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$15 fast-food wage?
- Thread starter RLBosley
- Start date
I agree with you that the restaurant industry is very tough, although I have been out of it for 14 years.
Back in the 1990's a good restaurant could do 10 to 20% after overhead.
That is if you made long enough.
I started working in restaraunts in the 70's as a teen. worked in them in the 80's and 90's.
Most retail stores are tough as all have high overhead. Add to that the rising costs of fuel which raises the cost delivering, which raises the cost of the product.
When the price of the product gets higher than what people are willing to pay for it, no amount of increase in minimum wage will save the jobs of those emplyees.
You do not get to have it both ways, it will either be low costs for fast food or people will stop buying it. People go to fast food for low price and fast convenience. Take either one of those away and you take away the motivation for being there altogether.
Most retail stores are tough as all have high overhead. Add to that the rising costs of fuel which raises the cost delivering, which raises the cost of the product.
When the price of the product gets higher than what people are willing to pay for it, no amount of increase in minimum wage will save the jobs of those emplyees.
You do not get to have it both ways, it will either be low costs for fast food or people will stop buying it. People go to fast food for low price and fast convenience. Take either one of those away and you take away the motivation for being there altogether.
The alternative: A person has $5 to buy fast food. Currently he probably could get the meal deal. If the price goes up, he may only be able to buy the sandwich.
Since quantity is important - there will be less sales per person.
bottom line - going back to that women I gave a link for in post # 8 - She has been a clerk for 10 years - why hasn't she been promoted? A promotion would give her a pay raise. But that again would mean she would have more responsibility - Hmmmm maybe that is the challenge she refuses to handle.
Now, I understand Rev Mitchell - yes, he worked in the food industry - but it was not his intended career - it was a way for him to improve himself - which he has so done.
So Kevin M - please explain why that lady after so long is still a clerk.
General Mung Beans
Member
Please tell me why then that the redistribution of income upwards to the wealthy began with the rise of the New Right in the late 1970s. Also the poor aren't getting any richer-its just the rich who are. The fact is most poor people are not the enemies of the middle class (assuming middle class being actually middle class rather than people making 250k a year) but rather their natural allies against the oligarchy. I might note that the "Obamaphone" scheme was originally proposed under the Bush administration so that unemployed people would be able to find jobs through it.
That speaks more to the fact that many private sectors jobs these days are non-unionized dead-end, low-wage, no benefit/security jobs than to any excessive benefits and pay on the part of federal workers.
Kevin -- when I graduated high school, minimum wage was $3.35/hour. Now it's almost $8. Why aren't minimum wage workers doing better than they were when I graduated high school?
Hi ho, hi ho....
It's back to work I go.....that would supplement my S.S.:thumbsup:
It's back to work I go.....that would supplement my S.S.:thumbsup:
I don't know how accurate all the statistics are going around out there, but
according to the research in the link provided.
$3.35 in 1981 would be equal to $8.77 in 2013.
http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42973.pdf
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My business uses a packaging company to make our products retail ready. They employ a lot of low wage workers. We recently got a 20% increase in costs since the minimum wage in Minnesota is going from $6.15 to $8.00 on August 1st. Then it will go to $9.00 on Aug. 1, 2015. They've already told me there will be another increase a year from now.
I don't know this persons situation, maybe she's cognitively impaired or something.
Whatever this person situation is, I believe a person who works a full time job
should be able to take care of themselves without government help.
I believe minimum wage should be raised. Should it go to 15.00 an hour?
Probably not, but I think $10.00 an hour would be a good start.
Jobs at McDonald's (for example) are entry level jobs. They are not meant to be careers.
So, you believe people who work entry level jobs should not be able to support
themselves. No disrespect intended.
From what I have read, 50% of fast food workers are 24 + years old.
If the market, (ie the consurmer) will support that kind of wage. If it will not support it then it cannot happen no matter how much we might like to see it. We cannot force a living wage on the consumer of fastfood hamburgers. This is a free country and we get to choose if we want to spend that high price on fastfood hamburgers.
Guess what? Americans will not pay the cost of "a living wage" on fastfood hamburgers. So what happens then? What happens is those businesses go out of business and no one has a job.
See we have to think these things through not just take a position on what we like. What we like has to be realistic and possible. higher minimum wage on fastfood is not possible.
Who said anything like that ? I had to work three jobs, at several points in my life, in order to support myself, and my family.
……….
I'd like to see that study.
It matters not how old fastfood workers are, if you do not like your job go get one you do.
thisnumbersdisconnected
New Member
No, honestly. The job is available to those who are just getting into the job market. It is for training and education purposes, not to supply a "living wage." People who spend 10 years working for McDonald's or Burger King and don't seek promotion, extra training, management positions, etc., are clueless. Their very lack of ambition points to their underlying personal philosophy that the world owes them comfort.
An entry-level job is a job that is normally designed or designated for recent graduates of a given discipline, or first-time job holders who are seeking experience in a work environment in order understand how the economy works and what role they want to take in it permanently. Such jobs usually do not require prior experience in any field or profession.
