Raising minimum wage won't raise YOUR pay -- if you're already making more than $15/hr

Other people. Sometimes it's OK to consider the well being of others.

Correct.... that's why they deserve to have opportunity to move-up and get jobs that are not minumum wage... Raising min wage does not really address that.... And some pushers of the $15/hr minimum wage pretty much want that to be the typical pinnacle of an expanding underclass....

Thanks but no thanks. Don't do me any favors.

Every time minimum wages go up, costs go up , jobs go down, taxes you pay go up, and realistically our dollar is worth about 10 cents today as to what it once was, so you are being truly mislead by the government. If the US Dollar was worth something like it used to be Bread would be 50 cents a loaf and gasoline would be 30 cents a gallon and minimum wages would give you a fairly decent life! That all went away when we left the gold and silver standard backing our Dollar.

Somebody has never studied economics.

But it's never too late to learn; if it DID end up raising everyone's pay, would it increase 'real' wages (adjusted for inflation)... http://thesovereigninvestor.com/us-economy/why-raising-the-minimum-wage-will-increase-inflation/ ... http://www.valuesandcapitalism.com/what-actually-happens-when-you-raise-the-minimum-wage/

Meaning that it will start raising wages & the standard of living, on average, when it all starts falling out.

...Minimum wages, then, are an important piece of the policy toolkit affecting wage inequality and boosting stagnant wages at the bottom of the wage ladder. Improving middle-class wages will require other strategies..." http://equitablegrowth.org/research-analysis/raising-minimum-wage-ripples-workforce/

From studies, it's only part of the solution, but a good start I think. But the process takes a while & Americans want to see very quick results. Much like Obamacare, imho, when it's not being sabotaged.

I hope it's not like Obamacare.... that's not too good

Obamacare has its problems, but it gets sabotaged, so I just disagree. No problem.

I could not get insurance -- and then got an IRS fine for having no insurance.... was UNINSURED under it for 16 months.... that's my lousy experience....

That is not the only lousy experience I've heard, but I have heard some good experiences. Plus different states have different rules.

sabotaged?....

Well, that's the liberal side. I'm a moderate & I agree. You could look it up. The Red States seem to have done worse. At one time in the 90's universal healthcare was proposed by Republicans, too. There's a lot of history.

42% of America's work force makes less than $15/hr, with a large percentage being women and minorities.

The misunderstanding with the minimum wage is that employers are under the mistaken belief, and have lobbied heavily against raising it, because they think it is the absolute lowest amount they can legally pay their workers.

The minimum wage was set up to provide a worker a wage that s/he could survive on with 40 hours worth of work.

Today, employers cut costs on those employees that actually produce the profits. First, as mentioned, they lobby extensively to fight a raise in minimum wage. Then they cut hours so they don't have to pay benefits to those employees. Guess who gets to subsidize those part timers?

As foriving up, those jobs are rare in many companies, usually going to someone with an in with human resources.

So why don't minimum wage workers move on to better paying jobs in other fields? Many lack the skill sets for jobs in manufacturing or construction. Finance! Again, it's more of who you know. A kid in the ghetto has as much chance of developing connections with high rollers in investing. Closest he may come is a friend of his won $100 on a scratch off lottery ticket.

And let us not forget the recession roller coaster. The longer you're out if work during a recession, the harder it is to find a job. The unemployment right now is the lowest it's been in decades, but it doesn't reflect underemployment. That's the folks that took anything to go back to work.

A living wage does not include things like cell phones, internet service and cable. This is because these are not required to live.

The next time you hear someone complaining that they don't earn enough, ask if they have a cell phone. Exactly how much food can you buy with one month of cell service?

There is a difference between being unable to earn a living wage and having poor money management skills.

