Minimum Wage...How Much Were You Paid?

[Just the facts]

So should that be the minimum wage for the 17 year old high school kid still living with mom and dad?

When I was 17 I had my own apartment - so the answer is Yes. Besides, what does living with mom and dad have to do with anything as there are plenty of 29 year olds living at home these days. A company has a job they need done so why shouldn't they pay what it cost to perform that job?

[gjl]

When I was 17 I had my own apartment - so the answer is Yes. Besides, what does living with mom and dad have to do with anything as there are plenty of 29 year olds living at home these days. A company has a job they need done so why shouldn't they pay what it cost to perform that job?

They are right now. If there were no applicants to perform that job at the wage they are offering then they would have to raise the wage for that job until they got someone to accept it. If that were not the case then wouldn't everyone be working for the current minimum wage?.

[Just the facts]

When you go to McWalmart part of the new hire sales pitch is the government benefits you qualify for. All the employee cares about is total compensation (wage + social benefits) just like all workers at every level care about (wage, fringe benefits, healthcare, 401K etc...). McWalmart pay $9/hr plus you get $200 per month in food stamps, ACA healthcare subsidy of $300 per month, etc... All the employee cares about is the bottom line and all employer cares about is there share of it, and finding ways to reduce that share. As taxpayers, we have a 3rd party financial interest in this arrangement. We aren't getting any of the direct benefits and are getting stuck with an increasingly large bill.

Companies need to pay their workers enough to keep them off the public dole. If they won't do it themselves we need to make them do it.

[gjl]

Seems this topic always goes back to McDonalds and Walmart. Have you applied for a job at Walmart? Or is what you are saying they do just what you have heard? Why is the problem what the employers pay and not the generous Government benefits? And this will be my last reply as this is getting off what the thread was intended for.

[Jim Kyle]

Perhaps the problem is that we have, over the years, raised the "poverty line" used to qualify for all those benefits too far above the income level provided by the minimum-wage law. If we simply made the benefits available ONLY to those making less than minimum wage, then it would be up to employers to pay enough to get the jobs done.

Of course, some smart MBAs would hire twice as many workers and put each on 20-hour weeks, so that everyone qualified for the benefits. No foolproof plan can survive the evolution of smarter fools. To some degree this is already happening, but for different reasons.

[Just the facts]

Seems this topic always goes back to McDonalds and Walmart. Have you applied for a job at Walmart? Or is what you are saying they do just what you have heard? Why is the problem what the employers pay and not the generous Government benefits? And this will be my last reply as this is getting off what the thread was intended for.

I use McWalmart as a euphemism for the low wage model regardless of which company uses it - be it Marriott, Carnival Cruise Lines, or the local call center.

On your second point - we did get way off the beaten path didn't we. My first W-2 job paid me $3.35 per hour. That was in 1985.

[Garin]

How much should an RN make if a guy flipping burgers is 12 bucks

[ctchandler]

Gjl,
I found an article about Weber's and when Coit purchased them, they didn't sell hamburgers (or ham sandwiches), just hot dogs, root beer, orange, and grape drinks. The article is in the Daily Oklahoman that was published November 1, 1981. That's why I said what I said earlier, but with my senile brain, I assumed they probably made hamburgers. There's an old rule, never change your first answer. I realize this is off topic, sorry. If you would like to see the article, pm me and I will send it.
C. T.

No it was more if you made a mistake making change. And I thought saying it was a basic burger and fries joint would have included hot dogs without mentioning them but I guess not. I sure don't remember ham sandwiches at Coits but it was 45 years ago.

[PennyQuilts]

Perhaps the problem is that we have, over the years, raised the "poverty line" used to qualify for all those benefits too far above the income level provided by the minimum-wage law. If we simply made the benefits available ONLY to those making less than minimum wage, then it would be up to employers to pay enough to get the jobs done.

Of course, some smart MBAs would hire twice as many workers and put each on 20-hour weeks, so that everyone qualified for the benefits. No foolproof plan can survive the evolution of smarter fools. To some degree this is already happening, but for different reasons.

IMO, poverty line and minimum wage not adjusted to region is wacky.

[ctchandler]

Gjl,
I couldn't figure out how to attach this to a pm, so hopefully you can read the article on this post. Here goes nothing.
C. T.

No it was more if you made a mistake making change. And I thought saying it was a basic burger and fries joint would have included hot dogs without mentioning them but I guess not. I sure don't remember ham sandwiches at Coits but it was 45 years ago.

[ctchandler]

Gjl,
It's a little small, but if you click on the image, then click on the image again, it zooms in really well and is very easy to read.
C. T.

