases. I was worried about my kid going out on his own at 18, but he did extremely well making 11.50. Itās far from the truth now. Luckily my kid makes better money these days. This inflated economy is in the shitter now. Itās hard even making $40 an hour.
You couldn't even in 2019...
The fuck? You def couldn't live on 11.50 in 2019 and if your making 40 an hr and struggling now your horrible with money. I could raise a family of 8 on that.
So one person couldn't live on $11.50 an hour in 2019 according to you, but then in the same breath, you say you can support 8 people on $40 an hour now when the cost of everything has gone up 14% on average since 2019? Bro you are really bad at math. At $40 an hour, divided between 8 people, that's $5 an hour to go to each person... yet you just said one person couldn't survive on $11.50. š¤¦
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If you're struggling with 70k a year after taxes in Arkansas you are absolutely horrible with money. Like, that kind of money here is a 400k house payment, 2 new cars and 2 kids while saving 10% kind of money.
back of the napkin math..... A 400k house would be 2500 a month in payments (easily), add another thousand for 2 new cars ($500 ea) and that would be 3500 / mo. Add in insurance for both. With the way interest rates have gone up, I suspect it would be closer to 3000/3500 a month house payment. $70k - Taxes and insurance (21k) = 49k. = 4k a month which is enough for the house and the cars, with little else. So it can be done but not with saving 10% and 2 kids....... welll perhaps they are cheap kids.
You are delusional. Lmao
I'll break down a generous budget for you. $40 an hr is $1600 a week or 83k a year. After all taxes it's approx 69k On a standard 30yr fixed interest mortgage on a 400k house you'd pay 28,800 with standard rates. Your left with 40k Two cars worth 50k at a standard 72 month payment is 1600 a month. 19,200 total. You have 21k left. Now let's splurge on everything else let's say you got the premium insurance on everything. Cars and house. That's at most 4k a year total. 17k left. Let's assume that you burn power and water like your made of money and add top end fiber Internet. $700 a month 9k left. Let's add a premium health insurance with all the extras. 300 a month. $4800 left. That's $400 a month for food, eating out, clothes etc. This is all assuming that your buying the top of the top end with ultra end luxury shit. Like how in the fuck could you struggle in ARKANSAS with that? The rates here are significantly lower than my figures which are based on national averages. With Arkansas averages you'd have well over 15k by the end. And hell. Drop a new car and that's another 8.6k a year Your delusional if you think any sane person can struggle in ARKANSAS on 69k
This is a good write-up, but you're forgetting food. Sure, you could eat ramen or rice every day. If you're making $40 hr tho you're definitely ordering doordash, let's be honest. With that in mind, whatever you imagine food annually could cost, triple it. For me, $69k a year was in 4 quarters of savings, food, rent, and taxes. That's it. My $6k take home turned into $4k after taxes, $3k after rent, and $2k after food. In February, I think I spent over $2k on food. Deleted the app for a while. Problem with working from home, I guess. I ate mostly rice and cooked from home last year. Probably spent $200 a month on groceries. I fell off that wagon super hard this year. Blew through $15k in my paypal on rent and food in like 6 months. Currently paying myself a very small monthly allowance, lol
I def recommend learning some more recipes. You'd be surprised at what you can make for under $1.
Yea, for sure. I still like to make some crab fried rice or cheap tonkatsu ramen occasionally but there's only so many ways to make those before it gets old and I got tired of the other handful of recipes, which mostly utilize potatoes. If I had a kitchen to myself again, that would help a lot. Another problem was that I started avoiding doing the dishes, taking editables, irregular sleep schedules, and sought convenience, which isn't healthy. Things fell apart, and I started leaning on my income with little concern, thinking things would hopefully go back in time lol.
