Minimum wage is already “livable”

[Lisa558]

I keep hearing the left say that minimum wage, which is what the lowest 2% of Americans earn, needs to be increased to where it provides a “livable“ wage. The disconnect comes in what is considered livable - even for teens who barely squeaked through high school and have no job skills beyond that which can be taught to a middle schooler in half a day.

The left considers “livable” to be a middle class existence - a decent one-bedroom apartment, a car, a vacation. Where they miss is that is the level to which people should ASPIRE, and the desire to do so is what incentivizes one to get some vocational training (at a minimum).

To me, “livable” is how every member of my family lived when we were first starting out: either renting a room in someone’s house, or sharing a two- or three-bedroom apartment with others. I considered myself “living” doing that - I took the subway to work, did my job, bought groceries, and other basics.

And THAT is the lifestyle of someone right out of college, earning starting wages, or of a new high school graduate who has no real job skills to offer. In the case of the former, it will be temporary; in the case of the latter, it is rarely permanent as most people acquire job skills with experience.

 

[Lisa558]

I keep hearing the left say that minimum wage, which is what the lowest 2% of Americans earn, needs to be increased to where it provides a “livable“ wage. The disconnect comes in what is considered livable - even for teens who barely squeaked through high school and have no job skills beyond that which can be taught to a middle schooler in half a day.

The left considers “livable” to be a middle class existence - a decent one-bedroom apartment, a car, a vacation. Where they miss is that is the level to which people should ASPIRE, and the desire to do so is what incentivizes one to get some vocational training (at a minimum).

To me, “livable” is how every member of my family lived when we were first starting out: either renting a room in someone’s house, or sharing a two- or three-bedroom apartment with others. I considered myself “living” doing that - I took the subway to work, did my job, bought groceries, and other basics.

And THAT is the lifestyle of someone right out of college, earning starting wages, or of a new high school graduate who has no real job skills to offer. In the case of the former, it will be temporary; in the case of the latter, it is rarely permanent as most people acquire job skills with experience.

P.S. I‘d be OK with increasing it to $10. All jobs around here pay a minimum of $15 anyway.

 

[Votto]

Listen, poor folk in Africa make ZERO dollars and it is "livable"

Sure, their stomachs are bloated and they eat their own feces, but hey, they are still "living"

At least one out of 10 survive to adulthood that is.

And when we build our grass huts to live in as it gets harder and harder to afford things, government will point to it and say that they are proud of the increased home ownership rate of those grass huts.

 

[Pete7469]

Listen, poor folk in Africa make ZERO dollars and it is "livable"

Sure, their stomachs are bloated and they eat their own feces, but hey, they are still "living"

At least one out of 10 survive to adulthood that is.

And when we build our grass huts to live in as it gets harder and harder to afford things, government will point to it and say that they are proud of the increased home ownership rate of those grass huts.

 

[Polishprince]

If someone works as restroom attendant, cashier at Walmart or in the drive-thru window at Popeye's, is it really realistic for them to live in a 3500 square foot home with a couple of SUV's, college tuition and orthodontic bills for the children?

The liberal idea that such low ranking jobs should provide a Middle Class lifestyle is sort of stupid, but what's even worse is that it causes their devotees who hold those jobs to try and vote themselves a good living instead of trying to raise themselves up.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

If someone works as restroom attendant, cashier at Walmart or in the drive-thru window at Popeye's, is it really realistic for them to live in a 3500 square foot home with a couple of SUV's, college tuition and orthodontic bills for the children?

The liberal idea that such low ranking jobs should provide a Middle Class lifestyle is sort of stupid, but what's even worse is that it causes their devotees who hold those jobs to try and vote themselves a good living instead of trying to raise themselves up.

Can you link to a few liberals claiming that working at Walmart or Popeyes or those types of jobs should provide a middle class lifestyle? I have heard them make a lot of claims, but never anything of that sort

 

[Pete7469]

We have fat fucking HOMELESS PEOPLE who can afford to do drugs and shit.

When I was a kid my pot budget was a significant percentage of my income. I couldn't afford beer, I hoarded tattered clean rags rather than buy toilet paper and ate fuckin ramen noodles. A luxury meal for me in my early 20's involved buying a whole chicken, some celery, carrots, onion with 4 packs of Ramen and making a massive pot of soup that lasted a week.

