China Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Ten Companies Paying Americans the Least 10. Starbucks 9. TJX Companies 8. Macy’s 7. Darden Restaurants 6. Sears Holdings 5. Yum! Brands 4. Kroger 3. Target 2. McDonald’s 1. Walmart Click on the link for the full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toe Jam Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 My girlfriend worked at TJ Maxx for almost six years. She didn't make a whole lot hourly, but she received really good benefits and three weeks of paid vacation. Now she's a supervisor at Walmart. She makes a lot more hourly, but her benefits suck. Think she regrets leaving sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Lesson- you must get a marketable education or develop marketable skills. Something people need and will continue to need. the old fashioned "what do you want to be when you grow up" dreaming doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room if no one needs what you want to be. ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slateman Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Lesson- you must get a marketable education or develop marketable skills. Something people need and will continue to need. the old fashioned "what do you want to be when you grow up" dreaming doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room if no one needs what you want to be. ~Bang Either that, or accept that you will be poor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 I had a socialist/borderline Marxist ex-gf once complain bitterly about how much more money Drs make than nurses (she was the equivalent of an LPN). So I asked her, why didn't you become a dr? "Not everyone can become a dr. I didn't want to spend 8 years in school," she snapped back. "Well, that's the choice you made, so live with it or go back to school." That didn't go over too well.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rictus58 Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Color me shocked to see Wal-Mart and McD's at the top of the list. I noticed starbucks too...but at least they provide benefits to their workers. even the PT ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Those working at McDonalds should just quit and be doctors instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Those working at McDonalds should just quit and be doctors instead. Absolutely. We certainly don't need anyone making our food. And god forbid they should be able to support themselves. The job is not only supposed to be drudgery, but it is also supposed to leave you destitute for life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Absolutely. We certainly don't need anyone making our food. Wait...they make food at McDonald's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulane Skins Fan Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 I'm surprised to see Starbucks on this list. The main reason is that I always feel like the baristas and cashiers at starbucks are so much happier than any other fast food place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Absolutely. We certainly don't need anyone making our food. And god forbid they should be able to support themselves. The job is not only supposed to be drudgery, but it is also supposed to leave you destitute for life. Or maybe it should make you work hard to progress and not work there forever. McDonals and Wal Mart pay the least, but probably employ the most. Why is that? Why do people flock to those companies? And why should those companies pay more than the market dictates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Genius Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 I'm surprised to see Starbucks on this list. The main reason is that I always feel like the baristas and cashiers at starbucks are so much happier than any other fast food place. I'm trying to recall is their is a tip jar at my Starbucks. I've woefully ignored it if there is one and I will be supplementing their income with regularity now. Especially since I can't make the expressos myself (at least not like they can). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted November 18, 2013 Author Share Posted November 18, 2013 Is Walmart's request of associates to help provide Thanksgiving dinner for co-workers proof of low wages? CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The storage containers are attractively displayed at the Walmart on Atlantic Boulevard in Canton. The bins are lined up in alternating colors of purple and orange. Some sit on tables covered with golden yellow tablecloths. Others peer out from under the tables. This isn't a merchandise display. It's a food drive - not for the community, but for needy workers. "Please Donate Food Items Here, so Associates in Need Can Enjoy Thanksgiving Dinner," read signs affixed to the tablecloths. The food drive tables are tucked away in an employees-only area. They are another element in the backdrop of the public debate about salaries for cashiers, stock clerks and other low-wage positions at Walmart, as workers in Cincinnati and Dayton are scheduled to go on strike Monday. Click on the link for the full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Or maybe it should make you work hard to progress and not work there forever. McDonals and Wal Mart pay the least, but probably employ the most. Why is that? Why do people flock to those companies? And why should those companies pay more than the market dictates? Not everyone is going to be able to progress, nor is there necessarily a job available for him or her to progress to. The mentally-impared fellow who works at my local McDs works very hard, but he isn't going to rise any higher. He still needs to support himself. Meanwhile, as a society we need many more times cashiers and janitors and cooks than we need doctors. Millions of people are going to be in those jobs, even if some of them move up. They are always going to need to support themseves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sisko Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 I had a