Minimum wage & The cost of living

Nine Ball

Nine Ball

Certified Rail Tester
Silver Member
I know this is not pool related so if you have a problem with it just let it slip to the back of the line. I've overlooked many things being raised in cost but today it really ticked me off. I was in Wal Mart and the price for a gallon of milk was $5.12. Give me a break... This is such a joke. I mean think about it. They recently raised the price of minimum wage for workers because so many people are on the struggle. Yet at the same time they go ahead and raise the prices of everything during the same period to make up for the increase in pay. What's the point for the increase? Does it not work out to be about the same as before the increase? So you make $1 more in min wage. Now you pay $1 more for everything else you buy. I really have to say the prices for almost anything you buy today is total robbery. Again, I apologize for writing this here as it has nothing to do with pool but seeing a gallon of milk at $5.12 just really got under my skin, and I don't even drink milk.
 
your outrage for the price of milk is related to many things, including the increase in mimimum wage.

Cost of transportation and energy makes a lot of things more expensive 9the ocst to produce and ship milk). Add that to the increase in population (more people drinking milk) meaning less supply for the demand. Add that to the increase in wage (more money going to employees means higher cost). Add that with the cost of employee benifits (IE health care). And now add just regular old inflation and you have a 5 dollar gallon of milk.

Now here is the rub
for the exception of competition in the marketplace (which is our greatest asset) once you get used to paying 5 bucks for a gallon of milk and when or if costs of goods comes down, companies are a little reluctant to reduce the cost when they know the market will bear it.

just my 2 cents
Jordan
 
Nine Ball said:
They recently raised the price of minimum wage for workers because so many people are on the struggle. Yet at the same time they go ahead and raise the prices of everything during the same period to make up for the increase in pay. What's the point for the increase? .
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The "they" you say are raising the minimum wage and the "they" who raise the prices, are not the same people. The alternative would be to have the price milk go up and the minimum wage stay down. In the end it's about the dollar losing it's value - about 94% or more since 1913.
 
why don't a few more vote for our glorious leader, Bush. what a joke. worst president I have ever seen and I've seen them all since Ike. I wish he'd get blown by an aide so we really had a reason to impeach him. Seems like lying to the American public over reasons for war isn't an adequate reason. More loss of privacy in over 200 years. Lets not kill embryos that get thrown away, for the possibility of great medical gains but lets kill a bunch of adults and children in Iraq. Seeing how Cheney can hit a target, I think he should go on the front line in Iraq. Please come soon 2008 so we can get rid of this recovering????druggie and alcoholic with his dillusional belief systems.
 
When the price of fuel goes up, everything else goes up with it. Almost all products and services rely on some form of transportation to get them to (or into) the marketplace. In the six+ years Bush has been in office, gas has tripled in price from around slightly over $1 a gallon in 2001 to over $3 a gallon this year. Don't worry, it will be going back up there soon. The U.S. Dollar has probably lost about 25-35% of its value against foreign currency worldwide in this same time frame.

And the petroleum industry is reaping windfall profits, the highest ever. Exon-Mobil had NET revenues of over Ten Billion in the first Quarter of this year. The high price of oil doesn't seem to be affecting them much. It's just a coincidence that it was mostly oil money that staked Bush's campaigns. Right!

And Cheney's confederates at Haiburton are also making enormous profits from the war efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq. Bush and Cheney will leave office very rich men. The worst President in history is not the half of it. They will be writing books about how corrupt this administration was for the next 20 years. It has been six long years of backroom finageling, outright lies and blatant disregard for the welfare of the American people (not to mention the poor Iraqis caught in the crossfire).

Sorry to put this on here. I just couldn't stop myself. No more from me. This belongs on non pool related. I've fought a few battles over there as well. The people who tried so hard to convince me that global warming was a hoax. They know who they are.
 
If you get the chance, read Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich.

Its about the author going "undercover" as a low wage worker and trying to make a living. A pretty good read. Just wrote an essay for my English class about low wage employees and did some research on the topic. Interesting issue with lots of room for improvement.
 
$ 5.12 for milk is crazy! Glad I have to limit my dairy intake. Shoot............I paid less than $3 for a gallon of 93 octane gas at a Walmart gas station tonight!
 
Nine Ball said:
I was in Wal Mart and the price for a gallon of milk was $5.12. Give me a break... This is such a joke. I mean think about it.
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If you think milk is overpriced, yesterday I had a coffee date with someone and paid $1.80 for a bottle of water at Starbucks. :rolleyes: Where's the outrage over the price of bottled water costing more than a gallon of gasoline? :eek:
 
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I watched a show on tv one day about how the cost of milk was going to go up. They said that alternative fuel was taking food from the cows and that it costs more to feed them now. And of course the gas prices.
 
Groceries

I buy groceries once a month, and every time I go, prices have gone up from a .10 to 2.00 an item. Surely, they can make up for a .30-.40 a cent raise in gas without raising almost every item in the grocery store by the amount they do.

This last time, a few days ago, 90% hamburger was 3.99 lb. I usually buy 85/15 hamburger, and they did not even have 85/15 on the shelve to be bought. I spotted a Filet Mignon that was $21 and some change.

One change from the month before I spotted, 100% beef 1/4 lb hot dogs went from $6.99 to $8.99 in 1 month.

