Current Events > Why do MINIMUM WAGE WORKERS expect to get paid as much as HIGHER SKILL workers

(+) Yeah! (+)

Restaurant workers shouldn't be making $15 an hour, it takes little to no skill to do. Making sandwiches isn't hard and neither is cooking the food. The grills,fryers,etc do 90% of the work.

Want better pay? Go get a job that takes some skill then

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also not sure how it is in other states but in CA there's lots of IT support jobs only offering minimum wage >_>

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Mr_Karate_II posted...

Restaurant workers shouldn't be making $15 an hour, it takes little to no skill to do. Making sandwiches isn't hard and neither is cooking the food. The grills,fryers,etc do 90% of the work.

Want better pay? Go get a job that takes some skill then

Lmao CE is even more of a cesspool than the politics board.

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Prismsblade posted...

That kind of life style takes most of us many years and many more hardships to finally reach. Why people think everybody is entitled to it right after HS or something working the first low skilled entry lv job they find is beyond me.

I'm not sure how spending time working towards a better life means you need to start in a miserable position.

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If the wages don't go up, the cost of rent and certain services and goods need to be capped.

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Broseph_Stalin posted...

Your claim that there aren't enough skilled jobs for everyone isn't true.

Except that it is, supply and demand is a thing. If everyone is a mechanic than nobody makes money being a mechanic.

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Mr_Karate_II posted...

Restaurant workers shouldn't be making $15 an hour, it takes little to no skill to do. Making sandwiches isn't hard and neither is cooking the food. The grills,fryers,etc do 90% of the work.

Want better pay? Go get a job that takes some skill then

"People who work full time to keep society running should literally die if their job doesn't take too much skill. Oh rent in this state is $3000 a month? LOL burger flippers should still make $8/hour! Get 2 more full-time jobs and 5 roommates, ya bum! Get real skills with the time and money you don't have!"

Wages should be based on more than some nebulous concept of "meaningful". Otherwise, poverty will literally increase year over year with inflation. Even if everyone had the right skills and education, then a lot of people would still be SOL and working these "easy" jobs that need to be done. What are we going to do with hundreds of millions of STEM degrees? Fuck the losers for... being unlucky?

Maybe all those out-of-touch assholes that manage companies and say shit like this would change their tune if they actually worked a day with their disposable cattle. How are we even defining hard work? Does it require a certain level of intelligence, raw physical strength, some intangible? If I was 250 pounds of muscle and a certified genius of a field, I still wouldn't want to work a single day at a fast food restaurant.

Anyone with an ounce of perspective or empathy should understand the challenges of all lines of work. Most people that fight for higher wages are not fighting for literally equal, communist wages. They just want everyone to actually be able to survive off their full-time job, and actually have the resources to improve if they choose.


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IfGodCouldDie posted...

I'm not sure how spending time working towards a better life means you need to start in a miserable position.

Some people think threat of suffering is the only way to motivate people. Yet, they still sit here and cry about how lazy and poor everyone is.

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Kloe_Rinz posted...

every job should pay a livable wage. Enough to cover rent, food, phone and internet, other bills, transport, cheap entertainment and a cheap hobby or two. The incentive to work higher skilled jobs should be more money than that so you get a nicer place, nicer car, nicer food, can support a family etc.

This mindset is a lot of the problem. Every time I've talked personal finance to people on limited means they immediately start slipping in luxuries as necessities. Fast food instead of home cooked, or hell, lean cuisine dinners and water are cheaper than McDonalds and soda. Expensive new care instead of reasonably used. Mid range phone and internet plans rather than the minimum needed. And what even constitutes a cheap hobby? A $10 library card? Free stuff from the internet (and I don't mean piracy)? A PS5 and one game?

I think the cycle is like this

Everyone deserves a living wage.
It's not fair we have to do harder or more skilled work that you for the same wage.
You're right, give them raises too.
They buy newer shit.
I want that, those are necessities. Pay me a living wage to afford them.
Pattern repeats.