socialist/borderline Marxist ex-gf once complain bitterly about how much more money Drs make than nurses (she was the equivalent of an LPN). So I asked her, why didn't you become a dr? "Not everyone can become a dr. I didn't want to spend 8 years in school," she snapped back. "Well, that's the choice you made, so live with it or go back to school." That didn't go over too well.... I believe this, to a point. The problem I have with our current haves/have nots situation is that in many ways we've cut off the bootstraps by which people used to be able to pull themselves up. One only need compare public education and access to a variety of other resources in poor areas vs. well off ones to see that the best way to get rich or well off in this country is to be born that way.Providing an incentive for lower wage workers to better themselves is one thing but exploiting people who have few, if any choices is another. IMO we crossed that line at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Evil Genius Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 The system is so absurdly rigged against the poor now that I will be stunned if their isn't a major uprising (but not a revolution per se) in my lifetime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 The system is so absurdly rigged against the poor now that I will be stunned if their isn't a major uprising (but not a revolution per se) in my lifetime. Still a really big fan of these Daily Show segments. (Two parts of the same show.) World of Class Warfare - Warren Buffett vs. Wealthy Conservatives. World of Class Warfare - The Poor's Free Ride Is Over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 If Walmart pays more, they will charge more for products. Which will make them lose market share, which will then lead to less employment opportunities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 If Walmart pays more, they will charge more for products. Which will make them lose market share, . . . . Unless everybody else does, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Unless everybody else does, too. It also is possible that some of the costs might cut into the profits of Walmart's owners, who currently are worth over 150 billion dollars. Of course, the idea that there is any necessary correlation between wages and retail prices is a famous economic fallacy. Retailers do not charge based on their costs. They charge based on what the market will pay. If wages go down, retail prices do not necessarily drop. The retailer will continue to charge exactly as much as they can - but they will make more profits. And vice versa - if wage costs go up, the retailer will continue to charge exactly as much as they can - but they will make less profits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 They also pay according to what the market will bear. Crazy thing capitalism Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinsmarydu Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 I'm surprised to see Starbucks on this list. The main reason is that I always feel like the baristas and cashiers at starbucks are so much happier than any other fast food place. It's because they're not having to pass off some frozen version of **** as food. It "seems" more of a craft that not just anyone can do...like throw something in a fry vat, hit a timer, and an automatic arm-thingy pulls it up when it's done...but honestly, I've tried to train people who couldn't even pull that one off. Then again, why should folks get better, faster, and more efficient if there is absolutely no reward? Unless you think having your neighborhood help you out for the holidays is a reward...when they all know where you work? And you work where they buy all their stuff? (Where's that "shoot myself" smiley?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mocountyskins Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 I'm not really surprised that these sort of companies are the ones that pay their employees the least. Like my parents always told me "If you have no marketable skills then no one will hire you or you will struggle to make a living." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Predicto Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 They also pay according to what the market will bear. Crazy thing capitalism True. That is why I support a higher minimum wage. I'm not really surprised that these sort of companies are the ones that pay their employees the least. Like my parents always told me "If you have no marketable skills then no one will hire you or you will struggle to make a living." Of course. But millions of people are still going to be doing those jobs. Heck, as a society we NEED millions of people to do those jobs. We will always need them. We should all aspire for better, but we shouldn't make those who actually do those crappy jobs that we need done live in complete squalor either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mocountyskins Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 True. That is why I support a higher minimum wage. Of course. But millions of people are still going to be doing those jobs. Heck, as a society we NEED millions of people to do those jobs. We will always need them. We should all aspire for better, but we shouldn't make those who actually do those crappy jobs that we need done live in complete squalor either. Yes, people should not live in squalor but the problem is from a companies view "Why should I pay you more than the minimum, when you have no skills." It's a complicated math problem imo. The more you raise minimum wage then the more other companies have to raise their wage also and if everyone is having their wage raised then the people on the bottom are not really gaining any ground correct? I really wish that I could say that the government should not be regulating wages it has no place doing that. But I don't want companies to try to get away with paying almost nothing to their employees either. Very complicated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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