Would you work for minimum wage?

[6string]

i think that's what everyone feels.

Minimum wage job or no job?
Most people would take the minimum wage.

Minimum wage job or a really high paying job?
Most people would take the higher paid job.

yes! ;D

 

[Village Idiot]

When I was younger, yes, but now I couldn't afford to.

 

[lolipop21]

Right now, I'm not working at all, so no wage at all. So yes, I would really much work, even if it's for minimum wage.

 

[willmeahl4]

IBEW member here. Thank god for organized labor. Thity/hour, healthcare at no cost to me, FOUR retirement accounts paid into by my employer. I can go anywhere in this country and work. If someone isn't happy with their treatment at work I'd suggest trying to unionize their workplace. United we bargain, divided we beg.

 

[cwa107]

IBEW member here. Thank god for organized labor. Thity/hour, healthcare at no cost to me, FOUR retirement accounts paid into by my employer. I can go anywhere in this country and work. If someone isn't happy with their treatment at work I'd suggest trying to unionize their workplace. United we bargain, divided we beg.

That's all well and good in industries that can't be outsourced, but working in IT, we'd be outsourced in a hot minute. Same goes for our customer service shop (which is, sadly, already well underway).

 

[bargsbeer]

That's all well and good in industries that can't be outsourced, but working in IT, we'd be outsourced in a hot minute. Same goes for our customer service shop (which is already well underway).

+1 You can thank unions for a lot of outsourcing, I work for the Postal Service and refuse to join the union. The unions of today only protect the lazy employees who show up work for 5 hours and get paid for 8. Unfortunately most Union workers have priced themselves out of a job.

 

[cwa107]

+1 You can thank unions for a lot of outsourcing, I work for the Postal Service and refuse to join the union. The unions of today only protect the lazy employees who show up work for 5 hours and get paid for 8. Unfortunately most Union workers have priced themselves out of a job.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against unions. I have personally been subjected to some pretty egregious management (like being forced to work 24-36 hours without rest) and it's my fondest wish that someone would advocate for folks like me. But unfortunately, until something is done about the wholesaling of jobs out of this country, it's probably only going to get worse.

I don't know what the answer is, but I'm hopeful someone has it, as eventually these big companies will completely marginalize their own customer base.

 

[jetmech1]

Back in 1984, being 18 and with no skills, I was working for minimum wage which was around 3.75 per hour. Now 26 years later, no I would not work for minimum unless I was starving. Most minimum wage jobs also have no benefits included. My full time job ended in May 2009 and I have been working PT since. My Part-time job pays me about 4 times what minimum wage pays for the same hours worked. With the skills I have developed over the years I should not have to work for Min wage.

 

[willmeahl4]

+1 You can thank unions for a lot of outsourcing, I work for the Postal Service and refuse to join the union. The unions of today only protect the lazy employees who show up work for 5 hours and get paid for 8. Unfortunately most Union workers have priced themselves out of a job.

You are what's referred to as a "free rider". Enjoying all the protection and benefits of working in an organized workplace without paying your union dues.

By saying that unions only protect the lazy worker is a gross misstatement. In the skilled trades, without union training and manpower there wouldn't be anyone in this country capable of competently building, or even manning the big jobs like oil refineries, or power plants. Would you want a non-union built nuke pp in your city? Look at the military installations in Afghanistan, thanks to Cheney's non-union KBR builds we've had 12 troops die because of faulty wiring ON BASE!

And don't forget everything the unions have gotten the American worker. An eight hour workday, a two day weekend, child labor laws, OSHA, a federal minimum wage, and many others. You know what would happen without unions? Almost everyone's wage would decrease because employers would know that there is no union alternative, and they can pay whatever they want, knowing their employees can't organize to get more. Don't let faux news dictate your opinion on organized labor, do some real research about it and it's history.

 

[bargsbeer]

You are what's referred to as a "free rider". Enjoying all the protection and benefits of working in an organized workplace without paying your union dues.

By saying that unions only protect the lazy worker is a gross misstatement. In the skilled trades, without union training and manpower there wouldn't be anyone in this country capable of competently building, or even manning the big jobs like oil refineries, or power plants. Would you want a non-union built nuke pp in your city? Look at the military installations in Afghanistan, thanks to Cheney's non-union KBR builds we've had 12 troops die because of faulty wiring ON BASE!

