Village Idiot

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Posts by Village Idiot

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  66

  What Should the Minimum Wage Be (USA)?

  by Village Idiot in

  1. social
  2. current

  during the gop debates donald trump said that american’s “wages [are] too high” and later said “that having a low minimum wage is not a bad thing for this country” (7:25)..

  do you agree and if so why?.

  my two cents on this issue; do the math.

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  Village Idiot

  Village Idiot:

  In the retail establishments where I have worked people have been forced to work "off the clock" (free labor for the company) Why should anyone have to wait until it gets worse?

  Saintbertholdt:

  I don't know. Shouldn't market forces perhaps correct it?
  

  And how would such a mystical force do any correcting? You already have laws against it yet places like Home Depot continue to practice it in spite of more than one class action suit. To them it's simply part of the expense of doing business and they profit from that stolen labor in spite of token penalties.
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  66

  What Should the Minimum Wage Be (USA)?

  by Village Idiot in

  1. social
  2. current

  during the gop debates donald trump said that american’s “wages [are] too high” and later said “that having a low minimum wage is not a bad thing for this country” (7:25)..

  do you agree and if so why?.

  my two cents on this issue; do the math.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Village Idiot

  Saintbertholdt:

  "When conditions deteriorated beyond the believable, the unions came into existence."

  In the retail establishments where I have worked people have been forced to work "off the clock" (free labor for the company). Why should anyone have to wait until it gets worse?
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  66

  What Should the Minimum Wage Be (USA)?

  by Village Idiot in

  1. social
  2. current

  during the gop debates donald trump said that american’s “wages [are] too high” and later said “that having a low minimum wage is not a bad thing for this country” (7:25)..

  do you agree and if so why?.

  my two cents on this issue; do the math.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Village Idiot

  "Yeah sort of exactly: If injustice is rampant in labor, human beings will organize to counter it."

  Injustice is rampant in labor and if there are no unions it's because union organizing has been squashed by the Walmarts and Kmarts of this nation. Workers who try to organize for labor in those establishments get blacklisted and booted by their employers.
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  66

  What Should the Minimum Wage Be (USA)?

  by Village Idiot in

  1. social
  2. current

  during the gop debates donald trump said that american’s “wages [are] too high” and later said “that having a low minimum wage is not a bad thing for this country” (7:25)..

  do you agree and if so why?.

  my two cents on this issue; do the math.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Village Idiot

  Saintbertholdt: "That sounds a bit like an average wage and not a minimum wage."

  An "average" wage would be a middle class wage not lower class. I'm talking about a lower middle class wage for those who are now the working poor.
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  66

  What Should the Minimum Wage Be (USA)?

  by Village Idiot in

  1. social
  2. current

  during the gop debates donald trump said that american’s “wages [are] too high” and later said “that having a low minimum wage is not a bad thing for this country” (7:25)..

  do you agree and if so why?.

  my two cents on this issue; do the math.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Village Idiot

  "But economists argue that labors original idea has become irrelevant. They point to the natural decline of trade unions in the 20th century as the indicator that businesses have met workers expectations to a large extent."

  There are less trade unions because there is less trade i.e. industry. The retail establishment (service sector) has become the dominant force in the economies of this nation. If they don't have unions like the UFCW that is because they haven't organized for one so far not because they don't need one.

  "So what about the capitalist argument: The market will bare."

  It is not an abstraction like "the market" but rather the marketeers, the corporate elite, who decide.
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  66

  What Should the Minimum Wage Be (USA)?

  by Village Idiot in

  1. social
  2. current

  during the gop debates donald trump said that american’s “wages [are] too high” and later said “that having a low minimum wage is not a bad thing for this country” (7:25)..

  do you agree and if so why?.

  my two cents on this issue; do the math.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Village Idiot

  Saintbertholdt: "Is a minimum wage a good idea? And how should it be determined?"

