One thing that should not be cut from the Stimulus Plan: Food Stamps Increase

[AllieBaba]

Same place all the money for the Iraq war came from.

Remember all those pallets of hundrerd dollar bills that just disappeared?

Unfortunately, the military still has need of that money. We're not dismantling it so we can better feed our already obese nation.

Besides which, with no military, we won't have a nation to feed.

Undoubtedly that would suit you fine.

 

[Dis]

FTR, I'm not just talking out of my ass, either.. I started out working at the equivalent of Taco Bell in high school for a loust $3.65 an hour.. Decided that wasn't enough, so got a weekend job bussing tables for $2.00 an hour plus tips. Doesn't leave much time for a 16 year old kid to go out and party and be a kid.. No matter.. Taught myself to type, figured out how computers worked, learned to operate a couple different programs, and took a freaking bus from the far south side of town to the far north side of town for my first office job, which started at 7:30 in the morning every day when I was 18. That meant leaving the house at 5am every day, rain, snow, below zero temps, etc. None of those were acceptable reasons to call into work and say I'm not coming in. Woohoo! That job paid a whopping $6.50 an hour. (Now people whine about not making enough money to bother going to work in the snow). Everything else went from there. The only thing that got me there was a drive to get out of the situation I was in and do better.

I'm one of those "upper middle class" people that just barely make 6 figures a year, and it damned well took me 20 years to get there.

And you wonder why I lack the pity you think I should have for everyone? Pfft. It CAN be done.

 

[AllieBaba]

Of course it can. Instead of fostering a huge class of parasitic poor people, use the money to foster independence.

 

[Againsheila]

I don't see all that many "Kids" or those "that are in highschool bagging groceries". Mostly mothers trying to feed their families or guys who are in lower management positions at the stores. Generally it is the cashier or a manager who bags groceries know days. Heck all they can do is put the groceries in bags and run an automated adding machine. They surely should not be able to eat a decent meal when they get home after standing on their feet all day serving the public now should they?

Obviously, I'm going to have to take pics at my local grocery stores - all of them. The average kid bagging groceries is 17. The average cashier is 40-50. The average person working at McDonalds is 16-18, with the average manager being mid 20's to 30ish.

Maybe your grocery stores are small enough to warrant the cashier, or manager bagging groceries while ringing, but mine aren't.

That aside, you still haven't told me how much you THINK they should be making for running items across a scanner, and standing in front of a machine that counts the change, and distributes it back FOR them. That's right; they don't even need to know how to do simple 1st grade math. It's done for them.

How much should they be making again - in dollars, please?

Enough to provide a roof over their heads, transportation to and from work, health care, clothes, and utilities with a little extra to go out once in awhile.

Anyone that thinks otherwise, doesn't understand the "American Way". Everyone is equal, regardless of education, background, race, etc. EVERYONE. They aren't less than you because they are standing on their feet doing their job all day. In fact, they probably are BETTER than you since they work so hard to put food on the table while all you can do is complain that they shouldn't be paid enough to live on because they don't have the kind of job you do.

I don't understand these people that look down on other working people. I was taught that anyone that worked for a living deserved our respect be he a janitor, or the President of the USA, they deserve EQUAL respect. Hmmm....then again....

 

[Againsheila]

FTR, I'm not just talking out of my ass, either.. I started out working at the equivalent of Taco Bell in high school for a loust $3.65 an hour.. Decided that wasn't enough, so got a weekend job bussing tables for $2.00 an hour plus tips. Doesn't leave much time for a 16 year old kid to go out and party and be a kid.. No matter.. Taught myself to type, figured out how computers worked, learned to operate a couple different programs, and took a freaking bus from the far south side of town to the far north side of town for my first office job, which started at 7:30 in the morning every day when I was 18. That meant leaving the house at 5am every day, rain, snow, below zero temps, etc. None of those were acceptable reasons to call into work and say I'm not coming in. Woohoo! That job paid a whopping $6.50 an hour. (Now people whine about not making enough money to bother going to work in the snow). Everything else went from there. The only thing that got me there was a drive to get out of the situation I was in and do better.

