15 dollar minimum wage

[Larry]

Consider this hypothetical:

Imagine a town that:

1. Is part of the United States and under Federal Government laws.
2. It's residents are not US citizens
3. It's residents are not allowed to vote in US federal elections
4. But are required to abide by US federal law.
5. Roughly 80% of the jobs come from one single industry.
6. This industry has made it clear that if minimum wages go to 15 dollars an hour it will put them out of business, so they will have to move their company to another country.
7. The residents are isolated and cannot leave.

So we have a town where its residents have to follow federal law but are not allowed to vote and are not US citizens, being forced to pay employees 15 dollars an hour even though the only employer in town will close because of it, leaving roughly 80% of its residents unemployed and physically impossible for them to leave.

This is the reality of American Samoa. The tuna industry there accounts for the vast majority of jobs. But the tuna industry there is still reeling from having to meet the last minimum wage hike. The people of American Samoa, a small island in Polynesia , are not recognized as American citizens and so cannot vote in US elections, but are legally US nationals who have to follow US law. The citizens there don't WANT 15 dollars an hour - they want a job. But because politicians in Washington refuse to allow each state and territory to set it's own minimum wage, they are facing the prospect of massive unemployment with almost no possible way to escape.

[LuFins Dad]

Don’t worry, the tax dollars taken from all those $15 per hour McDonalds Employees will pay for welfare for all those Samoans.

[Jolly]

Nothing better than a sixteen year-old high school kid making $15/hr.

[Mik]

Federal minimum wage never made sense to me, and clearly much less at this time. Insanity.

[jon-nyc]

#SamoanStatehoodNow

Seriously though, it’s an issue.

[taiwan_girl]

@Mik said in 15 dollar minimum wage:

Federal minimum wage never made sense to me, and clearly much less at this time. Insanity.

Just curious why you think that. I think that (almost) every country in the world has a minimum wage, from really poor countries in Africa to "middle" countries like Thailand to the US. I believe that they bring a lot of benefit.

[George K]

Just wondering...

Although many countries have what they call a "minimum" wage, I wonder what percentage of the cost of living that "minimum wage" really is.

To be specific, in the US a $15/hr minimum wage translates to about $30K per year. For an individual, that's probably a livable standard of living. You'd probably only be able to afford a Corrola, a 42" TV and a cheapo plan like Boost Mobile. But, you could live on it. A DINK couple would be doing more than OK.

How does that compare to minimum wage in "really poor" countries in Africa, or "middle" countries. Would that wage translate into the same standard of living?

Just asking, because you brought up the comparison.

[Mik]

@taiwan_girl said in 15 dollar minimum wage:

@Mik said in 15 dollar minimum wage:

Federal minimum wage never made sense to me, and clearly much less at this time. Insanity.

Just curious why you think that. I think that (almost) every country in the world has a minimum wage, from really poor countries in Africa to "middle" countries like Thailand to the US. I believe that they bring a lot of benefit.

Because it should be a state issue.

[taiwan_girl]

@George-K Good question. In thailand the minimum wage is about USD$10/day, so maybe USD$3000/year.

A clerk at a 7-11 type store will probably make about USD$300/month, so a bit more than minimum wage.

Difficult to live by yourself on that amount, but would have to live with family or room with other people.

India - I think minimum wage is (maybe, but not 100% sure) around USD$2/day. I know that the government definition of the poverty level is someone who makes like less than USD$1.25/day

[Axtremus]

@jon-nyc said in 15 dollar minimum wage:

#SamoanStatehoodNow

Seriously though, it’s an issue.

+1

[Copper]

@jon-nyc said in 15 dollar minimum wage:

#SamoanStatehoodNow

Seriously though, it’s an issue.

First we have to figure out whether they are democrat or republican


[Larry]

@taiwan_girl said in 15 dollar minimum wage:

@Mik said in 15 dollar minimum wage:

Federal minimum wage never made sense to me, and clearly much less at this time. Insanity.

Just curious why you think that. I think that (almost) every country in the world has a minimum wage, from really poor countries in Africa to "middle" countries like Thailand to the US. I believe that they bring a lot of benefit.

How will American Samoa benefit from a 15 dollar an hour minimum wage if they're all out of work? I'd love to hear you explain how that would work.

[taiwan_girl]

@Larry said in 15 dollar minimum wage:

@taiwan_girl said in 15 dollar minimum wage:

@Mik said in 15 dollar minimum wage:

Federal minimum wage never made sense to me, and clearly much less at this time. Insanity.

Just curious why you think that. I think that (almost) every country in the world has a minimum wage, from really poor countries in Africa to "middle" countries like Thailand to the US. I believe that they bring a lot of benefit.

How will American Samoa benefit from a 15 dollar an hour minimum wage if they're all out of work? I'd love to hear you explain how that would work.

That I do not know. I do not know nothing about American Samoa.

But I have seen alot of "exploitation" of workers (mainly in developing countries), and a minimum wage gives them some ability to make a life for themselfs that they probably would not have if they did not have the minimum wage.

[jon-nyc]

Well, the key is to set an amount that won’t cause massive unemployment. That's the problem with using the same amount for a nation as diverse as the US. Then throw American Samoa into the mix... wow.

[Doctor Phibes]

It seems to me that there's something wrong when a company can pay its employees so little that they have to claim foods tamps and benefits, and yet the CEO of the company in question is a billionaire.

And what's wrong is not that the employees are eligible to claim food stamps when they're working. What's wrong is that they have to claim them when they're working.

Just speaking hypothetically, of course. Because if this situation occurred, we, the loyal taxpayer, would be subsidizing this company.

[Axtremus]

Biden raises minimum wage for federal contractors to $15/hr
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/biden-raises-minimum-wage-federal-contractors-15hr-2021-04-27/

“President Joe Biden on Tuesday will continue his push for a national $15 minimum wage with an executive order that raises pay to at least that level for hundreds of thousands of federal contract workers, according to senior White House officials.

The move will increase the current minimum wage of $10.95 by nearly 37% by March of next year and continue to tie future increases to inflation.

It will apply to federal workers from cleaning and maintenance staff to food service contractors and laborers, sweeping in tipped workers who were previously left out of the last increase under former President Barack Obama.
...”

[Klaus]

Will those raises only affect those who used to earn less than $15?

If so, wouldn't the people who earned $15 before already feel silly because their additional qualifications over the <$15 employees don't result in any more $?

[Copper]

This will create more democrats.

[LuFins Dad]

@klaus said in 15 dollar minimum wage:

Will those raises only affect those who used to earn less than $15?

If so, wouldn't the people who earned $15 before already feel silly because their additional qualifications over the <$15 employees don't result in any more $?

No, they’ll just demand a pay hike, as will the regular federal workers. 40% pay hikes for everyone! Woohoo!

I can’t wait to spend $10 per gallon of milk!