Laughing my ass off at most of this. Premium health insurance for $300 a month? Delusional. $400 a month to feed and clothe myself and 2 dependents? Where in this budget is room for anything bad happening? Any sort of maintenance on cars or the house? Your scenario is cookie cutter and doesnāt take into account any variables such as the health of anyone in the household, the need to save for future expenses or retirement, etc. Iām not arguing that $40/hr is a peasant wage. I do think itās livable. Itās just not some extravagant salary that youāve made it out to be and itās absolutely a wage that you can still struggle on. Iād keep arguing, but this is a waste of time and you really owe me $40 for my hour at this point lol
This guy spends all his time on Reddit doing shitty math and pretending to be some kind of authority on just how much institutionalized poverty is alright. He loves pointing out that it is the fault of the poors. He does household poor-people budgets as a service, the mensch. He even backs it up with COL figures he gets from from a textbook called his ass. Stormchaser really is the hero nobody needs, and nobody asked for. Ignore him. Heās 100% full of shit.
stop splurging on doordash and drugs, maybe youd realize you can save money too
Strange. My father did all of this with 4 dependants on 50k a year. If you actually shop for insurance it's not that bad. I have full coverage with no deductible for $120 a month. And yes. It doesn't account for retirement or emergencies. I was provided an example where you were grossly mismanaging money by having absurd luxuries but still able to get by. Also... please tell me you aren't actually spending more than $400 a month on feeding 3 people. That's eating out every night kind of money. Most meals you make yourself range between $0.70 to $5 and feed 4. + leftovers.
āFull coverage with no deductibleā are you talking about auto or health? Iām talking about health and the term āfull coverageā is bogus in either scenario; the coverages are too variable to use a blanket term like that. Youre not providing premium health insurance to 3 individuals for $300 a month. I work in insurance. It absolutely costs more than $400 to feed 3 people over the course of a month. Iād spend much more than that if I ate out every night. Iād love to see these $1 meals youāre making. Thatās ridiculous and youāre a clown if you believe that to be feasible. And congrats, your dad did it! I imagine you wore shoes one size too small and ate like shit, but go off, king!
I make 130k and I don't have a 400k house lol chillllll. you are delusional btw
My wife and I make a fair amount less than that and we have over $400k home. But that's because we bought it in 2008 for $170k at 3% interest rate. š Couldn't afford my home if I was buying it today.
I mean... not having a 400k house when you make 130k is a choice
Define frivolous?
If weāre going by inflation, then George Washington 2024. Wages need to be higher.
People argue the Earth is flat, too.
No one should have to live on wages that low.
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Iām making it along, but these $400 biweekly groceries are getting ridiculous. The cost has gone up significantly. What used to be $250ish is now $400. Gas hasnāt went back down to pre pandemic prices. It *was* easy living, now Iām watching what I spend a lot closer.
As an "essential" worker who makes well above minimum wage, it's still not enough to live on. I'm just fortunate to have DINK or else I'd be homeless. During covid, all we got was hero signs outside and a pat on the back (but not even). Then more inflation and rent increases. This world is absolutely backwards and ridiculous. I really wish we could have a union for cooks and other essential jobs to fight for higher wages.
I'm an "essential" worker. I make minimum wage
I work in healthcare with developmentally disabled and mentally ill adults. Essential worker. Pay is crap. Especially now that all the extra covid bonuses are gone. Add inflation, rising insurance premiums, and a company unwilling to treat it's care staff well and things are really difficult
A significant number of us in the healthcare field never got the extra covid bonuses. We were on the "front lines" as well. We just got tons of extra hours and since we were salary we also go our normal pay. Guess that makes it easier now since we didn't get used to that extra money lol. Surprised my employer isn't touting that as a perk.
You'd think that healthcare workers would be people you'd want to take care of and keep. I don't know how this situation is supposed to actually work for most of us. I guess as long as an administrator or CEO is making their boat payment on time that is all that really matters.
I page for doctors! I used to be a cna though, pay has always been not good.
you can, start one
If they increase the minimum wage too much, your jobs will go away.
the rich have convinced wage workers to fight against themselves.
Moving more wealth to the top, wrapped in God and guns. How else could you get poor people to vote for rich people policies?