I'm one of those "upper middle class" people that just barely make 6 figures a year, and it damned well took me 20 years to get there.

And you wonder why I lack the pity you think I should have for everyone? Pfft. It CAN be done.

I wasn't allowed to get a job in high school as I had to babysit my little brother while both my parents worked. I ended up with two special needs kids and so ended up staying home most of the time instead of working as I had planned. You try finding a babysitter for an autistic kid. Worse, one that's 21 years old and still in diapers. Now that we have a home for him, I'm looking for work but guess what? Yep, worst time to be looking for a job.

We don't have a 6 figure income and we've worked very hard all our lives. I don't think you're better than me because you had a different background. I learned that family was important, you learned that money is important. Personally, I think I got the better deal.

 

[Againsheila]

Honey,If Annie,Dis and I can all raise a family,work more then one job and keep a home running on a budget...so can everyone else. The poor you keep whining about already have extra help with food stamps and daycare. God you dems are greedy and whiny....

I am not a democrat, nor am I greedy or whinny....My husband and I have worked hard all our lives. Like I said, raise the minimum wage to a living wage and we won't need to worry about food stamps.

Some people's budgets, btw, are bigger than others. Especially in a day and time when minimum wage has the lowest spending power in history and when our income gap is bigger than it was in the gilded age. Our middle class is shrinking rapidly. Yes, some of them are entering the upper class, others are going into the lower class...too bad the upper class doesn't care a whit about the lower class, it would only take one small disaster to take them out of their place and put them in the lower class as well.

Given it's mostly KIDS that are in high school, or just out of who have no job skills to speak of that are making minimum wage...just how much do you THINK minimium wage for filling grocery bags, or flipping burgers should be? You think the cost of a head of lettuce is high now? Raise the wages for jobs that have no business being raised...

Read some statistics...more than 70% of those making minimum wage are ADULTS.

 

[Dis]

I don't see all that many "Kids" or those "that are in highschool bagging groceries". Mostly mothers trying to feed their families or guys who are in lower management positions at the stores. Generally it is the cashier or a manager who bags groceries know days. Heck all they can do is put the groceries in bags and run an automated adding machine. They surely should not be able to eat a decent meal when they get home after standing on their feet all day serving the public now should they?

Obviously, I'm going to have to take pics at my local grocery stores - all of them. The average kid bagging groceries is 17. The average cashier is 40-50. The average person working at McDonalds is 16-18, with the average manager being mid 20's to 30ish.

Maybe your grocery stores are small enough to warrant the cashier, or manager bagging groceries while ringing, but mine aren't.

That aside, you still haven't told me how much you THINK they should be making for running items across a scanner, and standing in front of a machine that counts the change, and distributes it back FOR them. That's right; they don't even need to know how to do simple 1st grade math. It's done for them.

How much should they be making again - in dollars, please?

Enough to provide a roof over their heads, transportation to and from work, health care, clothes, and utilities with a little extra to go out once in awhile.

Anyone that thinks otherwise, doesn't understand the "American Way". Everyone is equal, regardless of education, background, race, etc. EVERYONE. They aren't less than you because they are standing on their feet doing their job all day. In fact, they probably are BETTER than you since they work so hard to put food on the table while all you can do is complain that they shouldn't be paid enough to live on because they don't have the kind of job you do.

I don't understand these people that look down on other working people. I was taught that anyone that worked for a living deserved our respect be he a janitor, or the President of the USA, they deserve EQUAL respect. Hmmm....then again....

No offense, but you're on crack. I started out DOING those jobs. I lived that life, and as a freakin KID I didn't have a little bit "extra" to go out once in awhile because I had freakin bills to pay. Noboody handed me shit, and in fact, while I was busting my ass to make ends meet, the friggen government was STILL pulling out of my paychecks to fund someone ELSES life, and I sure as hell didn't even get to collect bus fare out of it.

