The $15 minimum wage...

[Elegiac]

No, he's saying that life shouldn't be all gumdrops and rainbows for someone struggling.

Why shouldn't people at the lower end of society be at least moderately comfortable?

[avx81]

The problem is that minimum wage is not nearly enough to live on. The only time I made minimum wage was when I was like 14 years old and I was cool with it then because I was just a young kid with no expenses whatsoever. When you get older its a different story. Even $15 is not enough today to make it on your own at least in new york. A lot of places want 1200-1300 just for one bedroom. After taxes are taken out and other expenses you wont be able to make it on $15 an hour.

My biggest problem is that you have CEO's of companies averaging several thousand dollars an hour pay while their average employee is probably not even making $8 an hour. The difference between the poor and the rich is way to high and imo something needs to be done about it. I'm not saying that a ceo does not deserve his fair share but they certainly dont deserve to make thousands of dollars per hour average while their employees struggle just to put food on the table.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/1...n_4414538.html

[Crissi]

Ft. Worth use public transportation?

Still not free! Seattle's public transport was about 2$ per ride, and Ft. Worth is similar in price.

[Stop Pretending]

Again, public transportation in this country is by and large complete rubbish.

Well, i'm not familiar with Blorch, but here in the USA, cities usually have multiple forms of public lost cost transportation, and small towns, well i heard feet or a bike will do the trick.

[Espe]

I'm just wondering how our politicians are to avoid buying votes with social programs like lifeline, while at the same time having enough social programs so businesses don't have to pay a higher minimum wage.

Good question

There's a real problem when minimum wage recipients have a low enough income to qualify for public assistance. That burger at McD's and cheap crap at Walmart is subsidized by tax dollars and that's not right. I'd love to see the government charge back the cost to those businesses because I'm sick of it coming out of my taxes.

I hope people keep this in mind the next time they head to the polls.

Sadly, between the racist dog whistles to their aging base, rampant gerrymandering and widespread voter disenfranchisement the conservatives will have a decent showing no matter what.

Stay classy, conservatives

[Jtbrig7390]

The internet is not the " must have thing ", see here in America, people can walk into a business, and ask for an application, and the tech savy stores have kiosks where people can use a computer to fill out an online application. OOHHHH AHHHHH.

See here in america where I live it is a MUST HAVE THING because places don't have in store applications anymore.

Go apply to Walmart/K-Mart or hell any store anywhere and good chance they tell you to do it online. Also each application normally requires 20-30mins to fill out. Therefor going to the libary is out of the question since you could only do 2 a DAY. People looking for jobs need to fill out as many as they can each day.

The internet is also a good way to find out what place's are hiring and is a lot quicker then calling and walking around.

Once again this is 2014 not 1980 the Internet and Cell Phones are NEEDED. Welcome to the future.

[Crissi]

See here in america where I live it is a MUST HAVE THING because places don't have in store applications anymore.

Go apply to Walmart/K-Mart or hell any store anywhere and good chance they tell you to do it online. Also each application normally requires 20-30mins to fill out. Therefor going to the libary is out of the question since you could only do 2 a DAY. People looking for jobs need to fill out as many as they can each day.

The internet is also a good way to find out what place's are hiring and is a lot quicker then calling and walking around.

Once again this is 2014 not 1980 the Internet and Cell Phones are NEEDED. Welcome to the future.

Ha, when I was applying to places liek Chipotles or Barnes and Noble for part time, was told that they moved their applications to online because its easier on them.

[Stop Pretending]

Still not free! Seattle's public transport was about 2$ per ride, and Ft. Worth is similar in price.

I never said it was, i think the only " free " argument was someone saying internet at the library is free. But that is still low cost.

[xenogear3]

US has crappy public transportation.

You wait a bus for 30 minutes and it never comes.

[Orlong]

What?

Traveling extensively, can't say I've seen ANY of this. If anything, portions in the US are getting LARGER. And in other countries the same thing, there's a variety of sizes and prices are significantly higher. It's going to depend on the location, urban or not. In countries where the min wage is significantly higher, I've seen prices probably 10% higher for 2.5x the US minimum wage. So far more people have far better quality of life for a small price hike, which is probably more a result of import tariffs and taxes than cost of production.

In other words, none of what you said is even remotely true.

Google Grocery Shrink Ray and youll find hundreds of products that reduced their size just so they wouldnt have to raise their price. We ARE getting less than we used to for the same money

[Jtbrig7390]

I live in Ft. Worth. The nearest public library is NOT within walking distance, because crossing an interstate highway on foot is suicide.

And in most states if not all is breaking the law.

[belfpala]

I live in Ft. Worth. The nearest public library is NOT within walking distance, because crossing an interstate highway on foot is suicide.

My nearest one is walk-able, and I live in a somewhat major city. It wouldn't be a comfortable walk. Not sure I'd enjoy writing cover letters and resumes there.

And I'm kind of LOL about the public coffers thing. Problem: PEOPLE ARE GETTING FREE INTERWEBZ AND CAN PLAY ANGRY BIRDS! Solution: go to place funded from public coffers where you could play flash games if you felt like it.

Heh.

[Elegiac]

Well, i'm not familiar with Blorch, but here in the USA, cities usually have multiple forms of public lost cost transportation, and small towns, well i heard feet or a bike will do the trick.

The US' public transport networks are very rarely comprehensive and are often fairly expensive to use regularly. Not to mention that population centers in the US tend to be fairly diffuse compared to other countries which makes the average commute to work or any other destination a bit of a trip.

So no, it's not an adequate solution when there's a much simpler alternative in the form of free internet.

[Crissi]

I never said it was, i think the only " free " argument was someone saying internet at the library is free. But that is still low cost.

2$ per ride, aka 1 way, is not cheap in the long term, especially for those already on a show string budget.

[Elegiac]

Google Grocery Shrink Ray and youll find hundreds of products that reduced their size just so they wouldnt have to raise their price. We ARE getting less than we used to for the same money

Good. The US' ridiculous portion sizes are in no small way contributing to the obesity epidemic.

[Jtbrig7390]

Well, i'm not familiar with Blorch, but here in the USA, cities usually have multiple forms of public lost cost transportation, and small towns, well i heard feet or a bike will do the trick.

......Keep moving that goal post. Next thing your going to say is give people gas money to take you or barrow a rich friends internet.....

[Orlong]

- The intended policy isn't, "if you're on SNAP, you have to be miserable or else you don't really deserve it"

It should be. If youre not miserable youre doing OK

[Pickynerd]

All these silly arguments, meanwhile we rebuild other countries.

[Elegiac]

It should be. If youre not miserable youre doing OK

Again, we live in a first world, industrialised country. Why should anyone, even on the lower end of society, be miserable?

[Crissi]

My nearest one is walk-able, and I live in a somewhat major city. It wouldn't be a comfortable walk. Not sure I'd enjoy writing cover letters and resumes there.

And I'm kind of LOL about the public coffers thing. Problem: PEOPLE ARE GETTING FREE INTERWEBZ AND CAN PLAY ANGRY BIRDS! Solution: go to place funded from public coffers where you could play flash games if you felt like it.

Heh.

Texas is weird like that. even our metro areas are pretty spread out, so interstate highways cross a lot of areas.