$4.67 Big Mac can pay for $15/hour workers?

[Whispering 18,865]

I am a server at a restaurant and make $2.13 an hour, which eventually leads to nothing because of taxes, lol. My entirely livelihood depends on tips that people leave me. Life isn't fair and it doesn't owe you anything. I am right now taking out loans and living with my parents at 22 so I can go to school to better my life. If you're unhappy with what you're being paid, strive for better. Whether that means, going up in the company e.g becoming a shift leader/manager or going back to school and taking a few classes every semester. It may take you a long time but at least you are trying. 

 

What if you couldn't live with your parents? Take that option completely out of your long term plan. What would you do then?

Have your parents co-signed on your loans? If not, you aren't getting much of a loan every year.

 

These fast food workers can't move up to managers, as they don't have college educations. They might get a nickel a year raise...10 cents if they move up to "shift leader" after five years or so. A few classes every semester?! Who is going to pay for that? Who is going to take care of their kids while they are taking these several classes every semester? If they don't have kids, what if they have second and third jobs?

These are not people living with their parents. If they want to eat, they have to figure out a way to buy the food. If they want electricity, running water and a roof over their head, they have to pay for every dime to provide it. Do you have to do that?

[NewYorkCity 10,536]

Starting teacher salaries for a New York teacher range from $45,530 (bachelor's degree, no prior teaching experience) to teachers who have a master's degree but no teaching experience will at $51,425.

 

That's a long ways from the $15,000 that a minimum wage job brings at this current time. Even if the minimum wage did get raised to $15 dollars an hour, (which it won't) it would still not be close to a teacher's salary. Don't worry, they aren't going to be making as much as you.

 

No one said these people are dying on the streets, but many of them are having a hard time providing for the very basic of needs for themselves and for their families. I hope when you get your teacher's job in NYC, you get hired at some fancy private school where you won't have to deal with the kids who are hungry or who wash their uniform shirt out in the sink each night because they only own one uniform shirt, or come to school without a warm coat, because that is reality for some kids...like it or not!

I am not from the US, I live in Spain, I already said it but it was just an example, based on what a couple of people have been saying on the thread about teacher salaries.

I don't have any problem for them to want to get more money, but I find it odd that they want to have the same (or more in some cases, as stated on this thread previously) than teachers (and I used the teachers example because I know what it is about and because it was the example given here to compare in previous posts). 

Of course they can ask for more if they can't cover their basic needs. I was just saying that maybe they were asking for too much. 

If you have 7$ and you can't pay your things, ok great, it is too low. Ask for 10. 15$? It sounds excesive to me if that's what teachers get.

And I don't really think that they can't cover their BASIC needs. As Luc said, you can save money in a lot of ways. But oh well.

And even forgeting about all the teachers thing, they are asking to get the double that they are currently getting. I still find it excesive.

 

And fyi, I want to work in a public school. I have already done practises in a public school last year. And the first year of my carreer I went to a school which is denominated as CAES here in Spain, which are schools located in zones where everyone is poor. So yeah, that last comment was out of place.

My initial response was probably a little rude or snide.  Sorry.  I guess I just think that people should make a living wage.  They should be able to support a family and work at McDonalds.  Someone has to work there!  They shouldn't have to go on welfare when they actually have a job.  The whole American Dream stuff that people like to talk about has truths but is also full of myths.  People are limited by their circumstances.  I am fortunate to be born in the family I was born into. So I just get annoyed when people say "get another job! go to college!"  That might  not be a possibility for them.  Either way, they are working and contributing to society.  They shouldn't have to live in poverty.   

Don't worry, maybe I didn't explained myself well in my first comment and I sounded a bit.. soulless. Read my reply above please

[thefamebitch 834]

Can't afford a kid? Don't have one.

Unhappy with your paycheck? Get a new job.

Unable to afford school? Get a loan.

Unable to get a loan? Get a scholarship/ grant.

Unable to get a scholarship/grant? That's your fault for not pushing yourself to excel in you earlier years of education.

Unable to do any of that? Join the army. Navy. Air Force.

If you get off GGD and try to do something rather than debate and think of ways to defend your argument maybe you can actually deserve $15 an hour.