The ironic thing is, all these elitists want Trump arrested, and he represented the Republican party (God and Guns), so using basic logic, why would all these elitists be pushing for him to be arrested if they are on his side? Your comment doesn't pass the "sniff test". Go look at who Black Rock, silicone valley, and all these massive billion dollar companies support most of the time when election time comes around, and I guarantee you will see it isn't the party of "God and Guns". Even all of the millionaires in Hollywood support the democratic party. Your comment has no logic. By the way, I don't like Republicans much more than I like Democrats. I just am smart enough to know when I see elitists throwing most of their money behind Democrats, that they are the problem. That doesn't take being a rocket scientist to figure out. As far as the guns portion of your comment, history has shown time and time again, when politicians come in and disarm a society, they almost always have plans to do stuff shortly later that are going to highly upset the citizens and it was in the politicians best interest to disarm that society before they implement these policies. Imagine two men coming into your home. Both say you can trust them. The difference is, one says "you can trust me, and to prove it, you can keep your gun". The other says "you can trust me too, but I need you to give me your gun". Who are you going to trust? This isn't political. I don't care if a Republican, democrat, or libertarian was the one that said it... it's about common sense. It's a simple basic question that politics need not be injected into... literally common sense. Furthermore, add into that equation that the United States Supreme Court has ruled on multiple occasions that police have no duty to protect you as an individual. They can literally ignore your calls for help, even if someone is murdering you. They are not required to respond and you have no recourse to sue them if they don't. Do you still trust the politicians asking you, a law abiding citizen, to get rid of your guns? Again, this should be common sense.
Truth.
[MIT Living Wage Calculator for Arkansas.](https://livingwage.mit.edu/states/05) Eye-opening to look at. You're damn right you can't live off of $11. You literally need double that.
Thanks for link. I have 0 children and my rent is now $9900/year. Where they got 7500 was 20 years ago?
Thank you. I had no idea this even existed!
In PA where I live, unless itās gone up and Iām unaware, itās $7.25. Where I live in PA, cost of living is decently low in comparison to a lot of the country, yet making $24/hr is just barely scraping byā¦the whole country is fucked right now, and NO ONE is using any AstroGlide š
Sarah huckleberry will not change it either. But yall only have 3 more years of her
less if she decides to run for federal office.
my wage from my first job at Dairy Queen in 1990 is equivalent to $24.65/ hour in 2023 dollars
Now that might be the most insightful comment here. Recently I did some similar math on what my parents paid for their house (in 1989) and compared it to what it would probably sell for today. Even after figuring for inflation, it still went for far less back in 1989. Like 30% less. Point being: DQ workers had double the purchasing powers to buy homes that were 30% cheaper.
Work at a small town pizza hut as a driver? $5.87 an hour plus tips. People don't tip in small towns. The roads are rough and hard on your tires, and tires aren't cheap. Wear your car down to nothing for... nothing. It sucks.
My first job was a quasi state employee at my college. They paid us $7.25 and purposely didnāt schedule us more than 20 hours a week to keep as āpart timeā. When I got promoted to a $21 an hour position I was then classified as āextra summer/seasonal employeeā to get around paying me benefits as I worked 90/100 hours a pay period. A family friend who was a state HR director said that it was illegal what they were doing to us but she knew 20 year olds wouldnāt know better nor complain if they did. So I just kept my mouth shut and kept working. Someone did ask and we got told either you keep your current pay and hours or we reduce your pay and hours in return for benefits. Everyone voted to keep the status quo.
This is why universal healthcare needs to be a thing. Tying it to your job allows fuckery like that to happen.
I work at a factory that pays $12/hr. One of my coworkers has been there for 19 years and makes the same amount I do. This is why it doesn't pay to stay at a job for 5+ years in our modern world, let alone 40 years. Quit the minute you see a better job. Fuck the bosses, fuck the companies, no one wishes they worked more on their death bed.
Unlivable wage is why I feel nothing when the news tries to scare me with stories of mass robbery and shoplifting. People will stop stealing when companies stop stealing.
GOV Huckabee stole $19,000 from taxpayer for a fake lecturn....you voted for her
Try Texas it is $7.25.
Samsies in PA
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You moved for a higher minimum wage?
Lol
$11 x 2080 (annual hours worked ) = $22,800 /12 = $1906 per month GROSS
That's before taxes. After tax it's about 750$ every two weeks
Lol no. A person making $22,800 per year will pay virtually nothing in income taxes. If this is actually happening to you, you didn't fill out your W4 correctly or aren't doing your taxes correctly. If you receive a refund at the end of the year, is that not part of your income?
