re: $15/hr Min Wage and Rent Increases (Now A Min Wage Discussion)

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think a 10th grader bagging groceries at Winn Dixie is worth $15/hr?

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um I never said that ...

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problem is that the government acts like there are tons of adults out there struggling to support a family on their minimum wage job we have evidence that this is true I'm also confused why we'd want to continue supporting welfare programs because these ppl are not being paid enough?

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But we don’t.

Last stats I saw showed that 2.5% of workers earned the federal minimum wage. Heck only 8% of teen workers earned that.

Does it impact some races more than others, not really as only 3% of African American workers earn federal minimum wage.

If you look at full time workers only, the percentage drops to 1%.

The highest percentage of federal minimum wage workers were in places with lowest cost of living.

So this paints a good picture. Who earns federal minimum wage? Young workers, generally just starting at a job or in the job market at all, who are working part time in low cost of living areas.

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we have evidence that this is true

I'm also confused why we'd want to continue supporting welfare programs because these ppl are not being paid enough?

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If you are an adult making minimum wage you’re lucky to be employed because you have no skills to offer. I made minimum wage for all of 5 months at my first job in high school.

Those government benefits would be more lucrative to that hypothetical person than making $17/hr and not receiving them. They'd voluntarily cut their hours to remain under the income limit.

I have no economic background but would it make more sense to replace minimum wage with something like a minimum proportional wage? Where a business' minimum wage is determined by its revenue and has a minimum floor (of like $7?) Would that work to curb the Walmarts of the world from profiteering off underpaid labor that the taxpayer then has to subsidize without penalizing the mom-and-pop places that operate on razor-thin margins? And have it be on a sliding scale based on location (Ie not the same in NYC as somewhere in the Boonies).

My personal opinion is that no one working a full-time job should be below the poverty line or reliant on government subsidy - that to me is a failing. So ultimately you want something in place that prevents worker exploitation without hindering entrepreneurism. I do think the federal minimum wage doesn't adequately incorporate all those external factors into figuring the wage for a given area/company but I also don't view that as an excuse to allow companies to undercompensate their labor.