How do you figure poor money management skills? Since I went on disability, I make about the same as a minimum wage worker that works 40 hours a week. On second thought, I actually make more because I don't have income taxes taken out (this includes Social Security & Medicare) my big "luxury" is my cell phone. $45 a month that I use to keep connected with the world, by today's standards is not a luxury, but a necessity. I'm considered "poverty" level, but don't qualify for assistance programs because I make too much. Go figure.

Still, I manage, and at the end of the month, I may have an extra dollar or two.

Roughly half of my income goes to household expenses: rent, utilities, cellphone, no cable. Other half goes to food, automobile expenses (public transportation here is poor, cab service is worse) insurance, medical costs, and the occasional rare treat, meal at Subway. I try to do that a couple times a year.

The problem is that employers are not paying livable wages. I'm in better shape than most folks, as it's just me and my 2 cats. I pity young people today.

Nice work. I see so many people eking out a living, stuck in a deep rut.

Now you see why.

Oh, we've been there at times. Worst car in huge parking lots, etc. as recently as 2004 my wife & I lived in a 1956 mobile about 8' by 36' which was junked soon after we moved out. And with a zero net worth due to debts, trying to get her a job. But not as bad off as you are. I hope somehow your situation gets better, I hate to see disabled people live badly & then sometimes treated like they're just lazy.

I have no problem. Internet keeps my brain alive. I grew up poor, so this is a step up.

The problem right now is having skills that could return me to the job market, but age with disability make it difficult.

And I have imgflip going for me, so that's kinda nice.

I'm surprised by the figure of 42% but it appears to be correct.... Wow, we're in worse shape than I thought..... Then, if that's true, if miniumum wage is rasied to $15/hr, it most certainly will affect the economy --- it may likely cause some inflation; it might unduly burden smaller businesses (which might be partly a happy thing for Globalists).... Surely if $15 then ends up being worth $7.50, you can see how the net result will be nothing....

The problem isn't inflation, but something called stagflation. Prices continually go up, but when wages remain flat, it becomes Rob Peter to pay Paul.

I got my first job @14 washing dishes in a diner. Minimum wage was $1.60/ hour. (1972) but back then, for a kid, that was good money. What I put into the household pot really helped and I still had money to get things I didn't have before: new clothes as opposed to Goodwill, books, school supplies, etc.

Minimum wage went up, but slowly. As it didn't go up, neither did wages in higher paying jobs. Stagflation set in in 1973.

The Arab Oil Embargo set the economic scene for the next four decades. Workers in high paying jobs were basically forced to take pay cuts just to keep working. Never heard of CEOs taking one during that time period. That's why their income growth has gone up so much vs the average worker.

Prices are going to go up no matter what. If consumers don't have the income to purchase goods, though, we're all screwed.

You know what I think did me a lot of good in 1972? My first job working in Iowa corn 12 hours a day at age 15. It was learn to work, or quit. Kids need that imo, at least early in their life if they are able. But years do tend to wear a body out.

Strewth. I was delivering newspapers before I could read. Did that and lemonade stands for years. Yard work, and so on. Things limited for city kids.

We moved to rural Indiana just before I turned 10, landed work picking apples at a local orchard. Next year I was picking cucumbers.

My ex could have used some of that Iowa work ethic (she's from Boone) but she wanted everything handed to her. The first thing she had to do after she kicked me out was go get a job.

I went to high school in Cedar Rapids, moved around a lot.

Data from the Department of Labor shows that most employers slide the pay scale up for their hourly employees whenever there's a minimum wage hike. The salaried workers tend to get laid off or take a pay cut.

I'm not going to lie, if you get paid a salary, you're probably better off in the short term electing officials who are more fiscally conservative. In the long run, however, you risk inflicting irreparable damage upon the American economy.

I don't trust the Dept of Labor -- they're always gonna post a rosy picture...... Don't ya just love when a certain person comes on TV and touts a phony 5% unemployment figure (that doesn't take into account 95 million leaving workforce), claiming to have 'created' millions of jobs (not concerned that majority of those jobs are lower-level, and/or part-time)....