ext_97971 ([identity profile] enders-shadow.livejournal.com) wrote in [community profile] talkpolitics2012-03-17 08:20 pm
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Honestly: the minimum wage does need to go up

This post got me thinking.

I am firmly in favor of:

A) A higher minimum wage in the whole US, and my home state of NY
B) Honesty in politics

While the OP I linked to is not exactly dishonest, it's not exactly honest either.
And this is not to put flak upon the poster there, but it's an example of political rhetoric that is used to leverage one side of a conversation, ignoring nuance.

the graphic in the linked to OP:

1) Doesn't seem to take into account state laws that raise min wage over fed laws
2) Doesn't take into account the vast difference in housing throughout a state

My objection is more with 2 than 1. 1 is easy to take care of, but 2 is not easy.

New York City is WAYYYY more expensive than Rochester or Buffalo, NY; or a large number of other places within the state I could name. Yet, this graphic gives us a number, presumably an average. But that average is way skewed. But how else should they do it? Give us on graphic for NYC and another for the rest of NY State? That wouldn't work either, because then you'd need to break it down for other cities and so on. So what do we do?

We must talk about things in the big picture without getting bogged down in details, otherwise we will have to talk for eons before we can understand what needs to be done. So while I agree that the min wage needs to go up, across the US, I have a problem with the info-graphics created to support that argument. They lack nuance, and as such, are deceiving. Even if they don't mean to be, and are honestly doing the best they can to compile and sort the data, the inevitability of misleading data is going to doom us all.

That said.
Happy saint patty's day.
Was I drunk when I wrote this? You decide.

[identity profile] kylinrouge.livejournal.com 2012-03-18 07:19 pm (UTC)(link)
I never said they were walking home with minimum wage. I DO NOT PAY THEM TIPS. I pay them PAY. and their PAY is actually $2.50 an hour, not even minimum wage.

Jesus, what are you talking about? Of course you don't pay them tips. Holy moly, I never said you did. You pay them $2.50 and the rest of the federal minimum wage is usually covered by tips. How did anything I said come across unclear?

What we do 'guarantee' is bonus that will get them to at LEAST $10.00 an hour if it is a private event, or a brand new weeknight event that has yet to catch on (see, a business can have slow nights and survive, if you are investing in a new night).

Still have no idea what this has to do with anything I was saying. We're talking about fucking bartenders and how they NORMALLY make money, stop giving me unrelated anecdotes about your business.

agreed. rarely, but it DOES happen within our unique business model. Any slow night is overlooked due to the potential of the place.

Yes, which is why an increase in federal minimum wage BARELY AFFECTS YOU AT ALL WITH REGARDS TO BARTENDERS.

[identity profile] kylinrouge.livejournal.com 2012-03-18 07:20 pm (UTC)(link)
This is like the 4th post in a row that I've said that.