[Jeepnokc]

When you go to McWalmart part of the new hire sales pitch is the government benefits you qualify for. All the employee cares about is total compensation (wage + social benefits) just like all workers at every level care about (wage, fringe benefits, healthcare, 401K etc...). McWalmart pay $9/hr plus you get $200 per month in food stamps, ACA healthcare subsidy of $300 per month, etc... All the employee cares about is the bottom line and all employer cares about is there share of it, and finding ways to reduce that share. As taxpayers, we have a 3rd party financial interest in this arrangement. We aren't getting any of the direct benefits and are getting stuck with an increasingly large bill.

Companies need to pay their workers enough to keep them off the public dole. If they won't do it themselves we need to make them do it.

I went to the gov't site for SNAP to see if a single person making 9.00 hour qualifies and according to their prescreening tool...they wouldn't.

FNS SNAP Program Eligibility Screening Tool

People have to be responsible for themselves. I started making 3.35 hour in high school. I knew that my expensive tastes couldn't survive on 3.35 hour so I got off my ass and went to school. I paid for it with student loans and working. I got my BA and started working for the Boy Scouts making 22k per year with nice benefits. I was still single and that was decent money in 1992. I could see that it wouldn't pay for what I wanted in life so I got off my ass again and went to law school. Paid for it with student loans and busting my ass building fences on the side. Worked at DA's office making 42,500 year. Nice little income but still wanted a higher standard for family so my wife worked two jobs and I still built an occasional fence while I started a little practice in a one room office which has grown to the point that we are building our own 6500 sq ft office.

The government doesn't owe anyone a living NOR does any employer owe someone a living based on their family size. I have employees that make anywhere from $10 hr (student interns) to almost 100k per year and they are paid based on what the skills they bring to my business and what the market will bear. The employee making the least has an 800 credit score, just bought a house, no other debt and has savings because she is thrifty and lives within her means. She takes responsibility for herself. Her decision to have kids is hers but if she decides she wants to have 5 kids and that puts her on food stamps...that is her fault and not my responsibility to raise her income level.

The market will determine the wage. If I am not paying enough, I will lose them to someone that will pay better. If I pay better than market rates, I will attract better employees that do better work. We provide and pay medical benefits for our employees because we found that we attract a better mature class of applicant pool because they are concerned about their well being and are looking long term versus short term.

[Just the facts]

I went to the gov't site for SNAP to see if a single person making 9.00 hour qualifies and according to their prescreening tool...they wouldn't.

How many hours a week did you use?

The market will determine the wage.

No, the market will determine the total compensation. Part of the total compensation is paid by the employer and part is paid by the taxpayers. Here is the problem in a nutshell.

Most Walmart Store Workers Didn't Earn $25,000 Last Year

Anthony Goytia, a Walmart store worker in California who spoke on Capitol Hill Wednesday, said he earns $9.60 per hour after working a year for the company. Given his hours, Goytia said he's on a schedule to earn about $12,000 this year. He said his family relies "off and on" upon food stamps, as well as their state-run health insurance program for the poor, and he's gone so far as to donate blood plasma and volunteer in clinical trials to make ends meet.

[Jeepnokc]

I used 9.00 per hour for forty hours a week and single person. Straight facts. The example you use from the link is misleading. He says he makes 9.60 an hour and makes $12000 a year. That means he works approximately 24 hours a week. Damn...sign me up if I can work part time and force the company to pay me enough to support my family. Why doesn't he get off his ass and find a full time job or get a second job to fill in the hours where he is at least working full time. Simple math...a person making $9.60 hr working 40 hours a week times 52 weeks equals $19,968/yr.

The market will determine wage. If I follow your reasoning, I can lower the pay I pay my employees and because gov't assistance will kick in,,,,they will be happy. Bull. I wouldn't have the quality level employees I have if I didn't pay what I do and offer the benefits I do.

[Just the facts]

Walmart considers 28 hours a week full-time.

[QUAPAW5]

Sold Sunday papers @ Reno & Douglas Blvd in 1962 for 25 cents(my share..5 cents) EA, Then worked at Gas station ...1963.. Full Service ..12 hr shifts (17 yoa then too) ..6 days a wk for 1.00 per hour ... then got job @ TAFB for WG5 step 1...1.00 p/h ...forty hr week and benfits ...1965 ...

[Prunepicker]

Sold Sunday papers @ Reno & Douglas Blvd in 1962 for 25 cents(my share.
.5 cents) EA, Then worked at Gas station ...1963.. Full Service.12 hr shifts
(17 yoa then too) ..6 days a wk for 1.00 per hour ... then got job @ TAFB for
WG5 step 1...1.00 p/h ...forty hr week and benfits ...1965 ...

Did feel like you were being taken advantage of or did you KNOW KNOW
KNOW KNOW that you were making money?