And don't forget everything the unions have gotten the American worker. An eight hour workday, a two day weekend, child labor laws, OSHA, a federal minimum wage, and many others. You know what would happen without unions? Almost everyone's wage would decrease because employers would know that there is no union alternative, and they can pay whatever they want, knowing their employees can't organize to get more. Don't let faux news dictate your opinion on organized labor, do some real research about it and it's history.

Free rider, That's a new one they usually call me a scab and even worst.
Secondly I don't need Faux news to dictate my opinion on organized labor. I work for one of the largest employers in the country U.S. Postal Service close to 1Million workers, I have seen first hand the damage unions have done. I do agree that Unions did a lot of good at one point in our nations history. These days what good are they really doing besides protecting dead beats? There certainly not stopping the massive outsourcing of Jobs. As for union training I would be perfectly content with a non union built anything where I live. I'm not saying all Union people are like this, I have many friends at work who are union, And they work hard,They Don't file B.S. grievances or misuse FMLA and are not lazy.

 

[XJ-linux]

Yeah, union folk I've run into haven't been overwhelmingly friendly or interested in lifting up their fellow man unless that person is union. I didn't feel much love in 1994 when the UAW were jack rocking our street because a Caterpillar executive happened to live there. Apparently, they weren't too concerned with endangering the rest of us, but that's cool - sometimes you need to break some eggs for the greater good. I also thought it was pretty bad form for the UMWA guys to throw scat and eggs at my truck while I was building the CAD/CAM system that would be used to safely design and lay out their conveyor system circa 1998 in Ohio. Actually, that's when I first chose to carry a gun as a private citizen. And, I didn't get a ton of Teamster support in 2003 when they were shining lasers into my eyes as I drove through their line and in to work (to keep their SCM systems running so they'd have jobs to come back to) while they were striking over "spontaneous Friday PTO". While I agree that unions are a necessary part of some industries to stop abuses by employers, I also feel that they can get a bit over the top sometimes. I don't feel any better, or worse for that matter, about the quality of a power plant built by union or non-union labor. Name most any skill involved in designing or building something, and I'm pretty sure I can find a non-union person who will do it just as well. Enough people have been working outside the unions (actual work, not just book knowledge) for long enough that the skill sets have been transitioned, spread and flourished. The stranglehold on knowledge isn't what it use to be. Capitalism allows for unions to organize to collectively bargain, and it allows for me to rely on my own skills to bargain for a good wage as well.

 

[DarkestRitual]

If given no other choice. Right now, I've got a pretty sweet gig at 3.25 over minimum wage per hour. Should be making more money, but the economy is slow. So I am surviving and building up experience. I don't think I will ever work for minimum wage again, and I am glad for that.

My first job I started out making 5.15 an hour, back in 2004. Then as NY raised the minimum wage, i made "more" (less because of inflation) money per hour. Now I've finally hit what I would label a "livable" wage.

 

[DarkestRitual]

Good point. Our current administration is working on creating a nanny state though. I'm sure that given enough time on the current course, the dream of the "Workers Paradise" will be realized.

Not just the left, either. Everybody. "Drugs are bad for you. We don't want to legalize pot because you smoke it. No, it totally won't make bringing in smuggled pot from mexican cartels less profitable thus easing the violent tension along the border. It's totally a gateway. If we did that, we'd be huge hypocrites for trying to outlaw tobacco."

 

[XJ-linux]

Not just the left, either. Everybody. "Drugs are bad for you. We don't want to legalize pot because you smoke it. No, it totally won't make bringing in smuggled pot from mexican cartels less profitable thus easing the violent tension along the border. It's totally a gateway. If we did that, we'd be huge hypocrites for trying to outlaw tobacco."

No argument here man, I'll buy all y'all the first round. Though I'd only support legalizing it all, not only pot. If war isn't total, then it will be lost, and as such this war on drugs should end unconditionally. Just as pot not an automatic gateway for everyone, so coke isn't an automatic death sentence nor does every horse junkie use a rig. Make full blown felonies out of petty and predatory crimes (auto theft, burglary, shoplifting, robbery) associated with the occasional instances of addiction. It cleans up the street, keeps addicts from breeding as frequently, and lets Darwin sort the gene out of our species - even rehab can't do that. Use all that rehab money we save to build some transportation and manufacturing infrastructure. Getting manufacturing back on track (the only reason we won WWII was logistics and manufacturing) is the only real cure for the economy, the debt and our national security. While we're at it, find out how Russia and East Germany secured their borders and do the same here. You try and come in surreptitiously, you get shot while in the act of crossing - easy to understand in any language. Less people coming in to look for employment means more jobs and employers that need employees, which means competition by employers to attract employees, which means competitive wages for those jobs. I'm no fan of a Nanny state running my life, and the money we've spent on this stupid war could go for quite a lot else that helps out.

