One of the heaviest debates to ever exist in our nation, is where minimum wage should be set. For the most part the government has done fairly well with providing strong federal legislation to regulate wages, compensations, and worker safety across the nation. Recently McDonald's employees have created a battle for the minimum wage to increase causing a ripple effect across the nation. But does 15 dollars an hour seem reasonable for someone who flips burgers?
Many people with college degrees are lucky to start at a rate equal to 15 dollars for every hour of work, but when they do gain jobs of this nature, it is easy to say that they were well earned through hard work and dedication. Yet the employees of McDonald's now believe they are entitled to a minimum rate of $15 an hour. In my personal opinion I don't find this fair at all, I work at a grocery store where I make $7.50 which is just barely above minimum wage, but in my honest opinion the work I do, the people I deal with, and the situations I find myself doesn't warrant double my current wages.
There is currently a federal lawsuit against McDonald's corporation and its franchisees for not providing their employees with proper wages. The American government will have the official last say on this case yet it may just be the reason as to why more Americans push to support Obama's plan for higher wages. The power to raise minimum wage lays with congress though, and with the current ability of congress to solve issues, I don't see it happening anytime soon.
http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/13/news/companies/mcdonalds-wage-theft-class-action/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
I agree with Julien. I love that we live in a place where the amount people are paid is expected to reflect the work that they do. Does it always? No. Teachers should definitely be paid more and politicians less. Still, for the most part there's a reason why these people are being paid as they are and a reason why we have a minimum wage. If you're working at McDonalds, you probably aren't working to your full potential, and you don't deserve the paycheck of a health clinic worker. If you're not working as hard as you could, you can have enough money to get by. Are you important? Yes. Are replaceable? Most definitely.
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