Biden Calls For The Minimum Wage To Be Raised To $15/h, And Here Are The 30 Best Reactions
President-elect Joe Biden has unveiled a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief proposal on Thursday. A part of it calls for a fatter paycheck for those working on federal minimum pay. Biden suggested boosting the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour, arguing that "No one working 40 hours a week should still be below the poverty line."
While presenting his speech on Thursday night in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden also went ahead of the critics reluctant to believe the plan will come true. “People tell me that’s going to be hard to pass. Florida just passed it—as divided as that state is—they just passed it. The rest of the country is ready to move as well.”
The federal minimum wage hasn’t been increased since 2009, and for over 33 million workers, the proposal feels like a tipping point for the better. But the Republicans balk at the idea, which makes Biden’s plans likely to be delayed. This, of course, has stirred heated reactions on social media, with many people weighing in on the needlessly ‘dramatic’ $15 wage discourse that’s been angering those conservatives.
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The federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour, has not been updated since 2009 even though it has been called an unlivable income in most parts of the country. But the newly elected president Biden’s “American Rescue Plan” gives hope after the economy lost 140,000 jobs in December and unemployment claims surged in the latest weekly count by the most since March due to the pandemic.
But the procedure to pass the $15/h boost will not be a straightforward one. According to Bloomberg, “The Biden administration, due to take office next week, would need at least 10 Republican votes in the Senate to get its relief bill through Congress—unless it goes through the budget reconciliation process, where a bare majority is enough.”
Other major parts of the $1.9 trillion Biden relief plan include:
- $2,000 stimulus checks on top of the $600 that Congress approved in December;
- $20 billion national vaccine distribution program that would provide free shots to all U.S. residents regardless of immigration status;
- $350 billion in state funding, local and territorial governments, and $20 billion for public transit systems;
- extending unemployment benefits;
- requiring employers to offer paid sick leave to their workers during the pandemic (estimated to benefit 106 million workers);
- expanding tax credits for low- and middle-income families, as well as expanding child tax credit;
- $170 billion to help schools to open;
- $30 billion rental assistance for low-income households;
- financing small businesses and providing grants for such employers.
when it comes to cleaning your unflushed sht and all the paper towels on the floor next to the trashcan - damn straight us janitors need at least $15 / hr
Janitors and garbage collectors are the most important people in our society. They keep everywhere clean!
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The answer should have been: No, they don't need to make $15 an hour. They need to make MORE than that! $15/hr is the absolute minimum.
Yupp. And they should really think about who they demand save their ass and maybe consider letting them use their toilet.
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I worked as a janitor in a high rise that was mostly law firms and accountants. One day the supervisor told us to ignore floors 72-75, the biggest law firm in the building and the most disrespectful towards janitors. They didn't clean up anything after themselves -- food spilled on carpet, crumbs on desks, drinks thrown into trash cans, newspapers and food all over execuive bathrooms. They threatened to sue. The owner of our company sent them a letter: a lawsuit would take 60-90 days, cost her nothing because she wouldn't even hire an attorney. The judge would order her back to work and she would comply. The firm, meanwhile, would wallow in their mess for 2-3 months. They finally agreed that their employees would stop being pigs and janitors would return. If we encountered any unnecessary filth or mess, we were to take photos and submit a work order, and we would be paid EXTRA to clean it up. It's amazing how MONEY TALKS.
pfft here in Canada janitors at schools get paid over $21 an hour to start.
So if everyone gets $15 an hour, what happens to the wages of people currentlly making $15-25 an hour? What raise do they get? And what will the new prices of all goods and services be? If you double your labor cost, the goods and services will probably double or worse, and then your make to the same situation. It is not what you make, it is the buying power of your dollar.
Hateful, horrible post... Why should someone with no job skills get as much as a starting teacher, who has invested time and money in earning a degree? Or as much as a sergeant in the military, who's sacrificed years in earning that level?
People should be paid according to their skills and the work they do, AND there should be a liveable basic wage. If that means teachers and sergeants should get more than they do now, so be it. There is nothing hateful or horrible about the post - nowhere is what you say suggested.