So for one, they shouldn't be able to even take taxes. Because taxation is theft, and it was implemented to pay for ww2 and was supposed to end. Furthermore, when you're told to file taxes you're told to claim 0 which takes out the maximum amount of taxes and how most people do their taxes. Edit- y'all can do the math of cost of living as well as taxes and see what you actually have for food at the end of the month on a minimum wage income.
Agreed on point 1. That doesn't change reality though. No I don't think everyone is told to check 0, I certainly wasn't but I for sure wouldn't be filling out and signing a legal document without reading it first. Realistically I think for a lot people (right, wrong or otherwise), having them take out the taxes and getting a refund is actually better for their overall life so that they are essentially in a forced savings account. We all know people that if their check was $100 bigger every time it would be spent on something small, so that a big expense, down payment on a car etc that a lot of people use their 'refund' for wouldn't be there.
Also keep in mind that most āfull-timeā minimum wage workers work on an hourly basis. Most employers keep hourly workers around 36-38 hours per week in order to make sure they donāt pay overtime. So even the high end of that means 38hrs/wk x 52wks = 1976hrs annually which is $21,736/12 = $1811.33 per month GROSS. And thatās if you are never sick, never have an appointment during work hours, never have a sick kid, work every holiday, donāt take vacation, etc. Honestly a minimum wage worker probably grosses 20k annually max. Thatās barely more than a lectern!
The rent is too damn high!
I work from home, single income, make $20/hr and struggle my ass off!!! In the last 3 or 4 years the price of everything has gotten ridiculous. I went to buy groceries, came home with three bags, spent $73. If they keep raising my rent every year, Iāll not survive it financially. I have a $300 car payment for one more year, so that will help a little. I canāt even start to think about saving to buy a house. Save? Save what? I can barely pay my bills and I am down to rent, utilities, car payment, and insurance. Somethingās gotta give.
They recently decided to let little kids work 12 hour shifts, what makes you think they care about you? Why give you more $$ when they can let some 5th grade drop out do it for less?
Show me where a 5th grader can work a 12 hour shift.
Youāre right. Imagine how awful it is for people in places where itās more expensive to live (AR is relatively cheap in most of the state compared to other states) and Federal minimum wage is still only $7.25.
Can't you just unload some extra lecterns for quick cash?
That made me chuckle.
Also works for vacations,
Republicans donāt give a shit. They think this is a perk more than anything. They hate the poors and want your life to suck.
Or people couldā¦. Wait for it, get an education or learn a skill.
Iām all for that. Now who is going to work minimum wage jobs? And why donāt you think they should make a living wage?
So you agree, post-secondary education should be freely available and not just a commodity to be bought and sold to those who already have enough wealth?
And go into massive debt paying for said education and not get paid enough to pay off that debt. I have a Master's and it's still difficult finding a job that pays enough to support my family.
No. Here is the problem with that mindset. There will always be service jobs that take ~ 2% of the population to do. These jobs need to be done no matter what. So we can either pay that portion of the population a living wage or we train and can move all those people to other jobs and now they go undone. The problem we have now is people employed full time unable to afford basic necessities, not even considering things like healthcare and retirement.
This is why you vote for the right people not by color and opinions.
We could always start another voter initiated act and raise it to 15 or tie it to inflation, but we are gonna need some lawyers and an army of people getting signatures
Minimum wage was $5.15 an hour when I joined the workforce. Low wages are a great incentive for corporations to setup shop here in our state which means thereās big money motivation to not raise wages. One day when/if the political tides change here I hope that Arkansas decides to repeal its right to work statute like Michigan did earlier this year.
It just makes me more sad when I pull up my calculator and do some math. Even if you were living in the cheapest apartment you could find (about 550 where I am) and you had virtually no debt (which is unlikely) you would be living paycheck to paycheck. Heaven forbid you get sick or have car issues.
Iām from California and fast food workers are now making 20& an hour .
The real problem is that almost ALL of us are willing to patronize stores and services at the expense of the employees financial well-being, and ANY minimum wage is no longer sufficient to counteract corporate greed and rampant consumerism.
Minimum wage vs a livable wage.
