Fast Food Workers Want $15/hr

[Odyssey]

I think that if they change the minimum wage to 'skilled worker' pay, then companies like McDonalds are going to choose skilled workers to hire. After all, a $15 an hour pay rate is going to attract more college grads, experienced workers, etc.

Then the inexperienced and/or uneducated and/or adolescents probably won't be hired at all, as they won't be able to compete.

What it comes down to, is that if they have to pay more, they're going to want people that bring more value to their company...

I don't see how this would help anything.

 

[momrids6]

The guy that did the McDonalds diet for 30 days has a new show. This week, he was discussing the protesting Wal-Mart workers.

It was stated that if every Wal-Mart worker was brought up to a living wage- which was $12.00 average, it would cost each Wal-mart customer $12.58 a year.

This multiplied by every single business a person frequents that does this would be very expensive per consumer.

 

[momrids6]

I think that if they change the minimum wage to 'skilled worker' pay, then companies like McDonalds are going to choose skilled workers to hire. After all, a $15 an hour pay rate is going to attract more college grads, experienced workers, etc.

Then the inexperienced and/or uneducated and/or adolescents probably won't be hired at all, as they won't be able to compete.

What it comes down to, is that if they have to pay more, they're going to want people that bring more value to their company...

I don't see how this would help anything.

Adolescents are already pretty squeezed out here due to the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. So are displaced workers who did not qualify/receive TANF, etc.

Employers who hire long-term public-assistance recipients may claim a credit of up to $9,000 in the first two years of employment. WOTC for other non-veteran target groups is up to $2,400 for the first year. The new hire must meet one of the following criteria at the time of hire.





http://www.employmentincentives.com/federal_incentives/wotc.htm

 

[Roxye]

People who are gainfully employed and can afford it will be willing to pay. If they're not, they don't have to. We do still have free will.

And the "powers-that-be" should be able to figure out how to be profitable without screwing their customers over.

True to a point. But how many gainfully employed people eat out every night?

You talk about the "powers that be" but no corporation is truly trying to screw anyone in America. They honestly are just trying to make a profit.

I own my own small vending machine business. In my soda machines the price is 1.25$ for a soda. In my snack machines, I charge 0.75$ for candy and 0.55$ for chips.

Am I screwing someone by marking up the price of the product to reflect, time, gas, price of original product?

I am just trying to make a living and pay my employees at the same time. If I had to pay insurance, I would have to fire everyone and do everything by myself.

Higher profit margin for me!! WIN!!! Less time with my kidlet...... fail!!

Because I can afford to afford to pay someone, my son gets more personal time with him Mom.

 

[animlzrule]

There is no such thing as a human right to health care paid for by the government, you've been sold a bill of goods on that.

According to wiki, there is no minimum wage in Germany "However, the law states that paying a worker an "immoral wage" is illegal. There is no general consensus what constitutes "immoral" payment. One judge at a court in Krefeld, Germany, ruled that a cashier at a supermarket has to earn the equivalent of approximately 7USD per hour."

Sweden also has no minimum wage.

Luxembourg does have minimum wage based on skill sets. €1,874.19 per month and €10.8335 for unskilled workers over 18; increased by 20% for a skilled employee; decreased by 20% to 25% in the case of an adolescent worker. (Roughly 10-13 an hour)

NY is 7th on list for highest rent, Luxembourg is 17th...so their minimum wage, like that of the US is a small part of their population.

France is also around 12 bucks an hour
England is less at around 9.83
you can see the rest here List of minimum wages by country - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I rest my case. Other countries are doing it, and surprise, surprise, commerce continues!!! Business owners in this country have to realize that if they cannot give their employees a fair wage and provide for their health care, then perhaps they need to rethink their chosen business ventures. As for being sold "a bill of goods"?? I believe health care is a human right, and it should be paid for by the government. Again, other countries have figured out how to do it, and surprise, surprise, they have higher qualities of living, lower infant mortality rates, and overall happier, healthier citizens.

 

[Betty P]

The guy that did the McDonalds diet for 30 days has a new show. This week, he was discussing the protesting Wal-Mart workers.

It was stated that if every Wal-Mart worker was brought up to a living wage- which was $12.00 average, it would cost each Wal-mart customer $12.58 a year.

That sounds like a pretty good deal. I'd be willing to pay it. I might start shopping at Walmart again if they start paying fair wages.

 

[animlzrule]

True to a point. But how many gainfully employed people eat out every night?

You talk about the "powers that be" but no corporation is truly trying to screw anyone in America. They honestly are just trying to make a profit.

I own my own small vending machine business. In my soda machines the price is 1.25$ for a soda. In my snack machines, I charge 0.75$ for candy and 0.55$ for chips.