[Whispering 18,865]

I am not from the US, I live in Spain, I already said it but it was just an example, based on what a couple of people have been saying on the thread about teacher salaries.

I don't have any problem for them to want to get more money, but I find it odd that they want to have the same (or more in some cases, as stated on this thread previously) than teachers (and I used the teachers example because I know what it is about and because it was the example given here to compare in previous posts). 

Of course they can ask for more if they can't cover their basic needs. I was just saying that maybe they were asking for too much. 

If you have 7$ and you can't pay your things, ok great, it is too low. Ask for 10. 15$? It sounds excesive to me if that's what teachers get.

And I don't really think that they can't cover their BASIC needs. As Luc said, you can save money in a lot of ways. But oh well.

And even forgeting about all the teachers thing, they are asking to get the double that they are currently getting. I still find it excesive.

 

And fyi, I want to work in a public school. I have already done practises in a public school last year. And the first year of my carreer I went to a school which is denominated as CAES here in Spain, which are schools located in zones where everyone is poor. So yeah, that last comment was out of place.

 

 

Sorry, I thought you were aware of teacher's salaries in the US and I actually thought you lived and worked here.

 

Luc is living in a different world too. He lives with his parents. People making 15,000 a year (before taxes) do not have the money to change out their ****ing toilets!  They rent small, rundown apartments or houses and ride the bus to work. (Luc, with his ride a bike or walk shows how unfamiliar he is with big cities in the majority of the US.) They don't have a big holiday event and they sure don't EVER go on any type of vacation! Most of these people living in poverty have never been outside of the city they were born in, much less on a vacation to another country...or even state! Luc is as out of touch with the face of real poverty in the US as most the people in this thread are. He lives with his parents, who provide completely for him.

 

If you worked in a high poverty school situation, then you should understand that not all situations are created equal then.

[bionic 50,111]

You raise those prices and that money will be going to everybody but the ones who need a pay rise.

[Whispering 18,865]

Can't afford a kid? Don't have one.

Unhappy with your paycheck? Get a new job.

Unable to afford school? Get a loan.

Unable to get a loan? Get a scholarship/ grant.

Unable to get a scholarship/grant? That's your fault for not pushing yourself to excel in you earlier years of education.

Unable to do any of that? Join the army. Navy. Air Force.

If you get off GGD and try to do something rather than debate and think of ways to defend your argument maybe you can actually deserve $15 an hour.

 

 

What if you already have a kid and your husband leaves you or dies? What if you have to start providing for your parent?

What if you can't find a new job? What if no one is hiring?

What if you have to work to eat? What if you can't get a loan that will cover all your expenses, since you have no one to co-sign?

What if these people were just like you and didn't do enough to get a full scholarship, but didn't have mommy and daddy to rely on for their **** up?

What if you are a woman in your forties? What if you have kids and can't join the armed services, because that would be abandoning your kids?

I make way more than $15 dollars an hour. I don't owe a dime in school loans and I don't live mooch off of or depend on my parents in any way for monetary support.

You do realize that those participating in this debate aren't the ones working 40 hours a week at a fast food restaurant trying to provide food and shelter for themselves and/or families, right?

[Economy 52,951]

I suggest that people stop thinking that working full time at a fast food job is easy or just for people who are lazy and don't want a better job. I suggest you actually try to make it on your own with an $8 an hour full time job and then try to support a couple of kids on that same salary. AS I remember, you still live at home. (and yes, I know you pay rent) What if you never had that luxury? What if you had never been able to live with your parents? What if you couldn't get hired at a trade type job? What if you had children to provide for, with absolutely no help from anyone? It's really great that you have a job that had pay increases to get you to a certain income. The full time fast food workers don't have that. They might get a five cent an hour raise every once in a while...maybe. It's a hard job and a dead end job, with no chance of getting a good raise along the way, but it is all that some people can get, so they take it and they work their ass off 40 hours a week.

Many of these full time workers are minority women who are single mothers. They have another choice. They COULD be on welfare and not have to do this ****ty job for the rest of their lives, but they choose not to do that. People need to realize that these are not lazy, unmotivated losers.

I worked fast food for a few years during high school and it was the hardest damn job I've ever had!

