The debate for a higher minimum wage

That sounds like a much better idea! Where is it you live? I think a basic universal income would be perfect for the U.S., but our society is so based in capitalism, I don't think it'll ever happen, at least not in my lifetime. :/

Nevermind, I just saw that you're in Singapore. :D Haha, I'm still getting used to the site. ^.^

@stasis Basic universal income won't work. No matter what, people still have to work to make a living. It is not right that some work to pay for those who are not working, but it is also not right that those who earn insane amount of money do not help those who are working hard but not earning enough. Our government here at least has the foresight to tax the rich, and give the amount to the poor in the form of Workfare. It requires that the poor go out and work. If they really can't work because of health issue, then they can approach the charities. The charities are partly funded by the government too. The charities will help them to get free medical care, free schooling and food for their children, and a sum of money to help them live on.

Exactly, yes! Very well said, my friend. :)

@stasis Thank you my friend.

How do you mean, "haven't earned?" If you're working to make millions for a CEO, then you in turn should make a living wage. Maybe it's just me, but I'm a bit insulted when the work I put into a job is underpaid. I've always said everyone should have at least ONE job in retail and/or fast food -- once you've worked in those conditions, you appreciate the work they do much more. The problem isn't entitlement. The problem is that the majority of this country THINKS it's about entitlement. America has a disturbing "if you don't work, you're worthless and burdensome" mentality and I can't understand why. Laborers simply want to earn a wage they can live on stably without worrying about getting by between paychecks. This is an economics issue, not an entitlement issue. Furthermore, consider that even now, with the minimum wage as low as it is, the retail and fast food industries are still screwing their workers over by refusing to give them full-time hours so they don't have to supply health insurance, without which people living at or below the poverty level need just as much as anyone else. The minimum wage doesn't even apply to certain restaurant workers -- since it's assumed their tips will fill the gap, businesses can get away with paying them a measly $2.13/hour, which hasn't risen since '91. The Department of Labor's blog ( reports "the minimum wage hasn't been raised in eight years. The cost of living, however, has gone up 12%. In addition, the value of the current minimum wage has gone down 20%." And despite the overall opinion, "most workers (9 out of 10) who would benefit from a minimum wage increase are adults," not teenagers. Back in 2013, the Huffington Post published an article about how if the minimum wage actually kept up with the increase in production, it would actually be $21.72/hour (http://huff.to/18lfrYC). 29 out of 50 states have taken it upon themselves to raise their minimum wages, and some of the bigger retailers have followed suit. Maybe this is why some people don't understand why other citizens have it harder -- because they hear someone talking about their retail job and automatically picture Walmart or Target, both of which DO, fortunately, pay their employees more than minimum wage. However, that's not the case everywhere and we could erase the disparity by just increasing the federal minimum wage. Sadly, it's a common misconception that raising the minimum wage would prove fatal for businesses and the economy, when actually it's quite the opposite. Germany and Switzerland both have higher minimum wages AND lower unemployment rates than the U.S. As PBS also reported, "One of the reasons that increases in the minimum wage would not have an impact on unemployment is that in today’s economy an increase in minimum wage would come mostly out of profits. And there is plenty of that to go around." (http://to.pbs.org/1O3yLKy) So yes, everyone deserves a living wage, no matter its dollar amount. If my husband and I could live off that, we'd have no qualms.

@stasis If you can't afford a certain luxury, with the money you've earned, then you haven't earned that luxury. I thought that was rather clear. If you're "making millions for a CEO," then you'd be worth millions. If you're flipping burgers or ringing up orders at a register, you're work is NOT "making millions for a CEO." If you feel you're underpaid, find a job that pays what you feel you deserve. If there are no jobs that pay you that amount, clearly your skills and labor don't justify such a wage. I've worked in both retail and fast food. I've earned $4.25 bagging groceries, $4.40 working in fast food, and as much as $7.75 when I worked in retail. I was good at every one of those jobs, great even. The thing is, I was still replaceable, because none of those jobs required much skill. The retail job required a bit of product knowledge, since I was selling computers, but you can train most people on that pretty easily. Appreciating the work doesn't change the market value of the labor. The problem IS entitlement. People feel they're entitled to a substantial amount of money regardless of their skills, knowledge, experience, or work ethic. People feel they're entitled to luxuries because life is a bit harder without them. The government has made it extremely expensive to pay full time workers. Did you know that the cost of employing a full time person has risen by over 60% in the last 10 years? That money's not going into your pocket, it's going into government coffers. It's going into compliance crap and Obamacare. You're costing your employer more, you're just not getting the money. Tipped wages are irrelevant. Tipped workers make well above minimum wage. If they really suck at their jobs, and somehow manage to make less than minimum wage, their employer is required, by law, to pay them the difference to ensure they are making at least minimum wage. Granted, if you're that bad at your job, you'd probably be fired before that became an issue. Increases in production are irrelevant. Those increases are due to automation, which is replacing workers. Workers aren't doing more work, machines are. As wages increase, machines will take more jobs as they are more cost effective at a certain point. The fact that many employers already pay more than minimum wage is proof that the market drives wages, not the government. By getting involved, the government is destroying low wage jobs which are great for young people trying to get their start in the workforce. Your PBS article is simply wrong. Switzerland has no minimum wage. As such, it actually proves MY point and not yours. A minimum wage is unnecessary because the market drives wages. Government intervention basically eliminates any job where the labor produces less than the arbitrarily chosen wage. Why would you rather a person be unemployed, 100% dependent on welfare, rather than employed at a low wage job which, with hard work, could lead to a better job? In the US, everyone who works a full time job earns a living wage. It's that simple.

@Taskr36 I'm not debating you further. Mainly because you keep equating a person's RIGHT to a living wage as a "luxury," which is disturbing to me. It's also clear you have NO clue what it's like trying to live on a minimum wage, especially for families. You're obviously not considering people with disabilities, single parents, etc. It must be lovely to live in this magical world of yours where people live off an outdated wage. Anyway, I've made my point, backed by reliable resources. And none of them prove your point. Have a nice day.

Does India use a minimum wage system? I'm interested to hear the differences and similarities between countries. :)

That's true, too. :( But at least if we had a living wage, the disparity between incomes and the amount of debts may not be so large.