2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumHillary supporters, meet your Walmart candidate! Literally!
Sorry but America doesn't need this. None of it!
How ironic, let me get this straight. Hillary who served on the board for Walmart has her campaign propped by the very company she once was on the board for, whose headquarters happen to be in Arkansas where he husband is from, and she is against a living wage when Walmart is one of the biggest subsidized employers in America because of low wages?
Tell us more.
FreakinDJ
(17,644 posts)Bill Clinton was the Governor of Arkansas at the time
pinebox
(5,761 posts)It's amazing how much clearer we see these days
FreakinDJ
(17,644 posts)1 in
1 collecting
pinebox
(5,761 posts)which is the 1% of America
Metric System
(6,048 posts)was also the First Lady of Arkansas supporting a home state success story.
pinebox
(5,761 posts)Period. It is what it is.
Get the money out of politics!
You want to really defend this when Dems came out with a report saying what it says above?
Be my guest.
Oh and no response either, go figure lol
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)MadDAsHell
(2,067 posts)Isn't that all that really matters?
pinebox
(5,761 posts)Probably not in the way she wanted with a massive revolt against a rigged system
Arkansas Granny
(31,518 posts)It's not the $15 minimum that many want, but it's still a dramatic raise over the current amount.
pinebox
(5,761 posts)Yes Hillary has campaigned on a $12/hr wage BUT what people fail to realize is that this is the HIGH number. In the end, you may get $8.95 if you are lucky.
But let's say she gets $12 and Bernie gets $15.
It breaks down to math.
$12/hr @ 40/hrs week = $480 weekly and $1,920/mo
$15/hr @ 40/hrs week = $600 weekly and $2400/mo
That is a HUGE difference.
That is $480 difference, how ironic, an entire extra weeks pay compared to Hillary, exactly.
That is food, rent, electricity. That is A LOT of money to people who have very little & are struggling.
It's more than SNAP allows. Think about that. It's almost twice that SNAP give someone in a household of 4.
Herman4747
(1,825 posts)...will not have a notable effect on increasing the unemployment rate?
Is there any other country out there that has chosen a minimum wage rate that high?
Even in 1968, I believe that the minimum wage (in today's dollars) was only around $11.
pinebox
(5,761 posts)There is ZERO evidence that raising the minimum wage increases unemployment.
Any other country that has chosen a minimum wage that high? Actually yes and it even goes farther! http://www.therichest.com/business/the-top-10-countries-with-the-highest-minimum-wages/?view=all Some have "base wages" that people get every single month, employed or not.
Check this out and bookmark it because it's damn valuable http://livingwage.mit.edu
Herman4747
(1,825 posts)...with a rate of 334 Euros per week (stated in the article), or $373 per week. Dividing $373 by 40 we get $9.30 per hour, a far cry from $15!! Now, perhaps there's something else going on here, as the figure at the top of the article for the Netherlands says $23,029 per year ($443 per week) which is $11.07 per hour (assuming a 40 hour per week work-week). $15 per hour is 35% higher than what the Netherlands is doing!!
Actually, I dispute that there is ZERO evidence that raising the minimum wage increases unemployment. Indeed, by its very nature the minimum wage should increase unemployment, with at least some companies being completely unable to pay the higher wage & therefore having to lay off workers What needs to be determined is if the extent of the layoff is of notable consequence. (It may not be). The last minimum wage increase was so small (something like $6.25 to $7.25) that its effect on the unemployment rate was negligible. But doubling the minimum wage to twice its present level takes us into unknown, unchartered waters. where no other country has gone before (possibly with good reason).
When one proposes an action, the action will in a vast majority of circumstances have both good consequences and bad consequences. . It takes careful work (in this case, by economists) to determine if the good outweighs the bad.
pinebox
(5,761 posts)See, let me try explaining this to you.
