Post by Luke on Nov 11, 2013 5:11:04 GMT -8
In order to fix the economy, we must first have a stable foundation from which it is to stand upon.
Presently, the base is unsteady at best. Unemployment is only a partial part of the problem. Far too many jobs are designated as "minimum wage" and swept aside. This is where the foundation must first be repaired.
In a discussion with my dad, a registered Republican for the last 30 years, he said, and I quote "Minimum wage isn't a Living Wage. Minimum wage is meant for part time positions, for individuals just entering the workplace, who are still in school or have other commitments." He then went on to explain just how many jobs in the US were Hourly, and how the majority of them were above minimum wage. His number for total Hourly jobs was around 3mil, with less than a quarter at minimum wage.
For those interested, here are statistics on this subject:
www.bls.gov/cps/minwage2011.htm
Dissection of the above statistics for 2011:
73.9 million Hourly jobs
3.8 million were at or Below the federal minimum wage
In as you can see, my dad was WAY off. Roughly a Quarter of all Americans are paid by the hour, and just over 1% of ALL Americans are paid at, or below, the minimum wage. I couldn't find any statistics to show just how many were paid just Over the federal minimum wage(as mandated by some states), however given its almost 5am when writing this, I will get back to it later.
Now, as I was saying; a Quarter of all Americans earn Hourly wages, and 1% are paid at or below the minimum wage. Thusly, they are the foundation that the economy is built from. The wages they earn are then put back into the local, and national, economy, boosting the stability and flow of cash overall.
Lets just start with the 3.8 million who earn at or below the $7.25 federal minimum wage. Lets assume that they all earn Exactly that, as the law mandates. Now, working 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, puts each of them earning $14,500 a year. Barely enough for rent and food for one or two people. For all 3.8 million, that's a grand total of $55,100,000,000; 55 Billion dollars, to which they are inputting into the economy just to survive. To say nothing of those jobs which are paid just Above minimum wage, for whatever reason.
Now, lets start an experiment: the minimum wage is now $10 even. Redo the numbers: $20,000 even, more than a third increase over the previous Yearly income of a minimum wage worker. For all 3.8 million, that grand total becomes 76,000,000,000; 76 billion, which is, again, flowing into the local and national economies, as these workers spend the money to survive.
Odds are, some of them are saving that extra money earned, But, very few have that luxury; there are credit cards, car payments, mortgages, other debts, and so on, to which will need to be taken care of. Also, coincidentally, that happens to improve the economy as well, because it improves Their financial stability, and enables them to spend in the future with less debt hanging over their head.
Now many have argued that this solution, raising the minimum wage, would mean employers would need to lay off workers, and the economy would tank. I argue that to prevent that from happening, we need to target companies, like Walmart, who intentionally keep their workers on a Part Time status in order to save a few bucks. Proposed legislation would be as follows: before lay-offs, or new hiring is considered, Existing employees classified as Part Time, or working less than 40 hours a week, be asked to increase their hours, in order to ensure a stable workplace and opportunity for stronger ties in the workplace.
Many have argued that this would choke small businesses, however the individual impact to each small business would be minimal, because they wouldn't have nearly as many employees as giant companies, that employ hundreds or even thousands. Giant companies, which can very easily Afford the wage increase, in order to ensure future operations. If the naysayers insist this is still a bad thing, consider this: the employees of large corporations are also the consumers of those corporations, and dozens of others; if they do not pay their employees enough to be stable, and such practice isn't universal, their sales will suffer; they will need to make cuts to stay afloat, laying off people, their sales suffer even more, and the company spirals down into a bottomless pit.
Disagree? Post!
Presently, the base is unsteady at best. Unemployment is only a partial part of the problem. Far too many jobs are designated as "minimum wage" and swept aside. This is where the foundation must first be repaired.
In a discussion with my dad, a registered Republican for the last 30 years, he said, and I quote "Minimum wage isn't a Living Wage. Minimum wage is meant for part time positions, for individuals just entering the workplace, who are still in school or have other commitments." He then went on to explain just how many jobs in the US were Hourly, and how the majority of them were above minimum wage. His number for total Hourly jobs was around 3mil, with less than a quarter at minimum wage.
For those interested, here are statistics on this subject:
www.bls.gov/cps/minwage2011.htm
Dissection of the above statistics for 2011:
73.9 million Hourly jobs
3.8 million were at or Below the federal minimum wage
In as you can see, my dad was WAY off. Roughly a Quarter of all Americans are paid by the hour, and just over 1% of ALL Americans are paid at, or below, the minimum wage. I couldn't find any statistics to show just how many were paid just Over the federal minimum wage(as mandated by some states), however given its almost 5am when writing this, I will get back to it later.
Now, as I was saying; a Quarter of all Americans earn Hourly wages, and 1% are paid at or below the minimum wage. Thusly, they are the foundation that the economy is built from. The wages they earn are then put back into the local, and national, economy, boosting the stability and flow of cash overall.
Lets just start with the 3.8 million who earn at or below the $7.25 federal minimum wage. Lets assume that they all earn Exactly that, as the law mandates. Now, working 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, puts each of them earning $14,500 a year. Barely enough for rent and food for one or two people. For all 3.8 million, that's a grand total of $55,100,000,000; 55 Billion dollars, to which they are inputting into the economy just to survive. To say nothing of those jobs which are paid just Above minimum wage, for whatever reason.
Now, lets start an experiment: the minimum wage is now $10 even. Redo the numbers: $20,000 even, more than a third increase over the previous Yearly income of a minimum wage worker. For all 3.8 million, that grand total becomes 76,000,000,000; 76 billion, which is, again, flowing into the local and national economies, as these workers spend the money to survive.
Odds are, some of them are saving that extra money earned, But, very few have that luxury; there are credit cards, car payments, mortgages, other debts, and so on, to which will need to be taken care of. Also, coincidentally, that happens to improve the economy as well, because it improves Their financial stability, and enables them to spend in the future with less debt hanging over their head.
Now many have argued that this solution, raising the minimum wage, would mean employers would need to lay off workers, and the economy would tank. I argue that to prevent that from happening, we need to target companies, like Walmart, who intentionally keep their workers on a Part Time status in order to save a few bucks. Proposed legislation would be as follows: before lay-offs, or new hiring is considered, Existing employees classified as Part Time, or working less than 40 hours a week, be asked to increase their hours, in order to ensure a stable workplace and opportunity for stronger ties in the workplace.
Many have argued that this would choke small businesses, however the individual impact to each small business would be minimal, because they wouldn't have nearly as many employees as giant companies, that employ hundreds or even thousands. Giant companies, which can very easily Afford the wage increase, in order to ensure future operations. If the naysayers insist this is still a bad thing, consider this: the employees of large corporations are also the consumers of those corporations, and dozens of others; if they do not pay their employees enough to be stable, and such practice isn't universal, their sales will suffer; they will need to make cuts to stay afloat, laying off people, their sales suffer even more, and the company spirals down into a bottomless pit.
Disagree? Post!