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For those living in a metropolitan city, $7.25 may feel like a small snack and a drink at best, but for many Americans, this is the reality of the federal minimum hourly wage.

The amount has been exactly the same since 2009, so no wonder that boosting it to $15/h became one of the Biden administration’s priorities. "No one should work 40 hours a week and live in poverty," he announced previously.

But right now, Biden is facing resistance in Congress as he acknowledged that the proposal will likely have to be omitted from the $1.9 trillion coronavirus financial relief plan. And while raising the wage would reduce the number of people in poverty and increase the pay for 27M workers, it will likely increase the federal budget deficit.

Many Americans are feeling cheerful about the prospect, but some are less than impressed. Armed with somewhat questionable arguments, the critics took it to Twitter to share why they don’t want the long-awaited increase of average minimum pay to happen.

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Hans
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The sad thing is that she defends that it is is fine to live of peoples' backs for a slightly lower price. The same rationale exploits Bangladeshi women who make cheap apparel or mean from Ghana who scavenge Western electronic garbage.

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A.M. Pierre
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wait, so you mean if someone works every waking minute then that should give them enough money to afford the basic necessities of life? That’s insanity!! /s 🙄

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The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour and it has stayed the same since 2009, making it an unlivable income in most parts of the US. In late January, Democrats introduced the Raise the Wage Act of 2021, which would gradually increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 by 2025.

But the White House acquiesced to a Senate parliamentarian's ruling that a minimum wage increase to $15 an hour could not be included in the Covid-19 relief bill working through Congress. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden, on whom 27M workers rely right now, promised to not give up and try again.

Vermont also Sen. Bernie Sanders stated on Friday: “If anybody thinks that we're giving up on this issue, they are sorely mistaken," and added: "If we have to vote on it time and time again, we will and we're going to succeed. The American people understand that we cannot continue to have millions of people working for starvation wages."

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Ripley
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm really struggling with how packing boxes is more "skilled" labour than working as a fry cook.

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Traditionally, the divide in Washington has been seen between labor and its Democratic allies, and business and its Republican allies. However, according to NBCNews, this time, the minimum wage fight is now “divided into three camps, none of which neatly conform to expected ideological or business groupings: There are those who support a full $15 minimum wage, those opposed to raising the wage at all and a large group in the middle open to raising the minimum to, say, $10 an hour but not all the way to $15.”

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Meanwhile, various polls have been showing that a majority of Americans support raising the minimum wage. And while others are waiting for a nationwide decision, a number of cities and states have already lifted the floors of their own wage to $15.

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Seven states (Alaska, Florida, Minnesota, Montana, Ohio, South Dakota, and Vermont) automatically increased their rates based on the cost of living and 14 states (Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Washington) increased their rates due to previously approved legislation or ballot initiatives.

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Ripley
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

$100,000 at $15/hr is 128 hours a week, or 18 hours a day - assuming in both cases that you work for 365 days without a break.

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Hans
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

May we suggest to desi that she should be paid minimum wage until she reads the first chapter of a basic textbook on economics?

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Grumble O'Pug
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Value is created when people stop being complicit with those who exploit.

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Moreover, Florida voters approved Amendment 2, raising the state minimum wage to $15.00 per hour by 2026. The amendment raises the minimum wage to $10.00 per hour effective September 2021, with a continuing annual increase until reaching $15.00 per hour.

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Hans
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Someone did not understand the invisible hand. There is no working supply and demand as long as the market is imperfect, which it is due to the asymetry of information and power. If you use clever terms, be sure that you actually grasp them!

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xHinatax
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Because those folks working those minimum wage type jobs need to work because they’ll get fired for not coming in. They’re not there because they want to be there; they need to survive and get that pay check.

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Grumble O'Pug
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It’s funny how so many toss teens under the bus with labor, but do the math: college is extremely expensive and to pay tuition at the uni I work at you need 83 hours a week all summer. In 1980 you could pay tuition in 20 hours a week all summer. Many Americans are cobbling together a life on 2-4 of these jobs that for some reason were vital during the pandemic, but not valuable enough to pay adequately.

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Bettie Douglas, a cashier at Which Wich Superior Sandwiches in St. Louis, Missouri who makes $10 an hour, told CNN that her salary barely covers rent, bills, and food.

She commented: "I deserve a liveable wage. Anyone who works deserves to take care of their families, feed their families, pay their bills, afford the necessities of life. I'm not asking for a handout, I'm working as much as I can. $10 is just not making it, and $15 isn't going to really make it either but at least it'll help."