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We are NOT animals though, we are an evolved, sophisticated, communal society. It's a human right to have food, and shelter. Having a job, any job, is a contribution to society and entitles a person to food and shelter.
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I agree and this frightens me. Exploitation of men by men... What could go wrong?
My hubs life was literally on the line while delivering pizza. Attacked by a dog. His wound still recovering. Was dealing with staph infection too. So yea, his pay needs an up, for his sake and our family. And it'd be nice if I could have yearly doctor visits. I havent seen since 2013.
When I worked in Burger King in the UK I noticed that the average meal cost around an hour of my time. Funny that it happens world wide and that the price of the meal has gone up when wages have.
If you can't afford to pay your employees a decent wage, you're doing something wrong.
Even worse, some of them might even decide to quit their second and third job.
The business you work for IS supposed to pay you enough to pay your rent, bills, and other various costs of living... it's called a job. People have them so they can pay for those things specifically. Heard of it? Or are you so privileged that you've never needed to work in your life to provide for yourself.
100+ years ago, workers in US were rioting and striking for basic safety and a living wage. I'm just making an observation.
I love the "Undercover Boss" series where a CEO goes undercover, finds out how committed his employees are despite their terrible working conditions and in the end comes to the conclusion that he's been underpaying his employees for years. But only a few of them actually raised the wages in the entire company.
Unpaid internship is another thing that shouldn‘t exist. I wonder how many countries have that at all. The only unpaid internship I am aware of in my country is a mandatory two-weeks internship for all pupils in 8th grade or so, so they could see what real jobs are like.
Somehow poor people in the US get very offended when you propose a tax system where the extremely rich people pay more on taxes than the poor. The furiosity and vigor they show when they are defending the rich never ceases to amaze me.
Captions are wrong. People all stare in awe when a guy manages to make millions per day over the backs of underpaid workers, but no one bats an eye when people get underpaid, exploited and have to work in the most terrible working conditions.
Note: this post originally had 36 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I don't have anything witty to add but I'm just going to say what I see: How people having more than 2 jobs still can't support their families in the America is beyond me
Some very profitable companies pay their employees much more than minimum wage. Costco is a perfect example. --- Costco average employee wage $23/hour with benefits (https://www.businessinsider.com/highest-paid-retail-jobs-in-the-us-2019-6#2-shane-co-sales-associate-15)
EXACTLY. Businesses can profit fine if their employees have a good wage ----- b/c the employees can afford education, healthcare, etc., and aren't exhausted working 70 hours a week at three part-time jobs. Honestly, it's so weird to me that I wonder if these people really ever paid attention in Economics 101
So many cost effective ideas, ignored. Employee turn around is expensive and disruptive. Move up your current employees - they know the business and you know their work.
And honestly, whenever I shop at Costco the employees always seem to be genuinely happy. It’s very noticeable compared to other stores. They just seem to genuinely enjoy their jobs and enjoy working with each other. I’ve also noticed on their name tags that do many of them have been working there for years. (They put the year they started in there.) Go figure!
I know! One more reason to love Costco.
and they probably have a much lower turnover rate and much more motivated staff as a result....I hope one day companies learn that taking care of their workers is actually beneficial for them to.
Amazing isn't it! Treating your employees well is cost effective. Funny how happy customers spend more. I do think the happy attitude of the employees at Costco and Trader Joe's is part of their success.
See! Its not difficult!
I believe Trader Joe's does. Maybe I should read your link before commenting.
I don’t really understand why it bothers people that other workers get their hourly wage increased ? Would it diminish you ? Why don’t you be happy that they could now have money to get a house (instead of sleeping in their car or a trailer) and be able to pay a doctor and medecine when they need them.
Doctor and medicines should be free, for everyone.... Minimum Wage should be raised, don't the government realise, if they raise minimum wage, they can give tax cuts to the wealthy as they will get more tax revenue from the lower income people... sometimes it makes me wonder if any politician understands mathematics...
