Quote:
Originally Posted by Resurrection
That's a good point and a fair one to make. The problem that is out there right now, though, is someone has to do these jobs. Undesirable, unskilled work will remain. Should people at these jobs make minimum wage and collect food stamps and other government hand outs because they cant make ends meet to prop up businesses' with artificially low wages? I don't think that's right.
The average mail carrier makes 44k a year. Is that so high of the hog? It seems like a decent wage to me weighing cost of living and the job itself.
|
Forget the cost of living though; that isn't the bar to measure this against. The reality is that if you have other people who are just as qualified to perform this work and many of them, the wages are less. The cost of living isn't a factor in determining that wage. I know that sounds terrible, and maybe it is, but its reality. I question whether that $44k is accurate also. Does that include benefits and pensions? Seems like it would be a significant amount higher. Regardless though the test isn't where the wage matches up with the cost of living.
If these jobs aren't paying enough, less people will do them and the wages will rise. This is exactly what happened in oil and gas in Alberta in the past 15 years...we had less qualified people so companies had to pay a lot and offer great packages to acquire talent.