"Watch: Pres. Clinton Explains Why Republicans are Wrong About the Minimum Wage"
Bill Clinton Explains Why Raising the Minimum... by funnyvideo1
I got the whole thing from following a link on a friend's Facebook wall status update that took me to Occupy Democrats, a website of which I had previously been unaware. You can view the actual webpage by following this embedded link.
6 comments:
When you can convince me that any job paying minimum wage was EVER intended to be a career job and not just mad money for teenagers or second jobs for adults, then I'll admit you have something. Otherwise, most people don't need a minimum wage raise- they need to get a real job.
Myth: Raising the minimum wage will only benefit teens.
Not true: The typical minimum wage worker is not a high-school student earning weekend pocket money. In fact, 88 percent of those who would benefit from a federal minimum wage increase are age 20 or older, and 55 percent are women.
Myth: Only part-time workers are paid the minimum wage.
Not true: About 53 percent of all minimum wage earners are full-time workers, and minimum wage workers contributed almost half (46 percent) of their household's wage and salary income in 2011. Moreover, more than 88 percent of those who would benefit from raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 are working adults, and 55 percent are working women.
The above quotes and more objective statistics/data/information may be found at United States Department of Labor
And from Quintessential Carreers, you may read Low-Wage Workers Demographic Statistics.
But you see, the point is it was not INTENED to be that way. That it is is the result of people underachieving and undereducating themselves. They think they should EXPECT to live on a min-wage job, and they have skewed the system thusly.
With all due respect, Chris, in reference to the original intent of the federal minimum wage, I provide the following objective and factual quote:
After winning the historical 1936 election by a landslide, President Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) into law in early 1938. The FLSA introduced sweeping regulations to protect American workers from being exploited, and created a mandatory federal minimum wage of 25 cents an hour in order to maintain a "minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency and general well-being, without substantially curtailing employment".
You may go on over to read the entire History of the United States' Minimum Wage article for yourself. In my responses, I am providing facts, not opinion.
Where and how are people who are not academically oriented supposed to get better education? The fact is that there will always be lower wage workers. The questions should be: how can we treat these people fairly, and does this help the overall economy? As Clinton factually points out, every time the minimum wage has been raised, the number of jobs increases. Almost every additional penny earned by minimum wage workers is spent on goods and services which spur business. In addition, we are not talking about welfare queens (or kings) here, living off of our tax dollars. Minimum wage workers WORK! Many of them work two or more minimum wage jobs to support themselves and their families. And the economy needs them to do the jobs they do! Shouldn't we reward them with a minimal increase in their remuneration?
"Shouldn't we reward them with a minimal increase in their remuneration?" I completely agree with this the way it is phrased. I don't agree with doubling wages so that a worker may be content living their whole life flipping burgers, Which is what I believe the raises as in Washington will do. I don't think that someone at McDonalds should make more than I do so rich liberals can feel better about themselves. I also never liked the tips system and agree that a minimal raise in the floor wage is okay.
The key to it all, Roland is in your quote: "prevent from being exploited." I think raising the minimum to $15+ goes waaaaaay beyond that. If a worker in Seattle can make $15 + at McDonalds, then I might just as well go on welfare too, what's the point in working hard when the government wants to give others doing lesser work more than I make by working both hard and intelligently?
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