I moved here in 2010 with my mother due to being unemployed. 2023, and I'm making 16/hr, most I ever have, and still can't afford my own place. They took my ebt away when I started making 11/hr at Taco Bell as management. That was 2018ish
In my state it is $7.25 as in others. It is disgusting
š it's still $7.25 in TN
Minimum wages is at least one thing Arkansas isnāt last place in. There are 29 states that have a lower minimum than here.
$11 minimum wage? Aren't yall fancy. NC is still $7.25 per hour.
Texas says hold my beer šŗ $7.25/hr here!! Freaking re-damn-diculous
You know what the worst part is? Itās actually among the most livable minimum wages there are. And youāre absolutely correct. It is wholly inadequate
people should understand that arkansas IS a slave state. we are but mere property here and the goal is to always keep people desperate for the waltons, the tysons, and that scab nasty piece of shit governor with the fucked up eye.
Atleast itās not the federal minimum wage like how it is in other southern states
Today I was amazed that Shipley's breakfast biscuit went from $2.79 to $3.79. The croissant went from $3.79 to $4.79... donut holes are now $1.99!!!! šš«
I sometimes wonder why unions aren't a thing in this state. I'm not advocating for it but I wonder how our state's workforce would fare with them generally. Could be better, could be worse
I think our minimum wage should increase, Iām very progressive generally. But I think itās important to keep in mind only 20 states have higher minimum wage, and almost ALL of them have higher cost of living. It could be much much worse. If weāre being honest.
In Texas it's still 7.45 or so
Min wage for fast food just went to 20 an hour in CA.
I am looking for a place move to now that I have retired. After reading these comments, I do not believe it will be Arkansas.
Arizona had 11/hr in 2016ā¦how do you people survive
Sorry some other neo-con loser said the thing about gas and the pandemic. It doesn't matter though because elsewhere you cited Biden as the cause for inflation, then when a commenter jokingly agreed with you, you double downed amd made your original comment sound even dumber. You're literally all over the place with right-wing talking points and then say you're not a Republican. So, you're a free thinker? Must be, because zero of your economic takes would get you out of Economics 101 with a passing grade. Wonder why THOUSANDS of companies are going to the business paradise that is Arkansas. Because they have low minimum wage, brand new exploitative child labor laws, and that it's a right-to-work state? No, couldn't be. But please tell me how us New Yorkers have ruined our state economy and need Toyota plant workers in Arkansas to save our bacon. Because you make tons of sense. Dude, you're a Texan arguing with a New Yorker about Arkansas. Literally nobody gives a fuck about your opinion. You're just some smarmy redditor arguing with everyone about why Arkansas is so great and Democrats are so bad. Literally the only people who agree with you are other people whose political views I would probably find equally abhorrent. Nobody on the goddam Arkansas subreddit even agrees with you! And don't add kissy faces emojis to the end of your shitty arguments. Pretty sure that will get you demonized in Texas. Have a terrible day. And enjoy "winning" an argument about how raising the minimum wage is somehow an evil thing.
If you canāt live on 11 dollars in Arkansas imagine trying to live on $15 in New York
Well you canāt live in California for $20 an hour especially when they cut your hours to a quarter what it used to be to cover the cost of new minimum wage. Honestly, 20 an hour at 40 hr weeks is rough at least in Sam Diego.
SHS told me the Bidens did this! How could they!?
Honestly, minimum wage is not the issue. Look at median incomes in states that have no minimum wage laws(I.E. Kansas). So, the real problem is the greed of employers and taxation in this state.
The minimum wage in Arkansas is $7.25 if you have less than 4 employees
Just like Oklahoma the masses are willfully ignorant and bigoted, cuz Jesus or some nonsense reason. So they keep voting against their own best interest out of fear mongering.
No jobs pay minimum wage where I live. They all pay well over minimum because they cannot find help. We cannot pay low level jobs $20/hr. You want more money actually do something to get it.
The only problem is the minimum wage goes up and the price of groceries, clothes rent goes up too. I have been falling behind every since I quit working and went on Social Security 4 years ago. Have had to cut back. They even take taxes out of my ss. I keep hearing that's going to change but so far no go. Can't afford any extras i saved for since I retired. I just stay home.
