I have been watching many things for years on this site and reading all kinds of opinions. Asking myself as well why have things become such a struggle for a lot of people? Most members I hope and assume are not at minumin wage income levels.

Well here goes in 1968 the minumin wage was 3.50 an hour. Today with inflation and other factors it takes 21.80 per hour to replace it. Apparently in Seattle and Los Angles it is 15.00 now.

No jobs have been lost and those two areas are reported to be doing much better now. Simply because the chronic poor have a little more money to inject into the local economies? Historicaly people at the lower end of the wage spectrum spend all there income pretty much as they get it.

It seems implicit to me that governments of both stripes have done many things that have damaged their own populations. By intent, by accident, or just by stupidity. They even allowed the unallowable. Poor peoples primary asset base and savings was understood to be their homes.


Yet the government just stood back and watched the damage to those people occur. Enabled by a change in laws intentionally done to allow behaviours that the original law prevented as it was a necessity. Think 2008/2009.


What is it now exactly? Only the rich matter and are the only ones considered in any government decisions.. Both political parties have been aware of what they have actually done. Yet if you listen to them closely as far as I can tell there is no real intent by either of them to repair the damages.


It seems to just have gotten down to tens of thousands of minumin wage earners demonstrating in New York. I imagine it is almost impossible to survive on minumin wages there. Simply because in my backward area you might just survive but no more. What is it exactly that is happening?


A form of slavery for a large percentage of the population for others benefits? After all the government also had no issues with their jobs that once paid a living wage being taken away. The education system was based primarily on creating worker bees.


In fact I think the real intention is to just let it continue with a little window dressing. The present course is of extreme benefit and has been for a very small sector of the population. They also knew it was at the majority's expense from day one.


I know it is not that simple but as soon as I found out what minumin wage it would take today. To restore at least some standards for the working poor to 1968 levels. Some elements of more understanding of today occurred for me. It also does not present a particular pretty picture of what is.

The terms of the pacific trade deal where to be kept secret from the public. Yet some information has leaked out. If what has leaked out is true. It was a blatant attack by the very rich corporations especially against the general American population to be executed through Hillary.

Hillary was a principal in the deal and I think if she had been elected it would have been pushed through. Titled pacific trade deal was just a cover. I now totally understand why it was to be kept secret if the leaks are true. Things like prescription drugs patent protections where to be really extended making generic drugs far less common . What if anything do items like this have to do with trade?

She claimed it was eight years in the making. Actually if some politician could place a copy of that deal before the public. It might change things forever. Trump could not do it if he wanted to. It might be too hot of a potato for anyone to come forward with it.

Why do I care? Even at age 74 I wish to see everyone do well. Or at least to be on a level playing field. We still do some work with children up to very young people or couples just starting out. It gives us an ongoing interest and keeps us active and mentally younger hopefully.

As an example today we got a cellphone call from a young couple and their 6 month old baby. Their car had quit on the highway and it was pretty cold out today. They just wanted advice and knew we were too far away to actually help in person. A few phone calls and it was all taken care of. No big deal but in some cases our lives experiences can be also useful to others. Many of these young people are very smart but the system is not working well enough for them. They never seek money from us just usually advice or direction. In my earlier time I think the system or interrelation between people worked better.

There were far fewer dysfunctional families perhaps. Certainly far fewer single parent families. People also may have done more for other people as well. Many of these young people seem to be looking for family type connections as they do not really have any as well. We find them both respectful and never really intrusive.

To a simple guy like myself it is almost like a greater fragmenting of society has been underway. Your kids disperse all over the place for the almighty buck. You do not get to see your grandchildren as much as you would like either. We feel lucky one daughter is local. That son in law and grandchild as well. Too many of our contemporaries have either hit the obituary pages or just have gotten old mentally by not staying fully engaged.

The thrust of this post is that minumin wages held down any longer may seriously damage a lot of people and the economy especially. Personally we are seeing a lot more of it. We are also well aware that we as a couple could turn a blind eye or stick our heads in the sand. Our problem is we like children and people. Tragically our dogs are better off than some children today.

Has an almost third world environment been created intentionally for a sizable percentage of people growing up today in north America? Expectations for many people to work for a hand to mouth existence at best basically. Or will civil disturbances become the order of the day? With police and security forces enlarged and further empowered to suppress them?

"Well here goes in 1968 the minumin wage was 3.50 an hour."

Well after 30 seconds Googling, you might want to reconsider what you're being fed! $3.50 an hour in 1968 is complete and utter BS! Not only BS but it's an amount almost more than three times the facts. In Canada the highest minimum wage across all provinces was $1.25 per hour same with the Canadian Federal minimum wage, the lowest was $0.80 an hour.

Hourly Minimum Wages in CANADA for Adult Workers

In the USA the federal Minimum wage was $1.60 per hour in 1968!

Minimum wage since 1938 - CNNMoney

This is the history of the federal minimum wage, published by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor.

https://www.dol.gov/whd/minwage/chart.htm

In 1668, the highest federal minimum wage was $1.60. It is a history of very low pay that exceeded what otherwise would have been paid for many..

That was a lot of money for 1668!