Hate to say it, but the "American way" is damned freakin selfish, weak, and lazy nowadays.

 

[Againsheila]

Obviously, I'm going to have to take pics at my local grocery stores - all of them. The average kid bagging groceries is 17. The average cashier is 40-50. The average person working at McDonalds is 16-18, with the average manager being mid 20's to 30ish.

Maybe your grocery stores are small enough to warrant the cashier, or manager bagging groceries while ringing, but mine aren't.

That aside, you still haven't told me how much you THINK they should be making for running items across a scanner, and standing in front of a machine that counts the change, and distributes it back FOR them. That's right; they don't even need to know how to do simple 1st grade math. It's done for them.

How much should they be making again - in dollars, please?

Enough to provide a roof over their heads, transportation to and from work, health care, clothes, and utilities with a little extra to go out once in awhile.

Anyone that thinks otherwise, doesn't understand the "American Way". Everyone is equal, regardless of education, background, race, etc. EVERYONE. They aren't less than you because they are standing on their feet doing their job all day. In fact, they probably are BETTER than you since they work so hard to put food on the table while all you can do is complain that they shouldn't be paid enough to live on because they don't have the kind of job you do.

I don't understand these people that look down on other working people. I was taught that anyone that worked for a living deserved our respect be he a janitor, or the President of the USA, they deserve EQUAL respect. Hmmm....then again....

No offense, but you're on crack. I started out DOING those jobs. I lived that life, and as a freakin KID I didn't have a little bit "extra" to go out once in awhile because I had freakin bills to pay. Noboody handed me shit, and in fact, while I was busting my ass to make ends meet, the friggen government was STILL pulling out of my paychecks to fund someone ELSES life, and I sure as hell didn't even get to collect bus fare out of it.

Hate to say it, but the "American way" is damned freakin selfish, weak, and lazy nowadays.

As I said, in 1968, my brother was able to work a minimum wage job, afford an apartment, buy a car and take night classes at the local community college. If minimum wage had kept up with inflation, you would have been able to do that when you were working minimum wage. I would have been able to do that when I was working minimum wage and people today would be able to do that now.

 

[Dis]

FTR, I'm not just talking out of my ass, either.. I started out working at the equivalent of Taco Bell in high school for a loust $3.65 an hour.. Decided that wasn't enough, so got a weekend job bussing tables for $2.00 an hour plus tips. Doesn't leave much time for a 16 year old kid to go out and party and be a kid.. No matter.. Taught myself to type, figured out how computers worked, learned to operate a couple different programs, and took a freaking bus from the far south side of town to the far north side of town for my first office job, which started at 7:30 in the morning every day when I was 18. That meant leaving the house at 5am every day, rain, snow, below zero temps, etc. None of those were acceptable reasons to call into work and say I'm not coming in. Woohoo! That job paid a whopping $6.50 an hour. (Now people whine about not making enough money to bother going to work in the snow). Everything else went from there. The only thing that got me there was a drive to get out of the situation I was in and do better.

I'm one of those "upper middle class" people that just barely make 6 figures a year, and it damned well took me 20 years to get there.

And you wonder why I lack the pity you think I should have for everyone? Pfft. It CAN be done.

I wasn't allowed to get a job in high school as I had to babysit my little brother while both my parents worked. I ended up with two special needs kids and so ended up staying home most of the time instead of working as I had planned. You try finding a babysitter for an autistic kid. Worse, one that's 21 years old and still in diapers. Now that we have a home for him, I'm looking for work but guess what? Yep, worst time to be looking for a job.

We don't have a 6 figure income and we've worked very hard all our lives. I don't think you're better than me because you had a different background. I learned that family was important, you learned that money is important. Personally, I think I got the better deal.

