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Post by Krista Spurlock on Sept 20, 2015 16:47:26 GMT -8
I agree with Kiana when she says that "there needs to be great consideration of what the best process is to do this so the overall economical impact can be as small as possible". The minimum wage should be raised, but we have to consider and think about the consequences of raising it. The minimum wage may be raised, but it might not make that much of a difference. When you raise it, you have to raise prices on commercial items so the companies can still make a profit. All prices might go up, and that will not help those in poverty because it will be the exact same scenario only with higher prices. However, it might really help those in need. With a greater income people can buy more things and take care of themselves, and start to feel finically stable. It's worth the risk.
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Post by Maddie Barrios on Sept 20, 2015 16:57:01 GMT -8
I agree with Diego's statement of "a federally-mandated minimum wage of $15 an hour does not make a whole lot of sense, just because of the diversity of the United States. In some places, $15 an hour might be enough to be well into the middle-class. In other places, it might be just slightly enough to keep someone off of the poverty line." The regional costs of living varies from area to area in the US, and because of this, it wouldn't be logical to designate a nationwide minimum wage, as it could mess local economic dynamics and may worsen the poverty rates in certain areas where $15 an hour isn't efficient pay for their area's cost of living.
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Post by Lucas Junod on Sept 20, 2015 18:45:23 GMT -8
I do not agree with Sanders statement that less than $15 dollar minimum wage leads to poverty. Poverty isn't created by one specific thing, but is a collaboration of factors or misfortunes that sum up to one specific inadequate scenario. Poverty directly correlates to the area you are living in or how many people your are supporting as well as many other things. Some areas are much more expensive to live in compared to others and having a $15/hour salary can't support very many people. I do believe that it is the governments job to supply necessary things to their citizens if they have no way of providing it for themselves including food, water and shelter. As these are basic necessities in which we need to survive, and some people cannot afford these basic needs. As people should not abuse this system, it should be a necessary factor that each government should supply. I believe that a government that cannot help the ones who cannot help themselves is a dysfunctional governing system.
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Post by Isabel Andrew on Sept 20, 2015 18:48:19 GMT -8
I agree with Bernie Sanders when he says that minimum wage should be raised to $15/hr. Many who are working for less than that are honestly good, hard working people who have fallen under unfortunate circumstances. Yet they still struggle to support themselves let alone a family that depends on them. Due to the low minimum wages, people are being forced to work several jobs in order to provide something as simple as dinner for themselves and their loved ones. Many will argue that if they would only go to school and get an education they would be able to find a higher ranking position and increase their salary. However, schooling for an adult can be very costly, and if they're already having trouble with feeding themselves, chances are they wont be able to afford a good education. People who work for a minimum wage aren't lazy bums who deserve to be in the position of struggling to survive, they're people who show up to several jobs every day just to barely make ends meet. Personally, I wouldn't mind paying a couple of cents extra for a meal if someone else can live comfortably because of it.
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Post by Luke Hamlyn on Sept 20, 2015 19:56:22 GMT -8
I agree with Barry Sanders in the aspect that around the United States there are many places where the minimum wage has to be raised. The cost of living is no doubt higher than what can be supported by minimum wage in many areas. However, I do not believe that minimum wage has to be raised everywhere. It costs different amounts of money to live in different places, so while I strongly believe that the minimum wage should be fifteen dollars or higher in places where the costs of living are high (such as San Francisco), I am not in favor of a fifteen dollar minimum wage somewhere where the cost of living is significantly less. This issue has a lot of grey area and I think Barry Sanders is taking to much of a black and white approach.
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Post by Luke Hamlyn on Sept 20, 2015 20:09:42 GMT -8
I agree with what Lucas said about poverty not being caused by one thing in particular, such as minimum wage. Poverty is a complex issue that involves many factors. One of the ones I already touched on was how geographical location can lead one persons cost of living to be much more than someone else in a different city. Expanding on what Lucas said, Bernie Sanders, and the American government in general should be working in more ways than just discussing optimum minimum wage to fight poverty in this nation. Even the perfect minimum wage will do little to stop poverty as a whole because there are many other aspects of what causes poverty to be addressed.
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Post by Darrien L on Sept 20, 2015 20:23:00 GMT -8
I think that $15 an hour is poverty if you are trying to support a family. However, those who do minimum wage jobs are often those just beginning to work. People who make minimum wage usually make enough money to get by if they are living alone. If they are trying to support others off of minimum wage then $15 an hour is not enough money. Granted making minimum wage does not let you buy or afford all the things some people want like brand name clothing, but you can buy and afford all the things you need such as food and rent. I don't think the government needs to be responsible for those who make minimum wage because it is enough to afford basic needs.