While it may seem less, in all honesty the average fast food worker makes a TON more in Europe than they do here. Things such as health care are provided and they are given 30-45 days PAID vacation a year. Try that here. Won't happen.
http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2014/sep/03/other-98/can-you-make-45000year-mcdonalds-denmark/
Now as far as raising the minimum wage causes unemployment to rise, this has been debunked a number of times over and is a BIG Republican talking point.
http://www.dol.gov/featured/minimum-wage/mythbuster
Herman4747
(1,825 posts)You claim that minimum wage hikes do not increase unemployment. Okay, then, would they have no effect on unemployment if the minimum wage was raised to $50 per hour? or $100 per hour? Well, maybe you might concede that at a certain point an increase in the minimum wage *would in fact increase unemployment.* So let us call that number "X" HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT X is NOT GREATER THAN OR EQUAL TO $15???
No state in the United States currently has a minimum wage as high as $15. NONE!!! Even the most progressive states in the country do not have a minimum wage that high. I think CA & MA have minimum wages of around $10. Let's go further. No country has a minimum wage greater than or equal to $15. YOUR OWN DATA DON'T SHOW THAT SUCH A COUNTRY EXISTS. I looked at the earlier article you posted, and Holland had the highest at $11!! There are about 190 countries in the world -- not one chooses to go as high as $15.
Your minimum wage "mythbuster" itself would only go as high as $12, in discussing who would benefit "from a federal minimum wage increase", (see above), which, I believe, is what Hillary is proposing. (By the way, for other reasons, I personally will likely vote for Bernie).
The typical federal minimum wage increase is between (I believe) 15% to 40% higher than what it was previously. A minimum wage increase of more than 100% is NOT what the learned economists have in mind when they assert that an increase would have "little or no effect," -- an increase of more than 100% takes us into areas we have not gone before!!
Your discussion about government-provided health-care in other countries is a discussion of a government provided benefit by the government through its taxation policies. The government instead of the employer provides health-care coverage, but also taxes workers at a higher rate.
Question for you: why does Holland, which we both admire, NOT have a minimum wage of $20 per hour? You also have a discussion about what McDonald's workers in Denmark get paid, but I am not going to get into that, SINCE A LOT LIKELY MOST OF THESE HAVE BEEN WORKING A WHILE & CONSEQUENTLY THROUGH PAY WAGES ARE GETTING A HIGHER SALARY. Actually, I went to look at the article, and now see that these workers start at $15 per hour according to a single quote. And the unemployment rate in Denmark right now is 6.3%, compared to 4.9% in the U.S.
Well, do let me know what you believe X is.
pinebox
(5,761 posts)First off, I'm going to debunk you're entire argument right here http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/upshot/the-american-middle-class-is-no-longer-the-worlds-richest.html
And as it stands now, their minimum wage is roughly $2-$3 higher than ours, depending on province. Yet they have the worlds richest middle class. Go figure.
What you are failing to understand is that is the basic fact of this----people who live in Denmark, Sweden, Germany, France and who happen to work in low end wage earning jobs--service industry, fast food, etc are LIVING and not in dire straights. You simply can not do that here. Do you know why? They have less bills and more disposable income.
Let me throw something at you--- http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/28/business/international/living-wages-served-in-denmark-fast-food-restaurants.html
Yes taxes are higher BUT that is the thing that many Hillary supporters don't understand nor see, and that is the argument that Bernie supporters make--in the end, people make more money because they aren't having to pay for things such as health care deductibles or premiums. People in Europe are making a living at flipping burgers. It's a fact and it's a reality.
Here, that isn't happening. At all. By having a higher minimum wage though people would get by and possibly in many instances, get off public assistance. As it is, Walmart is subsidized heavily through taxpayers because of their low wages and it shouldn't be happening.
Herman4747
(1,825 posts)Why not $40 per hour minimum wage?? Why not $80 or $120??? WHAT'S YOUR ANSWER -- OR ARE YOU GOING TO REFUSE TO ANSWER??? IS IT BECAUSE YOU *CONCEDE* THAT AT SOME INCREASING OF THE LEVEL OF THE MINIMUM WAGE MORE UNEMPLOYMENT RESULTS?
