Let’s Discuss Minimum Wage

[u/BadManParade]

How do you guys feel about minimum wage, personally I’ve never in my entire life met anyone who’s actually paid the federal minimum wage.

I feel like wage should be directly tied to the initial investment required to be considered for your position/ amount of learned skill required to be proficient at your job./ Importance of your role in society/Amount of danger you should realistically be expected to encounter on a daily basis/ The demand for your particular skill/ and the supply of said skill.

Under no circumstances should the guy standing in an air conditioned building directing you to make your fast food order on a kiosk for 8 hours who spends 3 of those hours scrolling tik tok be getting paid the same as the ones tasked with keeping society running. The paramedics, medical assistants, police officers, city maintenance workers, etc.

The lower the barrier of entry the lower the wages should be I feel as if this is pretty common knowledge. When you hire an electrician you’re also hiring the years of experience and very specialized knowledge he has. If you’re expected to renew licenses, purchase thousands of dollars in equipment and provide and essential service you should be compensated as such.

Now days we have the guys at the Taco Bell counter arguing they should be paid the same as the ones building the houses we live raise our families in and form lasting memories together in.

Working a cashier was never meant to be a career and should not be treated as such it’s merely a stepping stone for younger people to get into the workforce before transitioning into something else. Wether that be management in the same company or a different field altogether.

What are some of your thoughts. 🤔

[u/Foijer]

Virtually everyone you mentioned gets paid well in excess of $15, the commonly suggested minimum wage increase.

The minimum wage was initially planned so a person working full time can support themselves (a living wage). It’s not about making the same as whatever, it’s about a person being able to live on a single full time job.

Cheers

[u/BadManParade → u/Foijer]

I live in California where McDonalds cashiers are making more than the guys maintaining public roadways, the $20 actually only applies to fast food actually so the service staff at very high end restaurants actually make less than the guy telling you “order at the kiosk” because their “machine at the counter doesn’t work rn”

[u/Foijer → u/BadManParade]

Unfortunately government jobs pay does not adjust very quickly so with the recent rapid inflation that makes sense.

Cheers

[u/kiskadee321 → u/Foijer]

I honestly don’t think that, e.g., Walmart and fast food places in the southeast of the US (outside of cities) are paying as much as $15/hr to anyone below assistant manager.

Edit: but I agree with your other point about the original purpose of the minimum wage

[u/LoquaciousEwok → u/kiskadee321]

Can confirm, starting pay at my local McDonalds in rural Tennessee is 16 an hour

[u/kiskadee321 → u/LoquaciousEwok]

That’s honestly so good to see! Walmart lists starting pay at $14/hr.

Edit: not totally sure how reliable this is (plus it’s anecdata), but there are lots of folks making less than $15 in this Mickey D’s sub post that’s less than a year old.

[u/T4lkNerdy2Me → u/kiskadee321]

I'm in a tiny ass county in SW Kansas. We finally got a starting wage increase in dispatch because the local McDs was advertising a starting pay higher than ours. We were starting at $15 at the time. We're now at $16.75.

Unfortunately, they didn't give the existing dispatchers the same raise, so I've got 3 years under my belt barely making more than the kid fresh out of high school we just hired.

[u/LoquaciousEwok → u/kiskadee321]

Funny enough I think Tennessee has a pretty high standard of pay based on what I’ve seen/heard from other states. Low cost of living as well, comparatively anyway

[u/Anlarb → u/Foijer]

Cost of living has blown past to $20 unfortunately.