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US Politics -- Where Candidates Fall like Leaves


Lany Freelove Cassandra

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Considering you need a combined family income approaching $100,000 to afford a two-bedroom apartment in most of the metropolitan area I live in, I'm going to say that shouldn't be the standard to go by. And I don't even live in the most expansive area in the country.

It was just an example since you can't live in a two bedroom apartment anywhere in the country on the current minimum wage.  The point was that people who work, and work hard, should not be ostracized because of the amount they are paid.

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I agree with raising it to at least $12 hr, but I think it needs to be stepped (over 2 years, maybe 3) to lessen the impact, especially on small businesses.   And then it needs to be tied to inflation. 

And I do think states with very high cost of living areas need to increase their minimums as well.

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It was just an example since you can't live in a two bedroom apartment anywhere in the country on the current minimum wage.  The point was that people who work, and work hard, should not be ostracized because of the amount they are paid.

I agree that people shouldn't be ostracized over their salaries. My point is that regional variations are important though, and the cost-of-living varies wildly depending on where you are. As such, I don't think a blanket minimum wage increase to $15 is appropriate; it goes too far in some places and arguably not far enough in others. The best way to go would be probably be to set a base minimum wage, say $11, and attach a regional COLA to it, the way federal salaries do. So depending on where you live, minimum wage might vary anywhere from maybe $9 to $16.

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I think $12 and indexed to inflation is quite reasonable. And hopefully those cities where that is inadequate would take action to make it higher--which seems to be the trend right now, but I worry that people might give up the fight if a big enough federal increase is enacted.

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It was just an example since you can't live in a two bedroom apartment anywhere in the country on the current minimum wage.  The point was that people who work, and work hard, should not be ostracized because of the amount they are paid.

Really?  Four people can't live in a two bedroom apartment earning $60k annually combined (2000 hrs x 7.25 hr x 4 earners)?  Maybe it's not feasible in rent controlled areas like NYC or SF, but that's totally doable across the fruited plain.

Or is there some sort of implied right for 1000 sq ft per person?

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Really?  Four people can't live in a two bedroom apartment earning $60k annually combined (2000 hrs x 7.25 hr x 4 earners)?  Maybe it's not feasible in rent controlled areas like NYC or SF, but that's totally doable across the fruited plain.

Or is there some sort of implied right for 1000 sq ft per person?

Where do these 4 earners magically come from? It seems far more realistic to assume 1, 2 at most. Especially with the prevalence of single parent households. 

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It's always depressing when people talk about minimum wage. Hearing someone like Trump talk about it, though, fucking enrages me. A billionaire whining that my wage is too high. As if he ever worked a day in his life. Those soft, manicured hands. That fucking toupee. "The Donald." Man, fuck Donald Trump and fuck anyone who thinks like him.

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Four earners magically come from four people who can work minimum wage jobs.  

Many families with 4 people in working age making up a household then? Or are you suggesting people will have to take roommates, admitting the apartment isn't affordable?

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I mean, that's cool if you're deciding that two families need to share a 2 bedroom house with no kids for it to count.  

It builds family bonds (everyone in one bedroom!) AND encourages traditional marriage(because there is no room for a single parent in this example).

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Really?  Four people can't live in a two bedroom apartment earning $60k annually combined (2000 hrs x 7.25 hr x 4 earners)?  Maybe it's not feasible in rent controlled areas like NYC or SF, but that's totally doable across the fruited plain.

Or is there some sort of implied right for 1000 sq ft per person?

LO fucking L.  4 earners in a 2 bedroom apartment?  What planet are you on?

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This from Jeffrey Young is a good read. Essentially, Republicans are realizing that victory at the ballot box will not necessarily prove to be a triumph over the Affordable Care Act. With more than 16 million people on the exchanges or the Medicaid expansion, woe betide the Republican who tries to do in Obamacare. Of course, some of them campaigned on repeal (Matt Bevin, I am looking in your direction), so that puts them between the Scylla of the right-wing fever swamp and the Charybdis of reality, and that is one tight channel to navigate.

I suppose Republicans could try to convince the base that the Medicaid expansion is not part of the ACA, and then craft a repeal bill that undoes the latter while leaving the former. Enough Americans would buy that, I suppose, but of course there are millions more people on the exchanges that would be angry if they lost their subsidized (or non-subsidized) insurance. All of this assumes Republicans can coalesce around a repeal bill, which they can't and probably never will. It's a delightful knot they're trying to untie.

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I agree with raising it to at least $12 hr, but I think it needs to be stepped (over 2 years, maybe 3) to lessen the impact, especially on small businesses.   And then it needs to be tied to inflation. 

And I do think states with very high cost of living areas need to increase their minimums as well.

Pittsburgh is raising theirs to $15 stepped over 5 years. Unfortunately, it won't go to $12 until 2017.

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$15/hr is quite high as a national minimum wage - that would raise the wages of nearly half of the country's workers, and raise wages in large sections of the country well above what the median wage is right now. I'm not so much worried about unemployment at that point as the loss of purchasing power to price inflation. That much of a statutory wage increase is going to greatly increase the labor cost input in the production of goods and services, and in at least the short run lead to price hikes in response by businesses. 

It still might be worth it, especially if it spurs productivity gains as well from employers trying to get prices back down (or save on labor costs) with automation. 

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