At this fast food establishment, there were four women who came in every morning at 5 a.m. to open the store and do the breakfast and lunch shift. They had to be on the bus at 4 a.m. to make sure they made it across town to be there before 5 a.m. That meant they were getting up around 3 to make sure they got ready and made it to the bus stop. These women worked from 5 until 2 (with an hour for lunch) five days a week. The managers would MAKE SURE they didn't work a minute over 40 hours a week, so they wouldn't go into overtime pay. After work, they would head out to the bus stop to wait for the bus to take them another hour across town. By the time they got home they had been up and standing on their feet, working hard and had just put in 12 hours in their day to provide for themselves and their family.

A couple of them would go on to their second jobs or they worked on the weekends. A couple of them were single moms who were trying to make it home by the time their kids got home from school so they could take care of them, fix them supper, help with homework and spend time with them. This was the job they had. It was steady income and provided health insurance and a week vacation once a year. (two weeks after five years) They had children, second jobs and even parents of their own to help out. These women didn't live with their parents in a nice house in a nice or even safe part of town, or have the time or money to go to a trade school. They had to find a job so their kids could eat!

Not once have I said that the minimum wage should be $15 dollars an hour...not once! However, I do believe we have a whole lot of people in this thread who have certain circumstances and opportunities in their lives that others in this world have never had and will never have. I believe that there are a bunch of people in this thread who don't have any clue what type of people they are referring to when they are talking about full-time fast food workers. They have a picture of a lazy, unmotivated individual who doesn't want a better job and that simply isn't the reality of the situation.

I don't think it would hurt if our government gave a serious look at the pay of full time (40 hours a week) minimum wage adult workers and considered that they are more than likely providing for themselves or a family. If the government is making it easier to be on welfare, and hard for single parents to make enough to put food on the table, then they need to look at that.

these are valid points but it still doesnt change the fact that these jobs arent worth a lot

Again... If minimuk wage can pay peoples bills without them being really tight... People wont try as hard to study and make something of themselves.

I think minimum wage in the US is too low. Here in Canada minimum wage in most Provinces is $10/h to $11/h and of course theres credits and checks from Government u get if u make under $35,000 a year

But something like $15/h would just be too much for mcdonalds i couldnt justify that kind of pay for low skill job whether its fast paced or not

[Economy 52,951]

Most teachers do think that way because for they amount of work they do, they get paid very little.

teachers get payed almost $60,000 a year, get 2 months off plus benefits and early retirement

Sounds like a luxury job to me :shrug:

[Economy 52,951]

That's, sadly, the problems a country like the US brings, and why socialism (to a certain extent) is good. I can't really imagine how it is like. My parents pay $500 for high school a year (which is $300 for a trip to Paris, $100 for an English method that the government doesn't fund or something along those lines, 100$ for other costs like a locker, school trips to theme parks and things like that). My parents also get about $100 a month for each kid they have (2) till they're like 25. For my older brother, they pay about $3000 a year for his university.

I can imagine working in a fastfood restaurant is a hard task, but you're easily replaceable. The hardest workers in the world are probably the people in Bangladesh who work 80 hours a week to make clothes for stores like H&M and earn like $0.05 an hour. The world is unfair, and 15$ is a bit too much for McDonalds. 10$ is reasonable.

not necessairily. The US used to be more Capitalist in the past than it is now and it used to do better with the exeption of some lows here and there (ex: 1930s)

Switzerland is highly Capitalist and guess what? Cause its attractive for businesses and some many wanna go there unemployment is like 3% so they pay workers a lot to compete for labour

And no Switzerland does have a tone of resources like socialist Norway. Switzerland did it by encouraging investment and economic growth

But sometimes a little socialism can be beneficial too but it has to be properly executed.

[Redstreak 6,653]

teachers get payed almost $60,000 a year, get 2 months off plus benefits and early retirement

Sounds like a luxury job to me

my mom is a teacher and she says it's a headache of a job

[Economy 52,951]

my mom is a teacher and she says it's a headache of a job

and my job is physically exhausting.

 

no job is perfect hun lol

[Redstreak 6,653]

and my job is physically exhausting.

