How much raise should my wife ask for now with Biden and $15/h minimum wage?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My wife currently makes $42k. She has multiple years of experience and a master's degree. Yes, the salary is pretty low, but that's what the University system pays. It seems like people are now gonna make $15 per hour to work at Walmart or McDonald's. That's about $31-32k per year. If someone with zero education and no skills can make that much, it seems.like someone with a lot more eduction and years of experience doing work at a university should make more than only $9k more than that kind of work at walmart. Is a $20k raise reasonable?

How many years of experience? In DC?

[Anonymous]

As long as your wife is making minimum wage or higher, she's not going to get a raise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Odd, OP. My husband works for a university in a manager-level that sounds similar to your wife, but makes almost $70K. Sounds like your wife has not been working hard enough to warrant promotions and raises.

Probably it’s sexism in pay differences, or maybe they are in a lower cost area.

[Anonymous]

Pos are being pains in the ass with their responses. When local governments and economists attempt to predict the costs of minimum wage increases, they absolutely take into account that those making a bit above min wage will also get corresponding increases. This is a good thing! economists expect that economies are generally able to absorb the vast majority of these extra costs, because of the rising tide theory (when you improve the lot of workers, the lot of the economy as a whole improves).

That said, who the hell knows what your wife is entitled to. Just like any other compensation adjustments, she'll need to justify why she is worth more to her employer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I can't give you a precise number...but if the point you are trying to make is that increasing the minimum wage will also result in an increase in wages for non-minimum wage low- and middle-income workers, you are correct. That's another good reason why Congress should raise the minimum wage!

Yeah, I don’t know why people are being so mean, assuming OP is not a troll. If the minimum wage went up to $150k/ year, DCUM would be freaking out demanding immediate raises.

[Anonymous]

Don’t be an ass. I have been to McDonald’s where people have unbelievable people skills, organizational skills etc.

I never graduated high school and make about 12x what your wife does, does that mean I have no skill?

[Anonymous]

Tell her to get a higher paying job! She may have a masters but it could be a masters in something that’s not valued. But if she loves her work then that’s an intangible that is difficult to value.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tell her to get a higher paying job! She may have a masters but it could be a masters in something that’s not valued. But if she loves her work then that’s an intangible that is difficult to value.

Or she could be book smart like most people with a masters that I know. Throw them in career situation outside of an educational setting and they are like a deer in headlights.

[Anonymous]

If your wife were worth more she'd make more..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think companies should pay a living wage. Why people feel like poor people should stay poor while CEOs remain rich as croesus is puzzling to me. (stolen from elsewhere) Jeff Bezos earns $150,000, pays warehouse workers $16/hr and you are mad with the poor soul packing boxes?

You people fail to grasp basic economics. An increase in minimum wage puts pressure on all pay. Do you all think the prices of goods and housing will remain the same? Of course not. If labor goes up prices go up and we all end up back in the same boat again. Of people can afford more house that's what they will do. It has the exact same impact low interest rates have had on housing the more money people can spend on housing the more they will. However it's not like housing conditions get any better as a result. Many people at this point are living in shit shacks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think companies should pay a living wage. Why people feel like poor people should stay poor while CEOs remain rich as croesus is puzzling to me. (stolen from elsewhere) Jeff Bezos earns $150,000, pays warehouse workers $16/hr and you are mad with the poor soul packing boxes?

You people fail to grasp basic economics. An increase in minimum wage puts pressure on all pay. Do you all think the prices of goods and housing will remain the same? Of course not. If labor goes up prices go up and we all end up back in the same boat again. Of people can afford more house that's what they will do. It has the exact same impact low interest rates have had on housing the more money people can spend on housing the more they will. However it's not like housing conditions get any better as a result. Many people at this point are living in shit shacks.

Of course this is exactly how it works. Even when the grumblings of a minimum wage increase in MoCo was coming through years ago, I sat on the board of a directors at a company where our hiring suddenly became more expensive and more difficult. The company was in an industry that pays relatively lower wages because many of the workers are not very skilled. But OPs argument was exactly what numerous potential hires and current employees kept saying - "eventually minimum wage is going to be $15 so I'm not working for $16." Keep in mind this was 2016 or so where the minimum wage was still around $11. So, it doesn't even actually require an ACTUAL increase in minimum wage to drive wages up and make hiring difficult at higher levels. I have a friend in another state where they are contemplating raising the minimum wage significantly. When they do so, he will be in a similar position as OPs wife. He coincidentally also works as university staff. He literally told me last year, "if I had known this is what would happen with minimum wage, I don't think I ever would have gone to college." The absurd increase in the minimum wage is going to have a variety of unintended negative consequences. That's not to say there won't also be positive consequences - of course it's good that somebody can work a job and afford food and rent. But, the question is, how long will it take for that person to be replaced by an LCD touch screen or a computer? As for me, yes, I do think that if I was making 10 times what the janitors were and now I will only be making 5 times what the janitors are, yes I also expect a raise. Sorry that's just life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think companies should pay a living wage. Why people feel like poor people should stay poor while CEOs remain rich as croesus is puzzling to me. (stolen from elsewhere) Jeff Bezos earns $150,000, pays warehouse workers $16/hr and you are mad with the poor soul packing boxes?

You people fail to grasp basic economics. An increase in minimum wage puts pressure on all pay. Do you all think the prices of goods and housing will remain the same? Of course not. If labor goes up prices go up and we all end up back in the same boat again. Of people can afford more house that's what they will do. It has the exact same impact low interest rates have had on housing the more money people can spend on housing the more they will. However it's not like housing conditions get any better as a result. Many people at this point are living in shit shacks.

Why waste time arguing with people who don't understand? Just invest into inflation proofed assets and let the (inevitable) cycle unfold.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think companies should pay a living wage. Why people feel like poor people should stay poor while CEOs remain rich as croesus is puzzling to me. (stolen from elsewhere) Jeff Bezos earns $150,000, pays warehouse workers $16/hr and you are mad with the poor soul packing boxes?

You people fail to grasp basic economics. An increase in minimum wage puts pressure on all pay. Do you all think the prices of goods and housing will remain the same? Of course not. If labor goes up prices go up and we all end up back in the same boat again. Of people can afford more house that's what they will do. It has the exact same impact low interest rates have had on housing the more money people can spend on housing the more they will. However it's not like housing conditions get any better as a result. Many people at this point are living in shit shacks.

So the minimum wage is need supposed to increase???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pos are being pains in the ass with their responses. When local governments and economists attempt to predict the costs of minimum wage increases, they absolutely take into account that those making a bit above min wage will also get corresponding increases. This is a good thing! economists expect that economies are generally able to absorb the vast majority of these extra costs, because of the rising tide theory (when you improve the lot of workers, the lot of the economy as a whole improves).

Great, so why stop at $15. How about making it $30/hr instead, if raising the minimum wage has few negative effects?

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t bargain based on the assumption the minimum wage will be $15 nationwide until the legislation actually gets passed. A good number of provisions in the proposed stimulus won’t be in the final version.