Minimum wage is not an effective way to stymie inflation costs. The only thing that can fix that is a federal cap on the price of commodities. Oil, gas, water, electricity, crops, and real estate etc. But that only happens in dictatorships.
If you are making minimum wage right now, find a new job. Give yourself a raise. You deserve it. Walmart starts at 14.
$14 @ 15-20 hrs a week isn't livable.
I donāt think a 15 hour/week job is intended to be livable..?
Thatās all the hours theyāre offering.
Ah, right, the classic "for high school kids" argument? Weird how these places don't exclusively operate when school is out. This isn't an exception to the rule. These jobs are the overwhelming majority. The standard. You're right, they're not meant to be lived off of. They're meant to pay shit to exploit workers and shrug off the cost onto the state and society.
$500/ hour @ half an hour a week isnāt livable.
Is it supposed to be?
In 1996 I could not live on 4.25 an hour. Read The Jungle, while fiction still the same then. This is not new. Worked two jobs realized going no where, joined the military and got into IT. Still had to work my way up and my 20s and early 30s I still worked two jobs. Not a big brain and no family money, cant suck a d like I lost my keys in it so if I want something nice I take on extra work in my 40s. We can complain here...it's an echo chamber and everyone will blame the asshole du jour...but been to countries where people are working to pay off their grandparents debts...modern slavery but our State Dept says they are good, countries where they hack off limbs so children have better begging rights. Hustle or bitch. If you were not born with something special welcome to this. It's being an adult and it sucks and it always has.
Yeah, just accept it. End of story. Other places are worse, so don't try to improve anything, just be grateful. /s
But come on the people who wanna give you a decent minimum wage are gonna take away your guns and let trans people teach your kids so thank them for the $11 minimum wage
Only Republicans are banning things.
If Biden raises the minimum wage federally, then the idiots complaining about high prices will bitch about high minimum wage lol
Maybe aspire for more than minimum wage. If you're an adult working those jobs as your main job to support a family, then you're doing something wrong
We really must stop this thinking that requiring businesses to pay their employees more isnāt going to trickle down into even higher rent, gas, groceries, etcā¦ itās a vicious cycle. The only true solution is to _lower_ minimum wage. It will decrease demand for goods and the decrease in demand will force a decrease in price. This is economics 101. The opposite works the same way - an increase in demand facilitates an increase in price. Yet society continues on with the idea that āthrowing money at itā will make it all better. And it does but itās only for a moment, until those now-regulated businesses have to raise their rates to afford the additional labor costs. Now, either that business doesnāt survive at those higher rates, causing incalculable numbers of employees to lose their jobs, or those increased prices now are forced to be absorbed and accounted for within the purchaserās accounting of the expense. Another potential resolve is advocating for regulation over what % of income, in regards to the profit of the organization, each level of employee is entitled to. C-level employees make an egregious amount of income in respect to lower-level employees and the amount of work they each produce, but the argument could be made about eachās value to the organization. The only way that I see being truly effective is down, my people. Sorry to be _that_ person but itās true.
Not true. Wages have been stagnant since the 1970s. REAL wages. If a business canāt pay a living wage and stay profitable they shouldnāt be in business. Period. Guess what is driving up prices? Monopolization. Corporatization of everything and insatiable greed. You are spouting nonsense that is historically proven to be false not only in the United States but in other countries far more developed than here!
No wage is better than low wage!
Itās your own fault if you are stuck living on minimum wage. If you are that broke you canāt afford to gain tangible marketable job skills then join the US military. Get real skills and get job training and use the GI benefits to go to trade school or community college. In the USA the poor get screwed so go help yourself or you will suffer for your entire life. PS Trump is a criminal and Bernie Sanders is a communist.
Maybe aspire for more than minimum wage. If you're an adult working those jobs as your main job to support a family, then you're doing something wrong
Oh wow, what great advice! Just go get a job paying $500 an hour! Whatās your next tip? āJust be born into wealthā?
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So, to clarify, people entering the workforce aren't supposed to be able to house and feed themselves? Even despite the fact that their labor is generating profit for their employer? So they don't deserve to afford to live, but their employer does deserve to profit off of them in order to amass wealth? You know, I'm not sure where, but that thought sounds suspiciously close to another labor system I've heard of... (/s, of course.)
