Hundreds of fast food workers are striking nationwide Tuesday, joining other workers in pressing for a more livable wage. But while some say $15 is a minimum needed to survive, some business owners say dishing out more pay would leave them struggling to keep their doors open.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fast-food-workers-strike-again-nationwide-for-15-an-hour
In New York City, rallies are being held in Harlem, the Financial District and Brooklyn in support of efforts to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, reports CBS New York.
In Los Angeles, the local protests are organized by Service Employees International Union, and include fast-food, home-care and child-care workers, along with other "underpaid" employees, reports CBS Los Angeles.
"Is this the America we believe in? When someone works all day long and they still can't get by," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said during an early-morning rally in Downtown Brooklyn. "Does anyone believe that it's easy to get by in New York City on less than $15 an hour?"
Critics say a $15 minimum wage would obliterate opportunity and usher in higher taxes, but de Blasio said the opposite is true -- with more money to spend, low wage workers contribute more to the economy.
(Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Thursday November 12 2015, @12:16AM
Sounds like your hypothetical people made a hell of a lot of shitty decisions and are having to live with the consequences. I approve of this. People should have to live with the consequences of their choices. The state exists to secure our liberty not to hold our hands cradle to grave.
Absolutely. These people [google.com] especially deserve everything they get, don't they?
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Thursday November 12 2015, @02:38PM
Except for the minor detail that what we call "poverty" in America is roughly European middle class, and top-tier for the rest of the world.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Thursday November 12 2015, @08:07PM
Except for the minor detail that what we call "poverty" in America is roughly European middle class, and top-tier for the rest of the world.
You're lying to yourself [wikipedia.org] and others [wikipedia.org], friend.
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Thursday November 12 2015, @08:28PM
Right...
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/09/understanding-poverty-in-the-united-states-surprising-facts-about-americas-poor [heritage.org]
As one of the bottom 1%, I can attest to this.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by Nollij on Thursday November 12 2015, @10:49PM
Based on that very page, we can conclude that:
20% of poor households do not have A/C
over 25% do not own a car/truck
half do not own a personal computer
57% do not have internet access
and 17% of poor families do not have enough food to eat
The other side of the coin looks very different, doesn't it?
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Thursday November 12 2015, @11:49PM
If you neglect to control for those who live where A/C is redundant to the climate, and who use a cellphone instead of a PC and internet access... as to "not enough food" I have yet to see any starving poor in the U.S., and aside from having never broken the poverty line myself, I've lived in some very poor areas. Just today I was reading another study, tho, which noted that this was a self-reported stat and when broken down into food types, basically translated as "at least, we don't get to eat as much expensive junk food as we'd like".
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 2) by Nollij on Friday November 13 2015, @04:11AM
I was actually referring to the different emotional reaction people have to the 2 stats, depending on phrasing
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Friday November 13 2015, @04:28AM
Good point.
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 13 2015, @01:24AM
20% of poor households do not have A/C
Twenty percent of poor household don't have their own Anonymous Coward? This is an outrage!