Minimum Wage Laws

[Anomaly]

[quote name='dominicansoul' date='04 November 2009 - 05:46 PM' timestamp='1257371201' post='1996228']
The students that work for me get paid minimum wage. They struggle with this, because most of their week is spent in class, not working for a living. Many of them have two jobs and work full weekends to make ends meet while they are going to school. They are straight A students, and hard workers. Sadly, most of them will be deep in debt when they graduate, having lived on loans all this time...

I wish the millions given to this university wouldn't be spent on building bigger stadiums, or making the campus more aesthetically pleasing...I wish the students could get a cut of it somehow...there should be some way we can give the students a reasonable hourly wage. Some have to drop out, because they just can't make ends meet...and those I have seen leave were brilliant students... I think minimum wage is a big joke...how can we expect anyone to live on $7.25 an hour? With the higher cost of living, people are struggling to survive...
[/quote]So the plight of some students justify a high minimum wage for EVERYONE, regardless of their work ethic, comittment to the job, etc. Looking at it from the employer's perspective, school is the priority of the student, not the job. Schedule may be problematic if time is needed to study for mid-terms, save a failing class, write a paper... Then there's the other choices a student has, such as not living on campus, attending less expensive community schools, etc. I have two struggling college students.

Students are (hopefully) putting in the extra work to develop their abilities and will make their labor more valuable to society. Must they be forced to accept less than their worth to society to provide a decent living to someone who refuses to put forth fair effort?

[dominicansoul]

[quote name='Anomaly' date='04 November 2009 - 09:43 PM' timestamp='1257389019' post='1996377']
So the plight of some students justify a high minimum wage for EVERYONE, regardless of their work ethic, comittment to the job, etc. Looking at it from the employer's perspective, school is the priority of the student, not the job. Schedule may be problematic if time is needed to study for mid-terms, save a failing class, write a paper... Then there's the other choices a student has, such as not living on campus, attending less expensive community schools, etc. I have two struggling college students.

Students are (hopefully) putting in the extra work to develop their abilities and will make their labor more valuable to society. Must they be forced to accept less than their worth to society to provide a decent living to someone who refuses to put forth fair effort?
[/quote]
The plight of most workers justifies a high minimum wage. You can't possibly live on such a measly wage. It's unethical. IF an employee slacks off, than he/she shouldn't be allowed to stay on the job. It's up to the employer to fire bad employees. But that shouldn't effect the minimum wage for everyone, especially the hard working employees.

Living off campus is actually more expensive for the students, (unless they are commuting from home...) And many wouldn't want to attend less expensive community schools, because in order to achieve their goals, they would need something more than just an associate's degree.

Heck, I don't get paid enough, and I'm paid way above minimum wage...it's still a struggle for me, and I live simply, and within my means...

[Anomaly]

[quote name='dominicansoul' date='05 November 2009 - 10:08 AM' timestamp='1257430087' post='1996496']
The plight of most workers justifies a high minimum wage. You can't possibly live on such a measly wage. It's unethical. IF an employee slacks off, than he/she shouldn't be allowed to stay on the job. It's up to the employer to fire bad employees. But that shouldn't effect the minimum wage for everyone, especially the hard working employees.

Living off campus is actually more expensive for the students, (unless they are commuting from home...) And many wouldn't want to attend less expensive community schools, because in order to achieve their goals, they would need something more than just an associate's degree.

Heck, I don't get paid enough, and I'm paid way above minimum wage...it's still a struggle for me, and I live simply, and within my means...
[/quote]Life ain't easy. The plight of the worker does not justify high minimum wage, it's unsustainable and patently unfair. Read the 8 pages of discussion here, even Aloyisious does not agree with a high minimum wage for everyone.

Living at home is much more economical. Going away to collge is almost always a choice, not a necessity. Deciding on certain goals that leads to a decision to attend a certain school is YOUR choice, not my responsiblity to pay higher prices to support higher minimum wages. Many credit hours earned at a lesser price at a community college are directly transferable and credited toward a 4 year degree. Again, it's personal choice of the student to want to spend the extra $$ to do all their schooling at a University, not my responsiblity to pay higher prices to support it.

Money is wasted in the education system because of subsidies, protectionism, and other factors the protect schools from competition that would generat the need to provide full value for money charged and efficient stewardship of the money provided to them.

Your argument Failed.

[dominicansoul]

I can't imagine what opportunities will exist for most people who don't get a college degree...??? In fact, not going to college is a guarantee that you will definitely be struggling in a job where you get paid only the minimum wage...

I know plenty of people who didn't go to college, and they are the ones struggling because the minimum wage is a joke...

As a Christian, I think most people should be given a livable wage, something that keeps food on their tables and keeps them above the poverty level. Many Popes have stated this simple concept in addresses and encyclicals on the working man...

...I would be willing to pay for that, and support our brothers and sisters in Christ...

Edited November 5, 2009 by dominicansoul

[Sternhauser]

[quote name='dominicansoul' date='05 November 2009 - 11:54 AM' timestamp='1257436480' post='1996525']
I can't imagine what opportunities will exist for most people who don't get a college degree...??? In fact, not going to college is a guarantee that you will definitely be struggling in a job where you get paid only the minimum wage...

I know plenty of people who didn't go to college, and they are the ones struggling because the minimum wage is a joke...

As a Christian, I think most people should be given a livable wage, something that keeps food on their tables and keeps them above the poverty level. Many Popes have stated this simple concept in addresses and encyclicals on the working man...

...I would be willing to pay for that, and support our brothers and sisters in Christ...
[/quote]

A 40-hour week livable wage is a desirable end. You cannot achieve it through statute. Not morally, not theoretically, not practically. You can only achieve it through a virtuous society, and a virtuous society is only as virtuous as the individuals who comprise the society. You cannot make people good through law (violence.) This is the problem with Statism, whatever form it takes.

~Sternhauser