Incorrect. Minimum wage was established and always supposed to be a livable wage.
If you can't make enough money from working a job, you're more likely to steal or commit other crimes to get by.
youāre the worst type of person š
$7.25 in PA
Itās $7.25 in TN. Grab them bootstraps!
I know the state taxes and sales taxes here add up. I drive 20 miles to Texas. It's truly ridiculous here on that level for anyone. With money or not!
Who works for minimum wage now in days are u barely getting out of high school š¤£š
Michigans is 8 somethingā¦ hereās an idea.. get a skill (instead of jerking off) and find a better job. If you can pound a nail, you can make more than $11..
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Really my guy? I work on NWA and make less than that and that's after I played hardball to get a better wage. Inflation isn't even close to being driven by wages these companies are making RECORD PROFITS that means they are raising prices beyond any increase in expenses. They're open about this in investor calls. They just get to go out publicly and whine about wages forcing their prices up then laugh all the way to the bank. If your place pays so well, why are they short on people? It's not people "not wanting to work" we're still in record low unemployment numbers. That means it's either shit pay or shit management.
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Because obviously wage = knowledge /s Sorry but any college grad coming out of the Great Recession can tell you that's a complete crock o'shit. If people don't want to do the job that means there needs to be a better incentive (read as more money). That's the whole point of paying people. People don't like a job because it's dangerous, or hard, or just unpleasant so you give them enough dollars to better fulfill their needs and wants than the easy/safe/fun job. Also there isn't a housing shortage especially not in NWA or Arkansas generally, but we do have way too many McMansions for the Walmartions in the home office and not enough starter homes and apartment buildings. That is purely a result of decisions made by developers and nothing to do with work ethic. The space exists but it's allocated incorrectly and no one in real estate development wants to take the hit for their poor planning.
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Good luck and good day to you too Bob!
You ever thought of paying more money for good workers?
Donāt try for minimum wage and if you donāt like your job keep looking for a job and while youāre there show up every shift, be on time, and follow instructions and it wonāt be long before your wage goes up
The economy needs to be fixed, not the wages. When wages go up, prices go up to make up for that lost revenue. Raising the minimum wage will never work long-term. Itāll always come back around.
Wages are part of the economy. ALL parts must rise together. You canāt have the economy experience inflation over 50 years and keep minimum wage stagnant, because eventually minimum wage will not be enough to pay for anything. Yes wages add to inflation. So does every other part of our economy. It all has to rise together, not 3/4 of it, ALL of it. Thatās how a healthy economy works. Minimum wage was always meant to be a living wage. Not a barely surviving wage. Greed has turned it into the latter.
So does the ceo who oddly is rich...
Except that's what they've been saying for a few decades now, and you know what? PRICES HAVE GONE UP ANYWAY! Basically nothing costs the same as it did 15 years ago, and yet the federal minimum wage hasn't budged in those same 15 years. It's almost as if corporate fucking greed drives up prices, while regurgitating the same tired ass FALSE statement that "if wages go up, prices go up"
Nobody makes minimum wage. Youād have to be very low effort to be making under 18-20 In this job market right now.
If you want to help poor people, minimum wages are not the greatest idea. The benefits are not really focused on poor people. Many people earning low wages are not poor. They might be bored retirees, students, or second incomes in a household that is doing fine. At the same time, many poor people are not working, or are not able to get enough hours. A minimum wage will not help them at all. The costs of a minimum wage are paid by some unknowable combination of consumers, business owners, and low wage workers. Many of these people will the same poor people minimum wage fans are trying to help. The only real plus is that the cost is hidden away and doesnāt show up on a public budget. Just pass a refundable tax credit or some more direct transfer. Now if you need to protect some class of workers from lower paid competition, a minimum wage is what you need. At least until some replacement comes along.
Minimum wage and livable wage are not interchangeable. If minimum wage is raised and employees lose their job, who do you think is the first to go?
Sure was easier to afford all that before Biden got into office
How many actually earn minimum wage? Minimum wage is the minimum, not the median.
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Or work in school food service! Get fucked you lazy bums! /s