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After this, America really needs to talk about wages and worker protections

D

Deuce

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I hope the country's workers pay attention during all this. For years, millions of people have been told they're just not worth fifteen measly bucks an hour. Now, suddenly, they're "essential employees." They're keeping grocery shelves stocked, keeping gas stations running, working drive-throughs and restaurant takeout counters. Obsessively cleaning and scrubbing all these establishments you insist that you just MUST walk around. All to keep you safe, fed, and happy. Placing themselves at greater risk to do it, by the way. That breaks down, civilization only lasts as long as the food in your pantry.

But right wingers in particular are steadfast in their beliefs that the free market should be left to provide. Well, it hasn't. These essential people are underpaid, they don't have enough PTO to handle situations like this, so they have no choice but to work. America is alone in the first world in lacking such basic worker protections as paid sick leave, maternity leave, etc. We lack the safety net of universal healthcare, many of these people getting laid off are losing health insurance. Nice time for that, eh? (and, let it be noted that I am absolutely not giving a pass to the lukewarm, useless "moderate" Democrats)

Amazon is asking the public for donations to fund extra sick leave for their employees. A trillion dollar company. They paid negative federal income taxes in 2018. The company is owned by the wealthiest man on the entire planet.

Young people in particular? You need to remember this in November. And every November. You're essential. This country falls apart without you. You deserve better. Make them do better. Or get the guillotines out. It's what the founding fathers would have wanted.

And don't get me started on the sacrifices that medical workers are being asked to make. How many of them are going to die because we just can't let the Dow ****ing Jones drop too low?
 
Deuce said:
I hope the country's workers pay attention during all this. For years, millions of people have been told they're just not worth fifteen measly bucks an hour. Now, suddenly, they're "essential employees." They're keeping grocery shelves stocked, keeping gas stations running, working drive-throughs and restaurant takeout counters. Obsessively cleaning and scrubbing all these establishments you insist that you just MUST walk around. All to keep you safe, fed, and happy. Placing themselves at greater risk to do it, by the way. That breaks down, civilization only lasts as long as the food in your pantry.

But right wingers in particular are steadfast in their beliefs that the free market should be left to provide. Well, it hasn't. These essential people are underpaid, they don't have enough PTO to handle situations like this, so they have no choice but to work. America is alone in the first world in lacking such basic worker protections as paid sick leave, maternity leave, etc. We lack the safety net of universal healthcare, many of these people getting laid off are losing health insurance. Nice time for that, eh? (and, let it be noted that I am absolutely not giving a pass to the lukewarm, useless "moderate" Democrats)

Amazon is asking the public for donations to fund extra sick leave for their employees. A trillion dollar company. They paid negative federal income taxes in 2018. The company is owned by the wealthiest man on the entire planet.

Young people in particular? You need to remember this in November. And every November. You're essential. This country falls apart without you. You deserve better. Make them do better. Or get the guillotines out. It's what the founding fathers would have wanted.

And don't get me started on the sacrifices that medical workers are being asked to make. How many of them are going to die because we just can't let the Dow ****ing Jones drop too low?
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“After this” will be by Easter, according to our Public Health Threat-in-Chief, Donald J. Trump. Until then, we need to prop-up the stock market, the airline industry (specifically Boeing), the cruise ship industry and other business before we pay any attention to “workers”.
 
Maybe we should be asking ourselves why paying for necessities should require working overtime, long commutes, etc. Shouldn't necessities be EASIER to come by as the nation grows wealthier?
 
Deuce said:
I hope the country's workers pay attention during all this. For years, millions of people have been told they're just not worth fifteen measly bucks an hour. Now, suddenly, they're "essential employees." They're keeping grocery shelves stocked, keeping gas stations running, working drive-throughs and restaurant takeout counters. Obsessively cleaning and scrubbing all these establishments you insist that you just MUST walk around. All to keep you safe, fed, and happy. Placing themselves at greater risk to do it, by the way. That breaks down, civilization only lasts as long as the food in your pantry.