I asked a candidate talking to people outside the grocery store how he planned to lower taxes and increase spending in schools etc. He asked if I was lost, and suggested I go home.
Delboy yes
I just worry that if minimum wage is increased everything else you pay for will be increased due to having to pay people more money. Making no change in the way things are right now.
It's not even due to having to pay people more money. (Do you really think any of the apartment workers, office or handyman, specialized skills after all, are being paid minimum wage) However corporate, landlords, whoever will see "Hey our tenants have more money and nothing is preventing us from demanding more money."
aj B Good response!
Choice - raise the price of products or lower salaries of CEO's and other top level employees.
Because it doesn't do anything except raise the prices of everything.
In old days the wealthy paid the highest percentage of their income in taxes, not the lowest.
This is so sad. The people who are keeping the earth turning are apparently not worthy of $15... This world is messed up.
So every other person should have their paycheck doubled? There goes the economy!
$15 is double the current wage? True, people are making about $7.50 an hour in some places. Seriously, how can anyone think this okay?
Debbie Archimedes lol
For the record, $15/ hr is still less than $30,000/ year BEFORE taxes. The average cost of rent in the US is $784/ month, which comes out to about $9,400/ year. That's JUST rent. There's still food, transportation, utilities, medical and a myriad of other life essentials to consider. There is a reason people can work 80 hours a week and still just barely scrape by.
I may be wrong but couldn't a person like that qualify for food stamps to help them out a little bit?
When I made $15/hr I qualified for low income rent in my city ($900/mo) and could just barely afford it. But no food stamps. Imagine how hard it was for people ACTUALLY making minimum wage.
Potato what
Nobody working full time should have to apply food stamps. It's a form of corperate welfare and a way for corporations to keep wages low and profit margins high in order to help the already wealthy stockholders a little more wealthy.
Why should the taxpayers subsidize the corporations this way? If they can't pay people a living wage, they need to raise wages. They shouldn't ask the taxpayers to supplement the pitiful wage they pay by food stamps.
Lara Mig +
I still think minimum wage should be at the very least $20-25 bucks an hour $15 is bullshit you can't pay rent and all other expenses for $15 bucks!
I’m college educated and I make $27 an hour. We barely scrape by, and my husband is also educated and has a good, full time job. Something needs to be done about rent and housing prices. Even if minimum wage is increased to $20 an hour, people will still struggle. Nobody should have to pay $2k a month for a 2 bed/ 2 bath town house. What it boils down to is everything is too expensive for people to survive.
Honestly I think it should be $25/h at this point, $15/h should’ve been years ago
So what about people with college degrees that make $25 an hour? Does that mean they get $35 an hour?
Make minimum wage 1 MILLION DOLLARSAN HOUR.
And it still isnt a fraction of what Bezos is making!
Yeah but let's all call them essential workers "heroes" during lockdown, pat on their back, and they're good to go, God forbid we raise their wages
Does this mean that restaurant owners will have to pay their staff $15 or will they still have to rely on tips. I'm a Brit so apologies if I seem a bit thick on the subject.
You do realise how many people make much more than minimum wage working in restaurants. I never worked in nice places, but at the scummy bar I worked in through college, I took home over $50 in an 5 hour shift, much more than minimum wage, $2.02/ hour. Good nights were twice that. My rent was $200. NYC wait staff can't live in minimum wage. Their tips must be shared with other workers, like bus boys. The money is incredible, as are the expectations.
Biden promised to get rid of the tipped minimum wage and pay a full wage when he was campaigning in September, not sure when he’s planning on putting that into practice though.
Is there a way to separate the servers whose wages and tips are less than $15 hour vs fine dinning servers who are making $50 hour? A good server in a fine dinning establishment is extremely well trained and performs tasks other servers to not. Knowing the wine menu, for example. (I was a minimum wage prep cook or worked in sketchy bars.
Not 100% sure of the laws but the industry min is usually a % of the federal min. So for a mainly tipped employee, like a server, their min will go up but not to the $15 per hr. If they are someone who may be tipped but it isnt as customary, like front counter help or bus boy, they would be raised to $15 if their usual was the fed min wage. Thats how it worked when i was in the industry a few years back. My place had 2 sides. When i was at the take out counter i was min wage of like $8.25 (or something close) but when i was a server for the other side it was $5 plus tips...
