UO

Flamingo86

Anyone have anything good?

Flamingo86

Pumpkin spice lattes are gross.

brij2006

@Flamingo86

amandaf6383

I think labeling posts NGPR is silly. We can talk about things other than getting KU! 

islandmonkey8

Similiar to @Flamingo86... I hate Starbucks... And all lattes everywhere.

BruinsBabe33

If this is going to turn into a pumpkin bashing session I am out of this place!

islandmonkey8

@BruinsBabe33 .... I love pumpkin! Just not lattes or anything at Starbucks!

seahorse01

lol @bruinsbabe33

I've been trying to think of one.  I think hummus is gross.  I want to like it, but nope. 

It might be unpopular that I think the fast food workers do deserve to be paid more than $7.25 an hour and I am glad they are striking. I hate reading all of the comments about 'they should educate themselves and get a better job'.  Right, because it is that easy for all people. Bootstraps! 

sparklingdiamond

I have never had a latte of any kind actually.

BruinsBabe33

Fake maple syrup is gross and if you like it you are wrong.

Condoms should be given out at all high school and middle schools.

ecinereb

Pumpkin lattes are the best kind of lattes!

I dislike the term 'sticky baby.' I don't know why I just don't like it.

nfp147

I'm deeply disturbed by the latte bashing today.

ILoveRedVino

seahorse01 said:

 

It might be unpopular that I think the fast food workers do deserve to be paid more than $7.25 an hour and I am glad they are striking. I hate reading all of the comments about 'they should educate themselves and get a better job'.  Right, because it is that easy for all people. Bootstraps! 

But then who should be making minimum wage?

I'm not totally disagreeing because I don't know how people can live on that.  I do think asking for $15/hr is ridiculous though.  I didn't make that much straight out of college.

Panderp

ILoveRedVino said:

seahorse01 said:

 

It might be unpopular that I think the fast food workers do deserve to be paid more than $7.25 an hour and I am glad they are striking. I hate reading all of the comments about 'they should educate themselves and get a better job'.  Right, because it is that easy for all people. Bootstraps! 

But then who should be making minimum wage?

I'm not totally disagreeing because I don't know how people can live on that.  I do think asking for $15/hr is ridiculous though.  I didn't make that much straight out of college.

They should be making minimum wage. But minimum wage should be higher. You should be able to sustain yourself and make a living wage. We aren't talking about these people taking vacations to Fiji (or even a roadtrip). Affording healthcare, roof, food, transporation-- and you can't do that on $7.25/hr.

brij2006

This may be a different UO, but I feel that McDonalds gives a lot of opportunities to their employees.  They promote from within, give benefits and pay raises, and give structure to many people's lives. They also truly are an equal opportunity employer. It makes me upset when someone makes the comment, "if you can't find a job, there's always flipping burgers at McDonalds," as though working at McDonalds is a bad thing.

ILoveRedVino

I think McDonald's is good to their employees, @brij2006. 

But I sure couldn't live off minimum wage. I don't disagree with that.

Sidenote - I remember when I was 16 and got my first job.  Minimum wage was $5.15 and the manager offered me $5.20 because I smiled a lot in my interview.  Lol. 

cinderin

this may be BR, but I don't know how any company in good conscience can sell crib bumpers any more. I see them everywhere, I just don't get it. 

Panderp

ILoveRedVino said:

I think McDonald's is good to their employees, @brij2006. 

But I sure couldn't live off minimum wage. I don't disagree with that.

Sidenote - I remember when I was 16 and got my first job.  Minimum wage was $5.15 and the manager offered me $5.20 because I smiled a lot in my interview.  Lol. 

McDonald's does not provide their employees with a living wage. In fact, they laughably try to help them afford life in the company.

http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/mcdonalds/documents/McD_Journal2.pdf

Congrats on finding health insurance for $20! Amazing!

cinderin

I live in a state with the highest minimum wage.

I think it is a tough issue because simply saying "they should be paid more" doesn't work. I worked for about 6 years in HR for a retail company which was privately (family) owned (about 400 employees). They paid their people above minimum wage, but some were paid close to minimum wage (for entry level positions with no experience). and this company did not have extra money. a few years we lost money. sometimes there was a real fear about paying all the bills.

it would not have been possible to simply pay everyone more. there is a labor budget, so if the wages go up, hours go down. that is what often happens in retail.  

Flamingo86

Panderp said:

ILoveRedVino said:

I think McDonald's is good to their employees, @brij2006. 

But I sure couldn't live off minimum wage. I don't disagree with that.

Sidenote - I remember when I was 16 and got my first job.  Minimum wage was $5.15 and the manager offered me $5.20 because I smiled a lot in my interview.  Lol. 