But right wingers in particular are steadfast in their beliefs that the free market should be left to provide. Well, it hasn't. These essential people are underpaid, they don't have enough PTO to handle situations like this, so they have no choice but to work. America is alone in the first world in lacking such basic worker protections as paid sick leave, maternity leave, etc. We lack the safety net of universal healthcare, many of these people getting laid off are losing health insurance. Nice time for that, eh? (and, let it be noted that I am absolutely not giving a pass to the lukewarm, useless "moderate" Democrats)

Amazon is asking the public for donations to fund extra sick leave for their employees. A trillion dollar company. They paid negative federal income taxes in 2018. The company is owned by the wealthiest man on the entire planet.

Young people in particular? You need to remember this in November. And every November. You're essential. This country falls apart without you. You deserve better. Make them do better. Or get the guillotines out. It's what the founding fathers would have wanted.

And don't get me started on the sacrifices that medical workers are being asked to make. How many of them are going to die because we just can't let the Dow ****ing Jones drop too low?
Click to expand...

Most small mom and pop businesses can't afford to pay $15 per hour. That's what the country is mostly made of. That's what the left don't understand. They would rather have all small businesses go out of business, leaving only Walmart and the big ones left as a total monopoly that the left then want to control and make the demands they want to make. In other words, total socialism. Only one company in each industry, totally run or supervised by the government.
 
Moderate Right said:
Most small mom and pop businesses can't afford to pay $15 per hour. That's what the country is mostly made of. That's what the left don't understand. They would rather have all small businesses go out of business, leaving only Walmart and the big ones left as a total monopoly that the left then want to control and make the demands they want to make. In other words, total socialism. Only one company in each industry, totally run or supervised by the government.
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If they can't provide decent wages then they shouldn't exist.
 
phattonez said:
If they can't provide decent wages then they shouldn't exist.
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You just don't get it. Mom and pops can't afford to pay workers $15 per hour. They will pretty much all go out of business, leaving only the big names left. Walmart will be the only store of it's kind. McDonalds will be the only restaurant of it's kind. CVS will be the only pharmacy, etc etc. Is that what you lefties really want, only one business per industry that you can make demands on? That's where you're headed.
 
Moderate Right said:
You just don't get it. Mom and pops can't afford to pay workers $15 per hour. They will pretty much all go out of business, leaving only the big names left. Walmart will be the only store of it's kind. McDonalds will be the only restaurant of it's kind. CVS will be the only pharmacy, etc etc. Is that what you lefties really want, only one business per industry that you can make demands on? That's where you're headed.
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Plenty can and do. The ones that can't shouldn't exist.
 
Deuce said:
I hope the country's workers pay attention during all this. For years, millions of people have been told they're just not worth fifteen measly bucks an hour. Now, suddenly, they're "essential employees." They're keeping grocery shelves stocked, keeping gas stations running, working drive-throughs and restaurant takeout counters. Obsessively cleaning and scrubbing all these establishments you insist that you just MUST walk around. All to keep you safe, fed, and happy. Placing themselves at greater risk to do it, by the way. That breaks down, civilization only lasts as long as the food in your pantry.

But right wingers in particular are steadfast in their beliefs that the free market should be left to provide. Well, it hasn't. These essential people are underpaid, they don't have enough PTO to handle situations like this, so they have no choice but to work. America is alone in the first world in lacking such basic worker protections as paid sick leave, maternity leave, etc. We lack the safety net of universal healthcare, many of these people getting laid off are losing health insurance. Nice time for that, eh? (and, let it be noted that I am absolutely not giving a pass to the lukewarm, useless "moderate" Democrats)

Amazon is asking the public for donations to fund extra sick leave for their employees. A trillion dollar company. They paid negative federal income taxes in 2018. The company is owned by the wealthiest man on the entire planet.

Young people in particular? You need to remember this in November. And every November. You're essential. This country falls apart without you. You deserve better. Make them do better. Or get the guillotines out. It's what the founding fathers would have wanted.

