Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

TrueBirch OP t1_izced5o wrote

Reply to comment by samirac1e in Swans: The ultimate gift from your true love [OC] by TrueBirch

Pretty sad how far the federal minimum wage is from a living wage. I don't know if $15 is the right number, but $7.25 is too damn low.

30

pingieking t1_izcfhy5 wrote

$15 isn't the right number because that's too damn low too. I remember reading a few months ago that if min wage kept pace with productivity since the 1960s it would be just over $20 now.

25

electro1ight t1_izcucmw wrote

This is why it's horseshit to pick a number. Peg it to CPI and be done with it. Just like social security, Medicare etc.

10

Ok_Frosting4780 t1_izcn03k wrote

Living wage varies from place to place. Some places in the US it probably is around $15/hour. Others may have living wages as high as $30/hour. What they should do is set the minimum wage based on a formula for local living costs.

8

TrueBirch OP t1_izcpv9l wrote

Some minimum wage jobs aren't designed to support someone living solo. I live in Washington DC, where the minimum wage is north of $16/hour. That makes sense here. But it's still not enough to buy a studio apartment.

5

tombradysballz6 t1_izd0gxk wrote

There are a couple bigger issues at play here. Minimum wage was created to protect unskilled workers, keyword unskilled. The intention was you’d be able to develop valuable skills, increasing your value to the company, which results in a pay bump because capitalism pays off value added.

When these laws were created though they didn’t plan for mega corporations like Walmart and McDonald’s (you can only add so much value at a job that can be replaced by a computer who works for free) so people get stuck making an unlivable wage because they’re either 1. Too lazy or disinterested to invest in themselves or 2. Are so behind that they need to work crazy just to keep afloat.

I’d be surprised to see major change on the federal front because ya know lobbyists so who the fuck knows, soon we may not have a middle class.

7

TurtleWitch t1_izf158j wrote

If it's not enough to get a studio apartment then it doesn't make sense

1