Yes...it is. When I left the military and went to college, I was eligible for unemployment benefits. However, I decided not to take it. In my mind...I was able bodied, employable, but I didn't want to work...I wanted to just go to school and sit on my a$$. In hindsight, I should have just taken the benefit, as pretty much everyone else in that position does.

Pride? It's the right thing to do (to work)? Yes...that's the ONLY thing that's keeping many people from walking away from their underwater mortgages.

Look at it this way. Your unemployment benefit pays you at a rate of $15/hr. You NEED $14/hr to sustain your household. Do you take the job that pays $12/hr...knowing that it won't get you and your family by...or do you "collect" at $15/hr until something better comes along? I think we both know the answer to that question.

 

fabmandelux, as an employer, did you employ minimum wage entry level positions? Could you see an employer welcoming this type of temporary exception as an opportunity to expand his/her business?

 

Exactly. All this would be is a way for employers to further decrease worker wages. The employer would be the only one that would benefit from this legislation. You may as well just come out and say that "I'm looking for a way for employers to pad their bottom line, while decreasing the wages of their employees."

The other thing is that this gets into the "do you view your employees as a number on the payroll sheet or an asset." An employee hired under this type of program is going to jump ship the first time a better opportunity comes along. You're going to end up with VERY high turnover, which will in turn result in decreased productivity and no real value added to the organization. I have a business degree, so I'm not just looking at this from the basic level of "Joe Blow making widgets."

 

Therein lies the difference between us. With me, if the only job I could get payed $14.00/hour, and my cost to live was $15.00/hr, I would get a second part time job or collect pop cans by the side of the road! I could not live with myself letting someone else pay my way while I sat at home and did NOTHING!

 

The caveats I added are to prevent that from happening. Have you had a bad experience with an employer?

 

All my hires were experienced and HAD to know what they were doing. I had so much business that I had NO time to train anybody. One of my biggest problems was finding qualified employees that were WILLING to work...

 

No, I have a lot of experience with reality though.

Exactly. Pride. Like I said in my example. I could have collected $1,000+/month in unemployment benefits when I left the military. I wouldn't have needed to take out additional student loans, which I'll be paying off years from now. But hey....I didn't collect unemployment, so I had my pride.

On a side note...I did take a job briefly. At $7.50/hr for ~10 hrs a week though (the only thing I could find), it was literally not worth my time. So in my case...I literally would have been better off filing for unemployment.

 

Those caveats don't take into account decreased productivity due to the "revolving door" principle that would surely occur. As was mentioned above, if an employee is only making $5/hr., they're going to take the first opportunity that comes along offering better wages and benefits. The employer utilizing this concept is left having to not only pay the replacement employee $5/hr. but also likely much higher wages to the employee that has to train them. While they're being trained, they're not being utilized to their maximum potential by the employer and neither is the trainer. If there is a high turnover rate, you're going to constantly have to train new workers no matter the job.

You also essentially get what you pay for. If you're paying $5/hr., chances are that you'll get $5/hr. worth of work or less.

 

This is another problem that I see far too often.

 

I would fully expect a person making $5/hr to jump at the chance for a better job. And if the position requires training beyond an hour or two, would that be a $5/hr job?

Learning the value of a good work ethic is one of the principle benefits of an entry level job. I've watched all three of my kids learn the value of a dollar as soon as their first paycheck is spent! You can't teach these lessons any other way.

 

Adding to my reality comment...if this were introduced as a piece of legislation...it would stand absolutely no chance of passing. Why?

-Unions are still vocal and have democrats firmly in their pockets. Democrats could not approve of this legislation as it would be interpreted as a direct attack on workers and the livelihood of their families.

- If a republican introduced this legislation, they would instantly be attacked by the other side of the isle for taking the side of big business at the expense of the worker bee

-The headline would read: "Bill seeks to put a larger dent in already eroding worker wages."

- No politician desiring to be re-elected would touch this idea with a 10' pole.

Go to any retail store at the moment. Look around...who do you see working there? Even in my area (northern Virginia), the bulk of jobs that were once staffed by the 16-22 crowd are now taken by the 30+ crowd. Why is that? As I said earlier...individuals that once had higher paying jobs are now forced to take lower paying jobs. You're referring to these positions as "entry level." However, you aren't talking entry level/new employees, in many cases. You're talking people that have been in the workforce for 10+ years that were making $10+/hr and are now forced to get by on $8/hr. Kids need to learn the value of money. Not adults that have been in the workforce for 10+ years and have families to support.

Call it trickle down poverty. Many $50k+/year jobs have gone by the wayside. Those individuals are taking their education and moving down to $40k/year jobs...and so on.

 

I agree the political climate in Washington would make this a non starter, no matter which side of the aisle proposed it. Sad statement.

I don't view 30 something employees of The Gap as entry level. I view someone who has never had a job or is looking for a "seasonal" part time income to fund a special project, etc. as entry level. Someone to come in in the afternoon to sweep up the shop so the CNC guy doesn't have to quit 30 minutes sooner to push a broom is entry level.

 

For months, there was a press operator here that would restock and mop the bathrooms because the company wouldn't hire a janitor. Crazy but true.

 

To expand on my Washington climate comment...

We can't just sit back and expect Washington to fix our economy. This is a government of the people, by the people, for the people. I am trying to do my part by passing ideas up the food chain.

 

Some food for the debate - Two years ago I purchased a handlebar mount for my GPS unit. I bought it from China. Why? Not because it was cheaper, but because the one I wanted ISN'T MADE HERE. Why? It's just a little hunk of molded plastic with a plastic clamp on it. We put a man on the moon, why can't we make this little chunk of plastic?

Think about that for a little while.