You guys know Im Republican. But when they are wrong I will say it.
The minimum wage raise was denied twice in the same day.
These days I think minimum wage should be about $9-$10 an hour.
Now all the old people go back and think what things costed then and what miminum wage was then. And see if the increases match.
I remember cigaretts were about $0.65-$0.75 cents a pack.
I remember when gas was about $1 a gallon.
I remember when a gallon of milk was $1.29, I think.
I didnt pay rent but people tell it how cheap it was.
And around the same time of all the above, minimum wage was about $3-$3.35 an hour.
Figure out the prices of the things I mentioned above and see if minimum wages match now, or how much they should be increased.

By simple ratios, using as an example gas price, which for me is now about 1.83 per gallon, and setting the ratio of gas then over gas now equal to minumum wage then over an unknown, then cross multipling and dividing, you get a grand total of (And I used 3.35 as the minimum wage then)......

6.63

An interesting statistic I heard the other day was that since the minimum wage was first instituted, it has on average been about half of what the average hourly wage of all workers is. Currently, it is at about 35% of average hourly wage. So Kennedy's proposal which would have raised the minimum wage to $7.20 (i think) would be at approximately half of average wages (a little less actually).

I'm still torn on whether I support such a large increase, or whether it should be done at the federal level. Because prices vary so much around the country, I think it ought to be done at the state or municipal level for fairness and minimal impact on business interests.

--PunkDavid

http://www.theskyiscrape.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4625

Check that thread out for your minimum wage fix.

I'm still holding the opinion that the best way to ensure a "living wage" would be assistance via the EITC.

My thoughts are this, either tie it directly into sound economic principles of inflation, or eliminate the idea entirely. I favor the latter, but until I can be reasonably certain that Corporate America wont rape the middle class I'll have to find some middle ground.

What the hell are you talking about now? Do you even know anyone that makes the minimum wage? I don't. Hell, even Dunkin' Donuts pays over $7 an hour to start.

Because small business' need to lay off more people!

Either that or charge more, so what used to cost $3 from your $5 minimum wage job will now cost $7 from your $9 minimum wage job.

I LOVE THIS PLAN!!

So, what's your argument? "I don't know any poor people, so fuck 'em!"?

No, my argument is that no one makes minimum wage so who exactly is this helping? Also, "middle class" people don't earn minimum wage, so how are they affected at all?

the biggest misconception over minimum wage is that if it gets raised, then i too will see an increase in my pay, and thats hardly the case, as it was pointed out, even fastfood workers* get paid more than the established minimum wage now, so they wont see an increase


* fast food is usually considered the lowest of low jobs for arguments sake

My friend who's a record store clerk for a local cd/head shop makes minimum wage. Granted, it's tax free and he gets lots of cheap stuff but still...
Also, when I worked in welfare I would have people bring in paystubs all the time that showed them making minimum wage. There's still a lot of folks doing it.

you gotta be able to make enough money to survive.
Companies will pay you as low as they can get away with.
If you make enough money to survive, or getting paid a fair amount,you dont need an increase.

Alright, this took me a while. The Economic Policy Institute says that 7.4 million individuals in the U.S. are getting paid minimum wage. Maybe you live in a state where the state government has proven more responsible than the federal government: http://www.dol.gov/esa/minwage/america.htm

This isn't necessarily an argument to you, but sometimes things like minimum wage, social security, and backruptcy laws aren't just about taking care of the middle class or "how will I get a pay off for my investment," they're about how do we keep the weakest members of our society from out of poverty. The U.S. sets an embarrassingly poor example of how to give a shit about your citizens.

do you have any idea what you're talking about, or do you just steal the liberal arguements as your own?

I'd be interested in knowing how many people that earn minimum wage are in high school.

you suck

Because people spew on about Bankruptcy Law like they have any idea what the hell they are talking about? Bankruptcy law is the biggest clusterfuck in american law and needs HEAVY reform, because it protects those who, not only have filed legit bankruptcies, but it also allows any one to basically be as irresponisble as they want, without any ramifications?

we dont like conservatives here.

Who the hell is "we"?

2 weeks and you're speaking for the masses? That's a nice trick.