Thread: The 99% Needs a Raise

lol, sounds like the farmer should drink water

edit, not farmer, min wage earner. read to quickly oops

I like how it says 99% needs a raise. They are entitled to it. Why not look at what the CEO did to get to where he is and try that. Well, that would require more than a 9-5 effort so it's out of the question.

The other thing I've noticed is people will preach 'do what you love, money doesn't matter' and yet they will complain about prices of everything being high and can't afford this and that.

Raise the minimum wage. What a smart idea...

Let's make all those people unemployable who's job are not worth the minimum wage and thus become dependent on the state. Who comes up with those ideas??

Years ago (ending about 15 years ago), my hometown was a farm town. It was essentially one of a few hubs that were centered among many chicken farms. The teenagers would work in the farms before and after school for money because that was the best way for them to earn that extra buck to be able to buy a car and pay for gas/liquor. And these were teenagers who did not grow up on farms! They were simply hired guns. After graduation, they'd leave the farm work behind for something better and the people who took over were other teenagers working for minimum wage (which was like 5.25 at the time)

Then, the corporations came in and farms were being bought by housing development companies who saw real estate investing opportunity. That can't be good. Delaware has a large Perdue chicken processing plant, and I don't think closing chicken farms is going to help our way of life at all...

Just a random rant that this made me think of

The 99% needs to STFU, quit whining, and get to work. A CEO making "fat cat" money didn't get there by sitting on his ass playing video games all day. I guess they think the CEO "got lucky" to have been born into such a rich and prominent position. Shit like this makes my blood boil .. not only the message, but the implicit assumption that this thinking universally applies to the "99%" - you cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

The book "The Art of War" is a book on strategy and winning. Although the reader who uses it's methods end up being more peaceful as a result.

I mean, simply walking up to someone and saying "you're wrong" isn't persuasion. Helping them come to a conclusion so that they think it's their own, when it's actually by design, is persuasion.

So a little free pamphlet entitled something like "Power of The 99%" that outlines some 'revolutionary' theory to change the world might capture their imagination. In practice it would cause them to do everything they ought to be doing to stimulate the economy, start businesses, raise GDP, and basically stop thinking like side walkers.

Whoever does this could go out there preaching on the streets, getting exposure, and hopefully gaining respect and a following. He'll do it all for free. Eventually if he's successful he can ride his fame to massive wealth selling books, giving appearances, holding seminars, promoting brand names for organizations....etc

The classic guru phenomena.

Who's up for it?!

I'm not, lol.

Either way, there's a lot of people out there desperate to be part of something bigger than themselves, and who've developed egos around having a common enemy. Plenty of opportunity to sell them something to 'help' them express themselves and maybe even subtly redirect or reframe their approach.

From my perspective, raising the min. wage hurts the very people it intends to help (hurts the middle class the most actually).

Because what happens when a business's labor costs go up? They raise the prices of their products (milk in this example).

After the prices of milk go up, the minimum wage earner is right back to square one.

However, the middle class worker is paying more for the same product he was earlier, but he didn't get a raise to compensate for the price increase, so he has to actually work longer for that same gallon of milk.

The "CEO guy" in the example also has to pay more for the milk, but the small price increase doesn't affect him like it does the middle class worker.

IMO, all raising the min. wage does is decrease the gap between the minimum wage earner and middle class worker.

(By the way, I tried to write this without getting too political. Hopefully I succeeded.)

Originally Posted by kwerner

Because what happens when a business's labor costs go up? They raise the prices of their products (milk in this example).

After the prices of milk go up, the minimum wage earner is right back to square one.

True although your assumption is that people are rational and critically think beyond what "looks good" and "feels good" -- most simply do not. If they did, they'd understand that any tax imposed on business, eventually is carried down to the consumer in the form of high prices or diminished supply (which also causes higher prices).

Policymakers create legislation as if it was made in a vacuum, as if, the taxing entity is powerless to respond and react. Tax and over-regulate a business/person and they simply will leave the taxing jurisdiction.

Originally Posted by Idella

The 99% Needs a Raise

How about getting a raise because you EARNED it?

Milk is Terrible.
That aside.

