http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2366370/Sample-budget-given-McDonalds-workers-proves-CANT-live-minimum-wages-need-second-job-make-ends-meet.html
McDonald's
seems to be well aware that its employees are unable to survive on their
minimum wages, so the company has come up with a solution - go out and get a
second job.
It's easy to talk about how possible and plausible it is to live on minimum wage. Yeah, sure - it's possible - it's not pleasant though. Not everyone has lived through financial pressure, but I think most have, at one point or another. Living without financial security is not pleasant. Living from paycheck to paycheck, knowing that if some unexpected expense comes up then you have no way to pay for it - is not pleasant - it creates a constant dread that eats at you every day. Not being able to send your kids to the best schools, or the best doctors, or feed them the best organic foods, is not pleasant. Having to cut expenses to be able to survive inflation of prices is not pleasant. Having to constantly think of how much you're spending, to not go over budget, to turn off electrical appliances to save a few extra bucks because those few extra bucks actually make a difference - is not pleasant. Not being able to do the things you enjoy because you can't afford to is not pleasant.
You'll notice an interesting thing: All the people who post comments defending the minimum wage are not living on the minimum wage. Some may cite some family member, or friend or a friend who does live on the minimum wage and say "well I know someone who survives and they seem to be doing just fine. They even spend some of their minimum wage on cigarettes!" Obviously they are going to sped money trying to relieve the pressure they're feeling, because there is no school class all about living on the minimum wage and not getting stressed about money. People don't know how to deal with stress in ways other than dependencies and such. The second point is that obviously people who live on the minimum wage will seem to be fine to other people, most people don't want to air their laundry to the public by showing how depressed and stressed they are. Do you really think that life should be just about surviving and getting through another day or another month without compromising on some aspect of your life to make ends meet? If you do, then why don't you live that way? Seriously, this is a question I actually want you to answer.
Anything that you feel confident in justifying on another person's behalf - like minimum wages and bad education programmes - you should be willing to live yourself and put your own family through. You think living on $8 an hour is OK? Do it then. If you are not willing to do it, then don't justify it. The CEO of McDonald's was paid $13 million in 2012 alone - you think he has any idea of how he is forcing people to live? He lives in a fantasy world and is likely completely incapable of putting himself in someone else's shoes. Unfortunately this is the case with most people in the world who earn a decent living wage or more.
McDonald's
seems to be well aware that its employees are unable to survive on their
minimum wages, so the company has come up with a solution - go out and get a
second job.
The fast
food giant became the object of ridicule this week when its financial planning
site called Practical Money Skills for Life created back in 2008 in conjunction
with Visa and Wealth Watchers International to help its workforce caught the
attention of several media outlets.
The portal
provides a sample monthly budget, which makes a series of assumptions that have
been slammed by McDonald’s critics as both naive and condescending about the
workers' ability to supports themselves while earning $7.72 an hour after
taxes.
Suggested
monthly expenses for the hypothetical McDonald’s employee working a 40-hour
week include $600 for rent - a figure that has raised eyebrows among anyone
familiar with the housing market in cities like New York and Philadelphia.
While it is
still possible to find housing with three-digit rent in some parts of the U.S.,
an average apartment in Manhattan rents for about $3,000 a month. Even in the
outer boroughs it is nearly impossible to come across anything cheaper than
$1,400 a month.
The sample
budget also sets aside only $20 for health care and $150 for car payments. The
financial planning tool, however, does not include allowances for either food
or gas.
McDonald’s
charges workers who have been with the company for at least year $12.58 for its
most basic health care plan. New hires have to shell out $14, according to The
Atlantic.
In a
surprising bit of self-awareness, the McDonald’s mock-up budget includes lines
for monthly income from a first job totaling $1,105, and a second job, which
brings in $955.
Those
figures suggest that the hypothetical worker has to toil away for more 60 hours
a week at minimum wage, or earn more than $12 an hour on a 40-hour work week.
In 2009, the
federal government set minimum wage at $7.25, CNBC reported.
In
comparison, McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson received a compensation package worth
$13.8million in 2012.
Others
entries in the fictional McDonald's-Visa financial plan include $100 allotted
for cable and phone, $90 for electric - just below the national average of $103
- but no money set aside for heating, which would not work for employees living
anywhere outside of Hawaii or Florida.
Since the
budget includes no separate line for groceries, it may be assumed that either
the workers have to rely on leftover French fries for their meals, or they have
to use the $27 a day in spending money to buy food.
The sample
financial plan also makes no mention of basic necessities like child care
expenses, water or clothing, to name a few.
In recent
months, industry workers have gone on strike in cities across the U.S.,
including Chicago and New York, to protest for higher wages. - Mail Online
It's easy to talk about how possible and plausible it is to live on minimum wage. Yeah, sure - it's possible - it's not pleasant though. Not everyone has lived through financial pressure, but I think most have, at one point or another. Living without financial security is not pleasant. Living from paycheck to paycheck, knowing that if some unexpected expense comes up then you have no way to pay for it - is not pleasant - it creates a constant dread that eats at you every day. Not being able to send your kids to the best schools, or the best doctors, or feed them the best organic foods, is not pleasant. Having to cut expenses to be able to survive inflation of prices is not pleasant. Having to constantly think of how much you're spending, to not go over budget, to turn off electrical appliances to save a few extra bucks because those few extra bucks actually make a difference - is not pleasant. Not being able to do the things you enjoy because you can't afford to is not pleasant.
You'll notice an interesting thing: All the people who post comments defending the minimum wage are not living on the minimum wage. Some may cite some family member, or friend or a friend who does live on the minimum wage and say "well I know someone who survives and they seem to be doing just fine. They even spend some of their minimum wage on cigarettes!" Obviously they are going to sped money trying to relieve the pressure they're feeling, because there is no school class all about living on the minimum wage and not getting stressed about money. People don't know how to deal with stress in ways other than dependencies and such. The second point is that obviously people who live on the minimum wage will seem to be fine to other people, most people don't want to air their laundry to the public by showing how depressed and stressed they are. Do you really think that life should be just about surviving and getting through another day or another month without compromising on some aspect of your life to make ends meet? If you do, then why don't you live that way? Seriously, this is a question I actually want you to answer.
Anything that you feel confident in justifying on another person's behalf - like minimum wages and bad education programmes - you should be willing to live yourself and put your own family through. You think living on $8 an hour is OK? Do it then. If you are not willing to do it, then don't justify it. The CEO of McDonald's was paid $13 million in 2012 alone - you think he has any idea of how he is forcing people to live? He lives in a fantasy world and is likely completely incapable of putting himself in someone else's shoes. Unfortunately this is the case with most people in the world who earn a decent living wage or more.
Thanks for this!
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