Do you believe in tipping or raising minimum wage?

[BenG]

Most Nordic countries, Switzerland and Singapore do not have a minimum wage, I believe. There are indeed other ways to help people.

Edited January 22, 2021 by ...

[HeavyMetalLover]

5 minutes ago, MANiCURE1295 said:

You’ll never ever convince me the minimum wage should still be $7.50. 

If you still support a 7.50 minimum wage in the middle of a pandemic you’re heartless. No if’s and buts. We can argue about what it should be raised to, but if any one ACTUALLY supports that low of a minimum wage, you have some real thinking to do. I have no idea how I would even begin to live off that amount. Much less aspire to have a family.

Don’t let the government fool you, the cost of living has been increasing for decades and the minimum wage hasn’t budged. It’s disgusting how the government has so many people comfortable trapped in their mental prison scared of what will happen if minimum wage increases lol

All of this.

[Franch Toast PronounsShe/her/hers]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but for restaurant service workers who rely on tips, they make much less than the minimum wage. I support raising the minimum wage, but I'm not sure whether that would have any effect on servers and other "tipped" employees. I would love it if these workers would be paid well enough that they didn't need tips, even if it meant raising prices, but I've also heard arguments from waitstaff that they actually can make more many from tips than if their employer paid them more. 

But in any case, yes, I believe in paying everyone a living wage, and I wouldn't mind scrapping tipping culture altogether. 

Edited January 22, 2021 by Franch Toast

[BenG]

Another disadvantage of statutory minimum wage is that it is one-size-fits-all. 

[MANiCURE1295 Pronounshe/him]

4 minutes ago, ... said:

Most Nordic countries, Switzerland and Singapore do not have a minimum wage. There are indeed other ways to help people.

And America is pretty shitty at that too...you have seen how our last administration helped the citizens with the pandemic....? You think Republicans all of sudden wanna invest in social programs...? No they don’t...we need Biden and the left to push hard because if he’s asking for 15 there’s almost no way that’s what it ends at, that’s politics.

We’ll be lucky to get 12 dollar minimum wage if we’re discussing this with the red side of the aisle 

Edited January 22, 2021 by MANiCURE1295

[BenG]

Just now, MANiCURE1295 said:

And America is pretty shitty at that too...you have seen how our last administration helped the citizens with the pandemic....? You think Republicans all of sudden wanna invest in social programs...? No they don’t...

Social programs are better than minimum wage. Hence, I’ve been arguing that minimum wage is an inferior policy, assuming you have a competent/efficient government.

[admin Pronounshe/him]

I like tipping, although I think the US goes overboard, I prefer tipping in Europe. But either way, min wage should def be way higher.

[BenG]

It’s the same for universal healthcare. It is less efficient than charging patients based on means testing, for example. However, it is difficult to get the latter right and it might be better to just pay up the inefficiencies of the policy.

[MANiCURE1295 Pronounshe/him]

Just now, ... said:

Social programs are better than minimum wage. Hence, I’ve been arguing that minimum wage is an inferior policy, assuming you have a competent/efficient government.

Yeah I still think no matter what minimum wage needs to be increased, no one will convince me otherwise, 4000 people are dying a day and the greatest country cub the world can’t pay our citizens at least 10 dollars an hour in 2020?

I think the issue with our government is that it has been the exact opposite of competent/efficient during the last 4 years. Hopefully some of that changes with a dem house/senate and White House but they need to move fast and hard, cause Republicans aren’t gonna wanna play ball on social programs or minimum wage. 
 

BUT YES I AM ALL FOR MORE SOCIAL PROGRAMS 

[Joannesrats PronounsHe/Him]

35 minutes ago, ... said:

It is a tool to artificially boost income so that it is enough to live off. There are other means to arrive at the same effect.

And, again, what are these other methods I haven't heard anyone else push for?

[Joannesrats PronounsHe/Him]

19 minutes ago, ... said:

Another disadvantage of statutory minimum wage is that it is one-size-fits-all. 

Doesn't have to be!

[blankpaper Pronounsshe/her]

The argument that there should be more social programs instead of a living wage neglects the fact that there are huge mental health effects from being able to support yourself or not  

Spoiler

Or maybe the people arguing against a living wage do know that and just don’t care, idk

There should also be more social programs and safety nets, but people working full time deserve to support themselves

[BenG]

9 minutes ago, Joannesrats said:

And, again, what are these other methods I haven't heard anyone else push for?

Collective bargaining via strong labour unions.

[BenG]

6 minutes ago, Delusional said:

I think minimum wage should be raised yes. Especially in the US - however if it does lead to inflation - why not tax huge companies that are paying pennies as wages - and then hand that tax money out to people who are working minimum wage

kind of like a benefit sort of thing. 

The end loser will always be the consumer. Firms will just pass the extra cost to consumers by raising prices, leading to inflation.

[blue Pronounsshe/her]

If society as a whole sets an unlivable minimum wage without a social safety net, you're basically condoning an underclass of exploited workers, somewhere someplace. American and most European unions are currently not strong enough to prevent a race to the bottom if minimum wage statues are abolished as we've already seen what happened with offshoring. An end to the minimum wage would require a transformation of society, which I await but do not anticipate.

Tipped wage is a crime and tipping is something that feels good, but should probably not exist. Waitstaff and cooks should receive a larger cut of the profits they generate as workers without customers having to compensate for stingy bosses. 

Like others have said, people don't want to feel like they depend their government to survive and there's so much shame placed on welfare recipients but you also don't want to feel like you depend on your stupid a** job to survive and your government actually giving a f-ck about your continued existence feels good! Over the course of the pandemic, we've felt that with UI and stimulus checks. As a result of this dynamic, a phat direct deposit where you're paid for your labor + participation in society + child rearing but it's still just called a wage is ideal. Everyone gets it, some people just pay it back in taxes if they're paid lots for their labor, etc.

Edited January 22, 2021 by blue

[BenG]

Wanting to give everyone a living wage is noble indeed but it may lead to inefficient allocation of resources in society. There are many unintended consequences that might arise, e.g. unemployment, higher prices and hence less competitive goods and services against other countries in international trade.

I think it's okay to have a minimum wage in certain industries (monopsonistic and oligosopnistic ones) as a means to correct market failure (workers exploitation). This would increase wages and potentially even employment. However, pegging it against the living wage may result in government failure instead and drive unemployment due to overcompensation of the market failure. This hits young and low-skilled workers the hardest.

[MANiCURE1295 Pronounshe/him]

Copying my own post from another thread for those interested, Biden signed an executive setting up a 15$ minimum wage by the end of his first 100 days, please see details below:

$15 wages as a Federal Baseline

Biden's second executive order is geared toward improving the jobs of federal workers and contractors, which was among the President's campaign commitments. It sets the stage for requiring contractors to pay a $15 hourly minimum wage and to provide emergency paid leave by the end of Biden's first 100 days. It also directs agencies to determine which federal workers are earning less than that minimum and develop recommendations to promote bringing them up to $15 an hour.

The President included a call to raise the national hourly minimum wage to $15 as part of the $1.9 trillion relief package he outlined last week before taking office. It is currently $7.25 an hour.

The order will also revoke three executive orders signed by then-President Donald Trump in 2018 that made it easier to terminate federal employees and weaken their labor unions. The measures have been the subject of litigation and arbitration. 

Biden's action directs agencies to bargain over permissible, non-mandatory subjects in contract negotiations.