And don't get me started on the sacrifices that medical workers are being asked to make. How many of them are going to die because we just can't let the Dow ****ing Jones drop too low?
Click to expand...

$15 per hour minimum wage wouldn't do ****, right now.
 
apdst said:
Only the large companies should be allowed to exist?
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Only large companies can pay decent wages? Citation needed.
 
Double minimum wage, watch the value of the dollar halve
 
phattonez said:
Plenty can and do. The ones that can't shouldn't exist.
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Plenty don't. Only a very few do. A very few. Your policies would drive 80% of businesses out of business. The only ones who would be left standing are the ones who already had deep pockets to begin with. You guys blast Walmart, McDonalds, Amazon, and some others nonstop but your policies would wipe out their competitors, leaving them the only ones standing. But, that is what you want. You want the weak to crumble so that we turn into a socialistic society where there will only be one company left in each industry and you will want the government to control them.
 
Moderate Right said:
Plenty don't. Only a very few do. A very few. Your policies would drive 80% of businesses out of business. The only ones who would be left standing are the ones who already had deep pockets to begin with. You guys blast Walmart, McDonalds, Amazon, and some others nonstop but your policies would wipe out their competitors, leaving them the only ones standing. But, that is what you want. You want the weak to crumble so that we turn into a socialistic society where there will only be one company left in each industry and you will want the government to control them.
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Lol. You're utterly ignorant about small business if this is what you think.
 
apdst said:
Only the large companies should be allowed to exist?
Click to expand...
Well yeah, isn’t that the whole right-wing mantra? Darwinism, survival of the fittest, that’s the way the mop flops, free market capitalism, and all that good stuff.
 
Deuce said:
I hope the country's workers pay attention during all this. For years, millions of people have been told they're just not worth fifteen measly bucks an hour. Now, suddenly, they're "essential employees." They're keeping grocery shelves stocked, keeping gas stations running, working drive-throughs and restaurant takeout counters. Obsessively cleaning and scrubbing all these establishments you insist that you just MUST walk around. All to keep you safe, fed, and happy. Placing themselves at greater risk to do it, by the way. That breaks down, civilization only lasts as long as the food in your pantry.

But right wingers in particular are steadfast in their beliefs that the free market should be left to provide. Well, it hasn't. These essential people are underpaid, they don't have enough PTO to handle situations like this, so they have no choice but to work. America is alone in the first world in lacking such basic worker protections as paid sick leave, maternity leave, etc. We lack the safety net of universal healthcare, many of these people getting laid off are losing health insurance. Nice time for that, eh? (and, let it be noted that I am absolutely not giving a pass to the lukewarm, useless "moderate" Democrats)

Amazon is asking the public for donations to fund extra sick leave for their employees. A trillion dollar company. They paid negative federal income taxes in 2018. The company is owned by the wealthiest man on the entire planet.

Young people in particular? You need to remember this in November. And every November. You're essential. This country falls apart without you. You deserve better. Make them do better. Or get the guillotines out. It's what the founding fathers would have wanted.

And don't get me started on the sacrifices that medical workers are being asked to make. How many of them are going to die because we just can't let the Dow ****ing Jones drop too low?
Click to expand...

The problem is with the level of expertise to do those jobs. Training, skill level, expertise. That's what determines salary levels and to flip a burger or stock a shelf is not high skill. When I grew up those were typical part time jobs handled by school kids and untrained workers. You did those while getting a better education or some skilled training.
 
Moderate Right said:
Plenty don't. Only a very few do. A very few. Your policies would drive 80% of businesses out of business. The only ones who would be left standing are the ones who already had deep pockets to begin with. You guys blast Walmart, McDonalds, Amazon, and some others nonstop but your policies would wipe out their competitors, leaving them the only ones standing. But, that is what you want. You want the weak to crumble so that we turn into a socialistic society where there will only be one company left in each industry and you will want the government to control them.
Click to expand...

