Ghozer Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Yup, I have recently started work, and with rent, bills, council tax (lol), clothes, food, transport etc, i'm left in the minus figures.... so will be claiming working tax credits for that little 'extra' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyofborg Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 It’s ironic that it was his party’s policies that caused the housing bubble which in turn prevented some people affording a house without housing benefits, now he wants companies to pay more wages to compensate for his parties incompetence. given that their policies were the same as the preceeding administration and is pretty much the same as the current governments then it suggests that they are all incompetent. over the last 30 or so years there has been a massive transfer of wealth from those at the bottom to those at the top. this has been covered up partly by public sector spending and partly by easily available fairly low cost credit. Neither of these alternatives are available any more, so there is a choice either redistribute wealth downwards or we're all pretty much doomed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erebus Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Minimum wage is better than living wage, as it only affects the poor, who tend to breed a lot. Thus malutrition to those large families allows their offspring to be more prone to disease in later years, as well as their parents. A living wage will allow the families and individuals concerned to prosper, but as they are at the bottom of the social ladder, do they really deserve to do anything but suffer? So the minimum wage is a good and effective way to get rid of surplus stock, without having to balme anyone, as its well known tbeing poor is a choice, and therefore they choose to be unhealthy, and more prone to premature death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spilldig Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Hold up! Surely the minimum wage should apply to everyone so therefore the state pension should be equal too 40 hours minimum wage per week,each oap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truman Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Hold up! Surely the minimum wage should apply to everyone . Why should it apply to people who don't work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteMorris Posted November 5, 2012 Author Share Posted November 5, 2012 My OH works as a 'manager' (so called) and barely gets above minimum wage. Since the last 'upping' of the minimum wage, there's only 40p difference between her salary and those working for her (cos she didn't get a rise). The whole sodding system stinks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truman Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 My OH works as a 'manager' (so called) and barely gets above minimum wage. Since the last 'upping' of the minimum wage, there's only 40p difference between her salary and those working for her (cos she didn't get a rise). The whole sodding system stinks! I made a point in a previous thread (or it might have been at the beginning of this one) about erosion of differentials if the minimum wage goes up..what's the point in having more responsibility/qualifications etc if you're not much better off than those with neither...it's the people at the margins that will lose out.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteMorris Posted November 5, 2012 Author Share Posted November 5, 2012 I made a point in a previous thread (or it might have been at the beginning of this one) about erosion of differentials if the minimum wage goes up..what's the point in having more responsibility/qualifications etc if you're not much better off than those with neither...it's the people at the margins that will lose out.. Nothing worse than losing your differentials! But you're right. She might as well just revert to the lower levels and sod all the hassle that goes with being a Whipping Boy...ooops, I mean manager! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxmaximus Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 I don’t think the difference they are talking about would take many workers off benefits, it’s not a living wage that is needed its reasonable accommodation costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epiphany Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 I think we seriously need to revisit the whole idea of a minimum wage and whether it is indeed the most efficient way to deal with what is a very real and age old problem - the division between labour and capital. I've said before that Germany's co-determination laws should be closely studied by anyone interested in giving workers a greater stake in the capital output of industry. Since the state effectively grants corporations personhood, limited liability and numerous other legal privileges, perhaps it is time to demand more in return for these now taken-for-granted gifts, i.e. in regards to the democratic representation workers have in the boardrooms. The architects of co-determination in Germany clearly adhered to the labour theory of value that labour is itself a form of capital investment and workers should therefore be granted a more democratic stake in how this investment is remunerated, in the same way monetary investors would rightfully demand stakeholdership. With a properly balanced system of industrial democracy, and it will take time to find that balance (which will be unique to a country's economic climate), the antithesis between labour and capital could be minimised and the need for one size fits all, sticking plaster fixes such as minimum wage would become less necessary. In short, workers should be at liberty and have the power to negotiate their own wages in a democratic environment and within the companies they are actually a part of, rather than the state forcing companies to pay their workers above a certain amount by central decree, completely disregarding the long term effects this could have on workers e.g. through squeezed pension schemes, fewer benefits and fewer available full time positions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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