  In this type of economy (and my idea of an economy is so radically different than most people's) a minimum wage is necessary to prevent de facto slavery.

  How should it be determined? That's a relatively simple equation:

  Rent in a moderate rent area (Not too poor and not too rich) + Basic food costs times the number of dependents (No eating out on a regular basis) + Car mileage and car insurance expenses for driving to and from work and supermarket + Utility and Internet bills + 20% for unforeseen circumstances which always occur.
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  66

  What Should the Minimum Wage Be (USA)?

  by Village Idiot in

  1. social
  2. current

  during the gop debates donald trump said that american’s “wages [are] too high” and later said “that having a low minimum wage is not a bad thing for this country” (7:25)..

  do you agree and if so why?.

  my two cents on this issue; do the math.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Village Idiot

  PaintedToeNail:

  "If you raise the minimum wage across the board, the cost of goods and services will go up."

  Again, do the math. Labor costs are about 20-30% of expenses in the retail sector (Supermarkets, hardware and department stores). If you were to double all wages the costs would go up by 20-30 cents on the dollar. That would allow for those who were earning minimum wage to buy more products and invigorate the economy.

  In any case, how low would you go? How low do you think the minimum wage should be?
• 
  66

  What Should the Minimum Wage Be (USA)?

  by Village Idiot in

  1. social
  2. current

  during the gop debates donald trump said that american’s “wages [are] too high” and later said “that having a low minimum wage is not a bad thing for this country” (7:25)..

  do you agree and if so why?.

  my two cents on this issue; do the math.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Village Idiot

  juandefiero, that reasoning can be used to justify pure slavery. Those higher paying jobs regardless of skill level simply do not exist in sufficient quantities to employ everyone who's earning low wages.
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  66

  What Should the Minimum Wage Be (USA)?

  by Village Idiot in

  1. social
  2. current

  during the gop debates donald trump said that american’s “wages [are] too high” and later said “that having a low minimum wage is not a bad thing for this country” (7:25)..

  do you agree and if so why?.

  my two cents on this issue; do the math.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Village Idiot

  During the GOP debates Donald Trump said that American’s “wages [are] too high” and later said “that having a low minimum wage is not a bad thing for this country” (7:25).

  Do you agree and if so why?

  My two cents on this issue; do the math.

  • Federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.
  • Full time work (if available) is slightly over 160 hours a month.
  • $7.25 x 160 = 1160 before taxes.

  Now subtract:

  • A one bedroom apartment in many cities: $1,000 a month.
  • Food bills: $150 a month per person.

  Is there anything left for:

  • Car expenses and insurance?
  • Or riding the bus which is more expensive than gasoline?
  • Internet which is needed for getting a job?

  I remember in the 1980s how conservatives used to mock the misery of Russians living under the communist regime because 2 families had to share a 2 bedroom apartment. Same thing in Cuba with 3 generations having to live in the same apartment.

  Here in the US I know of a 40 year old man who has to live with his mother because his $9 an hour job cannot afford him anything else. Multiply him times 10 million.
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  16

  Why do American Christians stand with Muslim Nations on the Question of Evolution?

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  some statistics.

  this graph charts national responses to the statement, "human beings, as we know them, developed from earlier species of animal," and show some strange bedfellows.. .

  as you see, a huge majority (70% and higher) of western europe people surveyed, accept evolution (in some form).

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  Village Idiot

  Your chart only included Turkey amongst Muslim nations and there was a big difference between the USA, 40% pro-evolution, and Turkey at 25%.

  Also, your title's mention of American Christians implies that most who identify themselves as such, about 85% of its population, hold on to that belief. It's fundamentalist Christians who are the focus, not liberal Christians and moderates who tend to believe in evolution and outnumber the Fundamentalists.

  Of course, the USA lags behind the secular minded Europeans because of its having a larger fundamentalist Christian presence but it is not fair to compare them to Muslim nations. Especially Turkey which is a more secular state than other Muslim nations.