No, what I learned is that you can't depend on family to bail your ass out, especially when they're on welfare themselves, and don't have the ambition to get off it. It wasn't a matter of being "allowed" to get a job in high school. It was a matter of HAVING to, if I wanted even plastic dishes to eat off of, and a tiny studio apartment to live in, rather than a cardboard box on Wisconsin Ave.

 

[AllieBaba]

I don't see all that many "Kids" or those "that are in highschool bagging groceries". Mostly mothers trying to feed their families or guys who are in lower management positions at the stores. Generally it is the cashier or a manager who bags groceries know days. Heck all they can do is put the groceries in bags and run an automated adding machine. They surely should not be able to eat a decent meal when they get home after standing on their feet all day serving the public now should they?

Obviously, I'm going to have to take pics at my local grocery stores - all of them. The average kid bagging groceries is 17. The average cashier is 40-50. The average person working at McDonalds is 16-18, with the average manager being mid 20's to 30ish.

Maybe your grocery stores are small enough to warrant the cashier, or manager bagging groceries while ringing, but mine aren't.

That aside, you still haven't told me how much you THINK they should be making for running items across a scanner, and standing in front of a machine that counts the change, and distributes it back FOR them. That's right; they don't even need to know how to do simple 1st grade math. It's done for them.

How much should they be making again - in dollars, please?

Enough to provide a roof over their heads, transportation to and from work, health care, clothes, and utilities with a little extra to go out once in awhile.

Anyone that thinks otherwise, doesn't understand the "American Way". Everyone is equal, regardless of education, background, race, etc. EVERYONE. They aren't less than you because they are standing on their feet doing their job all day. In fact, they probably are BETTER than you since they work so hard to put food on the table while all you can do is complain that they shouldn't be paid enough to live on because they don't have the kind of job you do.

I don't understand these people that look down on other working people. I was taught that anyone that worked for a living deserved our respect be he a janitor, or the President of the USA, they deserve EQUAL respect. Hmmm....then again....

When did schools start teaching our kids that the way to success is increased minimum wages?

The insistence on "minimum wages" is one of the primary reasons that people making $8.40 now can't make it on what people making $1.65 an hour made it on when I was a kid.

Minimum wage standards are a joke and always have been. All that happens when you increase the minimum wage is that you pay more for whatever is made in America. It increases unemployment, and it increases inflation.

 

[Againsheila]

FTR, I'm not just talking out of my ass, either.. I started out working at the equivalent of Taco Bell in high school for a loust $3.65 an hour.. Decided that wasn't enough, so got a weekend job bussing tables for $2.00 an hour plus tips. Doesn't leave much time for a 16 year old kid to go out and party and be a kid.. No matter.. Taught myself to type, figured out how computers worked, learned to operate a couple different programs, and took a freaking bus from the far south side of town to the far north side of town for my first office job, which started at 7:30 in the morning every day when I was 18. That meant leaving the house at 5am every day, rain, snow, below zero temps, etc. None of those were acceptable reasons to call into work and say I'm not coming in. Woohoo! That job paid a whopping $6.50 an hour. (Now people whine about not making enough money to bother going to work in the snow). Everything else went from there. The only thing that got me there was a drive to get out of the situation I was in and do better.

I'm one of those "upper middle class" people that just barely make 6 figures a year, and it damned well took me 20 years to get there.

And you wonder why I lack the pity you think I should have for everyone? Pfft. It CAN be done.

I wasn't allowed to get a job in high school as I had to babysit my little brother while both my parents worked. I ended up with two special needs kids and so ended up staying home most of the time instead of working as I had planned. You try finding a babysitter for an autistic kid. Worse, one that's 21 years old and still in diapers. Now that we have a home for him, I'm looking for work but guess what? Yep, worst time to be looking for a job.

We don't have a 6 figure income and we've worked very hard all our lives. I don't think you're better than me because you had a different background. I learned that family was important, you learned that money is important. Personally, I think I got the better deal.

