Is the Current 'Minimum-Wage' High Enough?

[sigmapi1501]

If you are working for minimum wage are you REALLY adding anything to society?

[mythociate]

The current minimum wage will never be high enough. Thats why the call it the minimum wage.

Perhaps the question ought to be 'is the minimum-wage what the least-qualified American worker SHOULD be worth?'

My solution is to let the minimum wage rules expire and let the production of the employee set the wage.

The last thing we need is the Government trying to make it fair for everyone. Life is not fair. Never has been and never will be. 

'Government making everything fair for everyone' ... that's another way of saying "Socialism." In a "Free-Market" Economy, it's fair because 'we' (the buyers & sellers) MAKE it fair!

If you are working for minimum wage are you REALLY adding anything to society?

What do you think "society" is?

[linderlizzie]

I agree with tfw6693: "The last thing we need is the Government trying to make it fair for everyone. Life is not fair. Never has been and never will be."  Those are words we all need to live by.

I don't want the government to raise the minimum wage because I would probably lose my job.

I have a small pension and an equally small Social Security income but I still had to get a job to have enough to live on. Obamacare is killing jobs anyway, so another increase in the debt would probably be disastrous. Quien sabe? 

[skinnygwenny]

the minimum wage is definitely not high enough for a family to maintain a standard of living for America to claim to be one of the richest countries in the world.

[mythociate]

the minimum wage is definitely not high enough for a family to maintain a standard of living for America to claim to be one of the richest countries in the world.

But that's not the wage's fault; it's the greedy price-setters who don't believe that the other price-setters will follow suit if they set the prices with profits that they can only afford if everyone else shrinks their profits!

How can we convince ALL the price-setters to set their profits low at-one-time?

[short4love]

I believe minimum wage is not high enough and I am so tired of struggling.

[lvstephanie]

the minimum wage is definitely not high enough for a family to maintain a standard of living for America to claim to be one of the richest countries in the world.

But that's not the wage's fault; it's the greedy price-setters who don't believe that the other price-setters will follow suit if they set the prices with profits that they can only afford if everyone else shrinks their profits!

How can we convince ALL the price-setters to set their profits low at-one-time?

One way to do this would be to get the government out of the marketplace! The problem with what you're suggesting is that there are already laws on the books that prevent business from setting their prices too low, as this might be too difficult for competitors to keep up with low prices. So even if a company would have been able to lower their prices because of some novel innovation that allows their workers to be more productive, they have to be careful that the amount they lower prices doesn't make it seem like predatory pricing. We are too worried about the possibility of a monopoly developing and that the company would price-gouge the public once they have attained a monopoly, that we sometimes hurt ourselves in the process... There is such a thing as efficiencies in quantity. If a company can produce as many widgets as they want, they may be able to purchase a machine, software, etc. that can speed up their process allowing them to sell more widgets at a lower price. The cost of that new equipment could get absorbed into the cost of the millions of widgets much more easily without effecting the price so much. However if the government decides that a company making millions of widgets has now monopolized the marketplace and requires the company to be broken up into small companies, now the cost of that new piece of equipment can only be spread over the fewer widgets they are now producing, thereby raising the price of each widget. In fact, if production is stymied too much by government intervention, it may make that new piece of equipment cost-prohibitive and therefore even though the product could be made and sold more cheaply, the government involvement is making everything more expensive than it really needs to be.

[bowrunner]

Minimum wage should not be the government's job.  The wage should be dictated by the private companies.  The lower wage jobs are good for people to get started in the workplace and learn how to be dependable and responsible.  Then they can move on to better paying jobs.

[kristalie]

Definitely don't think it's enough. It should be enough to live off of. With how hard it is to get a good job even with college degree nowadays, people should be able to live off of minimum wage. Take some money from the bigwigs that make $80/ hr.

[freedavis]

I think minimun wage should be at least 13.99 hr.  I mean that will help economy.

[rdy2pl8]

No, I think they should raise it to $10/hr. in every state, not just certain states or companies choosing to pay that as a starting salary.

[mjoseph1]

minimum isn't high enough

[o2bnocn]

No I don't think it is high enough. It's not enough because of the cost of living. However, I'm scared that raising it will lower jobs or get people laid off. I'm also a little scared of what it will do to people who are making more than the minimum wage.

[sarabtrayior]

If I am paying it, it's too high, if I am trying to live on it, it is too low, so it depends on what you do...

[jmccaskill]

There should be no mandated minimum wage. Those that think it is to low fail to understand that when it has been increased, the cost of everything rises and most times actually reduces the buying power of the increase. It is a never ending cycle of idiocy that only serves the politician's need to pander to public.