This isn't a defense of billionaires thing. If anything I'm explaining why this keeps falling into losing arguments. What you need to live is very minimal and affordable so people don't see you fighting for a living wage. They see you fighting for luxuries while giving minimal effort at jobs technology has made far easier than they were 50 years ago.

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You had to pay for a library card?


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hockeybub89 posted...

Some people think threat of suffering is the only way to motivate people. Yet, they still sit here and cry about how lazy and poor everyone is.

I'll give you a hint: why aren't people asking for paths to better paying jobs instead of fighting living wages for the current ones that aren't what they studied for or really find fulfilling?

It certainly can't be because many of those jobs require skill and expertise, while say, a casher job has gotten reduced down to hitting the burger button for a burger or scanning a bar code. In a cashless society, they don't even have to make proper change much anymore. That would imply a lack of ambition of some sort. If not laziness, maybe fear of a job with greater consequence for mistakes because if you can't keep from screwing up a burger order, I'd hate you to be in charge of the payroll, fixing my roof, or anything involving medicine where a mistake can be lethal.

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SaikyoStyle posted...

You had to pay for a library card?

Just double checked my local Library site. It's actually up to $15 if you're an adult, though fees are waved due to covid.

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It seems a lot of high cost of living states have a higher min wage than the national average. I googled Cali and Oregon and I'd assume other higher cost states are in-line with those two, but I can't say that with certainty.

It seems like maybe it should be a bit more though. Cali min wage is $12. If you have a couple living together, both making *absolute* minimum wage, that's $24/hr. What kind of living situation would that be in CA?

I do not think lower cost states need to have a $15 minimum wage. Someone making $15 an hour in some of the southern states may not be living lavishly, but likely not suffering. Especially if they share a place with their spouse or partner.

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Medussa posted...

they don't. they expect those jobs to also get paid what they're worth.

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Why do boomers expect free money shoved up their ass just for being old?

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A lot of minimum wage jobs are high in value, like food service. They're the ones that worked through the lockdowns, so they should get paid what they're worth.

You don't see people advocating for a social media manager or a banker to get a raise.
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IfGodCouldDie posted...

I'm not sure how spending time working towards a better life means you need to start in a miserable position.

Life gives out many hands, some good, some bad. In the end it just means you're have to work that much harder.

This flawed viewpoint of people with no knowledge, skills, talent, or even patience being owed anything in life is baffling. It goes beyond mere entitlement into the outright sin of sloth.

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SaikyoStyle posted...

You probably didnt order correctly.

Or maybe if the pay was higher, more thought would of been put into preparing the meal? ;D


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Prismsblade posted...

Life gives out many hands, some good, some bad. In the end it just means you're have to work that much harder.

This flawed viewpoint of people with no knowledge, skills, talent, or even patience being owed anything in life is baffling. It goes beyond mere entitlement into the outright sin of sloth.

I think the viewpoint that is flawed is, "if you get dealt a shitty hand, too fucking bad, work harder!"

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lightwarrior78 posted...

why aren't people asking for paths to better paying jobs instead of fighting living wages for the current ones that aren't what they studied for or really find fulfilling?

Are you under the impression that the vast majority of people fighting for livable wages aren't also fighting for more affordable post secondary education and better Healthcare? Two things that would vastly increase people's abilities to actually invest in themselves and improve society.

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lightwarrior78 posted...

Just double checked my local Library site. It's actually up to $15 if you're an adult, though fees are waved due to covid.

Wow. I didnt have to pay anything for mine. Is that a one-time charge?

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When I know who made the topic from the front page before seeing a name it's time to stop, TC.
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lightwarrior78 posted...

anything involving medicine where a mistake can be lethal.

uhhhh pharmacists and techs are screwing up all the time because they are overworked and underpaid. Techs basically make the same as "cashiers who push the burger button." Pharmacists at CVS don't even get breaks!

People want to spend every waking moment demanding services from restaurants, stores, etc, but then tell the people working there that they should get actual jobs and get off their lazy asses. Everyone should work a week in these jobs and get some fucking perspective. No, a waiter should not get paid like a heart surgeon, but they are still working hard if they are good at their job that puts little money on the table.

