How it it that conservatives don't want to pay people a living wage, and then bitch about homelessness ?

[msc545]

[RealMarek]

Which conservatives? The younger ones don’t think this way nearly as much as the older ones. Many young conservatives, for example, would support wealth redistribution from our current elites and strong government intervention to restore social and economic order. As for the older conservatives, most lived in rural or suburban areas so did not see much in the way of homelessness. Most of them benefitted from low-cost, high-quality education, falling interest rates during their productive years, massive deficit spending to “kick the can down the road,” and business hiring for competence. In other words, if you went to college more often than not you would be fine. This was heavily propagandized to everyone by our government and nefarious elites. None of these conditions are in place today except for massive deficit spending, which is now funded mostly domestically instead of foreign due to de-dollarization, which means the days of kicking cans down roads are coming to an end. Furthermore, the radical policy of mass immigration has driven up the ratio of the cost of housing vs. median personal income massively.

Given the conservative instinct toward patriotism and toward preserving social institutions, most conservatives who grapple with the realities of America will undergo a great deal of cognitive dissonance. For the older conservatives, I think it is easier for many to simply cling onto the mythology the regime taught them and tell younger people to stop whining, “work your way through college,” and “pull yourself up by your bootstraps.”

[AngryCarl]

They get to bitch about something either way. It's win-win!

[electromagnetic]

If you run for office, I’ll vote for you. The lack of common sense is crippling.

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

I agree with you

[lightbulb27]

you mean minimum wage issue? It's a legitimate question and i'm open to it, but not so sure it works the way they want. Is it just the reps or business owners in general?

I've known quite a few business people and they've paid at least decently if not very well. I've never run a restaurant so I don't know this domain. Ones whom did said it's a tough business...

There is some balance somewhere... if it doesn't pay... then don't work there and don't shop there! Get a degree, start your own business and don't complain. When I worked for myself, some jobs I only got $3 an hour... where's my "minimum wage"?

I much prefer going to places where it family owned. They seem to always stay in business so it is working. Some restaurants, I'll go to and we tip well. Frankly, the food is better and cheaper. Why should I line the pockets of wall street again?

Fast food franchises... I don't visit anymore... it's corporate america, franchise fees, tycoons, high paid execs and often garbage food. So maybe min wage helps as if it was a union. Problem is... it changes behavior, it can cause companies (that only think about $) to replace workers... there can be negative effects. Maybe that's good... force them do to something better anyways.

[WindAtMyBack]

They want to pay a living wage. They just don't have crazy ideas of what a living wage is. It amazes me how much some people think it takes to live. They don't want a living wage, they want to live in luxury and expect to do it by working at a fast food place.

Or put it another way. Most people in the world would LOVE to live in "poverty" in the US. Because they realize that living in so-called poverty in the US is a hell of a lot better standard of living than where they live now.

Americans are so fucking spoiled, yet complain about how bad they have it.

[msc545]

Sure Go live out on a sidewalk underneath a leaky tent in the blazing heat or pouring rain while sleeping on concrete. And tell me how much you enjoy living in so-called poverty. This is life as a homeless person in the US.

[WindAtMyBack]

Who said anything about being homeless and living on the street? It sounds like you are making my point for me. You seem to have n idea what it actually costs to live.

If you want to go with the "poverty level" as a measure, it is EASY to live in the US at the poverty level - and I don't mean living on the streets. I mean living in a decent apartment or house and eating pretty well.

[msc545]

It is most certainly NOT easy.

[WindAtMyBack]

Yes it is easy.

1) Don't buy a bunch of stuff you don't need. Learn the definition of 'need' while you're at it.
2) Don't live in the most expensive places in the country BY CHOICE, then complain that it's expensive.

If you want to buy stuff you don't need, that's fine. If you want to live in an expensive place, that's fine also. But don't demand that somebody pay you a bunch of money so you can live however you want.

Supply and demand works. Wages for traditionally minimum wage jobs are WAY up, because supply and demand. The same thing happened in the 90s when fast food places had huge banners on their stores advertising how much they paid.

