Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee is defending her call for a $50 federal minimum wage, more than six times what the current federal minimum wage is in the United States.
That's the livable wage now in California. CEOs in America make too much and give too little to their employees. Just look at how much the CEOs of Toyota, Honda and the German car brands make compared to the American car CEOs. There's no reason they make that much and make a vastly inferior product compared to their foreign rivals.
Except the employees in those companies aren’t minimum wage. It’s the mom and pop stores that hire minimum wage and there is no way they can survive if they have to pay $50 per hour. It’s all the small businesses that suffer
50x40=2000x52=104 grand a year. Which is the minimum you need to live in half of California now. It's not West Virginia where you can still buy a house under 6 figures. If a business doesn't want to pay their workers a livable wage they shouldn't be in business.
It is actually an idea whose time has come. You may laugh and big business won’t let it happen but it is not a laughable idea. But it would have to gradually, maybe over 5 years or so, ascend to $50 an hour.
I make 23.40 an hour in California and work 50-60 hour weeks and I’m doing just fine. Many of you will accuse me of being a “wagecuck” for working so much, but the reality is that if you want to be able to afford things you need to stop being so addicted to your “free time” and put in a little extra effort. 40 hours a week is not a lot. Almost nobody does anything useful with the time they spend outside of work. It is time that they spend consuming products and services, nothing more.
There are proven socialists ideas that do not distort a nations economy too much:
* High speed rail connecting all cities in a country over 1/2 million population;
* Rail service, subway or elevated rail within all cities over 1/2 million population;
* Tuition free education;
* Government sponsored healthcare for all.
There are other good ideas but minimum wage is not one. I argued on here with a self-titled PhD economist over four years ago regarding minimum wage. Self-titled PhD economist was pro-minimum wage. Before, Fight for $15, increases in minimum wage have been slight so previous minimum wage increases have been less harmless. As we know, the minimum wage is not officially $15, but the majority of U.S. citizen refuse to work for less than $15/hour.
* Hotel prices have gone on up way more than rate of inflation.
* Unless one lives in a rent controlled apartment, what is stopping landlords from doubling rent?
* Increase cost of services have made increases in minimum wage worthless. Labor cost for all manufacturers went up significantly.
*** Unions are behind increase in minimum wage agenda.
Increase minimum wage, all types of nurses from nurse assistant, to l.p.n. to r.n. all get a pay bump.
Increase minimum wage, all levels of law enforcement demand a pay increase.
Name a union job with U.S. citizens who are fluent in English, all union workers fluent in English will demand huge wage increases.
That's the livable wage now in California. CEOs in America make too much and give too little to their employees. Just look at how much the CEOs of Toyota, Honda and the German car brands make compared to the American car CEOs. There's no reason they make that much and make a vastly inferior product compared to their foreign rivals.
Except the employees in those companies aren’t minimum wage. It’s the mom and pop stores that hire minimum wage and there is no way they can survive if they have to pay $50 per hour. It’s all the small businesses that suffer
This is a good example of how the middle class sides with the elite instead of the poor and screw themselves over.
The elite eats up mom and pop stores and easily out competes them. But instead of these small businesses siding against them, they side against their workers.
I taught Econ a couple years ago. I gave the class my living situation in 1980 and had them research to duplicate it in 3 cities in the country (ours and any two they might want to live in).
They determined that to duplicate that minimum wage would have to be $30 an hour today.
And that doesn't include that I paid cash (literally cash) for two classes at the local State University.