No, what I learned is that you can't depend on family to bail your ass out, especially when they're on welfare themselves, and don't have the ambition to get off it. It wasn't a matter of being "allowed" to get a job in high school. It was a matter of HAVING to, if I wanted even plastic dishes to eat off of, and a tiny studio apartment to live in, rather than a cardboard box on Wisconsin Ave.

Like I said, I got the better deal.

 

[Dis]

I wasn't allowed to get a job in high school as I had to babysit my little brother while both my parents worked. I ended up with two special needs kids and so ended up staying home most of the time instead of working as I had planned. You try finding a babysitter for an autistic kid. Worse, one that's 21 years old and still in diapers. Now that we have a home for him, I'm looking for work but guess what? Yep, worst time to be looking for a job.

We don't have a 6 figure income and we've worked very hard all our lives. I don't think you're better than me because you had a different background. I learned that family was important, you learned that money is important. Personally, I think I got the better deal.

No, what I learned is that you can't depend on family to bail your ass out, especially when they're on welfare themselves, and don't have the ambition to get off it. It wasn't a matter of being "allowed" to get a job in high school. It was a matter of HAVING to, if I wanted even plastic dishes to eat off of, and a tiny studio apartment to live in, rather than a cardboard box on Wisconsin Ave.

Like I said, I got the better deal.

Then quit whining about needing more.

 

[Againsheila]

No, what I learned is that you can't depend on family to bail your ass out, especially when they're on welfare themselves, and don't have the ambition to get off it. It wasn't a matter of being "allowed" to get a job in high school. It was a matter of HAVING to, if I wanted even plastic dishes to eat off of, and a tiny studio apartment to live in, rather than a cardboard box on Wisconsin Ave.

Like I said, I got the better deal.

Then quit whining about needing more.

Wanting those in minimum wage jobs to be paid a living wage is not whining about needing more. We are doing okay. But there are a lot of people that aren't. Perhaps because I learned the importance of family, I also learned the importance of those that are working being able to support themselves. I don't know how you missed that lesson when you supposedly were working minimum wage jobs to support yourself.

Also, keep in mind that with inflation, those working those same jobs you did, don't have the spending power you did, and you seem to want to keep it that way, why? Don't you want them to have the same opportunities you did?

One more thing, I'm willing to bet, I was arguing for you getting a living wage back when you were working those minimum wage jobs too.

 

[AllieBaba]

Enough to provide a roof over their heads, transportation to and from work, health care, clothes, and utilities with a little extra to go out once in awhile.

Anyone that thinks otherwise, doesn't understand the "American Way". Everyone is equal, regardless of education, background, race, etc. EVERYONE. They aren't less than you because they are standing on their feet doing their job all day. In fact, they probably are BETTER than you since they work so hard to put food on the table while all you can do is complain that they shouldn't be paid enough to live on because they don't have the kind of job you do.

I don't understand these people that look down on other working people. I was taught that anyone that worked for a living deserved our respect be he a janitor, or the President of the USA, they deserve EQUAL respect. Hmmm....then again....

No offense, but you're on crack. I started out DOING those jobs. I lived that life, and as a freakin KID I didn't have a little bit "extra" to go out once in awhile because I had freakin bills to pay. Noboody handed me shit, and in fact, while I was busting my ass to make ends meet, the friggen government was STILL pulling out of my paychecks to fund someone ELSES life, and I sure as hell didn't even get to collect bus fare out of it.

Hate to say it, but the "American way" is damned freakin selfish, weak, and lazy nowadays.

As I said, in 1968, my brother was able to work a minimum wage job, afford an apartment, buy a car and take night classes at the local community college. If minimum wage had kept up with inflation, you would have been able to do that when you were working minimum wage. I would have been able to do that when I was working minimum wage and people today would be able to do that now.

A single person making minimum wage CAN still do those things. YOu get an economical apartment, a cheap car, and use student grants to attend school.

