welfare vs wages

[jms62]

D.C. awash in contracts, lobbying wealth : Stltoday
http://www.stltoday.com/news/nationa...d3186a960.html

[jms62]

.... the definition of Chutzpah ...

Wal-Mart Asks Customers To Donate Food To Its Needy Employees

http://www.businessinsider.com/walma...e-food-2013-11

[joeydb]

Originally Posted by jms62

.... the definition of Chutzpah ...

Wal-Mart Asks Customers To Donate Food To Its Needy Employees

http://www.businessinsider.com/walma...e-food-2013-11

That really is crazy.

[dellinger63]

Originally Posted by jms62

.... the definition of Chutzpah ...

Wal-Mart Asks Customers To Donate Food To Its Needy Employees

http://www.businessinsider.com/walma...e-food-2013-11

The original version of this story stated that Wal-Mart was asking customers to donate food. The food drive is actually among employees.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by jms62

.... the definition of Chutzpah ...

Wal-Mart Asks Customers To Donate Food To Its Needy Employees

http://www.businessinsider.com/walma...e-food-2013-11

that's what i'd linked to a couple posts back, slate had an article on it.

it is ridiculous that workers in this country need help. there's no excuse for it, other than corporate greed, with millions going to those at the very top of the company food chain, while many at the bottom have to get assistance from the govt (taxpayers). and that's no excuse at all-it's an explanation as to why.
the govt, who doles out subsidies to many of these businesses, and has been put on the hook by the same to subsidize employees, must take immediate action. raise the minimum wage back to where it used to be, at a level that keeps people above the poverty line like it did before!

[jms62]

Originally Posted by Danzig

that's what i'd linked to a couple posts back, slate had an article on it.

it is ridiculous that workers in this country need help. there's no excuse for it, other than corporate greed, with millions going to those at the very top of the company food chain, while many at the bottom have to get assistance from the govt (taxpayers). and that's no excuse at all-it's an explanation as to why.
the govt, who doles out subsidies to many of these businesses, and has been put on the hook by the same to subsidize employees, must take immediate action. raise the minimum wage back to where it used to be, at a level that keeps people above the poverty line like it did before!

Yet the brainwashed slaves defend the slave masters.

[joeydb]

Originally Posted by jms62

Yet the brainwashed slaves defend the slave masters.

Obamabots defending the Democrats?

[jms62]

Originally Posted by joeydb

Obamabots defending the Democrats?

No the neverwillbe's defending the 1%.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by joeydb

Obamabots defending the Democrats?

criticisms of something doesn't automatically equal defense of something else. it's not an either/or. i'm sorry you can't learn that, or refuse to accept it.


there is NO reason why, in this land of abundance, anyone who works should be needing govt handouts because their wage is lower than it ought to be.
corporations receive tax breaks, have tax shelters, get subsidized, announce record profits, pay their fat cat upper level management millions, but can't pay an adequate wage.
too many ebenezers, too many bob cratchits. and all of us in the middle support both thru our tax dollars.

[Rudeboyelvis]

Originally Posted by Danzig

criticisms of something doesn't automatically equal defense of something else. it's not an either/or. i'm sorry you can't learn that, or refuse to accept it.


there is NO reason why, in this land of abundance, anyone who works should be needing govt handouts because their wage is lower than it ought to be.
corporations receive tax breaks, have tax shelters, get subsidized, announce record profits, pay their fat cat upper level management millions, but can't pay an adequate wage.
too many ebenezers, too many bob cratchits. and all of us in the middle support both thru our tax dollars.

God save my soul - I'm actually agreeing with Joey and Dell


Zig, I'm seeing this as a realtively simplistic view. In principle, yes the appearance in this story is that the working poor need handouts in order to feed their families.

But to stand back an look objectively at the circumstance, I see a larger issue, and one that feeds directly into this entitlement culture which we've found ourselves in.

