quote:

ORIGINAL: BamaD

2-7 dollars, my first job paid $.65 an hour.

quote:

ORIGINAL: BamaD

quote:

ORIGINAL: LookieNoNookie

I don't need a survey to tell me what would happen with a nationwide "living wage".

Places like Seattle, San Francisco, San Jose, Chicago, NYC....rents would rise by about 3% at best and life would go on (of course, Nebraska, Wyoming, etc., they'd just laugh).

Every place else, like Eastern Washington, Iowa, most of the Midwest, all of Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, New Mexico, most of Texas, rents would double because....landlords ain't stoooopit.

Costs would rise for bread, milk and agricultural goods by about 30 - 60% within 6 months. But, in all fairness, as to the rest of the world, our food is still cheap. The average cost to a family of four is, 22% of household income goes to food. With a "living wage" (since most food workers earn lower on the pay scale), food would go to about 30%....not all that big of a bite when compared to the rest of the world paying 70 - 90% of their earnings towards food.....we'd still have a problem here with weight gain, I'm certain.

There's a valid reason for a "living wage". But let's be clear, the "minimum wage" was never intended to be a living wage any more than SSI was intended to be a retirement account.

One of the S's in SSI of course, stands for "supplemental".

A "living wage" would be the equivalent of a "mini" union wage....a start above what would be barely survivable in many cities, enough to buy a decent home in some.

Union wages are, without debate, what brought wages up in the 40's and 50's (and earlier).

They're also the basis for the Davis Bacon act which as some may know, is the federal predicate for paying (more than) union wages on federally funded projects to protect unions.

Now, by itself, that's not so awful. It insures that on the whole, across the country, everyone gets payed a "fair" wage for comparable work, whether you're in NYC of Alabama.

But there's clauses in the Davis Bacon act that ensures that it's "never less than x of the minimum wage". Depending on the area (and state), that's 3 - 7 times the minimum wage for the lowest earners on a federally funded project (flaggers/shovel holders, etc.).

Paving crews that pave exceptionally good parking lots for IBM, Microsoft (millions of square feet) for 25 bucks an hour, are mandated by the Davis Bacon act (your taxes) to pay 50, 60 and even 125 bucks an hour....paving with the same equipment, same tonnage per hour, same risk, and same danger.

So, instead of paying 2 million bucks a mile, you're paying 5 million.....a mile....for the same exact amount of driving surface, rail, stop bar, stop light, crosswalk, stop sign and even.....road reflector and tree in the middle of the road that Microsoft, IBM, Vaughns, Fred Meyer, Target, WalMart and others pay.

Everyone above 40 has worked at some point in their lives for 2 - 7 bucks an hour knowing it sucked....honing our skill sets....hoping that someone, someday, may recognize our unique abilities, knowing that with time, knowledge, and bettering ourselves, we'd do......better.

And for those of us who have improved our skill sets...we have.

(Those that haven't improved their skill sets, haven't fared as well).

Here's the problem with raising the "minimum wage" to a "living wage":

Prices will rise in areas (poor areas) exponentially, and for those who can least afford it. In wealthier areas, it won't make a damn bit of difference. 2 - 4%, max. Not even a modest change in lifestyle for most.

Taxes will rise (nationwide) because that 5 million dollar a mile road will rise to 6.5 million. Why? Because....union wages are based on....you guessed it....base wages.

The higher the bottom is....by %, the higher the union (and therefore, federal Davis Bacon) wages are and will be.

And so, across the entire spectrum, taxes will rise, food costs will rise, rents will rise to accommodate the markets ability to afford same.....and, like someone once said.....

"Take all the wealth in the world, distribute it equally amongst every citizen of the planet and....within 5 years, 10 tops, those who are wealthy now, with just a few name changes, will be wealthy again....only this time....they'd be even wealthier still".

Wealth doesn't occur by virtue of a mandate....it occurs because those who are poor choose no longer to be.

2-7 dollars, my first job paid $.65 an hour.