The Wow I Can't Believe That News Story Thread (house, American)

[The Batlord]

It said "exactly" minimum wage. And below.

[Anteater]

Originally Posted by The Batlord

It said "exactly" minimum wage. And below.

And out of the 80.4 million people being paid any kind of hourly rate, that's 2.3% (or less) of the total. And that's still only a chunk of the total U.S. population. Those 80 million represent (supposedly) around 58.3 of all salaried workers in the United States. So let's say the ultimate grand total (taking that number into consideration) is 160 million or so.

The idea that 42% of that can't afford insurance and pay bills or whatever doesn't add up when you look at those statistics.

[Frownland]

Originally Posted by Anteater

And out of the 80.4 million people being paid any kind of hourly rate, that's 2.3% (or less) of the total. And that's still only a chunk of the total U.S. population. Those 80 million represent (supposedly) around 58.3 of all salaried workers in the United States. So let's say the ultimate grand total (taking that number into consideration) is 160 million or so.

Wait, so 170 million Americans are unemployed or paid under the table (which usually means less than minimum wage)?

[Anteater]

Originally Posted by Frownland

Wait, so 160 million Americans are unemployed or paid under the table (which usually means less than minimum wage)?

No, there's 170-ish million people on some kind of salary or hour wage if the 80 million cited represents around 58% of all salaried workers. Out of those, only 1.8 million (as noted) are at or below the federal minimum wage. That's not a lot compared to the whole working population.

Originally Posted by The Batlord

I make eight ****ing dollars an hour. That statistic does not include me. I can not afford an apartment, food, and, insurance. I am not an outlier. And if you could refrain from giving me disingenuous "advice" to distract from the point that would be great.

If your already applying to different places then there's no advice I could give you that you wouldn't sneer at anyway. I've covered this topic before with practical advice so there's no point in going over it again.

[Frownland]

Originally Posted by Anteater

No, there's a 160-ish million people on some kind of salary or hour wage if the 80 million cited represents around 58% of all salaried workers. Out of those, only 1.8 million (as noted) are at or below the federal minimum wage. That's not a lot compared to the whole working population.

So they're just a minority which means that they don't matter, cool.

What about the 170 million people who fall outside of that working population? Are they also reaping the benefits of capitalism?

[Anteater]

Originally Posted by Frownland

So they're just a minority which means that they don't matter, cool.

Lolwut, why are you projecting? You can vote for Trump and I'll vote for Yang or Warren like I've only said a billion times over at this point.

I'll also cite this from CNN Business (just because it's interesting)

Here's the breakdown of the 95 million Americans who weren't working, according to the latest figures from the Atlanta Federal Reserve, which conducted a review based on figures through September:

-- 94.6 million people above the age of 16 were out of the workforce.

Of those:

-- 44.5 million were retired.

-- 14.5 million were in school or job training.

-- 12.8 million were taking care of a loved one.

-- 15.3 million weren't working because of an illness or disability.

In all, of the 94.6 million not working, 87.1 million were retired, in school, taking care of a loved one or physically unable to work.

That leaves 7.5 million people. What about them?

Of those, 1.6 million had looked for a job in the past year or wanted a job but had given up searching for more than a year. And 5.9 million workers listed "other" as a reason for not wanting or having a job. We don't know much about these workers.

Originally Posted by Frownland

What about the 170 million people who fall outside of that working population? Are they also reaping the benefits of capitalism?

I don't know every single one of their individual stories, but I'm sure you'll run across a wide spectrum of opinions on that if you surveyed them.

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

Is he ignoring that point or is it a reading comprehension problem?

I read it, but it's irrelevant to the discussion when I can't monitor him in real time and see what or what he is or isn't doing and why he's at BK when other restaurants who are hiring have better wages. Trying to address something that anecdotal is an exercise in futility, just like arguing about the pros and cons of the ACA from person to person.

Originally Posted by OccultHawk

Where the **** did you get that from, Ant?

I was looking at some other BLS-cited study about people higher than minimum wage and got my wording mixed up. I need to go back and fix it.

[Frownland]

Originally Posted by Anteater

Lolwut

Responding to people recognizing a problem with "it doesn't impact a lot of people though!" is dismissing the relevancy of that problem based on the fact that it only affects a minority, like I've explained several times already. Backpedal however you like but this remains true.

I read it, but it's irrelevant to the discussion

How convenient!

Originally Posted by Frownland

Wait, so 170 million Americans are unemployed or paid under the table (which usually means less than minimum wage)?

not necessarily

That's more so for immigrants who get exploited

My dad worked under the table his whole life and he made decent money for a while. It's just a matter of not wanting to create a legal business and assume the costs that go with that

My mom also hustled on the side cleaning rich people's houses. Also better paying than your average low end wage slave job.