Ontopic Thoughts on fast food workers strike and pay demand
- Thread starter Floptical
- Start date
exactly so it's basically a wash trying to compare the wage of a fast food worker between countries
Petunia
COVID POSITIVE FOREVER
I'm not prepared to believe that cooking at Applebees is cooking either, and McDonald's, at least, has mastery over process control.
Depends really. If you just want to survive, sure. But I'd like to think people can get out and live a little every now and then. I imagine the mental health problems from people only scraping by would cost society more in the long run.
how do they get a better job?
if the wage isn't liveable, it's certainly not enough for higher Ed, plus they'd need to spend their time working to earn the money to afford school, which they don't have time for because they're working.
yeah, there's skilled trades, but those often require $ that is unavailable too (for training and equipment and stuff).
idk if $15 an hour is the answer, but it's a tough cycle to get out of. the only reason I got as far in school as I did is that I had a husband who was willing to help out (and y'all saw how quickly I had to drop out when that stopped).
edit: and HE had $ because his parents could afford to send him to college, and he got a good job based on that education which he had access to because he had $ in the first place. I am still crazy in debt from loans from my first semester of college (thereafter I only took courses I could pay for then and there, which again was only because I had help).
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Mr. Argumentor
I fab shitboxes and shitbox accessories.
My thoughts are that it is shitty that a skilled worker gets paid the bare minimum to make a living
When a company doesn't pay its staff a living wage the staff has to get government assistance. We as the taxpayers are directly subsidizing the profits of these companies. That is a far more dangerous and unhealthy system than any idea of a "welfare state". Let it cut into their profits and prevent them from gouging prices in response.
Humanity does not exist to turn labor into capital, the idea of putting profit before humanity is horrifying.
As for the argument that a fast food job isn't supposed to maintain a family, what do you expect people to do? The job market is still tight in many areas and that's the only place where some people can get jobs. It's a shame that those people had to lose their jobs because of a economic crash that none of the bankers responsible have gone to jail for but that's the reality of the situation. It's not so simple for someone to just learn a new skill. As a civilized nation we don't get to say "too bad, get a better job" and then bitch when the government has to keep those people from being homeless and hungry.
And after thinking about it, it wouldn't be that bad of a thing if fast food prices were to rise. We'd have fewer people eating fast food and more people eating proper, healthy food in an effort to stave off the horrifying epidemic of obesity in the country. But the government absolutely has to step in and force the change, healthy and nutritious food can be cheaper than fast food but the prices are artificially inflated and the fast food industry gets to make additional profit off the public funds.
I'm ok with increasing the minimum wage especially since it's considerably lower than it's been in the past - when adjusted for inflation, of course - and the percentage of income and assets controlled by the wealthiest in the country has only increased. Trickle down economics is a flat out lie, it was never true and the growing income gap is just further evidence of it.
Humanity does not exist to turn labor into capital, the idea of putting profit before humanity is horrifying.
As for the argument that a fast food job isn't supposed to maintain a family, what do you expect people to do? The job market is still tight in many areas and that's the only place where some people can get jobs. It's a shame that those people had to lose their jobs because of a economic crash that none of the bankers responsible have gone to jail for but that's the reality of the situation. It's not so simple for someone to just learn a new skill. As a civilized nation we don't get to say "too bad, get a better job" and then bitch when the government has to keep those people from being homeless and hungry.
And after thinking about it, it wouldn't be that bad of a thing if fast food prices were to rise. We'd have fewer people eating fast food and more people eating proper, healthy food in an effort to stave off the horrifying epidemic of obesity in the country. But the government absolutely has to step in and force the change, healthy and nutritious food can be cheaper than fast food but the prices are artificially inflated and the fast food industry gets to make additional profit off the public funds.
I'm ok with increasing the minimum wage especially since it's considerably lower than it's been in the past - when adjusted for inflation, of course - and the percentage of income and assets controlled by the wealthiest in the country has only increased. Trickle down economics is a flat out lie, it was never true and the growing income gap is just further evidence of it.
Amstel
The Hoarse Whisperer
you'll only modify the welfare state by increasing the paycheck slightly and decreasing the welfare slightly OF THE EMPLOYEED. you'll increase significantly the welfare paid to those who are let go and now have no job because our mindless gov't has decided that, just like they can print money for whatever they want to afford, the businesses can too.
businesses close. Please see 2006/2007/2008.
What needs to be done to create more jobs???? giving raises to people that have minimum wage jobs does not increase employment.
a) businesses make bad decisions all the time. the businesses pay for it by readjusting and moving forward. sometimes this includes selling or closing. This happens every day. But so that our gov't could expand into more power grabs they decided that they would take control of banking. Instead of the banks liquidating / consolidating / and being broken up again, the 'people that claim to know better' put giant freezes on everything the banks do and REGULATED the shit out of it. The bankers sat their earning their $, the gov't employees sat there opining about things they have no experience in earning their money. The people who took it in the ass is everyone else. Us. The little guys. To assuage the voters, phones were passed out. Polls were recited repeatedly in the Media. And yet, 7 years later, here we sit.
b) the gov't could have raised interest rates by 2% (btw, I said this before and during the height of the pretend crash. & I say pretend because I would kill to have a 2% loss -yup- that's what got the bankers all crying and slowing down the lending, crushing the economy.) 2% and reimbursed the banks a small portion of their losses while the banks themselves also used the new interest calculations to keep lending at higher costs of funds. This is business 101. It's not, "everyone remembers FDR's new deal, so how can I put my big stamp on this?"
No one remembers the crash after 9/11 when bush gave all american's $600 to spend as they want, and incentivized businesses. Why? because it prevented it from becoming worse.
Life isn't so simple.
So you're of the impression that if the people on the bottom rung can't afford fast food they'll turn to more expensive healthy food? I disagree. You'll further impoverish them.
if it could be cheaper, why isn't it already? How are these prices artificially inflated? The fast food industry is profiting solely due to the competitive nature of fast food.
I do not understand the whole 'gubment needs to step in and fix the economy.' It's not working out so far.
There is absolutely nothing in the skill set of a fast food worker that qualifies them for a $15 an hour wage. Zero. It's nothing more than some sense of entitlement that makes them think they are worth that level a wage. And most fast food workers suck at even that most simple of jobs.
Speaking of decent jobs, I was at Harbor Freight yesterday and they had signs that they were hiring.
Full medical and dental, fulltime hours (none of that walmart 37 hours shit), up to 17 an hour (im sure much lower to start).
Not bad for a cashier/sales associate type position where you just have to know how to work register and know where things are in the store.
Full medical and dental, fulltime hours (none of that walmart 37 hours shit), up to 17 an hour (im sure much lower to start).
Not bad for a cashier/sales associate type position where you just have to know how to work register and know where things are in the store.
It's repulsive to not have a living wage be the basement of the pay scale. I made $7.50 an hour lifeguarding in 1990 and that wasn't even to put food on the table. Couldn't fathom trying to exist on that now.
It's the classic aim high, settle in the middle negotiation tactic. Everyone's aware they won't get that until 2050 probably.
I don't know about where you live but here in CO and in Tampa all the Ckick-fil-a workers I remember were majority kids.
Mean Mr. Mustard
Always shouts out something obscene
I was in one this past weekend
I noticed they sell sturdy belts
I assumed thats where you get yours from