 

no job is perfect hun lol

I didn't say there was? No need to get defensive, was just throwing in a casual friendly banter. :shrug:

[Economy 52,951]

I didn't say there was? No need to get defensive, was just throwing in a casual friendly banter.

lol ok. im just saying techers make a lot of money and get tones of benefits

 

some probably even do it for the money. id gladly take the head-ache lmao :haha:

[Kayla 7,595]

I suggest that people stop thinking that working full time at a fast food job is easy or just for people who are lazy and don't want a better job. I suggest you actually try to make it on your own with an $8 an hour full time job and then try to support a couple of kids on that same salary. AS I remember, you still live at home. (and yes, I know you pay rent) What if you never had that luxury? What if you had never been able to live with your parents? What if you couldn't get hired at a trade type job? What if you had children to provide for, with absolutely no help from anyone? It's really great that you have a job that had pay increases to get you to a certain income. The full time fast food workers don't have that. They might get a five cent an hour raise every once in a while...maybe. It's a hard job and a dead end job, with no chance of getting a good raise along the way, but it is all that some people can get, so they take it and they work their ass off 40 hours a week.

 

Many of these full time workers are minority women who are single mothers. They have another choice. They COULD be on welfare and not have to do this ****ty job for the rest of their lives, but they choose not to do that. People need to realize that these are not lazy, unmotivated losers.

 

I worked fast food for a few years during high school and it was the hardest damn job I've ever had!

At this fast food establishment, there were four women who came in every morning at 5 a.m. to open the store and do the breakfast and lunch shift. They had to be on the bus at 4 a.m. to make sure they made it across town to be there before 5 a.m. That meant they were getting up around 3 to make sure they got ready and made it to the bus stop. These women worked from 5 until 2 (with an hour for lunch) five days a week. The managers would MAKE SURE they didn't work a minute over 40 hours a week, so they wouldn't go into overtime pay. After work, they would head out to the bus stop to wait for the bus to take them another hour across town. By the time they got home they had been up and standing on their feet, working hard and had just put in 12 hours in their day to  provide for themselves and their family.

A couple of them would go on to their second jobs or they worked on the weekends. A couple of them were single moms who were trying to make it home by the time their kids got home from school so they could take care of them, fix them supper, help with homework and spend time with them. This was the job they had. It was steady income and provided health insurance and a week vacation once a year. (two weeks after five years) They had children, second jobs and even parents of their own to help out. These women didn't live with their parents in a nice house in a nice or even safe part of town, or have the time or money to go to a trade school. They had to find a job so their kids could eat!

 

Not once have I said that the minimum wage should be $15 dollars an hour...not once! However, I do believe we have a whole lot of people in this thread who have certain circumstances and opportunities in their lives that others in this world have never had and will never have. I believe that there are a bunch of people in this thread who don't have any clue what type of people they are referring to when they are talking about full-time fast food workers. They have a picture of a lazy, unmotivated individual who doesn't want a better job and that simply isn't the reality of the situation.

I don't think it would hurt if our government gave a serious look at the pay of full time (40 hours a week) minimum wage adult workers and considered that they are more than likely providing for themselves or a family. If the government is making it easier to be on welfare, and hard for single parents to make enough to put food on the table, then they need to look at that.

 

 

There is so much ignorance in this thread it's ridiculous. Thank you for giving an informed opinion that isn't judgmental and lacking actual experience. 

[AyaKara 2,282]

I don't think you guys should judge food service/ retail workers. They do need to take care of their families somehow. I suggest raising it to $10-12/h. And, just because they have those jobs doesn't mean they lack intelligence or drive. Many are stellar at their jobs and give their best everyday.

 

I know multiple people whom are geniuses whom work these jobs because they cannot afford to go to school. One of my friends works at Costco whom should honestly be doing an MD/PhD, but she left school because her mother used her loan money and messed up her credit. My significant other works in a restaurant 9 hours/day and he's amazing at physics/ mathematics/ engineering/ etc., but can't go to school because he works paycheck to paycheck just to survive. I know one girl whom is only working at McDonald's because she's trying to take care of her disabled brother and it's very difficult for her to go to school.

 

Some of these workers have amazing stories and you seriously just have to listen to them to know them. They're people, too.