Has minimum wage become the new average wage?

[bettilimbroke999]

BB - The classic lazy business owner??? Don't quite get the analogy? Have you ever managed a business? Owned a business? I pay payroll tax just like any other business owner. Once you're in business you ponder over a lot of things... such as... are all owners working for the government? Hence... all the taxes etc. I'm not a Wal-Mart BB... I'm a small business owner. I'm still working for myself. But, I'm calling the shots.

I'm still trying to figure out what the point of this thread is? Are you pissed off at businesses in general? The economy? The government? What exactly are you suggesting?

BB - I'm just a funny guy. Down to earth just like most of the folks here. I don't really cared to be stereotyped as the "I don't care business owner" because I do care. We (business wise) have to make moves just like any other business... flower shops... pizza place... bar owners... etc. In fact... speaking of bars... my buddy went in half with another guy in on a bar. Seems like people still find a way to drink their sorrows away? Says it was the best move he ever made. Use to be a mortgage lender. Had his own business.

You have to be savvy in making a decision. We only seem to hear the "amazing" moves in business... but trust me... there are others who took a fall... those stories just never make the headlines.

I didn't mean to sound like I'm a know it all... because I'm not. I'm just not afraid of risk. All the best.

Im not pissed off about anything, Im just posing a question to the average Joes out there based on the current direction of the economy. When I said lazy business owner I just meant the standard business owner that sets the time sheets and borrows some money to invest in a simple idea and somehow believes this means he is the hardest worker on the planet bc he hired ppl, paid them nothing and made bank off their labor. Theres nothing wrong with being a business investor but when you say a hardworking manager oughta suck your rooster bc you pay her 10 bucks an hour it makes you sound like quite a jackass and about the last guy on earth a hardworking person would want to work for.

[TheMoneyShot]

BB - I was joking/laughing about that. Just like most of the people here exaggerate in a thread. She was a hard worker... smart... and she moved on and makes more money now somewhere else. I think she's making around $13.00 at an eyeglass store? Couldn't afford her anymore.

[alling]

change we can believe in

[gauchojake]

Okay gaucho, I understand you feel that the majority of citizens are intellectually inferior to you and incapable of anything greater than ditch digging and should be paid around minimum wage. Judging from your posts I find that highly unlikely but lets just assume its correct for the sake of argument.

So is your opinion the majority of Americans should be living off welfare or that minimum wage should be raised to a "living wage" so that the government doesn't have to step in to make up for the greedy employers paying them slave wages?

Also what about my friend with the CPA and master's in accounting making less than 40k a year after 5 years with the same CPA firm, I can assure you he is both intelligent and a hard worker but with 6k a year for the next 30 years going to pay for student loans (he went for 6 years) and taxes on his income he makes little more than a 50 hour a week dish washer (he works 50 hours a week as a CPA). Clearly you find the opportunity to net 38k pay-6k student loans-4k income tax = 28k a year to be a fantastic opportunity but when you consider that a dishwasher working 50 hours at 8 an hour will make 440/wk or 23k a year and not in debt 80k and not have to pay hardly any income taxes there is a thin line between dishwasher and CPA, in today's world however both are essentially broke.

I don't feel like I'm intellectually superior to most people. In fact, I feel like if I can make it, anyone can. That's the thing that's so frustrating about these arguments.

I feel like most people are capable of much more than ditch digging, although there are some that aren't. The problem is that there are a lot of people who either game the system or are too lazy to get off the teat. We continually give people a reason not to work by supporting them through welfare and other social programs. Should we have a safety net? Yes. Should we support people who cannot physically or mentally support themselves? Sure. There should be a reasonable limit on these things though. A year of unemployment benefits??? Fukk no.

As for your buddy the CPA, I would suggest a few things to make more money. 1. Start his own business- he could easily do taxes during tax season for a few months and make an extra 10k or so. 2. Ask for a raise. If he is valuable to his firm they will pay him more. 3. Look for another job that pays more. I just looked on Monster for 2 minutes and found a job paying 75-90k plus bonus for a CPA with 3 years experience in the NJ area which I think is where you said you were located.

I do agree that the choice to get yourself in debt for an education is not one to be taken lightly. I think that a lot of kids these days use their loans for things other than school and a lot of them take on a mountain of unnecessary debt. It's a real choice. I thought about not going to school and just entering the workforce but the jobs I wanted required some higher education. I decided not to go to law school because I didn't want the debt. I wanted to go out and make some cash.

A few other issues to address in this thread... I have worked since I was 15 and the longest hiatus I ever took was 4 months. I have never been given a job because of someone I knew or was related to. Not once. I interviewed for every job I have ever had. The jobs that I got, I stayed at for a long period of time. I'm in my late 30's and I've been at my current job for over 10 years. The first job I had out of college I was at for almost 4 years. I grew up lower middle class and decided at an early age that I didn't want to live that way. I was privileged in no way other than I was motivated. The idiots saying that the only people making good money are those who know people or have family connections are ill informed at best.

A couple of words of advice based on my experience...Just to keep it positive

Start your own business whether or not you have a job. I have a job but own 2 small businesses that require very little work from me to make a profit. One required an initial investment of 800 bucks. Anyone can do this.

If you're just getting out of college or looking to change jobs, look to emerging job markets and focus on those fields for jobs. Healthcare and technology are two areas I would focus on.

Read book, articles, blogs, or anything you can about the job you want or have. Be the best at what you do.

Understand that nobody owes you anything.


TL;DR

Salud!