Reply to Minimum Wage = Living Wage?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]This is an interesting thread and good points made on both sides.  I do think that people tend to argue the extremes on issues like this.  Nevertheless, I DO think it is beyond terrible that the US company with the most overall revenue and billionaire owners (and shareholders) has FULL time employees who still need public assistance to get by.  
 [/quote]

I arrived in the US as an immigrant and made very little money when I started. I had to support a wife and child. I never relied on public assistance but what I did do was to work a second job to make ends meet. We also had to be very careful how we spent money. In the first year I was in the country, the only treat we had was a Sunday lunch at McDonald. I am grateful for all I have but it was by virtue of sheer hard work.

Today we are quite well-off by most standards but it was through hard work and gaining job skills. I really don't understand this discussion in which people feel they are entitled to a "living" wage when they don't have the skills to earn a "living" wage. People should go out and work the extra hours and get the necessary education to make a decent living. Neither the government nor any employer owes anyone a living.[/quote]

No offense, but you a treading on thin ice with your arguement.  You are buying into "some" people's belief that everybody that is poor is not working hard or is lazy.

In my view, society (and the government) had made the decision that people in this country (especially children) should not starve. It is a policy decision that I fully support.  As you know, the taxpayers foot the bill for this.  Once again, I do not have a problem with it - if we can bail out banks - we can help people eat.  My point is that while I am ok with public assistance on some level, I think we should pay people sufficently so that they do not need it (or as much). It seems to me that a lot of the burden of supporting the working poor has fallen on the government and the taxpayers instead of the people that employ them (and exploit their labor).  Pay a fair wage, reduce the public assistance rolls, lower my taxes which leaves me with more money to spend at your business.   [/quote]

The relevant point about PP's story is that it is possible for people to start at the lowest rung and move up with effort and dedication. Admittedly, this is just one person's experience but it is interesting how many immigrants to the US end up doing well as do their children.  Is there a lesson in their success for those of us who have been here for several generations?

Reading the comments of various posters, if we went the route they are suggesting, we'd end up being like Europe with the expectation that if people are wanting either employers or the government should fill the gap. It has not done Europe any good and it will not be good for the US.

Yes, wrongdoing by those working for companies should be severely punished and it is a crying shame that the bank meltdown has caused hardly anyone to be held accountable, but I don't think it should be used as an excuse for subsidizing those who are not willing to work to be self-sufficient.[/quote]

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