warmonger1981 wrote:Suppose that lawyer had to go to law school and pull thousands in in credit to go there. He has to pay that back not you. There is a cost to run a business. I know I own my own company and if I paid my employees the same wage as me I would ne broke. But there has to be a fair wage paid no doubt . I also do 10 times the work be it paying for insurance,fuel,material,marketing and so on. Not everyone can make the same if there are hidden costs or if the work load is not the same. Should a burger flipper get the same wage as a manager who went to collage?
Lawyers are not exactly in danger of losing their high incomes. Law students ARE sometimes in a trap of thinking they could spend whatever they wished for college becuase they would just naturally make it later... even though there are far more people trying for the bar in many states than there are open positions for attorneys.
But, look at BK's example. Or, I can point to an interview with a New Yord provider of in home care services -- the people who take care of elderly and disabled individuals. They actually don't even have to be paid the minimum wage because they are classed, legally, the same as your teenage babysitters. But... go ask any agency to have someone come in and you will be hard pressed to find someone in a city for less than $20 an hour.. sometimes more. The company owner, though was claiming he could not possibly afford to pay more than $9.00 an hour (actually a very good wage for home service providers!). If the company really needs $11.00 for overhead, then there is something wrong with how they are running their company!
Even around here, agencies get that much or more -- but pay $7.50 an hour. (minimum is $7.35)
OR, look at any temp agency. I worked for Kelly temps for a few months when between biology jobs, first doing inventory work for $7.50 in Buffalo NY. That was OK, enough to get me rent, etc. The company paid just over $10 for me., not an unreasonable profit. I, of course got no real benefits, not even sick time, but they did cover workman's comp and such. Then I wound up doing some computer work. The temp agency then charged the company over $30 an hour.. but I did not get a dime more, even though the company literature (not contract, just their advertisements and such) claimed I would.
Teh fact is that minimum wage is $9.00 and more in some places. Businesses seem to do just fine. The truth is that when minimum wage is raised, there is a short term layoff impact. A few companies that were close to folding will close a tad earlier, but the majority keep on. Within 2 years everything is back as it was before, except with more money flowing from the bottom.