This is the capitalism that Trump supporters were willing to tear down the government for. The ability of businesses and their owners to get rich on the backs of the labor force. Most likely, those supporters are being exploited, too. We are taught in this country that wealth will trickle down and that thinking people who be billions could pay their workers a bit more is socialism, even though a more socialist way of thinking would benefit more people and raise the quality of life in this country.
We don't need a law that raises the minimum wage. We need a law that raises it once, AND then regularly raises it to keep up with the cost of living. Otherwise, after raising to $15, we'll just have to have this conversation again in 10 years, then 20, then 30, etc.
The value of the dollar will eventually go down. So if minimum wage is 15, the the people that made that will want 30 and so on. That’s like, “We need more money? Just print more!”
15 bucks an hour scares me because I make 10 bucks an hour plus commission, if I am raised to 15 I will lose how much commission I make. I don't work for a big corporation and I make about 50k a year at the moment, but I know that my company can't afford to just suddenly pay everyone 5 bucks more per hour and keep afloat.
Christina Ciccarelli good
Wow...... Imagine how many small businesses are going to be shut down because of the minimum wage.
Because they are surviving on the exploitation and slave labour of their employees! Did you not read this post before commenting?!? If a business cant afford to pay its employees a LIVING WAGE, it doesnt deserce to be 8n business!
I agree that the people who own business should pay workers more, and that cashiers, fast food workers should get paid more. Teachers and health care professionals should also get paid more. The only thing I am concerned about is my rent going to increase because the minimum wage is increased? And no, I am not saying it is a bad idea for people to be able to pull themselves out of poverty. I just hope that this helps everyone live more comfortably.
When you raise the minimum wage, all it does is raise the prices of everything.
I feel for American low wage earners NZ has had it's minimum wage at 19 dollars per hour for a long time now and businesses are doing fine with covid some struggled but not because of the wage they payed out
Janet Wilson lol
And our grocery shops just get more and more expensive. When minimum wage goes up, living expenses go up.
This is where globalism kicks in. Corporations need people to work for peanuts and they do
Again, another agenda-driven political post for Bored Panda. Most of the posts have false or misleading impressions. A couple of biggies. Comparing the wealth of a few billionaires to minimum wage workers is a stawman argument. Facts are very few people make federal minimum wage (as falsely implied in one meme 33 million). "low paying" entry level jobs in the US average about $10 ph. The other thing never discussed is "wage compression" where I started out at say $10 ph but I've now worked up to $15. Now a new employee comes in at $15, does that mean my wage goes up? What about my supervisor who's making $19? And so on. It all sounds great until you get the details. Regardless of this issue, Bored Panda needs to stay away from politics.
Many of these posts are started by users, not bored panda staff. Put the blame where it belongs, mostly on the site users who generate interest and keep the post popular. AND YES, increasing minimum wage will turn business plans upside down and should force companies to restructure hourly salaries.
I really try and look at things from both sides. I do agree that $15 is excessive. These jobs were meant for kids. But on the other hand, what are people supposed to do? They shipped all the good paying manufacturing jobs to China. I dont know the answer
Tom Temen good
How old are the employees at your grocery store? For many that is their career. Unlike the 1970's when finding a job as student was difficult and desired, today it seems many less young people work. I am wrong?
And then there should be an increase percentage each year to keep up with inflation. Make it a legal requirement for all businesses to pay their employees.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU for this post!
Biden has promised a lot. We'll wait and see.