Am I screwing someone by marking up the price of the product to reflect, time, gas, price of original product?

I am just trying to make a living and pay my employees at the same time. If I had to pay insurance, I would have to fire everyone and do everything by myself.

Higher profit margin for me!! WIN!!! Less time with my kidlet...... fail!!

Because I can afford to afford to pay someone, my son gets more personal time with him Mom.

Please clarify. Surely you are not charging $1.25 for a CAN of soda? These must be 16.9 fl. oz. bottles or more, correct???? Again, if a business owner cannot adequately pay his/her employees, then they need to reconsider whether or not they should even have a business.

 

[Fairy1]

True to a point. But how many gainfully employed people eat out every night?

You talk about the "powers that be" but no corporation is truly trying to screw anyone in America. They honestly are just trying to make a profit.

I own my own small vending machine business. In my soda machines the price is 1.25$ for a soda. In my snack machines, I charge 0.75$ for candy and 0.55$ for chips.

Am I screwing someone by marking up the price of the product to reflect, time, gas, price of original product?

I am just trying to make a living and pay my employees at the same time. If I had to pay insurance, I would have to fire everyone and do everything by myself.

Higher profit margin for me!! WIN!!! Less time with my kidlet...... fail!!

Because I can afford to afford to pay someone, my son gets more personal time with him Mom.

I should hope most working folks aren't eating out every night!

I actually work for a huge corporation and I have seen many, many friends and co-workers lose their jobs over the last few years. I wouldn't say the bosses in my corporation are intentionally trying to screw over their customers, but that's what they're doing by sacrificing service levels. None of the high level executives have suffered - even though they don't seem to be smart enough to find smarter and more creative ways to weather the storm. Some of our competitors have done just that and have benefitted from it - in many ways and long-term. We are suffering in more ways than one and will be for years to come.

The highest paid folks are not always the smartest. In my experience. You reap what you sow.

BTW - I will never pay $1.25 for one can of soda. However, a teenager with income from their fast-food job will be more than happy to do that!

 

[txsvicki]

There must really be a lack of jobs in this country. Otherwise, instead of protesting, adults would already have found higher paying jobs and left minimum wage ones to teenagers and elderly who still want to work part time.

 

[Roxye]

I rest my case. Other countries are doing it, and surprise, surprise, commerce continues!!! Business owners in this country have to realize that if they cannot give their employees a fair wage and provide for their health care, then perhaps they need to rethink their chosen business ventures. As for being sold "a bill of goods"?? I believe health care is a human right, and it should be paid for by the government. Again, other countries have figured out how to do it, and surprise, surprise, they have higher qualities of living, lower infant mortality rates, and overall happier, healthier citizens.

Most of these countries don't have the same level of freedom we have in the US.

Health care is a human right! BUT if you can afford to pay for it, you should! Most Americans can afford health insurance, but chose not to pay for it because they think they don't need it. Until they do. Then they whine that they can't get it. Once you have a diagnosed illness, NO insurance company is going to take you. EVER~

If more Americans were responsible to get health care BEFORE they needed it, NONE of this would be an issue today.

 

[momrids6]

That sounds like a pretty good deal. I'd be willing to pay it. I might start shopping at Walmart again if they start paying fair wages.

My point was if every place an average miiddle class consumer buys from was forced to do this- the average consumer would get hit hard.

I do not know very many people that buy goods and services at Wal-Mart only.

 

[animlzrule]

Most of these countries don't have the same level of freedom we have in the US.

Health care is a human right! BUT if you can afford to pay for it, you should! Most Americans can afford health insurance, but chose not to pay for it because they think they don't need it. Until they do. Then they whine that they can't get it. Once you have a diagnosed illness, NO insurance company is going to take you. EVER~

If more Americans were responsible to get health care BEFORE they needed it, NONE of this would be an issue today.

Well, thanks to the ACA, it will no longer be true that insurance companies can deny you based on preexisting conditions. One of the MANY awesome and desperately needed changes coming. And, the majority of people without insurance don't have it because they can't afford it, not because they don't want to pay for it. That's absurd.

 

[momrids6]

There must really be a lack of jobs in this country. Otherwise, instead of protesting, adults would already have found higher paying jobs and left minimum wage ones to teenagers and elderly who still want to work part time.

Companies are not hiring adolescents, the elderly and the unemployed. They are not hiring the most qualified nor the most needy. They are hiring based on the amount of WOTC tax credit they can get.

 

[Roxye]

Please clarify. Surely you are not charging $1.25 for a CAN of soda? These must be 16.9 fl. oz. bottles or more, correct???? Again, if a business owner cannot adequately pay his/her employees, then they need to reconsider whether or not they should even have a business.

