Can you live on minimum wage? (Calculator)

[UncleBuck]

\ Keep in mind our school year is 181 days (1/2 a year) which by any standards is a part-time job.

you must be completely stupid to think that teachers are anywhere near "part time". when they are not grading papers in their off hours or rewriting curriculums in their off months or volunteering to run extra curricular activities, they are often taking classes to renew certs or just keep current.

but do go on opening your mouth to remove all doubt, i'll just sit back and laugh.

 

[Padawanbater2]

I agree that it will cost more, but if you have the grades, you can go to college. I know a lot of people who went to college who "couldn't afford it".

That is not a valid solution to this problem. Why not lower the cost to go to college so more people can pay for it themselves and earn an education?

 

[Padawanbater2]

You should have went straight into college out of high school with a low interest Government Loan.

Taking out government loans is not a valid solution either. Putting Americans in debt right out of school is bad for the economy

Lowering the cost to go to college is the solution

 

[UncleBuck]

Your reality is flawed.

holy shit, this almost made me die laughing considering the source.

 

[kelly4]

That is not a valid solution to this problem. Why not lower the cost to go to college so more people can pay for it themselves and earn an education?

So that the labor pool will be swimming with people who are willing to do the job for far less than what it's worth?

 

[robert 14617]

Why are you only going for minimum wage jobs to support yourself? Why do you morons insist on shooting for the lowest common denominator, and then whine about not getting more?

keep your expectations low and you will never be disappointed

 

[kelly4]

Taking out government loans is not a valid solution either. Putting Americans in debt right out of school is bad for the economy

Lowering the cost to go to college is the solution

You should found a private college based on low tuition. You could make billions...

 

[UncleBuck]

question for the bootstrap right wingers:

so what happens when all the folks on the bottom rung decide to bootstrap themselves up to success? who's gonna flip your burgers and clean the toilets then?

 

[robert 14617]

the kids in high school right now

 

[Padawanbater2]

So that the labor pool will be swimming with people who are willing to do the job for far less than what it's worth?

Nice tacit admission why college education costs are soaring

 

[schuylaar]

nothing could have conveyed this more perfectly!

 

[kelly4]

Nice tacit admission why college education costs are soaring

Take a loan and go to college, or don't....I'd rather have a nice job, inside, well paying, in the field of my choosing and have a loan to pay back than be stuck at some shit job bitching about not getting ahead and being broke.

 

[UncleBuck]

the kids in high school right now

not enough labor force there, dumbass.

 

[robert 14617]

not enough labor force there, dumbass.

good point i got your kids here working on cutting my yard and they fuck that up every time

 

[jahbrudda]

you must be completely stupid to think that teachers are anywhere near "part time". when they are not grading papers in their off hours or rewriting curriculums in their off months or volunteering to run extra curricular activities, they are often taking classes to renew certs or just keep current.

but do go on opening your mouth to remove all doubt, i'll just sit back and laugh.

My neighbors are both high school teachers, every summer break they go to Europe and are gone for the entire summer.

 

[UncleBuck]

good point i got your kids here working on cutting my yard and they fuck that up every time

and i got your sister over here shaving my cat's furry ass. i gave her a straight edge and some clippers, but she went at it with her mouth.

 

[Dr Kynes]

That is not a valid solution to this problem. Why not lower the cost to go to college so more people can pay for it themselves and earn an education?

if you want to "lower the cost to go to college" then START YOUR OWN COLLEGE and charge as little as you choose.

colleges are SELLING THEIR SHIT.


they are not required to lower the price to what you wish to pay, theres plenty of people paying the asking price now, many with govt subsidies, yet those subsidies are viewed as treasured rights, not the inflationary debt monsters that they truely are.

the only way to "lower the cost to go to college" without nationalizing the private college system would be to STOP THE GRANTS AND LOANS, get the money out of the education racket, and let the market settle the price.