An idea for the minimum wage. Consider the following. Tiers would be established for the total number of employee hours for which an employer pays workers in a year. For example: The tiers could be (A) up to 20000 worker-hours in a year (approximately 10 full time equivalents); (B) 20001-40000 worker hours; and (C) 40000+ worker hours The wages in these hypothetical tiers might be $10/hr, $13/hr and $15/hr *** The actual number of tiers, tier boundaries and hourly wage in each tier might different, but the approach seems valid. Of course additional detailing will be necessary. For example: (a) restaurant servers may need a different scheme (e.g. the minimums would apply after tips), (b) individual jurisdictions could set their own tiers and hourly rates above a federal minimum, (c) Workers under a certain might be paid less in each tier (d) Preventing employers with multiple locations from declaring each location a separate enterprise
Michael Fuerst -
"Thank you for the ESSENTIAL WORKERS for risking their lives for keep everything running!!! You are HEROES! You shouldn't get paid 15$ an hour though, you are just flipping burgers."
You are correct. They deserve living wages regardless of what they do.
There's a lot to talk about economics but let's not forget history too
History - the top tax bracket was around 80% in the US, and those people lived well. There were far less people living in billion dollar, or the equivalent, homes. Health insurance covered much, much more and most people had it. Only once has one job at minimum wage enabled people to live above the poverty line, 1969.
And 26 Trillion in debt and how many rounds of quantative easing
A more meaningful change to millions of workers would be the legalization of workers who are in this country illegally and provide them with the protections of the American government, and more specifically in regards to the minimum wage, enforcing the laws regarding minimum wage on employers who traditionally employ illegal residents. If it is unacceptable for an American citizen to receive less than minimum wage, then it should also be unacceptable for those companies to pay less than minimum wage to non-citizens. Also, a streamlined path to citizenship should be established so that those who come here to make a life for themselves are given the blessing of the government and not the boot.
First provide the same for all citizens. It is assumed some people are too lazy to work. It is difficult for a black, unskilled man to get a job in DC, probably other places too. And the kids in my mildly tough, Capitol Hill neighborhood want covers on their textbooks. School ceilings that dont leak. Stuff to read, at every level, is near impossible to find. (We only had one shooting on my block, many were beat up.) Some Native Americans are being screwed from every direction. So many populations are judged as inferior. People who are here already here and want to work. I talk to homeless, most are not what you expect, they desperately want jobs. My ex hired men fresh out of prison. His workforce was loyal and worked hard for the promotions they knew were within reach. We make assumptions, without facts. Our poor are not beyond help. Sure a few are, but so are some rich kids.
I would love nothing more than to see that, Uncommon Boston. I want that for as many people as we can get.
I see nothing wrong with anything you said.
Thank you.
all that fat feminist here will be complaining when their fast-food combos cost $20. Also, many businesses will fire half their staff and replace with AI. Get real jobs if you don't like your minimum wage.
No. Pay living humans living wages regardless of what they do.
Doesn't he also want to raise taxes? (Prob on the sly.) I have seen many times that if the min wage is raised, he'll also raise taxes, so that in the end, those ppl who went from $7.25/hr to $15/hr, will end up back at $7.25/hr after taxes are taken out. That's not exact, but it was something along those lines. Anyone got more info on this?
Stop, just stop. Taxes will be raised. Just like people who voted for tax cuts they didn't qualify for, people will be told their taxes will increase when they won't. The Affordable Care Act was federally funded. Some states pay more federal taxes than they receive in services. The rest goes to states that need it to pay for federal programs in their state. Some elected officials convinced their constituents to vote against the ACA to lower state income tax. Poor states! In the recent past, many of those who voted against programs paid for with federal tax money, didn't realize other states paid for those programs in their states. I would like to believe more see the vast inequalities that are unfairly presented.
He wants to raise taxes on income over $400,000 a year. $15 an hour isn't going to get you to even 10% of that. Also Taxes don't work how you think they work. Everyone even Elon Musk pays 10% on every dollar they earn for the first $9,875 of taxable income then pay 12% for every dollar they earn for income between $9,876 to$40,125 and so on. Biden's plan wants to raise the rate from 37% to 39.5% for income over $400,000 meaning people will pay and extra 2.5 cents for every dollar they earn over $400,000.
Go ahead and vote for a 15 minimum wage. Make me and my coworkers in automation R I C H.