The thing is, the whole concept of what is "acceptable" has changed. My kids, who were not raised with a lot of money, still grew up thinking it was mandatory for them to live in 3-bedroom homes and drive hot rod HOndas right out of high school. They didn't learn that from me. They learned that from watching their friends....who had parents who were neck deep in debt. Who essentially live paycheck to paycheck, paying the minimum amounts they can and using plastic like it's going out of style...to buy things like in-room refrigerators, designer clothing, and hot cars for their kids.

That isn't "making it". THat's scamming the system, knowing you don't have the money to provide that level of living but doing it anyway, because you work every day and don't mind accruing a gigantic debt....after all, that's what bankruptcy court is for.

People have forgotten what it's like to have to actually work your way up to the top. We've lived with easy credit and too much tv for too long. The market had to crash, my brother in law, a stockbroker (and incidentally, a conservative Republican) told me 4 years ago that this was going to happen. It's when he decided to start selling off most of his real estate.

Now instead of pissing and moaning, people just need to tuck in. The government does not exist to fund us. We fund the government, and we fund ourselves.

Act like Americans, for God's sakes.

 

[Dis]

They have the same opportunities I did. They simply choose not to take advantage of them. You seem to think that because people chose one way of life over another, they're automatically entitled to the same exact benefits as those who chose a different path. When I was a kid, people didn't just call into work sick, tired, busy, or needing a "personal" day. You got up and you went to work. Period. Now, something as simple as a snowflake, or 6 degree temps will result in a call from an employee who "can't" make it in, but still wants to be paid for that time off.

Fact is, you pave your own way in life. Simple as that.

 

[AllieBaba]

The funny thing is, you know what is taught in the job/employment programs that we pay BIG bucks for, and which welfare/fs recipients have to attend?

Accountability. Responsibility. You get a babysitter, you go to work. You don't call in for a runny nose. You have a back-up babysitter. If you don't go, you don't get credit, you (eventually) lose your benefits, just as you would lose your job.

It seems stupid to spend more money bailing people out, then spend money on top of that, teaching them it's NOT okay to sit on your ass...when we could just make it a little less available to begin with and teach the same thing.

Guess which costs less, and is more effective?

 

[Againsheila]

No offense, but you're on crack. I started out DOING those jobs. I lived that life, and as a freakin KID I didn't have a little bit "extra" to go out once in awhile because I had freakin bills to pay. Noboody handed me shit, and in fact, while I was busting my ass to make ends meet, the friggen government was STILL pulling out of my paychecks to fund someone ELSES life, and I sure as hell didn't even get to collect bus fare out of it.

Hate to say it, but the "American way" is damned freakin selfish, weak, and lazy nowadays.

As I said, in 1968, my brother was able to work a minimum wage job, afford an apartment, buy a car and take night classes at the local community college. If minimum wage had kept up with inflation, you would have been able to do that when you were working minimum wage. I would have been able to do that when I was working minimum wage and people today would be able to do that now.

A single person making minimum wage CAN still do those things. YOu get an economical apartment, a cheap car, and use student grants to attend school.

The thing is, the whole concept of what is "acceptable" has changed. My kids, who were not raised with a lot of money, still grew up thinking it was mandatory for them to live in 3-bedroom homes and drive hot rod HOndas right out of high school. They didn't learn that from me. They learned that from watching their friends....who had parents who were neck deep in debt. Who essentially live paycheck to paycheck, paying the minimum amounts they can and using plastic like it's going out of style...to buy things like in-room refrigerators, designer clothing, and hot cars for their kids.

That isn't "making it". THat's scamming the system, knowing you don't have the money to provide that level of living but doing it anyway, because you work every day and don't mind accruing a gigantic debt....after all, that's what bankruptcy court is for.

People have forgotten what it's like to have to actually work your way up to the top. We've lived with easy credit and too much tv for too long. The market had to crash, my brother in law, a stockbroker (and incidentally, a conservative Republican) told me 4 years ago that this was going to happen. It's when he decided to start selling off most of his real estate.

Now instead of pissing and moaning, people just need to tuck in. The government does not exist to fund us. We fund the government, and we fund ourselves.