In 2014 less than 1% of the labor force earned at the federal minimum wage rate of $7.25, so it actually would be a pretty small number as compared to the total number of wage earners. 2014 had 77.2 million 16+ year old hourly wage earners, 1.3 million of those worked at the $7.25 an hour Federal minimum wage. Those hourly wage earners made up 58.7% of the work force total.

"In 2014, 77.2 million workers age 16 and older in the United States were paid at hourly rates, representing 58.7 percent of all wage and salary workers. Among those paid by the hour, 1.3 million earned exactly the prevailing federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour."

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjP6seD6t7QAhUDLSYKHar5BOsQFggeMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bls.gov%2Fopub%2Freports%2Fminimum-wage%2Farchive%2Fcharacteristics-of-minimum-wage-workers-2014.pdf&usg=AFQjCNG4K6jYL529KOe_rSQISkicE9GA1Q

Somebody is always at the bottom, that's where everything begins in the real world.

I made more that 3.50 an hour in 1968. I lifted the 3.50 an hour minimum wage in 1968 from an obviously flawed graph.. Sorry.


Actually it seems a 3.50 minimum wage was not reached in America until around 1990. This is an estimate from another graph that I assume is more accurate.

Nova Scotia where we presently live the minimum is 10.60 Canadian dollars an hour. If you had a family you would do better on welfare. In fact I know you would as they will even pay mortgage payments.

There is no way you are going to support a wife and kids and pay a mortgage payment on minimum wage. You as a family will not even have enough money to eat well.

Now if you had a job at say a fast food outlet or Walmart store. In this province you would also be eligiable for a make up welfare cheque as well if you have a family. So the taxpayer really is partially paying the employee costs for really profitable enterprises as well.

They are not going to shutter their operations if the minimum wage was increased to say 15.00 per hour either. Different forms of automation will be installed anyways as is occurring now. Currently they are not under threat of paying higher wages here.

The expectations of both parents to be out working are stronger than ever just driven by need.

I'm not sure what it is here....perhaps $7/ hr? I have always been in favor of raising it. It would cause some price increases for goods but seriously I have never bought it will cost jobs. If it takes 14 people to run your business and you have to pay them more you just have to raise prices.

It might be inflationary but I don't believe it would cost jobs....or at least very very few....and that would be ok by me.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

In bringing up the $10,60 minimum wage and then describing all that it won't fund are you arguing that all minimum wage jobs should enable the worker to fully support the worker his spouse, offspring and their home mortgage? Because that's what it seems you're implying.

If every McDonald's job is minimum wage and the minimum wage is deficient unless it is enough to support a wife, kids and a mortgage; we should pay a 16 year old working at Mikey D's the same wage that would fund the equivalent of a family sole breadwinner?

The minimum wage was never imagined to be of a standard to enable a sole breadwinner family unit, it was envisioned to provide a floor for the lowest rungs on the employment ladder, the place the teenage child of that family gets their early opportunity to practice wage earning. The Minimum wage workers are a relatively insignificant portion of the work force and raising their minimal wage can have only two outcomes, less job opportunity or price inflation.

It just might cut some of the high costs of welfare. I am pretty sure similar programs exist in the United States as Canada. Assisted wage programs basically. They are still a form of welfare as are food stamps.


They are also able then to spend more money and that also improves the economy. I think the results on Seattle are in. Raising the minumum wage to fifteen dollars has worked out well. The doom and gloom did not occur. In fact it economically boosted the area from one report.

Roger That One. A balanced view of a complicated subject.

You cannot explain this,that wages rose 3 times,and vehicle prices 10. Reason is they don't want the rest of the people living well. They want the workers,to beg at their feet,for 10 cents more a hour.People who have,don't want others to have,and they will use religous texts to show your wrong for wanting things.But they'll milk you each sunday,call you a sinner if you don't give,so they can buy SUVs that drink fuel.

__________________
1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran

How many people make less than $15/hour? What percentage? Lots and lots.


They like to say that fewer than 1.5% of people make the minimum wage so a raise wouldn't make that much difference. It would hurt young people trying to find their first job.

See the difference? Propaganda.

How Did Walmart Get Cleaner Stores and Higher Sales? It Paid Its People More

__________________
CENSORED due to not family friendly words

https://www.ssa.gov/cgi-bin/netcomp.cgi?year=2014

For 2014 eighty million or so workers earned less than $30K. That would be a full time worker at $15/hour. That represents about half of the workers.

I posted this before here:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/open-discussion/374676-wage-statistics-2014-unemployment-numbers-bs.html

effects is not strictly the minimum wage issue. It is the erosion of the American work ethic and work expectation. At one time in the recent past, an individual could go to work for a company and be assured that employment with that company could be for a lifetime if you wished along with regular raises and health care for you and your family. At the end of that time, a pension was provided which Social Security augmented. This was the "American Dream"'

Those days are gone and probably forever. Now companies mainly try to keep workers at or below the Federally mandated 30 hours/week to avoid providing a "benefit" package. Even if provided the employee pays out of pocket for their own retirement via some form of Government backed plan and health care is ObamaCare.

What has happened to us in such a short time? I say the answer is Barack Obama supported by the Democratic Party and the miracle of globalization. America was never wealthier, stronger and more respected than when we led the world in production of goods. I consider myself fortunate to have lived in these "interesting times", having seen my country rise to preeminence, then fall to it's present state.

It may be too late to come back but I hope not. Thank you Obama.