Lol. The thing you forget is that if what you're implying is correct, you won't get more customers, you'll get less. You are saying that they will lay off people and put in a machine to do their jobs. But what you fail to imply is that if that were an option, they would have done so already. And say it was an even money venture where they haven't switched because they are lazy about it. By laying off their workers they are killing their own customers. So less people buying making this no longer an even money venture but a loss to go automation. Instead you should be rooting for this. More people with money means more customers which means that the equation to automate now falls under profitability to automate is higher. But I'm sure you either A already know this and are being perverse in championing a cause that keeps customers from using you or you are a peon that works on the floor making those automated machines or you are full of crap.
Jerry Mathers love
15 an hour crosses that line.
Don't worry too much. $15/hour isn't enough for people to live above the poverty line. There will still be people who are "lower" than you. Have you noticed people are willing to pay more for handmade items? Organic small farm foods? Meat from animals not in the big factory farms? Not everyone wants factory built things.
I work in the automation industry some. Look at wht Dunkin is about to do for example
I made $4.25 as a grocery bagger in 1987. The minimum wage does need to go up now. However, anyone can make a lot of money if they really want to. All you need is a computer and a website to start selling stuff online. Or you can make YouTube videos. You don't need to bag groceries or work at McDonalds if you are motivated. The internet has changed everything. Edit: I guess the people downvoting me are too lazy or think making money from the internet is beneath them? I don't really understand.
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You cannot legislate bad businesses into being good ones. Minimum wage hikes simply change the numbers, the actual income value recieved either sinks or remains the same. It's an empty gesture that leads to more currency deflation.
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Derail the tram. Wait for the front half to cross then change direction of the rail.
I don't have anything witty to add but I'm just going to say what I see: How people having more than 2 jobs still can't support their families in the America is beyond me
Some very profitable companies pay their employees much more than minimum wage. Costco is a perfect example. --- Costco average employee wage $23/hour with benefits (https://www.businessinsider.com/highest-paid-retail-jobs-in-the-us-2019-6#2-shane-co-sales-associate-15)
EXACTLY. Businesses can profit fine if their employees have a good wage ----- b/c the employees can afford education, healthcare, etc., and aren't exhausted working 70 hours a week at three part-time jobs. Honestly, it's so weird to me that I wonder if these people really ever paid attention in Economics 101
So many cost effective ideas, ignored. Employee turn around is expensive and disruptive. Move up your current employees - they know the business and you know their work.
And honestly, whenever I shop at Costco the employees always seem to be genuinely happy. It’s very noticeable compared to other stores. They just seem to genuinely enjoy their jobs and enjoy working with each other. I’ve also noticed on their name tags that do many of them have been working there for years. (They put the year they started in there.) Go figure!
I know! One more reason to love Costco.
and they probably have a much lower turnover rate and much more motivated staff as a result....I hope one day companies learn that taking care of their workers is actually beneficial for them to.
Amazing isn't it! Treating your employees well is cost effective. Funny how happy customers spend more. I do think the happy attitude of the employees at Costco and Trader Joe's is part of their success.
See! Its not difficult!
I believe Trader Joe's does. Maybe I should read your link before commenting.
I don’t really understand why it bothers people that other workers get their hourly wage increased ? Would it diminish you ? Why don’t you be happy that they could now have money to get a house (instead of sleeping in their car or a trailer) and be able to pay a doctor and medecine when they need them.
Doctor and medicines should be free, for everyone.... Minimum Wage should be raised, don't the government realise, if they raise minimum wage, they can give tax cuts to the wealthy as they will get more tax revenue from the lower income people... sometimes it makes me wonder if any politician understands mathematics...
I asked a candidate talking to people outside the grocery store how he planned to lower taxes and increase spending in schools etc. He asked if I was lost, and suggested I go home.
Delboy yes
I just worry that if minimum wage is increased everything else you pay for will be increased due to having to pay people more money. Making no change in the way things are right now.
It's not even due to having to pay people more money. (Do you really think any of the apartment workers, office or handyman, specialized skills after all, are being paid minimum wage) However corporate, landlords, whoever will see "Hey our tenants have more money and nothing is preventing us from demanding more money."
aj B Good response!