Wages for skilled trades are skyrocketing, because of supply and demand. Even in a low cost of living place, a plumber can charge $150 to show up at the door, and $100-125 per hour after that. Same with a number of other trades. Heck, even an unreliable but barely-skilled handyman can charge $50 an hour, with plenty of work lined up.

Why? Because people demand high wages for completely unskilled work. They can work at a fast food place when they are 25 years old, instead of learning a trade that pays well. Or they go to college and get a degree in something stupid that has no demand.

Wages at fast food are fine for a 16 year old, or even a 20 year old. So you want to raise wages to encourage people to keep working at fast food when they are 25 or 30? Because that is exactly what happens.

What is so wrong with the message that a person can rise up and do more with their life, if only they put in the effort? How is that being cold and uncaring like some would have you believe?

But no, just pay someone a bunch of money to go nowhere with their life - and they will go nowhere with their life. You can use euphemisms like "a living wage" all you want. But it's the wrong message. The right message is to do something with their life besides flipping burgers.

[msc545]

You have clearly no experience with people who have Psychiatric illness and no medical care.

[WindAtMyBack]

You clearly don't know the meaning of cherry picking.

But yes I do have experience with people with mental illnesses and physical disabilities. It's cherry picking and a completely different subject than pay scales.

You make blanket statements, then try to justify it with cherry picking.

[msc545]

Ok. then you know nothing about mental illness or physical disabilities, or you simply don't care. I think it is the latter.

[WindAtMyBack]

I repeat, you don't know the meaning of cherry picking. It has nothing to do with knowing or caring about mental illness or disabilities. It's just that those things are irrelevant to the blanket statements you've made.

[msc545]

I disagree with that - but enough of this. Let's agree to disagree.

[WindAtMyBack]

I don't agree to disagree. The goal is to completely prevail over modern liberalism and wipe it off the planet.

[msc545]

Good luck with that.

[strateguy632]

because we see the big picture.

biden is spending huge amounts on ukraine, and bad handouts to undocumented, instead of building for homeless citizens. that is one complaint.

the issue of minimum wage is not the moment "making it high" but the bigger picture: the end of middle class, a high minimum wage ultimately hurts workers because boss doesn't want to pay so fires half the staff! increasing... more homeless.

[msc545]

You don't see the big picture at all. What you see is the selfish picture. Also the greed picture I suppose.

[SolitarySolace]

I don’t think homelessness is due to Conservatives not paying people a livable wage… I heard homeless people were given homes and they just trashed those homes and shit in them and left. So if anything I think it’s those homeless people who are making shitty choices and are choosing to remain homeless on purpose. They could always get a job, start saving money and eventually get a motor home or something.

[msc545]

"I heard"...

I heard you make a lot of stuff up to support your fascist views.

[Anonymous]

Minimum wage jobs are not intended to support a family. Anyone who assumes responsibility for a family should have first acquired job skills that would command more than just minimum wage. Anyone who relies on earning a wage without having any valuable job skills is a fool.

[DrPepper12]

So the structural forces against the poor and fortunes of fate are just one of those things? Give me a break!

[jahaims]

The idea behind that is every adult should be responsible for themselves and you get paid what you are worth. If you aren't paid enough gain a skill and become valuable. Plenty of money is thrown at the homeless problem. The problem is the government "farms" the homeless. If they keep the homeless then they keep government jobs and revenue. Look up the salaries of the people in charge of fixing the homeless problems of different cities.

[DrPepper12]

Submitted without comment.

[Anonymous]

you really think most homelessness is because people are not getting paid enough? It's not due to mental illness, substance abuse, and bad choices?

[msc545]

Strangely enough, when cities give people money, they first use it to buy food and clothing, and then hotel rooms and sometimes even apartments. Mental illness is a result of homelessness in many cases, and if it is a cause of it, that is because there was no treatment provided.

[Opinion Owner]

I've seen studies were homeless families or carefully selected individuals were given cash with good outcomes. They didn't just pass cash out to random homeless people.
Those kinds of programs may help those who are not chronically homeless

[msc545]

I live here in Los Angeles where there is no lack of homeless people. I know some of the researchers that have conducted the studies. For you to suggest the results are due to selection bias is just cheap libel.

Prove it or STFU.

[riverrat3]

Exactly