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Sums it up pretty good!

 

I'm going to sound like grandpa i8 here, but when I was a kid i had a job in a grocery store making minimum wage. Often the registers would f*ck up or the power would go out and we were expected to add the total and calculate 5% tax on the fly.



Nowadays, since the wife and I carpool and she starts work a couple hours before me I generally sit at Starbuck trolling forums (shock). My daily coffee is $2.51. I give the cashier a penny and then use my Startbucks app. You would be shocked by the number of times I get change.

And I don't mean just a penny, I've been handed a nickel or dime on occasion.

 

As I've said, I'm sure waaaay too often, when I was a kid, McD's paid higher than minimum wage, but they expected better than minimum brain in return.

 

They still pay higher than minimum wage, if only just http://www.glassdoor.com/Hourly-Pay/...y-Pay-E432.htm



The problem is NOT the wage. The problem is the government. Money is worth half what it was when we were children. That same $8/hr back then had the buying power of $16/hr today because the dollars today are worth less. For this, you may thank your elected heroes for spending more dollars than they steal from the taxpayer, and inventing the money to pay "our" debt out of thin air, diluting the value the dollar.



...which, under President Obama, has been more than under all his forerunners in office.



When the fed talks about targeted inflation, remember that they are talking about stealing your purchasing power at a specified, desired rate.

 

The dollar's value has ZERO to do with Obama. Seriously, there could be one single straw and you'd grasp for it. Thank the Federal Reserve and Wall Street along with DECADES of both liberals and conservatives expanding government.

 

Inflation happens. Jebus goat-f*cking Christ, neither of these hold a candle to the real problem: Unrealistic expectations.



i had to live a short stint on minimum wage and did so comfortably even with part time hours. The ONLY problem is people that seem to think you can raise a family of 4, with all the luxuries (cable TV, high-speed internet, brand new smartphones with unlimited x,y and z contracts, fancy cars, expensive meals, high rent neighborhoods, multiple credit cards, etc.) all on that part time wage. I'm sorry but these same people b*tching about needing a higher wage need to ditch the bullshit and live within their means.



Sometimes you have to get a 2nd or even 3rd job to support the people you love. I had a 9-5 desk job AND opted to work nights and weekends as well to put my wife through college and keep her from need a job so she could focus on her studies. It sucks, but with sacrifice come reward. I never b*tched about it. We lived the life we needed at that time. Today we make many times more than we ever did prior all because of that sacrifice. And to be honest, we still don't own a TV, nor do we miss it. Sometime you have to go without. Life is so hard like that, but get over it and yourself.



It's called being a responsible adult.

 

not everybody can be a doctor, engineer, lawyer, or go to college. there is a job for every person and everybody deserves to earn a living wage. the cost of living and inflation is higher than it has ever been and wages have stagnated in the past 35 years for the worker class. if we go by this logic we would still be making $2.00 a day. in order for the average person(single) be able to afford a decent place to live, pay utilities and groceries. that person needs to make at least $15 and hour. of course it all depends were are you located.





also, saying that people with crappy paying jobs have unrealistic expectations that's a bit low. EVERYONE that works have expectations and wants to be able to afford whatever their hearts desire. we are in a car forum and most of us spend senseless amounts of money on a depreciating asset. why would that be any different if the person makes minimum wage? is wanting more than the essentials reserved for those that went to college and make loads more than the "lazy" minimum wage worker?

 

I'm not saying the Republicrats didn't write the budget bills (and CRs) but if Obama isn't the one signing trillions of dollars of monetary-supply-inflating deficits into law, I'm a monkey's uncle.

 

Well if your option is sign this or let the government shut down and hope for something better...

 

You misunderstand, everyone has the right to dream, to aspire, but part of that dream is the plan. Just sitting around making whatever wage and being content is never going to resolve the issue or allow one to afford those niceties. Minimum wage is just that, a minimum. You're going to have to minimalise your lifestyle to meet the income or opt to collect mountains of debt which many (and arguable most) do. Everyone has the right to aspire, and anyone can climb the corporate latter. I have no degree either, and that is no excuse. Aptitude holds more weight than paper. It's a lot harder to get your foot in the door many times, but that's not to say it cannot be done.



$7/hour or what ever the federal minimum wage is ridiculous in a big city, there is no question about that. However $15/hour in rural areas could be a kingly income. I'll elaborate on that with a situation I death with firsthand recently:

2 friend of mine living in Chicago working at a major department store were finding difficultly just paying rent, let alone utilities and food. On the state minimum wage of $8.25 and working only 10-20 hours per week, they couldn't afford to own a car and pay the $1600/month rent for their 500 sqft 1 bedroom apartment (which is on the low side in Chicago.) They both found second jobs and even then had difficulty just keeping the lights on and food on the table being that second job was also minimum wage. This is where I got involved. Having been there and knowing the market down here we coordinated the move and set them up with a room in our place for a couple of months. I even helped then find jobs as best I could. One of them worked hard and found a 40k/yr (plus it turns out plenty of over-time) job with a distinct career path. The other used his time to secure a dead-end, minimum wage (which is a dollar less here) retail job, and is still suffering because he won't accept the help or put forth the proper effort. They found a 3 bedroom apartment within walking distance of their jobs for hundreds less, food here is almost 1/2 the price it was up there and no huge heating bills in the winter. Less than 6 months after the initial move one of them has a good savings, a car and is living better than ever before. The other has reduced his living expenses by a drastic sum and lives paycheck to paycheck. However, even considerations one makes slightly less down here, they can live better than ever possible in Chicago.



$15/hour makes sense up there. Here I can tell from experience that 2 people can live fine on $10/hour.

To further the point: A former roommate of mine moved to rural middle GA. His income is comparable to mine but his mortgage is around $400 including escrow. In his area someone paid minimum wage lives very well easily supporting 3 people on 1 income. $15/hour is well more than twice what they are currently paid! That's far from "minimum."



More to the point, when you ditch the $150 phone plan, that's $150 per month more groceries to put on the table. Ditch the $100 cable internet and go with a cheaper option. What good is an Xbox One or PS4 with a 70" TV if you can't even pay your electricity bill? THESE are my points. This country has it so well-off that people have come to take all of these luxuries for granted. Welfare recipients with smartphones, tablets, multiple PCs and any number of gaming systems in the house. These are NOT necessities! Yet we all act like we cannot live without them. This is the point I was trying to make. These are the expectations of most Americans.



Yes, this is a car forum. I cannot tell you how much money I have pissed away on all 4 of my cars, and number 5 is on it's way. I can however tell you how much money I have in savings, in my IRA, in my 401k. I can even tell you how much my home is worth and how much Uncle Sam is going to rape me for in the next couple of months.



I want a Ferrari F40, but that in no way entitles me to own one. I probably couldn't even afford to service it. People can dream and aspire to anything, but they'll need to fortitude to make that dream come true. Just wanting a better job isn't going to make the job fairy knock on your door. Hard work and determination are the heart and soul of personal advancement. Without effort no one will ever see advancement. What you are spouting is illogical nonsense, ideology at best. However last I checked this is capitalism, and money is exchanged for goods and services. If you want better, make it happen. But sitting on your fat ass playing x-box in a dark room isn't going to magically turn your shithole apartment into a mansion, or your busted-ass civic into an Aventador. In the same way that stuffing your face with Cheetos and microwaved pizza isn't going to magically grant you six pack abs.