Choice - raise the price of products or lower salaries of CEO's and other top level employees.
Because it doesn't do anything except raise the prices of everything.
In old days the wealthy paid the highest percentage of their income in taxes, not the lowest.
This is so sad. The people who are keeping the earth turning are apparently not worthy of $15... This world is messed up.
So every other person should have their paycheck doubled? There goes the economy!
$15 is double the current wage? True, people are making about $7.50 an hour in some places. Seriously, how can anyone think this okay?
Debbie Archimedes lol
For the record, $15/ hr is still less than $30,000/ year BEFORE taxes. The average cost of rent in the US is $784/ month, which comes out to about $9,400/ year. That's JUST rent. There's still food, transportation, utilities, medical and a myriad of other life essentials to consider. There is a reason people can work 80 hours a week and still just barely scrape by.
I may be wrong but couldn't a person like that qualify for food stamps to help them out a little bit?
When I made $15/hr I qualified for low income rent in my city ($900/mo) and could just barely afford it. But no food stamps. Imagine how hard it was for people ACTUALLY making minimum wage.
Potato what
Nobody working full time should have to apply food stamps. It's a form of corperate welfare and a way for corporations to keep wages low and profit margins high in order to help the already wealthy stockholders a little more wealthy.
Why should the taxpayers subsidize the corporations this way? If they can't pay people a living wage, they need to raise wages. They shouldn't ask the taxpayers to supplement the pitiful wage they pay by food stamps.
Lara Mig +
I still think minimum wage should be at the very least $20-25 bucks an hour $15 is bullshit you can't pay rent and all other expenses for $15 bucks!
I’m college educated and I make $27 an hour. We barely scrape by, and my husband is also educated and has a good, full time job. Something needs to be done about rent and housing prices. Even if minimum wage is increased to $20 an hour, people will still struggle. Nobody should have to pay $2k a month for a 2 bed/ 2 bath town house. What it boils down to is everything is too expensive for people to survive.
Honestly I think it should be $25/h at this point, $15/h should’ve been years ago
So what about people with college degrees that make $25 an hour? Does that mean they get $35 an hour?
Make minimum wage 1 MILLION DOLLARSAN HOUR.
And it still isnt a fraction of what Bezos is making!
Yeah but let's all call them essential workers "heroes" during lockdown, pat on their back, and they're good to go, God forbid we raise their wages
Does this mean that restaurant owners will have to pay their staff $15 or will they still have to rely on tips. I'm a Brit so apologies if I seem a bit thick on the subject.
You do realise how many people make much more than minimum wage working in restaurants. I never worked in nice places, but at the scummy bar I worked in through college, I took home over $50 in an 5 hour shift, much more than minimum wage, $2.02/ hour. Good nights were twice that. My rent was $200. NYC wait staff can't live in minimum wage. Their tips must be shared with other workers, like bus boys. The money is incredible, as are the expectations.
Biden promised to get rid of the tipped minimum wage and pay a full wage when he was campaigning in September, not sure when he’s planning on putting that into practice though.
Is there a way to separate the servers whose wages and tips are less than $15 hour vs fine dinning servers who are making $50 hour? A good server in a fine dinning establishment is extremely well trained and performs tasks other servers to not. Knowing the wine menu, for example. (I was a minimum wage prep cook or worked in sketchy bars.
Not 100% sure of the laws but the industry min is usually a % of the federal min. So for a mainly tipped employee, like a server, their min will go up but not to the $15 per hr. If they are someone who may be tipped but it isnt as customary, like front counter help or bus boy, they would be raised to $15 if their usual was the fed min wage. Thats how it worked when i was in the industry a few years back. My place had 2 sides. When i was at the take out counter i was min wage of like $8.25 (or something close) but when i was a server for the other side it was $5 plus tips...
This is the capitalism that Trump supporters were willing to tear down the government for. The ability of businesses and their owners to get rich on the backs of the labor force. Most likely, those supporters are being exploited, too. We are taught in this country that wealth will trickle down and that thinking people who be billions could pay their workers a bit more is socialism, even though a more socialist way of thinking would benefit more people and raise the quality of life in this country.