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Hans
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Interesting that these people kow exactly why some people need to work in low-incoming jobs. "Lazyness" is such an easy explanation. What about illness? Bad fate in live? Other hardships? If you are at the bottom, it might not be as easy to get up as some imagine.

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N G
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's an easy shortcut. There are arguments that a minimum wage job should only be for those just starting out - not with a home and family to support, but an entry to the world of work where the minimum salary corresponds to minimum responsibilities and consequences for making mistakes. But the truth makes a mockery of that with the realities of bad luck. Many people who progress out of minimum wage jobs forget the role that luck played in their life, and prefer not to consider that bad luck can land them back at square one just as easily. ETA - I should have added that even for a starter job $7.25 is an insult. Sorry, I thought that was obvious! The UK equivalent at the current exchange rate is $12 for those aged 25 and over. To be paid $7.25 you'd have to be under 18 (and so presumably living at home with no additional responsibilities)

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Lassie
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Minimum wage jobs are all easy???? Are they insane? These folks wouldn’t last one week in the life of a single mom of two working 2 jobs to make ends meet. Those folks are NOT lazy

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Bacony Cakes
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

lol stop starving to death underneath the rubble of an apartment block just have a snack

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Paul Budhram
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The "bad jobs" are the ones that are more important because what would you do if all of your local grocery stores close- or ALL grocery stores close? You would farm, to eat. Then no one would buy cuz there all dead or have it or can't afford it. Which means that you can't afford anything, which means that when tax comes around you can't pay, which means you will die. NOW, this means that the entire economy will crash, and then you will realize that they are needed but now no one is left to do it. This is bad, and this is just the crashing one 1 job.

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IcarusOfTheSkywings
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"If you want a living wage get a better job" is like saying "If you want to stop living in an apartment, buy a better house."

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TrashPandaSociety
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not to mention that college costs a fuckton of money that you have to borrow from a bank and pay a bullshit percentage rate of interest on, that you might be paying off until you're 70 years old. But yeah, shame on me for not wanting to pay for school loans.

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Vicky Z
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Good people don't judge other people's choices and lifestyles

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Mewton’s Third Paw
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Actually that whole “money is morality / rich people are better and more good” mentality is very very very veryyyy deep and was the social belief perpetuated by the church on purpose to protect the rich. It’s literally psychological warfare. And side note, it’s one of the many reasons why evangelicals are immoral as a group.

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Yort
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

“Good people move forward in society” I’m sorry, have you never heard of literally any government? I mean Hitler moved forward in society, to leave out any modern politicians.

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Diane Knight
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And while they are living in poverty, the middle-income people are paying taxes to fund programs to feed the children at school, or providing relief to the elderly. The millionaires are getting off with fewer taxes in spite of being capable of funding these programs and their children will still have a Harvard education. The more the gaps are reduced , the more better the community thrives. (less crime, stronger family life)

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Valley Girl
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Jeffrey Epstein, Donald Trump, Koch Bros., Yes the pillars of morality. Human beings at their finest! The people who work 40 hours at minimum wage jobs and then go volunteer.....disgusting!

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Lexie Von Der Snoot
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The hardest jobs I've ever had paid me the least. Food & childcare. Split shifts, no healthcare, no paid leave of any kind. I've found that until you get to around 6-figures, the jobs actually get easier as the money goes up. And can someone explain to me how those responsible for your food and your children is neither difficult nor valuable and should not get paid enough to live off of so you can have - what?

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Curry on...
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The irony of the $15 proposal is that the rich cats have already figured out how to pass the increase to the working poor. Have you seen the price of a chicken lately. Cluck f---k!

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Hans
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This concepts of buying power and inflation go hard on those who want to ingore them.

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Mike Ward
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

lets count the ways Ned messed up here... I have; 1/ Australia isn't in Europe; 2/ they don't use Euros; 3/ if their currency is higher that makes a "European" $20 even more then an American $20, meaning the Aussies would be paid more then US$20/hr; 4/ this guy is the one that needs to learn. Not bad for just 26 words.

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Minimum wage debate. Blue responded to the “just get a better job” argument by comparing it normal people being expected to just play in the NFL if they wanted a better job despite their mental or physical limitations.

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Dark_flame
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Just get a better job". Fine, let those w minimum wages all just quit and get better jobs. Then there's no movie theaters, no burger joints, no public restrooms and what not. How is this even a discussion? Especially in the states where EVERYTHING costs 😱

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