During real prosperous times I got Mac and cheese and could use actual milk and butter. Dumped in some chopped up Sahlen's Hot Dogs and it was like fuckin Thanksgiving.

 

[Lisa558]

Let’s run some numbers:

At minimum wage, a 19-year-old with an IQ of 95 and a C-average in high school, takes a job running the ”scan items and place in bag” line at Target. (I could have done that job in junior high.) He earns $20,000 a year, or about $1500 a month.

So he rents an $1800 a month 3-bedroom towmhouse with two other kids. His share is $600. That leaves him $900 for everything else: $60 for bus fare to the job, $40 for his share of utilities, $300 for food, $50 for personal items (TP, shaving cream, etc.), and $50 for Obamacare premiums (maybe less).

So out of his $1500 monthly earnings, he has spent a total of $1100 for the basics: food, shelter, medical care, some necessary personal items. He Is NOT living in poverty, not by a long shot.

He still has $400 left over for things beyond basics.

 

[Polishprince]

Can you link to a few liberals claiming that working at Walmart or Popeyes or those types of jobs should provide a middle class lifestyle? I have heard them make a lot of claims, but never anything of that sort

How do you think the liberal mantra about "living wage" and the liberal claims about unions starting the "middle class" are interpreted by those who work in fast food or big box retail?

I remember the liberal joy among the lower class people when B. Hussein O was immaculated that cold day in January 2009. They thought their ship had come in.

 

[Hang on Sloopy]

I keep hearing the left say that minimum wage, which is what the lowest 2% of Americans earn, needs to be increased to where it provides a “livable“ wage. The disconnect comes in what is considered livable - even for teens who barely squeaked through high school and have no job skills beyond that which can be taught to a middle schooler in half a day.

The left considers “livable” to be a middle class existence - a decent one-bedroom apartment, a car, a vacation. Where they miss is that is the level to which people should ASPIRE, and the desire to do so is what incentivizes one to get some vocational training (at a minimum).

To me, “livable” is how every member of my family lived when we were first starting out: either renting a room in someone’s house, or sharing a two- or three-bedroom apartment with others. I considered myself “living” doing that - I took the subway to work, did my job, bought groceries, and other basics.

And THAT is the lifestyle of someone right out of college, earning starting wages, or of a new high school graduate who has no real job skills to offer. In the case of the former, it will be temporary; in the case of the latter, it is rarely permanent as most people acquire job skills with experience.

Pre Covid 70% of min wage workers are teens or college students

Libturds want you to think everyone does. Most libturds deserve min wage because they are min wage thinkers

If you never move past a min wage, you deserve min wage

 

[Hang on Sloopy]

We have fat fucking HOMELESS PEOPLE who can afford to do drugs and shit.

When I was a kid my pot budget was a significant percentage of my income. I couldn't afford beer, I hoarded tattered clean rags rather than buy toilet paper and ate fuckin ramen noodles. A luxury meal for me in my early 20's involved buying a whole chicken, some celery, carrots, onion with 4 packs of Ramen and making a massive pot of soup that lasted a week.

During real prosperous times I got Mac and cheese and could use actual milk and butter. Dumped in some chopped up Sahlen's Hot Dogs and it was like fuckin Thanksgiving.

The poorest people usually have the best flat screens in town

 

[Viktor]

I keep hearing the left say that minimum wage, which is what the lowest 2% of Americans earn, needs to be increased to where it provides a “livable“ wage. The disconnect comes in what is considered livable - even for teens who barely squeaked through high school and have no job skills beyond that which can be taught to a middle schooler in half a day.

The left considers “livable” to be a middle class existence - a decent one-bedroom apartment, a car, a vacation. Where they miss is that is the level to which people should ASPIRE, and the desire to do so is what incentivizes one to get some vocational training (at a minimum).

To me, “livable” is how every member of my family lived when we were first starting out: either renting a room in someone’s house, or sharing a two- or three-bedroom apartment with others. I considered myself “living” doing that - I took the subway to work, did my job, bought groceries, and other basics.

