Breaking News

 

Courtesy of Google Images

April 10, 2014 

Minnesota raises the minimum wage to $9.50 by 2016

April 7, 2014

Maryland raises minimum wage to $10.10 by 2018

April 7, 2014

Minnesota considering raising minimum wage to $9.50 by 2016

April 7, 2014

San Francisco considering raising the minimum wage to $15

March 27, 2014

Connecticut raises minimum wage to $10.10 by 2017

March 18, 2014

Richmond, Calif. raises minimum wage to $11.52 by 2016

March 15, 2014

 House defeats minimum wage increase

Blame it on Henry Ford

Courtesy of Google

Henry Ford is best remembered for his car, the Ford. He was an entrepreneur at heart who saw the bigger picture when it came to automobiles. In his mind, it was no contest between the car versus the buggy.

Courtesy of Google Images

Ford understood the power of his concept. He envisioned a time when everyone would want to own a car. In fact, some say he created the American Dream. 

Courtesy of Google Images

He knew how to produce his car too. Ford is credited with inventing and perfecting the assembly line. Yet Ford had some hurdles to overcome to mass production. He needed to both train and keep skilled workers in his factory.

Courtesy of Google Images

He hit upon a novel idea. On January 5, 1914, Ford announced his $5 for an eight hour day pay program for autoworkers that were over age 22 and had worked at his factory for greater than six months. He called it his profit-sharing program.

Courtesy of Google Images

 For some, $5 was double the wages they had been making. It caused an outrage among other business owners.He is credited with kick starting the middle class too.
.
Ford's workers' were wealthy enough that they could buy the luxury items they produced like a car. Ford started what is now known as a virtuous cycle where people with extra money were creating more demand for the goods being produced.

Breaking News

The Living Wage Fills the Gap

A Living Wage 

      The living wage is the notion that people, who work full time, 40 hours per week, should be able to afford a basic standard of living within a community. Unlike the minimum wage, the living wage is not set by law or by any governmental body. A living wage might be thought of as a socially accepted baseline that is one step above the poverty line.

What are the basics?

     In the United States, the basics generally mean food, clothing, shelter, utilities, transportation, health care, and includes minimal recreation.  The basics do not necessarily include an ability to save for retirement, acquire any skill development or education, or an ability to care for a sick family member.

Minimum Wage versus Living Wage

      The minimum wage, as originally conceived, was designed to provide for a basic living standard. Yet there is an ever-widening gap between what the minimum wage can provide and what it takes to have a standard of living that provides just the above mentioned basics. The concept of the living wage became popular because popular culture discerned that the minimum wage was not keeping pace with what it costs to live independently today..

Breaking News

The Minimum Wage is Born

The Minimum Wage

Photo courtesy of Google Images

     A minimum wage is the lowest rate at which a worker legally can be paid for their labor in the United States.
     . Labor is a broad term but basically it means doing another’s work for a fee. The Minimum Wage Law is the law of the land. Violators can be prosecuted for not paying a minimum wage.

Who sets it?

     The U.S. minimum wage rate is set by the United States Labor Department under authority provided by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FSLA). It was created after the Great Depression of the 1930s. It established a national minimum wage and prohibited employment of minors to stop child labor. Currently the minimum wage rate is $7.25 per hour. 

What is the point?

Photo courtesy of Google Images

In part, the purpose of the FLSA was to establish a minimum wage rate and to limit the number of hours worked for a standard week. During the Great Depression, it was widely felt workers were being exploited for cheap labor by their employers.

The current poster child for a minimum wage job is the Wal-Mart greeter. A Wal-Mart greeter starting pay is $7.25 per hour. Today. there are numerous examples of low paid workers. At full-time employment, these jobs cannot provide a basic standard of living.

Photo courtesy of Google Images

Ryan Singel

   Ryan Singel Tells The Truth 

     Contextly founder Ryan Singel, former writer for Wired Magazine and creator of Threat Level blog, a privacy and security site on the National Security Agency, shared his top tricks for breaking into journalism with students at his alma  mater City Collegeof San Francisco, the place where it all started 15 years ago.

Just do it. 

     His message was simple, just do it, jump in, follow your interest, stay open to process, and let your curiosity be a guide. More importantly develop an eye for what your readers would be interested in."Start to see stories everywhere"

Singel’s top ten tricks of the journalism trade:

1. Lean when not to nod.
2. Pretend to be really dumb and get all the pods of information. Find people who will show you the territory.  Loop back to those people when you know more. Learn more than you will use.
3. Pick up the phone and call. People like to talk. Don’t email. It is too easy to ignore.
4. Develop a reader’s eyes for what would be interesting. Start to see stories everywhere.
5. Trust the process to pick up what is necessary as you go along.
6. Think of every email, posting and memo as a postcard as an opportunity to build your reputation.
7. Check Twitter often. Follow other journalist on Twitter.
8.  Start making connections on Twitter, at meet ups and the Society of Professional Journalists. Find people who share your readers’ interests.
9.  Fully encrypt you hard drive. Remember your password.
10. Use your mailing list for developing a blog following. Share new posts.

What it Takes for Two Types of Families to Live Modestly in Florence, South Carolina

     For context to this post see Uncle Sam's Poverty Guidelines.

     Midwest cities like Kokomo, Ind. can be mighty cold in the winter. Warmer climes might be friendlier and more cost efficient. Let's see what Florence, South Carolina has to offer. Again, please use your own personal reference when considering this unscientific budget study for two types of families;

     Florence's median income is $41,738 with 19.9% of the population living at or below the poverty level between 2008 and 2012. Our hunch was right, it is cheaper to live in Florence according to our friends at the Economic Policy Institute.

      It will only take the family of four a little over 149 hours weekly to make sufficient income and the family of two a little over 111 hours at the minimum wage rate.

     The population of Florence is 137,948 in 2012. 26,900 people lived at or below the federally defined poverty level.

What it Takes for Two Types of Families to Live Modestly in Kokomo, Indiana

     For context to this post see Uncle Sam's Poverty Guidelines. 

     Maybe Modesto feels too upscale. The heartland of the Midwest may be a better choice. Kokomo, Indiana has median income of $37,300 and the poverty rate is 19.9% according the U.S. Census. Again, please use your own personal reference when considering this unscientific budget study for two types of families.

     It would take a little less than 167 hours for a family of four and a little over 116 hours for a family of two to produce sufficient income at the prevailing minimum wage rate.

     The population of Kokomo was 56,866 in 2012. 11,316 people lived at or below the federally defined poverty level.