Does it bother you that the Congress have given themselves $30,000 in wage increases since they last increased

Question

the min. wage? It sure bothers me.

Well the Congress gives themselves raises for nothing.

And if the minimum wage will increase...your salary will inevitable increase eventually b/c the base has risen, duh....

And people who work for low wages don't do nothing..my guess is they work harder than you do. They probably aren't even on this site right now...they are too busy working two/three jobs to support their families...

Answer 1

what good does the increase in min wage do? the cost will be passed on to the consumers which puts the people back in min wage in the same boat. I agree raises for govt is wrong but the whole Idea of min wage is outdated. Simple economics shows this is a sick cycle that has to stop.

Answer 2

The minimum wage is not supposed to be a living wage it is supposed to be a learners wage. However too many businesses use that as their starting wage. What really bothers me is the increase in congressional wages. This year congress will be in session 97 days That is just over 3 months and for this 1/4 of a year they will receive their full salary. Why do you think that they all want to stay in congress forever? By the way the person who said it will change because the dems are again in power did not take into consideration that the republicans have only held both houses for 8 years and it has been 10 since the minimum wage went up. The dems also did not turn down their wage increases. I wish I earned 30,000 a year and I make more than minimum. How would you like to earn more than $130,000 a year and only have to work 3 months?

Answer 3

Yes, but also consider that their raises are automatic unless they vote against them. There's certainly a conflict of interest in congress approving their own pay raises.

So to Sway's point above, they get something for doing nothing. They are not paid for performance like many of us are in the private sector and their "performance appraisal" basically happens at every election.

That said, given what they do (run our country), their salaris are not exhorbitant-- like 150k/year. And even tho they may only be in session for 100 or so days this year. They are working other areas in the home states etc.

At this point, it doesn't matter much since many States have basically bypassed congress and are voting in their own min. wage laws. Here in Arizona, normally a conservative republican state, the Minimum wage proposition passed.

The percentage of the working force making min, wage is relatively small -- around 5-6% if I remember correctly. And the majority are relatively young (under 24)... again from memory.

Answer 4

Not at all. Congressional figures are not at the beginning of their career. One expects and deserves increases commiserate with the experience level and skill set.

Minimum wage earners (if there are any) do not stay at minimum wage. They progress.

And I don't really believe there are many legal, able bodied citizens working for minimum wage. If they are illegal, why should we have a law on how much we pay them? They obviously don't respect laws anyway.

McDonald's starts at $7.50 per hour, for crying out loud, with increases after 30 and 90 days.

Perhaps you don't care to follow up, but the people pushing for higher minimum wages are often the unions. The members of these unions do not work for minimum wage, often they get $25, 30 or more per hour.

But that rate is based on the minimum wage. If minimum goes up, their wages go up, OVER AND ABOVE the cost of living increases generally found in their contracts.

I'd probably try to appeal to the masses on behalf of the poor, unfortunate, (non-existent) people working for minimum wage too if I could get more.

Except that everything would go up in price because the union labor went up, then I couldn't afford things anyway, so I'd have to fight for a minimum wage increase..........even though no one is still making minimum wage...........

The market controls the wages, get rid of the minimum.

Enough said!

Answer 5

No, because I don't work for minimum wage. So I really don't care. If they want to raise the min wage, fine - but it won't put more money in my pocket, since I already work for well above min wage.

Love jack

PS Austingirl - I used to work for minimum wage - TRUST ME - minimum wage workers do NOT work that hard. Would YOU, for 7 bucks an hour???

However, I DID work hard when I worked for crap money. And that is the reason that today, I DON'T work for minimum wage. Those who work hard WILL get better jobs - the slack a*sses will stay stuck there - as they deserve.

Answer 6

Nope, I dont make minimum wage and I do not expect raises for nothing.

I guess I should explain my answer better - I did not mean that people who make minimum wage dont do anything, what i meant was employers have the right to give raises to those who deserve it. Minimum wage workers have every right to work for raises and/or acquire skills to make more money. And no, my wages wont go up if minimum wage does, I will just have to pay more out for goods and services of businesses that pay minimum wage to their workers. If peopl want the raises congress gets, then get into politics. period.

Answer 7

A bit hypocritical, eh! Min wage increase should happen now that Congress is no longer held by the "for the ultra rich only" party.

Answer 8

I wish my salary would increase by $30,000 and only really have to work 97 days a year.

Answer 9

Why do you think they campaign so hard to get in there? It's not because they want to fight for us. That goes for all politicians, not just congress.