And THAT is the lifestyle of someone right out of college, earning starting wages, or of a new high school graduate who has no real job skills to offer. In the case of the former, it will be temporary; in the case of the latter, it is rarely permanent as most people acquire job skills with experience.

The Democrats claim the Min Wage must be $15 an hour. I survived very nicely for 5 years on $12.50 per hour.

 

[Lisa558]

Can you link to a few liberals claiming that working at Walmart or Popeyes or those types of jobs should provide a middle class lifestyle? I have heard them make a lot of claims, but never anything of that sort

Yes. Liberals have said that even an unskilled, uneducated person should be able to rent his own one-bedroom apartment, buy a car, put money away in his IRA, and go on vacations. THAT is a middle class lifestyle.

A lower-income lifestyle, which is quite LIVABLE, is the one I shared in the OP: sharing an air-conditioned townhouse or apartment, taking public transport to work, buying groceries, and pitching in toward the electric bill.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

How do you think the liberal mantra about "living wage" and the liberal claims about unions starting the "middle class" are interpreted by those who work in fast food or big box retail?

I remember the liberal joy among the lower class people when B. Hussein O was immaculated that cold day in January 2009. They thought their ship had come in.

I do not belive anyone thinks someone working the drive thru at a fast food joint should be able to afford a 3500 square foot home with a couple of SUV's, college tuition and orthodontic bills.

Also, how many people live in a 3500 sqft home? I live in a 4 bedroom, 4 bath full walkout basement and it is less than 3000 sqft.

 

[Harpy Eagle]

Yes. Liberals have said that even an unskilled, uneducated person should be able to rent his own one-bedroom apartment, buy a car, put money away in his IRA, and go on vacations. THAT is a middle class lifestyle.

 

[Lisa558]

The poorest people usually have the best flat screens in town

They also have the latest IPhones. Me? I have that Samsung gizmo they sold on HSN for $79 and a year of service. I can check emails, surf the web, and so forth. If it’s good enough for me, it’s good enough for poor people!

 

[danielpalos]

I keep hearing the left say that minimum wage, which is what the lowest 2% of Americans earn, needs to be increased to where it provides a “livable“ wage. The disconnect comes in what is considered livable - even for teens who barely squeaked through high school and have no job skills beyond that which can be taught to a middle schooler in half a day.

The left considers “livable” to be a middle class existence - a decent one-bedroom apartment, a car, a vacation. Where they miss is that is the level to which people should ASPIRE, and the desire to do so is what incentivizes one to get some vocational training (at a minimum).

To me, “livable” is how every member of my family lived when we were first starting out: either renting a room in someone’s house, or sharing a two- or three-bedroom apartment with others. I considered myself “living” doing that - I took the subway to work, did my job, bought groceries, and other basics.

And THAT is the lifestyle of someone right out of college, earning starting wages, or of a new high school graduate who has no real job skills to offer. In the case of the former, it will be temporary; in the case of the latter, it is rarely permanent as most people acquire job skills with experience.

It is why the left needs to remove this issue of contention from the right and solve simple poverty via existing legal and physical infrastructure; for the Market-Based metrics.

Employers will easily understand demand and supply and so will Labor.

 

[Lisa558]

C’mon. People on this forum have said that ad infinitum. I’m not going to do a search.

So you tell me: what should the “livable” lifestyle of the kid who works the drive-though at McDonalds consist of?

 

[surada]

If someone works as restroom attendant, cashier at Walmart or in the drive-thru window at Popeye's, is it really realistic for them to live in a 3500 square foot home with a couple of SUV's, college tuition and orthodontic bills for the children?

The liberal idea that such low ranking jobs should provide a Middle Class lifestyle is sort of stupid, but what's even worse is that it causes their devotees who hold those jobs to try and vote themselves a good living instead of trying to raise themselves up.

They can't even afford a 600 square foot apartment.

 

[DBA]

It is why the left needs to remove this issue of contention from the right and solve simple poverty via existing legal and physical infrastructure; for the Market-Based metrics.

Employers will easily understand demand and supply and so will Labor.

You mean pay people not to work? Yeah, that will solve everything.