McDonald's does not provide their employees with a living wage. In fact, they laughably try to help them afford life in the company.

http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/mcdonalds/documents/McD_Journal2.pdf

Congrats on finding health insurance for $20! Amazing!

I've seen that pamphlet before. It is such a joke. Minimum wage in my state is $9.19. The city I live in is outrageously expensive. There is no way anyone could survive on that, even with no luxuries whatsoever.

ETA: I should add that for a short time after college I worked two jobs (40 hrs a week) minimum wage. I lived very frugally (with roommates, rice and beans, old car, etc.) and still could not get by w/o help from my parents and boyfriend (now DH).

LooneyLife

cinderin said:

this may be BR, but I don't know how any company in good conscience can sell crib bumpers any more. I see them everywhere, I just don't get it. 

This summer, Maryland instituted the nation's first statewide ban on the sale of crib bumpers.  It's also illegal to ship them to Maryland (keeping people from buying online).  The penalty for anyone that sells/ships them is a warning for the first offense and then $500 for each one sold/shipped after that.

ILoveRedVino

So, this is a genuine question and I apologize for being completely uneducated on this.

But if minimum wage goes up, don't all other salaries have to go up?  If it is adjusted to $12/hr, for example, than what happens to the admins who have been working for 5 years, with an associates degree, for $12/hr?

And, then if salaries are shifted, don't prices just increase?

I'm not being critical -- I just don't know.

brij2006

Oh I'm definitely not saying that McDonalds pays their employees a lot when they're first starting out, but the study we did in college (granted 2008) showed that the average employee makes more than minimum wage after the 90 day probational period. With additional raises and promotions every 3-6 months.

Guess I look at items like what you linked, and I think it's great. Yeah, they can't find health insurance for $20/month.  But they provide their employees with tools on how to be financially sound, and not many companies do that. I just feel that they do more for their employees than just giving them a paycheck each month.

brij2006

@Iloveredvino That's called the law of Economics.

Yes, wages can increase, but then those companies will have to charge more for their services in order to pay their employees those wages. It's a vicious cycle.

cinderin

ILoveRedVino said:

So, this is a genuine question and I apologize for being completely uneducated on this.

But if minimum wage goes up, don't all other salaries have to go up?  If it is adjusted to $12/hr, for example, than what happens to the admins who have been working for 5 years, with an associates degree, for $12/hr?

And, then if salaries are shifted, don't prices just increase?

I'm not being critical -- I just don't know.

no, not necessarily. 

there is a lot that goes into salaries, salary structures, etc. 

i can tell you that minimum wage has/had no effect on professional salaries in any company I have worked for. 

ILoveRedVino

I know nothing about compensation @cinderin.  Not my area of expertise or interest, really.

Another UO - I don't care that Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas have split.

Panderp

brij2006 said:

Guess I look at items like what you linked, and I think it's great. Yeah, they can't find health insurance for $20/month.  But they provide their employees with tools on how to be financially sound, and not many companies do that. I just feel that they do more for their employees than just giving them a paycheck each month.

LOL. I'm sorry. This is laughable-- it's a good tool to give your employees to highlight that you can not make a living working for them? And tools to be financially sound using examples that do not exist? Like $20/month healthcare? How is this helpful? It's unreasonable.

cinderin

brij2006 said:

@Iloveredvino That's called the law of Economics.

Yes, wages can increase, but then those companies will have to charge more for their services in order to pay their employees those wages. It's a vicious cycle.

you are right, that if there is a small family owned pizza place which employs mostly high school students at minimum wage, and minimum wage goes up, prices are likely going to go up as well. 

but just because minimum wage goes up, does not mean that the salary of an accountant or truck driver or nurse is going to go up. it depends on the market. there is a lot that goes into salaries and salary structures. employees are subject to supply and demand issues. different jobs are going to move up or down in salary depending on the market. a lot of it has to do with economic elasticity as well. 

cinderin

ILoveRedVino said:

I know nothing about compensation @cinderin.  Not my area of expertise or interest, really.

Another UO - I don't care that Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas have split.

I think it is kind of sad. they have kids and he has stage 4 cancer. :-( 

brij2006

@panderp If they were only making minimum wage, then wouldn't they qualify for government health insurance?  Then technically their monthly health insurance expense is $0. ;-)

@cinderin If minimum wage goes up, it rarely affects the wages for those who are already above it.

lilliesandvino

I think a good starting point for discussing min wage should be "can a person work ONE JOB full time at this rate and afford to live?" Like, buy groceries, pay rent, pay utilities, buy adequate clothing, and put some money into savings. People who work full time should not have to supplement with a second job to afford life's necessities.