$15 minimum wage simply will not fly!

[talloola]

Sorry, going to have to agree to disagree on this one. First what it costs to live has nothing to do with what a job is worth, everyone has different living expenses. The person doing the labour burns more calories that have to be replaced. There is more of a safety issue to the point of being down right dangerous in some instances. I can understand the boredom factor but is it any more boring than the flag person on a road that has very little traffic? With the phone job there is nothing to prevent the person from filling in time reading a books, doing cross word puzzles, writing letters or even doing procedures on a lap top computer. A really resourceful person may be able to even work in a second job, something a person shovelling gravel wouldn't be able to do. Anyway we'll probably never agree so I'll leave it there.

you are assuming things.
and, it has everything to do with what it costs to live, we are talking about low paying jobs, not
professional workers who have had very expensive schooling, and skills that require a specialized
person, these people are both unskilled, and one shouldn't make more than the other, really jlm,
lets throw this one in to the mix, the phone could fall off of the desk and break the person's toe,
wow, very dangerous indeed. dangerous jobs on construction or other types of labour are usually done
by skilled workers,(electrical hazards), heavy machinery, not shovels, not unskilled labourers, unless of course, they are hanging from a rope over a
cliff, shovel in hand. lol

 

[taxslave]

you are assuming things.
and, it has everything to do with what it costs to live, we are talking about low paying jobs, not
professional workers who have had very expensive schooling, and skills that require a specialized
person, these people are both unskilled, and one shouldn't make more than the other, really jlm,
lets throw this one in to the mix, the phone could fall off of the desk and break the person's toe,
wow, very dangerous indeed. dangerous jobs on construction or other types of labour are usually done
by skilled workers,(electrical hazards), heavy machinery, not shovels, not unskilled labourers, unless of course, they are hanging from a rope over a
cliff, shovel in hand. lol

Cost of living is irrelevant. It is more a question of what the job is worth and how many people can do the job.If it costs you more than minimum wage to live then you best get some job skills that pay more.

 

[petros]

Unskilled to do construction labour? Long before getting on the working end of a shovel there are several certificates required.

Phone? Pick up say hello, say good bye hang up. Done! Not a couple weeks worth of training and certification.

Nobody on a phone is responsible for the life of those they work with.

 

[taxslave]

Very soon in BC construction labourer will be a Red Seal trade.

 

[talloola]

Cost of living is irrelevant. It is more a question of what the job is worth and how many people can do the job.If it costs you more than minimum wage to live then you best get some job skills that pay more.

I agree with that, but we were talking about two people with minimum wage jobs, one a ditch digger the
other a phone person, which could be many different things.

the cost of living is relevent for these two people, they are at the bottom of the wage chain.

a person with grade 8 schooling and a strong back can be hired to dig ditches, a person with a
clear speaking voice can be hired for the phones, both minimum wage.

 

[coldstream]

There's no reason we can't have a $15 an hour minimum wage. EXCEPT.. in a Free Trade regime we are forced to compete with the poorest wage earners on earth to maintain some semblance of industry and production. DUMP Free Trade.. then bring in a$15 hour minimum wage.

 

[JLM]

I agree with that, but we were talking about two people with minimum wage jobs, one a ditch digger the
other a phone person, which could be many different things.

the cost of living is relevent for these two people, they are at the bottom of the wage chain.

a person with grade 8 schooling and a strong back can be hired to dig ditches, a person with a
clear speaking voice can be hired for the phones, both minimum wage.

Sorry Talloola, but I think you are missing the point! Where is it carved in stone that a wage has to equal the cost of living? I think Taxslave has answered the question.

There's no reason we can't have a $15 an hour minimum wage. EXCEPT.. in a Free Trade regime we are forced to compete with the poorest wage earners on earth to maintain some semblance of industry and production. DUMP Free Trade.. then bring in a$15 hour minimum wage.

You are correct except for one tiny little reason..................................it won't work and it hasn't worked since wages were a buck an hour. If you raise the wage to $15 an hour I'd bet my pension check within a very few years a person would need $20 or $25 or $30 an hour to live. Don't know why people can't seem to get that!

 

[petros]

a person with grade 8 schooling and a strong back can be hired to dig ditches, a person with a
clear speaking voice can be hired for the phones, both minimum wage.

A grade 8 banjo player (ditch digger) needs training and certification and holds far higher responsibilies than a phone worker.

 

[JLM]

A grade 8 banjo player (ditch digger) needs training and certification and holds far higher responsibilies than a phone worker.

Well, I've always felt the degree of risk involved on a job has to count for something. The ditch digger and most labourers are at risk of serious injury and even death in a few instances. The phone worker does have the risk of dropping the phone on her toe, but wearing steel toes will preclude that risk.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Well, I've always felt the degree of risk involved on a job has to count for something. The ditch digger and most labourers are at risk of serious injury and even death in a few instances. The phone worker does have the risk of dropping the phone on her toe, but wearing steel toes will preclude that risk.

Not sure what risk there is in digging a ditch but if there was risk, it would be unlikely to be a minimum wage position.

 

[JLM]

Not sure what risk there is in digging a ditch but if there was risk, it would be unlikely to be a minimum wage position.

Lots- joint damage, muscle damage, tendon damage, sprains, strains.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Lots- joint damage, muscle damage, tendon damage, sprains, strains.

Yet if its a minimum wage job, its a minimum wage job.

 

[taxslave]

Not going to find too many ditch diggers working for minimum wage anyway. Possibly for a landscape contractor. Not in construction.

 

[petros]

Not going to find too many ditch diggers working for minimum wage anyway. Possibly for a landscape contractor. Not in construction.

And not working around, or using heavy equipment.

 

[JLM]

Yet if its a minimum wage job, its a minimum wage job.

Anyone who pays minimum wage for a labouring job is P.F.C. (pretty f**king cheap) ! They definitely rate more than many desk jobs.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Anyone who pays minimum wage for a labouring job is P.F.C. (pretty f**king cheap) ! They definitely rate more than many desk jobs.

A lot of desk top require a brain which is worth more. But those are also not minimum wage.

 

[WLDB]

Anyone who pays minimum wage for a labouring job is P.F.C. (pretty f**king cheap) ! They definitely rate more than many desk jobs.

When there is little competition in the area they can pay pretty low. A person can offer say a dollar over minimum wage and everyone will love them even though the difference isnt much.

 

[talloola]

Sorry Talloola, but I think you are missing the point! Where is it carved in stone that a wage has to equal the cost of living? I think Taxslave has answered the question.



You are correct except for one tiny little reason..................................it won't work and it hasn't worked since wages were a buck an hour. If you raise the wage to $15 an hour I'd bet my pension check within a very few years a person would need $20 or $25 or $30 an hour to live. Don't know why people can't seem to get that!

we were talking about a telephone person compared to a ditch digger, you missed the point, they both
make minimum wage, they both should earn the same wage, you argued 'not', do you have a short memory? you argued that the ditch digger should make more, I disagreed, and still do.

 

[JLM]

we were talking about a telephone person compared to a ditch digger, you missed the point, they both
make minimum wage, they both should earn the same wage, you argued 'not', do you have a short memory? you argued that the ditch digger should make more, I disagreed, and still do.

Wouldn't the ditch digger deserve more given the effort required and the dangers encountered? I've said in the past that the pay for a job should be based on the sum of several factors, such as level of responsibility, difficulty to perform, dangers inherent to the job, knowledge required, skills required, working conditions, outlay costs for necessary equipment and tools, etc. etc.

 

[darkbeaver]

Well if it doesn't fly they won't buy and business will die just the same. haha

I quess you gots to have liquidity. I think that's what they say.