Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (206492)	10/14/2004 1:28:51 PM
From: combjelly	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1574261

"That's the only way to raise wages in America, by having a more educated work force and a job market that offers higher quality work." Sort of. I agree that being able to offer skills that pay higher is the real solution. But there are all kinds of reasons why even someone with valuable skills might be at minimum wage. I was working as a consultant in the early '90s. Newly married with a baby on the way. Then the economy in Houston fell apart, I got stiffed for about $13k of work and equipment as my customers flirted with bankruptcy and there weren't any contracts to be had. The want ads for engineering and IT had dwindled from around 15+ pages to two. So the Domino's year entered my life. I started as a driver and wound up as a manager trainee after a couple of months when the manager let me know he had more than enough drivers but needed a MIT who could count to 20 with their shoes on. My wife was working as a part time instructor at a local community college and I was working 60-80 hours a week at $4.25 an hour, manager trainees being one of the allowed jobs for less than minimum wage. No health insurance. Did I mention the baby? I did that for year before I found a job that better fit my qualifications. But it was touch and go for a while... Just because you have skills, if there aren't jobs at the moment, you can be SOL. No, a minimum wage job isn't a substitute for a good job. But...

To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (206492)	10/14/2004 2:43:12 PM
From: SilentZ	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1574261

>The rich? Fat chance. They'll lay off workers before they ever give themselves a pay cut. How cynical... I mean, you're right, but aren't there things we can do about it? Or is exploding class disparity impossible to stop? -Z

To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (206492)	10/14/2004 2:46:00 PM
From: SilentZ	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1574261

>Hence the reason Bush brought up education in response to the minimum wage question, even though I suspect very few listeners actually got Bush's point. That's the only way to raise wages in America, by having a more educated work force and a job market that offers higher quality work. Yes and no... one of the biggest problems we face right now is that many people are "underemployed," meaning they're too educated/qualified for the jobs they now hold. My dad was a pretty successful real estate agent, then the manager of a real estate referral company. His company closed down in '99, and he hasn't been able to get a good job since. He's now a trucker. I have many friends who came out of Ivy League schools with a choice of either bartending or going back to school. Are they not educated enough? -Z