 

[robert 14617]

and i got your sister over here shaving my cat's furry ass. i gave her a straight edge and some clippers, but she went at it with her mouth.

that's my sister alright give her a big open mouth kiss for me.... doc kanes l like your point of view

 

[lilroach]

The problem is clear. Most of you in opposition to minimum wage workers in this thread are clearly above the age of 40-50 (are any of you younger?), you're holding todays workforce up to the standard you grew up with when times weren't nearly as tough. When I hear "just do a good job, climb up the ladder and become the boss" I shake my head in astonishment someone could be that simple. Maybe that's how it worked when you were growing up (ironically in the exact same time period I've been talking about this entire thread, 50's-mid 70's), when the rules weren't pitted against your economic class. When times were more equal for everyone, yeah, I might agree with you that that's all it took. I could probably have earned a working wage, bought a new car, put a downpayment on a nice house and went to school on a single persons salary. Today, you can't even do one of those things. Clear difference, how can you deny it? The cost of going to school alone is more than 3,000x's more than it was for you when you went.

I've worked jobs for years without being sick without calling in, being on time every single shift. It simply does not work the way you say it does in todays workforce for minimum wage earners. You are wrong. Accept it or not, I know, I'm the one that's worked it, you haven't.

You people are out of touch with the reality of what todays workforce has to go through just to make ends meet, and I've gotta say, the arguments that have been presented in this thread against American workers only serves to create resentment between generations. The total lack of empathy for fellow working Americans who simply want to not have to worry about living paycheck to paycheck or worry about getting sick is disgusting in America today.

It used to be about increasing the strength of the country as a whole, strengthening the middle class that drives the economy, now, it's "I got mine, fuck you".


I will tell you this.. unless something changes, what do you think is going to happen? Do you think people like me will just accept being homeless or not being able to buy food? I certainly hope you're not that naive.. I'd like to work hard and earn my own way, but if it isn't a possibility when it comes down to it, I have no issue turning to crime to take it, and neither do millions of other Americans.

Yeah.....I'm 57 years old, but do you think that I started a job back in 1975 and have been there since....hell no! Get divorced a couple of times and be left with the clothes on your back at the age of 47 and start from scratch again. In 1999 I was living in my mother's basement after loosing not one or two jobs, but the THREE jobs I was working. I had nothing......and once again grabbed myself up by the boot-straps and started over once again......And started at the bottom and worked my way back up.

"I got my so fuck you".....you obviously haven't considered I have kids your age. Between my wife and I we have five kids between the ages of 22 and 31 and all have managed to work their way up the ladder. This is in a city that Kodak has cut their work force from 60,000 to less than 6,000. We are in the highest taxed county in the nation, and the least business friendly state in the country. If our kids can get ahead here.....anyone can.

 

[heckler73]

they are not required to lower the price to what you wish to pay, there's plenty of people paying the asking price now, many with govt subsidies, yet those subsidies are viewed as treasured rights, not the inflationary debt monsters that they truely are.

Have you looked at the rate of growth in international students? They generally pay ~3x what a citizen pays for tuition (at least in my area).
There are some dynamics in this equation you may be overlooking in your analysis.

the only way to "lower the cost to go to college" without nationalizing the private college system would be to STOP THE GRANTS AND LOANS, get the money out of the education racket, and let the market settle the price.

What does that leave? A less educated populace, and more reliance on international students to fund the system, perhaps?
That's quite a gamble you're willing to take there.

One-third of the total expenditures on postsecondary education in 2011, or $181 billion, was provided by the federal government (see Digest of Education Statistics 2012, table 419). Of this amount, $146 billion was in the form of student financial aid. The federal government offers students several financial aid programs, including grants (which do not have to be repaid), student loans (which do have to be repaid), and work-study (which allows students with demonstrated financial need to earn money to pay for school).

http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_tua.asp
(There's a wealth of info at that site)

Would an estimate of 30% be conservative enough of a guess as to how much enrollment would drop with your plan?
So instead of 21Mn students, there would be ~14Mn.
Less faculty, less positive externalities...not the best idea you've had this week.

One might as well nationalize the system.