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Post by Lucas Junod on Sept 20, 2015 20:23:48 GMT -8
I disagree with sam's statement in which he elaborates that "our government doesn't have the responsibility to help people who are working minimum wage jobs, especially after the wage increase." Although people will be making more money, a $15/hour salary is not going to make a significant change to peoples everyday life. People will still live paycheck to paycheck and will struggle to get their essential needs, like food, water and shelter. These people still need the health benefits from the government and would be devastated if this assistance was taken away from them.
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Post by Elise Coash on Sept 20, 2015 20:27:31 GMT -8
I think that a good point that is made in the video is that if someone is working hard for the 40 or so hours a week then they should be paid at least $15 an hour. But this statement sets a limit on who is deserving of the $15 minimum wage. If some one is not working hard, or for at least 40 or so hours a week then the government does not have the obligation to help them out. If people want to get out of poverty than they have to help themselves out a bit, they can't expect the government to do all the heavy lifting. Many people have worked very hard to live comfortable lives. Taking away these people's money is not fair to them because they have worked hard for that, and the money could be going to someone who is not working hard.
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Post by emilyf on Sept 20, 2015 20:29:56 GMT -8
Yes I do agree with Sanders, that making anything less than $15/hour does lead to poverty. One is not able to support themselves let alone a family on $15/hour, working 40 hour weeks. In this case, it should be the responsibility of the government to support minimum wage earners. If the government is the one limiting the minimum wage that can be earned, to a level that is leading to poverty, then shouldn't they be the ones who are supporting those who need the funding? With today’s economy, no one can survive on just one minimum wage earning job, and is nowhere close to the middle class lifestyle that Teddy Roosevelt campaigned for. Those who are dependent on lower than $15/hour tend to work multiple minimum wage earning jobs and are living paycheck to paycheck. As Thom Hartmann mentions, “if you work a 40 hour week and keep your knows clean, you show up for work and you do your job, you should be able to not live in poverty." In today’s society that is no longer possible.
Although this being said, doesn’t include the drastic effects that it could have on the economy. Raising wages and/or supporting those in poverty needs to be done in a thought out manner, and one that doesn’t cause the economy to crumble.
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Post by Joey Murrer on Sept 20, 2015 20:31:46 GMT -8
I believe that living with less then 15$ an hour as minimum wage may not exactly lead to poverty, but it definitely is not a comfortable lifestyle. Honestly it depends on the family size and situation of the person. A person earning 15$ an hour may be able to support themselves, but if they have a family of three of even two then they will live a lifestyle of poverty. I believe that holding a standard of minimum wage being 15$+ would definitely benefit our entire nation economically and I also believe the government should support this. If we made $15+ the minimum wage, the economy would be better because people could buy more things and put more money into a market, effectively making it grow in size.
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Post by Elise Coash on Sept 20, 2015 20:31:50 GMT -8
I don't know what to think about raising the minimum wage. The cost of living is so diverse all across the country, so it would be difficult and near impossible to have a minimum wage that high as a nationwide policy. I feel that this dispute is trying to be resolved as one issue, but really it is many different variations of the same type of issue. Raising the minimum wage will be effective in areas that can support it economically, but other areas will suffer from a raise in the minimum wage.
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Post by Darrien L on Sept 20, 2015 20:33:36 GMT -8
I agree with Paige when she said "not every person receiving minimum wage is in poverty". She is right when she said it depends on how many you are trying to support. This goes back to what I said in my first post. When someone tries to support a family off of minimum wage, that families' basic needs will not be met without outside help. However minimum wage is enough money to support an individual. Raising minimum wage will mean less people getting hired for those jobs or the cost of things will go up. Either way makes raising minimum wage pointless.
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Post by emilyf on Sept 20, 2015 20:34:15 GMT -8
I think Luke brings up a very interesting point of the grey area in raising minimum wage! Now looking back on it, Sanders does take a very black and white approach. The needs for different areas are very different and the dollar is never consistent. What one dollar will buy you one place isn't the same in another. I agree with Luke that raising minimum wage is crucial, but not in all areas. There are definitely some that are more important than others, and maybe some that don't need it at all.
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Post by Joey Murrer on Sept 20, 2015 20:35:39 GMT -8
I agree with Elise. There should be a certain limit or restriction on a person earning a $15+ minimum wage. If any person is working with no effort and is doing a sloppy job, then they deserve to live a lifestyle or poverty or poorness. Elise statement "If people want to get out of poverty than they have to help themselves out a bit, they can't expect the government to do all the heavy lifting. Many people have worked very hard to live comfortable lives" really demonstrates this point. there should be some form of regulation by the government making sure that if there is a minimum wage increase, then there should be some form of regulation making sure work is getting done efficiently and people are actually working for their wage increase, rather than just having it handed to them for doing nothing.
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