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This is what you have been reduced to? You were far subtler in the 2010s

Moving the minimum wage up means needing to increase the pay for those that already make $15/hr, which then forces the business to increase pay for everyone else higher up the payscale.

In an organization with multiple job positions with varying pay, that could mean thousands more in payroll costs, which would be passed onto the consumer.

I mean, why would a nurse settle for being paid $5 more than a janitor, having to go through years of schooling and debt?
Oh, right, then the push would then move to make higher education free.

Basically that means everyone would be paying more taxes to pay for these pie-in-the-sky policies.

HiddenRoar posted...

Moving the minimum wage up means needing to increase the pay for those that already make $15/hr, which then forces the business to increase pay for everyone else higher up the payscale.

In an organization with multiple job positions with varying pay, that could mean thousands more in payroll costs, which would be passed onto the consumer.

I mean, why would a nurse settle for being paid $5 more than a janitor, having to go through years of schooling and debt?
Oh, right, then the push would then move to make higher education free.

Basically that means everyone would be paying more taxes to pay for these pie-in-the-sky policies.

Or tax the obscenely rich instead of the average worker.

Kloe_Rinz posted...

every job should pay a livable wage. Enough to cover rent, food, phone and internet, other bills, transport, cheap entertainment and a cheap hobby or two. The incentive to work higher skilled jobs should be more money than that so you get a nicer place, nicer car, nicer food, can support a family etc. nobody working a full time job should be living in poverty, and no business should hire many casuals when a few full time employees will do.
anybody who disagrees has been indoctrinated by billionaires

Absolutely man couldn't say it better myself.

To add, a couple both working 40 hours a week should make enough to enjoy raising a family of at least 1 kid maybe two.

You won't have a huge house, top of the line electronics and all that but you should be earning enough to be happy. You can stay there content or work harder and move up if you want more.

Of course just because it's how it should be doesn't mean it's reality. Our world is broken often backwards and just pretty damn fkd up.

HiddenRoar posted...

Basically that means everyone would be paying more taxes to pay for these pie-in-the-sky policies

I'm sorry, was this supposed to be the bad part?

"If we have to pay all people livable wages, and pay the people with the *important* jobs what they actually deserve, then there might need to be changes!"

Are we still arguing that wage increases cause a 1:1 rise in prices on the consumer side? Have prices increased like that at previous minimum wage increases? Do prices rise like that every time employees get raises or bonuses? Does inflation not exist when wages stagnate?

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Why do people think professional atheletes like Basketball players who make an average of SIX MILLION+ per year, make over 10x as much as the average Doctor!? That's outrageous! Doctors are important! NBA players are not! Channel your outrages towards professional athletes and their OBSCENE salaries!

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HiddenRoar posted...

Moving the minimum wage up means needing to increase the pay for those that already make $15/hr, which then forces the business to increase pay for everyone else higher up the payscale.

Or companies/corporations could simply not pay out hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses to the top level Officials in the company and afford a higher minimum wage that way.

Regardless if you cannot afford to pay your employees a living wage, you don't quite deserve to remain in business

MachineJaipur posted...

Or companies/corporations could simply not pay out hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses to the top level Officials in the company and afford a higher minimum wage that way.

CEO pay has nothing to do with worker pay and if you redistributed it to workers they'd get like a few hundred dollars a year.

TIL IT workers, doctors and accountants only make $15 an hour

they don't. /topic
why does this have so many posts

Omnislasher posted...

they don't. /topic
why does this have so many posts

actually like i mentioned earlier in the topic many IT jobs are only offering $15 an hour in my state. IT is one of the first things cut budget wise in a company. it's insane how brash companies are nowadays, they're asking years and years of experience just for tier 1 support. competition is so fierce which is why they can get away with offering the absolute minimum

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Its as easy as supply and demand

anyone can do a burger flipping or retail job and the supply to find people are into the millions therefore companies offer fair wages

jobs that require skill or university degree, there are less in the world therefore the industry works in a way to pay more/offer these people more money for their valuable skills


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