I feel like the more I've expanded my knowledge it's easier to understand the side of the CEO, the financial gods did not just come down from money heaven and say HERE YOU SHALL NOT HAVE TO WORK MORE THAN A SECOND. These charts and posters are so misleading and because many people (especially some on my facebook) don't ever bother to confirm facts for themselves, they buy into these thoughts, keep wasting their income tax checks on Big Screen TVs and complain about being broke for the rest of the year.

min wage hurts min qualified workers. in todays market if you get high school grad for 7.25 or collage grad for 7.25, you probably pick college grad. if high school grad had the power to come in and say, I am willing to prove myself for 6 months for $4, who do you think will get hired then?

btw mj, based on op follow up statement and the fact that op posted in funnies, I think statement 99% need a raise was tongue in cheek.

Originally Posted by kwerner

From my perspective, raising the min. wage hurts the very people it intends to help (hurts the middle class the most actually).

Because what happens when a business's labor costs go up? They raise the prices of their products (milk in this example).

After the prices of milk go up, the minimum wage earner is right back to square one.

However, the middle class worker is paying more for the same product he was earlier, but he didn't get a raise to compensate for the price increase, so he has to actually work longer for that same gallon of milk.

The "CEO guy" in the example also has to pay more for the milk, but the small price increase doesn't affect him like it does the middle class worker.

IMO, all raising the min. wage does is decrease the gap between the minimum wage earner and middle class worker.

(By the way, I tried to write this without getting too political. Hopefully I succeeded.)

Having a minimum wage creates a huge deadweight loss because it causes people to do work for a higher price than it is worth in the marketplace. Unfortunately, our current minimum wage does not provide a living wage, even in the cheapest of places. And this is WITHOUT unnecessary expenses. The only people who can live off of a minimum wage are single people who live in tiny, cheap townhouse or apartment complexes.

I'm not saying that these people's choices didn't bring them there, but I do think people should be allowed to be losers, working the shit jobs that most people would not work, and at the same time be able to live comfortably as losers. That's the only argument for a minimum wage raise, but I think it's a strong one.

Originally Posted by The-J

Having a minimum wage creates a huge deadweight loss because it causes people to do work for a higher price than it is worth in the marketplace. Unfortunately, our current minimum wage does not provide a living wage, even in the cheapest of places. And this is WITHOUT unnecessary expenses. The only people who can live off of a minimum wage are single people who live in tiny, cheap townhouse or apartment complexes.

I'm not saying that these people's choices didn't bring them there, but I do think people should be allowed to be losers, working the shit jobs that most people would not work, and at the same time be able to live comfortably as losers. That's the only argument for a minimum wage raise, but I think it's a strong one.

You are making the assumption that those jobs will still exist at a higher wage.

You can live on almost nothing, many people who start a business go through that. If they can't survive on the wage then they simply don't have to take the job. Easy as that.

And if they can't live comfortably it will act as an incentive to find a better job.

There is simply no rational argument for a minimum wage law to exist. Sadly politics in a democracy are not based on rationality.

Originally Posted by MJDeMarco

True although your assumption is that people are rational and critically think beyond what "looks good" and "feels good" -- most simply do not. If they did, they'd understand that any tax imposed on business, eventually is carried down to the consumer in the form of high prices or diminished supply (which also causes higher prices).

Policymakers create legislation as if it was made in a vacuum, as if, the taxing entity is powerless to respond and react. Tax and over-regulate a business/person and they simply will leave the taxing jurisdiction.

Agreed.

Originally Posted by Pat

You are making the assumption that those jobs will still exist at a higher wage.

You can live on almost nothing, many people who start a business go through that. If they can't survive on the wage then they simply don't have to take the job. Easy as that.

And if they can't live comfortably it will act as an incentive to find a better job.

There is simply no rational argument for a minimum wage law to exist. Sadly politics in a democracy are not based on rationality.

This conversation is over. I'm about to get political and I don't want to do that.

Whether or not people should be able to live on minimum wage is not the issue. What about people that live with their parents? Most high school kids are not worth a living wage. Or 2 people working a minimum wage job living in the same household. Manipulating the market only screws things up. Raising the minimum wage, just like handing out student loans left and right will drive up the prices of things that you are trying to buy with that money.

Want cheaper housing? Lower the minimum wage. Apartment complexes will get everything they need cheaper.

I hate to be this frank, but if someone can't get a better than minimum wage job they are either too stupid or lazy to be employed at all.

If they can't afford an apartment they should get a room mate.

lol yeah, it was meant to be a funny post, nothing going really deeply political. The surface level of this poster is that...it's nonrepresentational of what a CEO actually does or actually did to become a CEO. The 99% probably feel like the great money god came down from money heaven and just handed them million dollar companies.

What would qualify as a living wage anyways?
People wouldn't live within the wage anyways and keep spending beyond their means while complaining.