Better fasten your seat belts, we're in for a rough ride in the future!
 
they should increase pool payouts at the same rate as the prices of fuel go up... :D
 
stop complaining

man we all like to complain dont we? welcome to the free market system my friends. you know what the alternative is? socialism/communism. how has that worked out? is that what you really want here? upset about high gas prices? you want the government to regulate those? how many SUVs with one person in them do you see going down the road getting 15 mpg? theres the real reason gas prices are so high. we love our gas hogs. i'm not saying its wrong. this is the land of the free. do what you want. but when you could be driving cars that get 50 mpg but choose to drive an SUV that gets 15 and drives up demand thus price, dont *****. dont blame the government.

bush the worst huh? since the war on terror began, how many attacks have taken place on american soil? oh yeah, none. your governement protecting you, doing its job. what about the clinton years? made a mockery of the presidency. talk about morally bankrupt. and when given the chance to prevent the war on terror but nipping the whole thing in the bud, he chose to do nothing. yep great president there.

if you love freedom, democracy and the free market system, sometimes that means you gotta pay $5 for milk.

everything has a price

brian
 
PoolSharkAllen said:
If you think milk is overpriced, yesterday I had a coffee date with someone and paid $1.80 for a bottle of water at Starbucks. :rolleyes: Where's the outrage over the price of bottled water costing more than a gallon of gasoline? :eek:
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My father had an ice business until 1962. I can still hear him say "I can't believe these fools are paying this price for frozen water". If he could see the the price of water and everything else now he'd be rolling in his grave. Johnnyt
 
I try not to get involved in these type of discussions....Is minimum wage supposed to be a livable wage? I made minimum in 10th grade or so. I figured out then it wasn't going put enough in my pocket.
There's just too many "theys" for my simple mind to comprehend. CEOs, State, Local, and Federal governments. Overspending by consumers, abandoning our manufactoring for service industries:eek:
Ugh

Andy
 
It's pretty much proven that a federal minimum wage increase does nothing good for the people it's set to help. In many cases, however, it does create inflation. It works pretty much the same way the labor unions work. When one interrupts a free market by setting an arbitrary price floor -- the minimum price above equilibrium in which prices cannot drop -- than one creates greater supply than demand; or, in other words, by stifling the price mechanism, one creates unemployment.

Bureaucrats/technocrats/ politicians do not fully understand the implications to their welfare policies. A study done back in the 80's showed that for every $8 dollars allocated for redistribution, and collected from tax dollars, only $1 actually reached the person it was intended to help. :eek:

-Shane
 
DawgAndy said:
I try not to get involved in these type of discussions....Is minimum wage supposed to be a livable wage? I made minimum in 10th grade or so. I figured out then it wasn't going put enough in my pocket.
There's just too many "theys" for my simple mind to comprehend. CEOs, State, Local, and Federal governments. Overspending by consumers, abandoning our manufactoring for service industries:eek:
Ugh

Andy
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Minimum wage a "livable wage"? Really? It's more than adequate if you ask me...what would you rather see for "minimum wage"? What's enough? I know folks (couples) who make minimum wage or just above it that have an 42" LCD in their house (I do not). They also have two vehicles; oops, 3, he has a motorcycle too. They both have cell phones (monthly contracts I'm sure), cable TV, and on and on. PRIORITIES!!!!!!!! None of this is needed....so, depends on what you call a "livable wage". We are spoiled, greedy, and downright stupid when it comes to the way we live in this country, and we take EVERYTHING for granted.
 
No way can you survive paying bills on your own for minimum wage. Car payment, Insurance, House or apartment bill, utilities, groceries, etc.. Yeah right....
 
my 2 cents

the "them" and "they" we all like to blame is actually us, each american citizen.we allow it and we stand for it for the most part.if it doesnt effect us then we are not overly concerned with it.the majority of us are self comsuming,selfish and greedy and we want what we want and we want it now.think about this;would we allow congress to pass a bill saying that each and every american must give his right eye for what ever strange reason they said for? hell no,i would think every one of us with a right eye would be in washington until we made them give up this idea.you may say well that's different or that's extreme,well yea to most it would be and that's what im saying.if it doesnt directly effect each and every one of us then we really dont care, but we should.it's all about what we as a people are willing or not willing to accept.
 
Let Them Eat Cake

trustyrusty said:
Minimum wage a "livable wage"? Really? It's more than adequate if you ask me...what would you rather see for "minimum wage"? What's enough? I know folks (couples) who make minimum wage or just above it that have an 42" LCD in their house (I do not). They also have two vehicles; oops, 3, he has a motorcycle too. They both have cell phones (monthly contracts I'm sure), cable TV, and on and on. PRIORITIES!!!!!!!! None of this is needed....so, depends on what you call a "livable wage". We are spoiled, greedy, and downright stupid when it comes to the way we live in this country, and we take EVERYTHING for granted.
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I'm guessing your acquaintances are either in debt up to their eyeballs, or have a meth lab in their garage.
 
The U.S. has the 2nd highest GDP per capita in the world; #1 in the world compared to countries even remotely close to our size.

Luxembourg-- $54,285.46 (2004) population = 459,000 (2004)

United States -- $39,535.28 (2004) population = 295,409,600 (2004)

Macao -- $39,294.51 (2004) population = 440,000 (2004)

I think we are fine.

-Shane
 
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