Act like Americans, for God's sakes.

And some people think I'm on crack.

 

[Againsheila]

Obviously, I'm going to have to take pics at my local grocery stores - all of them. The average kid bagging groceries is 17. The average cashier is 40-50. The average person working at McDonalds is 16-18, with the average manager being mid 20's to 30ish.

Maybe your grocery stores are small enough to warrant the cashier, or manager bagging groceries while ringing, but mine aren't.

That aside, you still haven't told me how much you THINK they should be making for running items across a scanner, and standing in front of a machine that counts the change, and distributes it back FOR them. That's right; they don't even need to know how to do simple 1st grade math. It's done for them.

How much should they be making again - in dollars, please?

Enough to provide a roof over their heads, transportation to and from work, health care, clothes, and utilities with a little extra to go out once in awhile.

Anyone that thinks otherwise, doesn't understand the "American Way". Everyone is equal, regardless of education, background, race, etc. EVERYONE. They aren't less than you because they are standing on their feet doing their job all day. In fact, they probably are BETTER than you since they work so hard to put food on the table while all you can do is complain that they shouldn't be paid enough to live on because they don't have the kind of job you do.

I don't understand these people that look down on other working people. I was taught that anyone that worked for a living deserved our respect be he a janitor, or the President of the USA, they deserve EQUAL respect. Hmmm....then again....

When did schools start teaching our kids that the way to success is increased minimum wages?

The insistence on "minimum wages" is one of the primary reasons that people making $8.40 now can't make it on what people making $1.65 an hour made it on when I was a kid.

Minimum wage standards are a joke and always have been. All that happens when you increase the minimum wage is that you pay more for whatever is made in America. It increases unemployment, and it increases inflation.

the last 3 times there was an increase in the minimum wage, there was no net job losses, no increase in inflation or unemployment.

Even when it does increase inflation..it spreads it out over everyone so yeah, they pay a little more for a hamburger, but so does the middleclass and the wealthy...it's spread out so overall, they do get a net increase.

You made a minimum wage and your minimum wage had a higher spending power than today's minimum wage and you would deny that to today's workers that are trying to better themselves.

 

[AllieBaba]

Well I wasn't going to say anything about your being on crack....

 

[Dis]

Enough to provide a roof over their heads, transportation to and from work, health care, clothes, and utilities with a little extra to go out once in awhile.

Anyone that thinks otherwise, doesn't understand the "American Way". Everyone is equal, regardless of education, background, race, etc. EVERYONE. They aren't less than you because they are standing on their feet doing their job all day. In fact, they probably are BETTER than you since they work so hard to put food on the table while all you can do is complain that they shouldn't be paid enough to live on because they don't have the kind of job you do.

I don't understand these people that look down on other working people. I was taught that anyone that worked for a living deserved our respect be he a janitor, or the President of the USA, they deserve EQUAL respect. Hmmm....then again....

When did schools start teaching our kids that the way to success is increased minimum wages?

The insistence on "minimum wages" is one of the primary reasons that people making $8.40 now can't make it on what people making $1.65 an hour made it on when I was a kid.

Minimum wage standards are a joke and always have been. All that happens when you increase the minimum wage is that you pay more for whatever is made in America. It increases unemployment, and it increases inflation.

the last 3 times there was an increase in the minimum wage, there was no net job losses, no increase in inflation or unemployment.

Even when it does increase inflation..it spreads it out over everyone so yeah, they pay a little more for a hamburger, but so does the middleclass and the wealthy...it's spread out so overall, they do get a net increase.

You made a minimum wage and your minimum wage had a higher spending power than today's minimum wage and you would deny that to today's workers that are trying to better themselves.

You've already stated you've not lived such a life, so what do you really know about what can or can't be done on minimum wage?

Necessities in life come down to a roof, food, and serviceable clothes. Nothing more. One simply needs transportation to work - it doesn't even NEED to be a car.