When we were coming up, after HS you either went to college, learned a trade, or went to work. there were generations upon generations of Detrioters born with a umbilical cord tied to the pension funds of GM, Ford, Chrysler. They were not going to school, they knew they could graduate and get a lifetime job with great benefits on the line. they would not live in a mansion, but would do just fine, so long as they kept their nose clean. It was there for them. The same way with trade Unions, and of course college grads.

Who worked in department/grocery stores/fast food restaurants? High schoolers, retirees, etc. Those jobs were and still are unskilled part time jobs for the most part. No one ever thought in a million years that running a cash register was a "career option", with beneifts and a wage capable of supporting a household.

Fast forward 30 years, and now look. Not only are people being praised for working at Walmart, but they are expecting to get paid like they're actually providing a skilled service to the community. Maybe the guaranteed lifetime employment opportunities are no longer around in abundance like they were back then, but you still need to apply yourself in order to enjoy a lifestyle you wish to live.

An electrician, for example, who graduated high school and went to trade school and work his way up as an apprentice shouldn't have to pay 10.00 for a Big Mac just because the HS drop out fry cook needs to make the same living wage as he to support a family.

I'm sure the guidance counselor at school never advised them that a Greeter at Walmart is a solid career choice.

These are, by and large, personal decisions that people make with respect to how they are choosing to live their lives. You do not have the right to pop out 4 kids and expect your cash register job to front the bill for it. So when you do, expect to go to the food bank to feed yourself, and stop blaming your employer.

[Danzig]

Raising the minimum wage as a tool for economic growth
The immediate benefits of a minimum-wage increase are in the boosted earnings of the lowest-paid workers, but its positive effects would far exceed this extra income. Recent research reveals that, despite skeptics’ claims, raising the minimum wage does not cause job loss.6 In fact, throughout the nation, a minimum-wage increase under current labor market conditions would create jobs. Like unemployment insurance benefits or tax breaks for low- and middle-income workers, raising the minimum wage puts more money in the pockets of working families when they need it most, thereby augmenting their spending power. Economists generally recognize that low-wage workers are more likely than any other income group to spend any extra earnings immediately on previously unaffordable basic needs or services.

Increasing the federal minimum wage to $10.10 by July 1, 2015, would give an additional $51.5 billion over the phase-in period to directly and indirectly affected workers,7 who would, in turn, spend those extra earnings. Indirectly affected workers—those earning close to, but still above, the proposed new minimum wage—would likely receive a boost in earnings due to the “spillover” effect (Shierholz 2009), giving them more to spend on necessities.

This projected rise in consumer spending is critical to any recovery, especially when weak consumer demand is one of the most significant factors holding back new hiring (Izzo 2011).8 Though the stimulus from a minimum-wage increase is smaller than the boost created by, for example, unemployment insurance benefits, it has the crucial advantage of not imposing costs on the public sector.

Assessing the economic benefits of a minimum-wage increase
Showing that raising the minimum wage would be a tool for modest job creation requires an examination of the stimulative effects of minimum-wage increases. Because minimum-wage increases come from employers, we must construct a “minimum-wage increase multiplier” that takes into account the increase in compensation to low-wage workers and the decrease in corporate profits that both occur as a result of minimum-wage increases. Raising the minimum wage means shifting profits from an entity (the employer) that is much less likely to spend immediately to one (the low-wage worker) that is more likely to spend immediately. Thus, increasing the minimum wage stimulates demand for goods and services, leading employers in the broader economy to bring on new staff to keep up with this increased demand.When economists analyze the net economic stimulus effect of policy proposals (e.g., tax rate changes that boost income for some and reduce it for others), they use a set of widely accepted fiscal multipliers to calculate the total increase in economic activity due to a particular increase in spending. In applying these multipliers, economists generally recognize a direct relationship between increased economic activity and job creation. This analysis assumes that a $115,000 increase in economic activity results in the creation of one new full-time-equivalent job in the current economy.9