Regardless, the government should not be controlling wages. The government doesn't know what is a "decent" wage. It depends on where you live, on your skills, reason for working, etc. You should not expect a low-skill entry level job to pay enough to buy a house and support a family. Those jobs give inexperienced people a chance to start working.

And there are lots of people who are retired and only need to earn a little. You will eradicate all their jobs by demanding businesses pay "decent" wages.

Supply and demand is a heck of a lot smarter than the government. You may be truly great at something, but if the society doesn't want it you won't get paid for it. And why does the society want something or not? Millions of factors go into complex decisions, that the market can make intelligently, but the government can only make stupidly.

Setting minimum wage at $15 for all locations, for all types of jobs, is just stupid. Well-meaning, but intentions and intelligence are two very different things.
 
Integrityrespec said:
The problem is with the level of expertise to do those jobs. Training, skill level, expertise. That's what determines salary levels and to flip a burger or stock a shelf is not high skill. When I grew up those were typical part time jobs handled by school kids and untrained workers. You did those while getting a better education or some skilled training.
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These folks deserve hazard pay. Without them we don’t eat. After COVID-19 is over, I don’t wanna hear anyone trash "low end" workers again. Those people at the dollar stores, the Walmart workers, those fast food workers, the McDonald's Wendy's ect employees, the people many don’t even think deserve a livable wage to survive on. They're some of the ones currently carrying the country through this mess, making sure you and your families have food and essentials to survive on, risking their health to help yours. And most won't even have the money to go to be helped if they get sick.
 
Good4Nothin said:
Regardless, the government should not be controlling wages. The government doesn't know what is a "decent" wage. It depends on where you live, on your skills, reason for working, etc. You should not expect a low-skill entry level job to pay enough to buy a house and support a family. Those jobs give inexperienced people a chance to start working.

And there are lots of people who are retired and only need to earn a little. You will eradicate all their jobs by demanding businesses pay "decent" wages.

Supply and demand is a heck of a lot smarter than the government. You may be truly great at something, but if the society doesn't want it you won't get paid for it. And why does the society want something or not? Millions of factors go into complex decisions, that the market can make intelligently, but the government can only make stupidly.

Setting minimum wage at $15 for all locations, for all types of jobs, is just stupid. Well-meaning, but intentions and intelligence are two very different things.
Click to expand...
Where is $8 per hour decent?
 
Wages are commensurate with the value an individual delivers to his employer. Nothing more or less. Businesses scraping by on 3-4% profit margin can't just boost wages just to make them "decent". And let's get over the idea that businesses are private welfare offices - they exist to create and sell products and services not to give away money.

The solution is long term and probably not popular. We have to overhaul our education system so that graduates have value knowledge and skills to offer the employer. Establish and enforce rigid educational and behavior standards. Get rid of race based disciplinary standards; creative discipline is neither.

Encourage profit making; profits pay for raises and new jobs. Reward business owners, including corporations rather than vilifying them.
 
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Bullseye said:
Wages are commensurate with the value an individual delivers to his employer. Nothing more or less. Businesses scraping by on 3-4% profit margin can't just boost wages just to make them "decent". And let's get over the idea that businesses are private welfare offices - they exist to create and sell products and services not to give away money.
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This logic does not apply to executives and board members of course, does it? Their compensation is based upon negotiations with fellow board members, friends and country club members. They can run a company into the ground and still walk away with millions. So obviously not based upon their "value".
 
Seems to me that when wages go up, prices go up as well, so does anyone ever really get caught up?
 
trblmkr said:
This logic does not apply to executives and board members of course, does it? Their compensation is based upon negotiations with fellow board members, friends and country club members. They can run a company into the ground and still walk away with millions. So obviously not based upon their "value".
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Yes, it does. Except for Hunter Biden. You have no concept of how corporations work.
 
When little or no skills required jobs with no future compete with entry level skills jobs that have a future, what should the employee expect? I say the former should not expect raises at all....
 
hermit said:
Seems to me that when wages go up, prices go up as well, so does anyone ever really get caught up?
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Not as much as some seem to think. Moving up to a better job works better.
 
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