We don't need a law that raises the minimum wage. We need a law that raises it once, AND then regularly raises it to keep up with the cost of living. Otherwise, after raising to $15, we'll just have to have this conversation again in 10 years, then 20, then 30, etc.
The value of the dollar will eventually go down. So if minimum wage is 15, the the people that made that will want 30 and so on. That’s like, “We need more money? Just print more!”
15 bucks an hour scares me because I make 10 bucks an hour plus commission, if I am raised to 15 I will lose how much commission I make. I don't work for a big corporation and I make about 50k a year at the moment, but I know that my company can't afford to just suddenly pay everyone 5 bucks more per hour and keep afloat.
Christina Ciccarelli good
Wow...... Imagine how many small businesses are going to be shut down because of the minimum wage.
Because they are surviving on the exploitation and slave labour of their employees! Did you not read this post before commenting?!? If a business cant afford to pay its employees a LIVING WAGE, it doesnt deserce to be 8n business!
I agree that the people who own business should pay workers more, and that cashiers, fast food workers should get paid more. Teachers and health care professionals should also get paid more. The only thing I am concerned about is my rent going to increase because the minimum wage is increased? And no, I am not saying it is a bad idea for people to be able to pull themselves out of poverty. I just hope that this helps everyone live more comfortably.
When you raise the minimum wage, all it does is raise the prices of everything.
I feel for American low wage earners NZ has had it's minimum wage at 19 dollars per hour for a long time now and businesses are doing fine with covid some struggled but not because of the wage they payed out
Janet Wilson lol
And our grocery shops just get more and more expensive. When minimum wage goes up, living expenses go up.
This is where globalism kicks in. Corporations need people to work for peanuts and they do
Again, another agenda-driven political post for Bored Panda. Most of the posts have false or misleading impressions. A couple of biggies. Comparing the wealth of a few billionaires to minimum wage workers is a stawman argument. Facts are very few people make federal minimum wage (as falsely implied in one meme 33 million). "low paying" entry level jobs in the US average about $10 ph. The other thing never discussed is "wage compression" where I started out at say $10 ph but I've now worked up to $15. Now a new employee comes in at $15, does that mean my wage goes up? What about my supervisor who's making $19? And so on. It all sounds great until you get the details. Regardless of this issue, Bored Panda needs to stay away from politics.
Many of these posts are started by users, not bored panda staff. Put the blame where it belongs, mostly on the site users who generate interest and keep the post popular. AND YES, increasing minimum wage will turn business plans upside down and should force companies to restructure hourly salaries.
I really try and look at things from both sides. I do agree that $15 is excessive. These jobs were meant for kids. But on the other hand, what are people supposed to do? They shipped all the good paying manufacturing jobs to China. I dont know the answer
Tom Temen good
How old are the employees at your grocery store? For many that is their career. Unlike the 1970's when finding a job as student was difficult and desired, today it seems many less young people work. I am wrong?
And then there should be an increase percentage each year to keep up with inflation. Make it a legal requirement for all businesses to pay their employees.
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU for this post!
Biden has promised a lot. We'll wait and see.
An idea for the minimum wage. Consider the following. Tiers would be established for the total number of employee hours for which an employer pays workers in a year. For example: The tiers could be (A) up to 20000 worker-hours in a year (approximately 10 full time equivalents); (B) 20001-40000 worker hours; and (C) 40000+ worker hours The wages in these hypothetical tiers might be $10/hr, $13/hr and $15/hr *** The actual number of tiers, tier boundaries and hourly wage in each tier might different, but the approach seems valid. Of course additional detailing will be necessary. For example: (a) restaurant servers may need a different scheme (e.g. the minimums would apply after tips), (b) individual jurisdictions could set their own tiers and hourly rates above a federal minimum, (c) Workers under a certain might be paid less in each tier (d) Preventing employers with multiple locations from declaring each location a separate enterprise