'Fight for $15' wage protests across metro Detroit

[SyGolden48236]

There is an old Yiddish proverb about being insulted: "A fool shows his annoyance at once but a prudent man overlooks an insult".

[Hermod]

Do not be stupid. This thread is about living wages not fast food.

Where would McDonald's ability to pay wages at any level come from except by selling fast food? I am not sure that McDonald's 300.000 are ready to launch the next Google or Amazon .

[rb336]

NO ONE will be buying much of anything produced in America when the Labor costs $$$ across the nation are elevated to ridiculously high levels.

Some jobs are NOT worth $400 a week, and many mass produced widgets, chachkeys, etc. etc. need to remain low priced for industry in USA to survive

99.999% of those are made by slave-wage sweatshops in countries you couldn't locate on a map

[sumas]

I make it a point to buy only USA products or friendly countries such as our neighbors to the north. If it costs a bit more which is not the case. so what.

Just support real wages for folk that bust their butts to enrich the apparently entitled.

[Willi]

Try strolling thru a Tier 3 supplier to the automotive companies here in Michigan paying minimum wage in a NON-union environment.
Low wage, hard, heavy,dirty, work in Michigan
Those were the "widgets" I referred to.

You don't want the cars to cost 40 grand

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Try strolling thru a Tier 3 supplier to the automotive companies here in Michigan paying minimum wage in a NON-union environment.
Low wage, hard, heavy,dirty, work in Michigan
Those were the "widgets" I referred to.

You don't want the cars to cost 40 grand

Most cars already cost 40G or more, so what's your point? Have you priced Trucks and SUV's lately?

[bailey]

99.999% of those are made by slave-wage sweatshops in countries you couldn't locate on a map

Agreed...but that particular horse is out of the barn. Americans are conditioned to expect the prices those sweat shops provide. If americans actually cared about sweat shops, no one would shop at Wal Mart or have an Iphone [[he says while typing this on an Iphone)

Further, the other sticking point is if those products CAN be made by barely literate peasants in some third world country for pennies a day, why should that job pay 30k + benefits here?

[Vic01]

Agreed...but that particular horse is out of the barn. Americans are conditioned to expect the prices those sweat shops provide. If americans actually cared about sweat shops, no one would shop at Wal Mart or have an Iphone [[he says while typing this on an Iphone)

Further, the other sticking point is if those products CAN be made by barely literate peasants in some third world country for pennies a day, why should that job pay 30k + benefits here?

"Why"? because "we" have a "right" to a "living wage"... [[sarcasm alert)

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Agreed...but that particular horse is out of the barn. Americans are conditioned to expect the prices those sweat shops provide. If americans actually cared about sweat shops, no one would shop at Wal Mart or have an Iphone [[he says while typing this on an Iphone)

Further, the other sticking point is if those products CAN be made by barely literate peasants in some third world country for pennies a day, why should that job pay 30k + benefits here?

You don't ask why, you ask why not?

[Wesley Mouch]

Agreed...but that particular horse is out of the barn. Americans are conditioned to expect the prices those sweat shops provide. If americans actually cared about sweat shops, no one would shop at Wal Mart or have an Iphone [[he says while typing this on an Iphone)

Further, the other sticking point is if those products CAN be made by barely literate peasants in some third world country for pennies a day, why should that job pay 30k + benefits here?

One of the biggest problems is that people think that there are simple answers.

Is it so simple? That you can really know what's best for people? Are we wise enough to make that decision?

So here you can complain about sweat shops. And they are most worth of disdain.
But so is the living condition in these countries today. And so was the living condition in lower Manhattan in 1910. Think Triangle Shirtwaist fire. We were no better once.

We're better today. Bangladesh will be better someday.

Set goals for these countries in safety. Watch them. Help them. But don't be so arrogant to think that by denying them access to our market you are helping.

so back to the thread.... once we pass a $15 minimum wage, we can be sure that many low-skilled jobs will head to Malaysia where the increased margins will help improve their workplaces. So I guess a minimum wage might help the world. And screw our own working poor.

[sumas]

Back in the depression days the kids would chant on Halloween, " help the poor, my britches are tore, give some money. I'll buy some more" Guess people want to go back to "those good old days"