No, it is a BOTTLE of soda. 20oz. I pay 0.67 cents for that bottle of soda. I charge 1.25$. I have to pay for my time in not only restocking that machine, ordering, book work, but the gas, the wear and tear on my car. If I have someone else do that, I have to pay them as well.

 

[Roxye]

Well, thanks to the ACA, it will no longer be true that insurance companies can deny you based on preexisting conditions. One of the MANY awesome and desperately needed changes coming. And, the majority of people without insurance don't have it because they can't afford it, not because they don't want to pay for it. That's absurd.

BUT!, if they were responsible enough to get it BEFORE they needed it... this wouldn't be a problem to start out.

 

[animlzrule]

Most of these countries don't have the same level of freedom we have in the US.

Health care is a human right! BUT if you can afford to pay for it, you should! Most Americans can afford health insurance, but chose not to pay for it because they think they don't need it. Until they do. Then they whine that they can't get it. Once you have a diagnosed illness, NO insurance company is going to take you. EVER~

If more Americans were responsible to get health care BEFORE they needed it, NONE of this would be an issue today.

BBM What freedoms would we be desperately clinging to in this country that they do not enjoy in those other countries? I've traveled in Europe and can't think of anything I didn't have the freedom to do there that I can do here. It's pretty sad if xenophobia is so pervasive in this country that we can't look to others in order to improve the lives of our own citizens.

 

[momrids6]

No, it is a BOTTLE of soda. 20oz. I pay 0.67 cents for that bottle of soda. I charge 1.25$. I have to pay for my time in not only restocking that machine, ordering, book work, but the gas, the wear and tear on my car. If I have someone else do that, I have to pay them as well.

Girl- your price is a deal! 20oz sodas from a machine here are $2.00. I do not buy one often, but here in the heat, a soda in a cooler only stays ice cold for so long.

 

[Roxye]

I should hope most working folks aren't eating out every night!

I actually work for a huge corporation and I have seen many, many friends and co-workers lose their jobs over the last few years. I wouldn't say the bosses in my corporation are intentionally trying to screw over their customers, but that's what they're doing by sacrificing service levels. None of the high level executives have suffered - even though they don't seem to be smart enough to find smarter and more creative ways to weather the storm. Some of our competitors have done just that and have benefitted from it - in many ways and long-term. We are suffering in more ways than one and will be for years to come.

The highest paid folks are not always the smartest. In my experience. You reap what you sow.

BTW - I will never pay $1.25 for one can of soda. However, a teenager with income from their fast-food job will be more than happy to do that!

It's a 20 oz bottle of soda and in America, you could buy a 16 oz at the store for 1.53 plus tax.

Your job sounds horrible, I am sorry. I hope you find a better place to work soon. One that makes you truly happy!

 

[animlzrule]

BUT!, if they were responsible enough to get it BEFORE they needed it... this wouldn't be a problem to start out.

You are assuming it is an issue of RESPONSIBILITY. If it were that simple, then yes, I wholeheartedly agree that obtaining health insurance should be non-negotiable. But there are myriad reasons and obstacles which pretty much ENSURE that people cannot pay for health insurance. One of those reasons is that their employer doesn't provide it or pay them enough. People lose their jobs and with their jobs, their health insurance. People have pre-existing conditions (soon to not be an issue thank goodness). One can't assume that the uninsured are willfully putting their lives and their families lives at risk. That's a huge generalization. The ACA will level the playing field for everyone and take a lot of the pressure off of struggling families. But if people made a fair wage, a lot more people would be able to contribute to a plan.

 

[Odyssey]

Adolescents are already pretty squeezed out here due to the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. So are displaced workers who did not qualify/receive TANF, etc.

Employers who hire long-term public-assistance recipients may claim a credit of up to $9,000 in the first two years of employment. WOTC for other non-veteran target groups is up to $2,400 for the first year. The new hire must meet one of the following criteria at the time of hire.





http://www.employmentincentives.com/federal_incentives/wotc.htm

I admit I'm no good at judging age by looking at someone... but I sure come across many cashiers who have no clue how to make change without the computerized cash register helping them.

Ever say "Wait, I have a penny" after they've already rung it up and noticed the blank look on their faces?

All I'm saying, is, that for $15/hour, they're going to expect someone who can calculate change in a millisecond... in their head. Not to mention good credit, a stable job history, etc.

And the domino effect I see is this: Skilled workers who are unemployed (thus on unemployment, and qualifying for the incentive), will be taking these jobs. Then the unskilled worker will be without a job, and end up on public assistance.

I can totally see McDonalds then requiring a college education to work the drive-thru window, because they can, and they're going to want people who can eventually move up into management.

Then are people going to demand free college?