No, but I do think that you have a comprehension problem.

I'm saying that 2.13 plus tips isn't adequate. I keep saying this, and you keep insisting that I can't read.

Also, I'm saying that ALL wal-mart benefits aren't adequate. Are you a retard? I did say that the pay scale differs, but not the benefits.


I think it boils down to this, the cost of living and inflation have risen steadily in the last ten years, yet minimum wage hasn't. People are having to pay more, and getting paid less.

How many foodservice people would rather work for $5.15/hr and no tips?

Any takers?

Also, let's not call people names. Why would you even do that?

ETA: It's funny that you use the word "adequate." Okay, so what is adequate then? So far, you've made a lot of broad statements, but not a single thing you've said has been rooted in fact. You're trying to prove to us that $2.13 plust tips isn't adequate. Why isn't it adequate? Why do people deserve more than what they agreed to work for?

I had a friend who worked at Applebee's. She was making around $2.13. She grossed around $600-800 a week. With a college degree, I'd LOVE to be making that kind of money.

$2.13 plus tips is plenty adequate.

How many waitressing jobs have you had?
I've had 3. Made pretty good money.

How long have you worked at Wal-Mart?
I worked there a year. The full time people have good benefits, including 401k, great stock options and profit sharing.

And for the love of God, I'm glad I can make points without name-calling.

The cost of living has risen, and while min. wage hasn't, most people who have made an effort have seen increases in their pay.

I would rather kick my own ass than work at Wal Mart........or wait tables.

I actually think I got a lot out of working through HS and college. My two younger brothers didn't work, but I did.

It gave me some experience with types people I probably wouldn't have otherwise met. Today, this allows me to be able to prove to people that I'm not an evil elitist with a personality disorder.

I don't know if you've noticed this, but simply because you don't want to work at wal mart does not make you some "evil elitist." Working at wal mart would be a waste for most people I associate with, and thus I would advise them to do something more deserving of their abilities.

I would to have loved to work at some place "more deserving of my abilities", but when you're in highschool, you don't have much choice.

I did work for awhile in highschool at my mom's private practise, but her Program Coodinator, who was technically my boss, was the biggest asshat in the world, and I couldn't handle working for him.

Unless you're a really crappy server, you can easily make at least $6/hour with tips, even at the smallest small-town greasy spoon. Yes, I know there are some people who don't know how to tip, but if you find yourself in a restaurant like that, it's time to find a different job.

I've had 2 wait staff positions and 3 bartending positions. I make on average, 500 a week in tips. However, not everyone does. That's my point.

I would never work for Wal-Mart, their politics are abhorant. However, many of my friends have to take any job they can, and it's shameful how Wal-Mart treats their workers.

Also, I didn't call names, I asked if you were retarded, which isn't any worse than you insisting that I have no reading comprehension.

I hate poor people?

It really isn't that hard to end up homeless... This is the scenario that happened to the lady who bought the house across the street from me:

Had a great business that she inherited from her family (the only business she ever knew), trucking. She owned a few trucks. Bought the house across the street from me and worked her business out of the house. Has 3 kids, ages 17, 12, and 3.

6 months later, her business went dead. Gas prices and a huge lull in manufacturing in Michigan slowed it to a halt. Business went bankrupt. As a result, her income went to 0. She immediately put her house up for sale,but due to the bum economy, housing prices had gone DOWN and she couldn't sell it for what she bought it for a year later. She couldn't pay the mortgage and couldn't sell the house. She ended up foreclosing and filing bankruptcy. She was looking for work, but with no skills other than trucking and three kids and a mortgage to pay, combined with a 7% + unemployment rate in Michigan, she had a hard time finding work. She had taken a job at Walmart, but that didn't cover the mortgage, utilities, food, etc. So, she lost her house, couldn't get an apartment because of her credit rating, couldn't get ADC because she was working (and what she would get from them otherwise was barely enough to cover day care). She ended up moving in, with her 3 kids, to her aunt's trailer.

If she didn't have a relative to move in with, what would she have done?? Some of you make it sound so easy, but the economists still report that 80-90% (depending on which report you read) of Americans are one paycheck away from bankruptcy.. meaning, if they lost their jobs, within one paycheck, they'd be drowning.

That said, I see both sides of the "raising minimum wage" issue. In the late 90's, when things were booming around here, nobody was paying minimum wage. They were begging people to work there. Now that the economy has crashed here, there are former professionals working 2 or 3 minimum wage jobs to make ends meet. It's the basic supply and demand theory and more places can get away with paying only minimum wage.

Also, the services and assistance that are available to people varies greatly from state to state, so you can't assume that someone who can get public assistance in your state can get it in another state. If you do not have children in Michigan, there is no public assistance. The job placement agencies are totally overwhelmed.

There are no easy solutions to these problems. If there were, they wouldn't exist. But don't be quick to judge. Would you be ok if you had to go a few months without a paycheck or if it was reduced by 75%?

This would be an example of the type of person who is homeless in the interim but can get back through social service programs.

This right here is why I would like more social service programs to teach people how to sacrifice and save. There are options before you get to the point where you're drowning. Too many people say, "I could NEVER live like that." We're more resilient than we give ourselves credit for. Certainly not everyone will be living ultra-comfortably, but they will be ok.

And you go on to talk about jobs. But the bottom line is raising minimum wage pushes up costs. I can understand raising minimum wage with inflation, but there's no way to raise minimum wage and not affect cost of living.

That doesn't sound right, but I don't have time right now to go research it. It's true that some states are a bit more free with their money than others, but you also have to factor in non-profit services. There's always a way.

Where did you find this fact?

How can she "get back" by using social service programs? Should she quit her job so she can get aid, which wouldn't be enough to pay for housing? I don't get it.

At least in my state, being jobless is not a qualification for public aid -- only a low income.