Does any conservative care that America has the lowest minimum wage of any industrialized nation?

Question

America is the richest nation in the world, yet we only pay only workers a minimum wage of $5.15 an hour! no other industrialized nation in the world pays so low. France pays approximately $10.80 an hour (and yes, thats in american dollars,) ireland pays $11.25, the United Kingdom pays $10.00. does this not bother anybody? why are we so low? and dont say it will ruin our economy. none of those countries listed above have low standards of living or high levels of poverty. dont you think its just greedy, corporate america that doesnt want to lose some of their billions of dollars worth of profit?

do you people honestly think that companies pay illegals minimum wage?

Answer 1

Many states do have their own minimum wage increases. Here in Washington, it was just raised again to $7.90. And like you mentioned about the other countries, our state economy is doing fine. I think it is mostly because they simply don't care if people get paid more or not.

Answer 2

First the United states enjoys the highest standard of living in the world. Second your post ignores basic economic realities. In order to properly address any wage differences between countries you also need to address the tax burden and cost of goods and services. In both instances if you compare any of the countries you mentioned to the United States they will come up short. It is easy to seize on one number to make a weak case, but for real comparison you have to address all of the numbers. Here is a simple fact. Increases in minimum wage are accompanied by increases in the cost of goods and services as well as reductions in new job creation. Sure you can get paid 10 dollars an hour minimum wage, but how does that benefit you if you have to pay 4 dollars for a loaf of bread? Companies will not just absorb extra costs of doing business, they instead pass it along to the consumer. Minimum wage is not designed to be a living wage and never was. It was designed to set a minimum standard for workers entering the workforce. I agree with a previous poster that if you are an adult over 25 and you are working for minimum wage, you lack either job skills or the ability to stick with a job long enough to advance.

Answer 3

A better question to ask is why must people settle for minimum wage?

While I do agree that the minimum wage is quite low and does not completely cover the cost of living, one must realize that minimum wage should not be a goal.

Also, by increasing minimum wage, we would be defeating the purpose of promoting higher learning. People would see less benefit in going to school when they see that they can flat out make a "cool" ten dollars an hour flipping burgers for the rest of their life, with the amazing possibility of someday getting a promotion.

Rather than raise the minimum wage, money should continually be pumped into federal education reserves. This could give children a better understanding of the world around them. Also, more money for education could lessen the finances required to attend college, for those claiming that they do not "have enough money to go to college."

Answer 4

Have you ever heard of unemployment? This is what happens when you pay people more than what their labor is worth on the free market. All those countries you mentioned have chronic double-digit unemployment, a lower overall standard of living for the guy in the middle and no incentive for personal initiative.

Furthermore, all those countries you've just mentioned have spent the past 60 years mooching off of American money (Marshall Plan plus free military defense plus economic revenue generated by the military presence), so yes, they've been able to plow a lot of extra money into an artificially large welfare net that, by rights, would not otherwise be able to exist.

No, it wouldn't *ruin* our economy. It would just slow it to a snail's pace, put millions out of work and take America away from the cutting edge of today's international economy. To attribute smart fiscal policy to corporate greed is a fallacy.

Answer 5

Why do we need a federal minimum wage? We have 50 states, each with a distinct economy and standard of living. Why should an entry level worker in Mississippii have the same minimum wage as an entry level worker in NYC or Alaska?

There should be no federal minimum wage, each state should set it's own wage... or better yet, allow the free market economy to determine the value of a job. Right now several states already have minimum wages above the federal wage.

Answer 6

They do have higher levels of unemployment. Minimum wages get rid of the lower paying jobs. Before minimum wage you had many service jobs that disappeared once the minimum wage was started, many of those jobs were what kids & teens took as their first job. Now many kids cannot even find a job, look at the statistics for black teens & work.

The Corporations will always find a way to profit, if they don't they fail and disappear. It is the little people that pay for these failed social experiments

Answer 7

The lowest minimum wage should be... $0.00.

I fail to see how the Constitution gives the government any authority to dictate any terms of a private contract between a private employer and a citizen. They do not have the right.

There are significant and very real, with historical empirical evidence, that shows minimum wage laws have a negative impact on employment of low-skill workers. But when you morally preen about others' greed, you sound like a true believer, impervious to fact, reason, logic or evidence.

So, I'll not waste my time further.

Answer 8

Do you know anyone who works for minimum wage while trying to support a family? I doubt it. Very few companies actually pay minimum wage even to their new employees. You know who does pay minimum wage? Small business owners who can't really afford to pay someone $15/hour. Minimum wage should be abolished as it has very little to do with what corporations pay their employees. Learn about the law and learn who it affects and you might be able to come to the logical conclusion that a minimum wage only hurts small business owners, but I guess that's OK. Because God knows we don't want small businesses to succeed. Only major corporations. That's what minimum wage does, helps large corporations in their fight against small business. Yeah buddy, raise that min. wage. Raise it to $10/hour and watch the small business world crumble into nothingness. I like it.
And as the guy above me said, if you want to get paid more, make yourself worth more. Thanks and have a nice day.

Answer 9

I completely agree with you. Coporate America sucks, and it is greedy and keeps our people from making decent wages. However, I do think that with our high level of non-english speaking illegals working at McDonald's and other minimum wage jobs... I would not be comfortable increasing the minimum wage. The reason our wage is so low is because we're supporting so many aliens in our nation that we can't afford to pay our own, REAL citizens worth crap. =)

I think France, Ireland and UK pay that much because nobody really bothers illegally living there.

That's my opinion.

Answer 10

It is all relative to cost of living, though I believe just as you that the U.S. minimal wage is too low for the level of poverty and cost of living. France, Ireland and UK are more expensive. All of them have a higher valued dollar than the US. $10.00 an hour in the UK is ot the same as it is the US, it works out to $5.15 in British pounds.

Answer 11

Well France and the UK use currencys that are more valued than the US dollar. So do the conversion of 10 US dollars to UK pounds and then see what your purchasing power in the UK is.

Point being....the nominal rate of pay is relative.

And France is a mess right now with their economy...especially high rates unemployment...so maybe if their minimum wage was lower they could address that....so France is not the best example either.