 

[the8thark]

To XJ-linux:

I agree with your statements. But there needs to be a nice balance between freedom and rules. Shooting people who leave is to controlling. But (in my opinion) legalising certain things like weed and automatic weapons is too much freedom.

It's a case of if people have too much freedom, they will abuse it. And if people don't have enough freedom people and the economy will suffer. WHy did Communist Russia collapse? They went bankrupt.

And on the war I agree the world could be spending more money on better things. But there's a quote I want to say about Bob Marley here. it really fits in. I heard Will Smith say it in a movie.

Bob Marley got shot and wounded and a few days alter he still preformed in front of millions of people. Why? Cause he said the bad people don't take a day off, so why should I.

And I truly believe this. Sure there is better ways to spend our money. But we need to be working as hard or harder then the bad people to stop them. We need to make the point that you can't do those illegal activities and get away with them. They need to be brought to justice. Cause every action has a re-action. And their re-action should be jail time.

 

[vansmith]

WHy did Communist Russia collapse?

Let me correct that for you:

WHy did Soviet Russia collapse?

There is no government in communism so saying that there is a communist government is like saying that my white MB is actually pink or that the DPRK is actually democratic.

Sorry, the "political me" had to post this.

 

[XJ-linux]

To XJ-linux:

I agree with your statements. But there needs to be a nice balance between freedom and rules. Shooting people who leave is to controlling.

Agreed. I only support shooting at people coming in. Anyone is free to leave at any time.

 

[DarkestRitual]

No argument here man, I'll buy all y'all the first round. Though I'd only support legalizing it all, not only pot. If war isn't total, then it will be lost, and as such this war on drugs should end unconditionally. Just as pot not an automatic gateway for everyone, so coke isn't an automatic death sentence nor does every horse junkie use a rig. Make full blown felonies out of petty and predatory crimes (auto theft, burglary, shoplifting, robbery) associated with the occasional instances of addiction. It cleans up the street, keeps addicts from breeding as frequently, and lets Darwin sort the gene out of our species - even rehab can't do that. Use all that rehab money we save to build some transportation and manufacturing infrastructure. Getting manufacturing back on track (the only reason we won WWII was logistics and manufacturing) is the only real cure for the economy, the debt and our national security. While we're at it, find out how Russia and East Germany secured their borders and do the same here. You try and come in surreptitiously, you get shot while in the act of crossing - easy to understand in any language. Less people coming in to look for employment means more jobs and employers that need employees, which means competition by employers to attract employees, which means competitive wages for those jobs. I'm no fan of a Nanny state running my life, and the money we've spent on this stupid war could go for quite a lot else that helps out.

Exactly. So you tried heroin and/or coke a couple of times. Give it a little sniffy sniff. Do you deserve to be in jail for possessing a hit or two, or a gram of coke while the police happen to catch you by pulling you over for "suspicious activity?" **** no. At least you're only directly harming yourself. Granted, the cash flow back to our government's enemies is why it is illegal, so if you legalize it and change the flow of the dollar bills to land in our government lap (10-15% vice tax anyone? It's how we kept our budget balanced post depression), then everybody is happy! Our jails have more room, our tax dollars go farther, we can spend on infrastructure... it'll be a grand old time.

I disagree with shooting people, however. I say let old fashioned capitalism take care of the border war. Okay, so the US legalizes drugs. The cartels don't make nearly as much profit, because we can lower prices to below what they're sold for by the cartels. Then the cartels have to price match. Then the government cuts the overhead on production again. I mean, our government ain't exactly swimming in cash like it used to be, but if we're Exxon Mobile, they're some chain restaurant like Hardy's. We can outlast any price war. Now, if you start getting angry and bringing guns (back) into our country (because they all come from here anyway through the illegal weapons trade), then sure. I'll cap you. But I say let it play out.

 

[the8thark]

Agreed. I only support shooting at people coming in. Anyone is free to leave at any time.

I agree 100%. Too many illegals trying to get in. We meed the military to work harder to keep them all out.

 

[cwa107]

I agree 100%. Too many illegals trying to get in. We meed the military to work harder to keep them all out.

I disagree. They should be welcomed with a red carpet that leads straight to the US Army. After serving a 4 year tour in Afghanistan, they will have earned their citizenship.