Using these same standard fiscal multipliers to analyze the jobs impact of an increase in compensation of low-wage workers and decrease in corporate profits that result from a minimum-wage increase, we find that increasing the national minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour by July 1, 2015, would result in a net increase in economic activity of approximately $32.6 billion over the phase-in period, and over that period would generate approximately 140,000 new jobs (see Appendix for methodological details).10 In fact, the hike in the federal minimum wage would create jobs in every state, as seen in Appendix Table 1. (Detailed state-level breakdowns of the demographics of workers who would be affected by the increase—and the degree to which the wages of various types of workers would rise—are available here.) Though the resulting employment impact is modest in the context of the millions of workers currently unemployed nationwide, creating tens of thousands of jobs would be a step in the right direction and would boost the economy.

The benefits of a minimum-wage increase in a weak labor market
Examining the positive effects of a minimum-wage increase leads to an overarching discussion of the economic case for increasing the earnings of the lowest-paid workers while the labor market is weak. In the current economic climate, nearly everything is pushing against wage growth. With 3.4 unemployed workers for each job opening (Shierholz 2013), employers do not have to offer substantial wages to hire the workers they need, nor do they have to pay substantial wage increases to retain workers. Indeed, between 2009 (when the last minimum-wage increase took place) and 2011 (the most recent year for which data are available), nearly every state experienced wage erosion at the 20th percentile (according to an analysis of Current Population Survey data).

Even conservative economists suggest higher wages might help speed the recovery. American Enterprise Institute scholar Desmond Lachman, a former managing director at Salomon Smith Barney, told The New York Times, “Corporations are taking huge advantage of the slack in the labor market—they are in a very strong position and workers are in a very weak position. They are using that bargaining power to cut benefits and wages, and to shorten hours.” According to Lachman, that strategy “very much jeopardizes our chances of experiencing a real recovery” (Powell 2011).

Furthermore, the national unemployment rate currently stands at 7.7 percent and is not expected to return to prerecession levels for several years. Considering the past year’s sluggish job growth rate, a minimum-wage increase that creates about 140,000 net new jobs would help strengthen the recovery.Conclusion
The multiple positive effects that would result from a higher minimum wage are clear: It would boost the earnings of working families hardest hit by the Great Recession, spur economic growth, and create about 140,000 net new jobs. In an economic climate in which wage increases for the most vulnerable workers are scarce, raising the minimum wage to $10.10 by July 1, 2015, is an opportunity that America’s working families cannot afford to lose.

[Rudeboyelvis]

I'm trembling at the thought that we are witnessing the reincarnation of Riot.

You keep quoting the same flawed labor-union sponsored, labor-union paid for study. It is complete biased crap that says only what the labor unions want it to say. Common sense dictates that an imposed rise in labor costs will be passed on to the consumers - If corporations thought they would increase profit by paying higher minimum wages, do you honestly think they wouldn't? Do you honestly believe that they do not have economists staffed to determine precisely what wage scale would generate the most return on investment? To assume that Employers are either too naive or short-sighted to see how great/profitable their companies would operate if they paid unskilled labor higher wages - is ironically naive and short-sighted.

Economic Policy Institute:

EPI advocates for low- to moderate-income families in the United States. EPI also assesses current economic policies and proposes new policies that EPI believes will protect and improve the living standards of working families.

that doesn't make them bad, it just makes them biased.

Funding:

Eight labor unions made a five-year funding pledge to EPI at its inception: AFSCME, United Auto Workers, United Steelworkers, United Mine Workers, International Association of Machinists, Communications Workers of America, Service Employees International Union, and United Food and Commercial Workers Union.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_Policy_Institute

It's disingenuous to keep cutting and pasting quips from this document like it is some sort of "independent" study.

Free markets cannot survive when employers are coerced and strong-armed into paying higher than market-priced wages for unskilled labor. Instead of encouraging this behavior, perhaps these folks clamoring to be overpaid might be better served to be encouraged to take accountability for themselves instead. That's the way it used to work at least.

[dellinger63]

Why let the correction of the story get in the way?