Jobs taken for the purpose of getting a foot in the door of the industry or business for which the employee got their education are considered temporary by both them and their employers. They won't spend more than three to six months in those jobs before they determine what direction in the company they want their career to take. All these require some on-site training, and true to their temporary nature -- such positions are probationary, meaning the employment is "at will" and terminable by either party at any time -- these jobs may even be part-time, and do not include employee benefits.
Given those realities, no one should expect an entry-level job to pay them a living wage, and if they want a $15-an-hour job, they should be looking in corporate sales or in engineering, not fast food. If they're going to look there, they need the education to merit consideration.
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I think that it depends upon the area. Some older workers are short of money and are working again (I am one.) But most of the fast-food jobs in this area are staffed by high school students but this is an affluent area. Some restaurant workers get free food or free cokes, etc.
This economy is very weak and there are no good jobs being opened up. One has to take what one can get.
We are waiting for the Democrats to take their foot off our necks but the Democrats like to lord it over people so much that it is not likely to happen soon.
This economy is very weak and there are no good jobs being opened up. One has to take what one can get.
We are waiting for the Democrats to take their foot off our necks but the Democrats like to lord it over people so much that it is not likely to happen soon.
thisnumbersdisconnected
New Member
Here's a follow-up to my last post. The information for this post comes from a Heritage Foundation analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau.
Data from the BLS and Census gives proof to contentions by those opposing the minimum wage increase that such employees are young, part-time workers. Relatively few of them live below the poverty line. That's because for the most part, they live with their parents, with an average family income is over $53,000 a year. If Obama wants to help the so-called "working poor" the minimum wage increase is the wrong place to start. Such a hike primarily raises pay for suburban teenagers, not the working poor.
Relatively few Americans earn the federal minimum wage. In 2011 and 2012, 3.7 million Americans reported earning $7.25 or less per hour -- just 2.9 percent of all workers in the United States, salaried and hourly workers combined. These numbers include workers who also earn tip income. Many of those earning less than the minimum wage work in restaurants. Their tips give them an income far exceeding the minimum wage.
Minimum-wage earners fall into two distinct categories: young workers, usually in school, and older workers who have left school. Most minimum-wage earners fall into the first category; just over half are between the ages of 16 and 24. The rest are 25 or older. Here's a chart proving that statement.
Minimum-wage workers under 25 tend to live in middle-class households that do not rely on their earnings. Generally, they have not finished their schooling and are working part-time jobs. Over three-fifths of them (62 percent) are currently enrolled in school. These workers represent the largest group that would benefit directly from a higher minimum wage, provided they kept or could find a job. Most keep their jobs only during summer months, working as many hours as they can in order to save money for school.
Adults who earn the minimum wage are less likely to live in middle- and upper-income families than are the teenagers and young adults who earn the minimum wage. Nonetheless, three-fourths of older workers earning the minimum wage live above the poverty line. They have an average family income of $42,500 a year, well above the poverty line of $22,350 per year for a family of four. Most of them choose to work part-time, and a sizeable number are married.
Data from the BLS and Census gives proof to contentions by those opposing the minimum wage increase that such employees are young, part-time workers. Relatively few of them live below the poverty line. That's because for the most part, they live with their parents, with an average family income is over $53,000 a year. If Obama wants to help the so-called "working poor" the minimum wage increase is the wrong place to start. Such a hike primarily raises pay for suburban teenagers, not the working poor.
Relatively few Americans earn the federal minimum wage. In 2011 and 2012, 3.7 million Americans reported earning $7.25 or less per hour -- just 2.9 percent of all workers in the United States, salaried and hourly workers combined. These numbers include workers who also earn tip income. Many of those earning less than the minimum wage work in restaurants. Their tips give them an income far exceeding the minimum wage.
Minimum-wage earners fall into two distinct categories: young workers, usually in school, and older workers who have left school. Most minimum-wage earners fall into the first category; just over half are between the ages of 16 and 24. The rest are 25 or older. Here's a chart proving that statement.
Minimum-wage workers under 25 tend to live in middle-class households that do not rely on their earnings. Generally, they have not finished their schooling and are working part-time jobs. Over three-fifths of them (62 percent) are currently enrolled in school. These workers represent the largest group that would benefit directly from a higher minimum wage, provided they kept or could find a job. Most keep their jobs only during summer months, working as many hours as they can in order to save money for school.
Adults who earn the minimum wage are less likely to live in middle- and upper-income families than are the teenagers and young adults who earn the minimum wage. Nonetheless, three-fourths of older workers earning the minimum wage live above the poverty line. They have an average family income of $42,500 a year, well above the poverty line of $22,350 per year for a family of four. Most of them choose to work part-time, and a sizeable number are married.
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Here are a couple links to info on demographics of fast food workers. I don't have
time to look at the government reports but I believe there are links on the pages that I have listed.
http://www.politifact.com/punditfac...aher-average-fast-food-worker-29-most-are-pu/
http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2013/08/13/fourth-adult-fast-food-workers-are-parents/
Thank you all very much for your replies, It gives me some things to think about.
I still hold to the belief people should be paid a livable wage no matter what
their age. I would hate to see a return to the late 19th century where people
worked very hard jobs, lived in sewage to make a few people rich.
I still hold to the belief people should be paid a livable wage no matter what
their age. I would hate to see a return to the late 19th century where people
worked very hard jobs, lived in sewage to make a few people rich.