As I mentioned, the unemployment rate in Denmark is 6.3%, it is 4.9% here. In the United States, an Area of Substantial Unemployment (ASU) is an area in which the unemployment rate is 6.5% or higher. https://mwejobs.maryland.gov/admin/gsipub/htmlarea/Uploads/PY%2014%20ASU%20Report_veb.pdf By this criterion the entire country of Denmark is almost an ASU.
You and I are in agreement -- that by raising the minimum wage some people will come off of public assistance. But can you explain why $15 per hour is the best minimum wage, especially considering that the MOST PROGRESSIVE COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD DO NOT HAVE SUCH A HIGH MINIMUM WAGE? The highest minimum wage in the article YOU YOURSELF PROVIDED was $11 per hour!
And can you please tell me why do you now strictly focus on ONLY the fast-food industry, and then only in a single country?? I guess you think that what works in Denmark's fast food industry will automatically not cause layoffs in the home health care industry in the U.S.???
The best people to figure out what the "optimal" minimum wage should be in this country are the trained ECONOMISTS. Now, you can scurry off to try to find through Google some economist somewhere who believes $15 per hour is indeed optimal. But that's not really the best way to go. It is much better to read ALL scholarly opinions on the matter, not just those that support your case.
And remember too what you are proposing is a more than doubling of the minimum wage! This country has never experienced anything like that!! From about 1948 to about 1960, the minimum wage in Pennsylvania doubled -- BUT WE ARE TALKING HERE OF 11 OR 12 YEARS.
Here, let me help you present your argument: "I am certain that a minimum wage increase to $15 per hour in the United States would not result in a significant increase in unemployment because____" [Fill in the blank].
Please note that I myself do favor an increase in the minimum wage, but I suspect that for now $15 is likely too high.
************************************************
All this is merely academic anyhow, since the Republicans control the House of Representatives, and will control the House for quite some time. Consequently, the only minimum wage increases we shall see will be in the Blue States. (And a few atypical Red States like Montana). State minimum wages will maybe go up in some Blue States, but places like Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, etc. will continue to pay minimum wage workers only $7.25 per hour.
pinebox
(5,761 posts)because the headline says it all, "Guy, Why stop at $15???" which is a typical Republican talking point. You are literally taking that route, you are aware of that correct? On a Democratic messaging board.
Your argument is no different than Ron Paul's http://www.ronpaullibertyreport.com/archives/masquerading-a-15-minimum-wage-as-moral It is what it is.
Oilwellian
(12,647 posts)Thank you! That made my Monday! LOL
"Guy, Why stop at $15???" has an answer. We stop at $15 because it is on average, the least one should earn in this country to meet basic needs. It's just that simple. Why should people live in poverty in this country, if they work 40 hours a week? Arguing in support of that is what Republicans do.
When people earn more, they spend more. Economies thrive on that. Duh.
Herman4747
(1,825 posts)...but when you come up with the shitty, idiotic allegation that I am presenting a "right-wing talking point," well, the gloves are coming off.
All I have done is express doubt that the $15 per hour minimum wage is optimal. Given that the most liberal states in the country go no higher than $10, I think I have some cause for concern. You seem to think anyone CONCERNED ABOUT THE NOTABLE POTENTIAL FOR INCREASED UNEMPLOYMENT is a right-winger. What do you think about the argument that only SELFISH CONSERVATIVES don't give a damn about increased unemployment? You provided information on countries having a higher minimum wage than the U.S. Foolishly, you failed to note that the data you provided does NOT support your case as NONE of the countries mentioned had a minimum wage anywhere near $15 per hour.
You won't state why you regard $15 per hour as optimal. That would take too much effort, and you don't want to over-work your poor brain.
You, I, and Ron Paul would agree that a $60 per hour minimum wage is too high, right? We all would agree that a $30 per hour minimum wage is also too high too, don't you think? So it is just a question of levels as to when there's divergence. And if Ron Paul states that "the sun will rise tomorrow," well, I'm not going to disagree with him just to establish myself as a liberal.
Faux pas
(14,681 posts)closeupready
(29,503 posts)It's funny that she never talks about her time on the Board of Walmart.