(08-25-2018 07:16 AM)Machiavelli Wrote: Should workers for corporations ever have to be on public assistance?
Bernie Sander’s has an idea to force corporations to payback 100% of the public assistance of any employee who has to have it.
What a novel idea.
The guy is smart. That would start forcing some of the money out of the 1% hands.
Thoughts?
Two quick thoughts.
How do you differentiate between a corporation and a small business? The Obamacare 50 employee threshold?
Corporations will just continue down the line of contracting out services.
I do like the idea though.
How about this though.... a family of 4 making 110k where I am is considered 'low income'. A family of 3 would not be. A family of 8 would be low income well below there.
Why is a corporation responsible for my family choices? Why should someone who CAN'T have kids be paid less for the same work than someone who has lots of them? Why should a couple who both work, each making 70k per year get no assistance, but a couple where one spouse decides to sit at home all day gets assistance (or a pay raise)
The list of 'choices' that go into the conversation are vast.
(08-25-2018 10:02 AM)UofMemphis Wrote: even Trump agrees the MW is too low.
"The minimum wage has to go up. People are -- at least $10, but it has to go up. But I think that states -- federal -- I think that states should really call the shot. As an example, I live in New York. It's very expensive in New York. You can't buy a hot dog for the money you're talking about. You go to other states and it's not expensive at all. Now what it does is puts New York at a disadvantage if the minimum wage is up, companies move out and things, bad things happen. At the same time, people have to be taken care of. But what I'm really going to do on the minimum wage -- but it has to go up.. .. So I would like to raise it to at least $10."
I also think the tipped MW should be doubled to 4.26 an hour...JMHO
1) in NY, and I agree. The MW in SF is $15. That's a local decision.
2) the tipped MW is a bit of a fallacy though in that the law requires that you earn (including tips) at least the federal MW which I think is around $7.25 and higher in many places. The 'tipped' MW is not what they're allowed to pay you in total.... just their REQUIRED contribution to your income.... said differently... if your tips are paying you $20/hr, then the company only has to pay you 2.13/hr for a total of $22.13. If the tips are paying you $2.50/hr then the company can't just pay you $4.63 and call it a day. They have to pay you $7.25. I'm pretty sure of this having run the books for a 'tipping' company, but I'll be happy being corrected by someone with actual tax or company running experience
(08-25-2018 01:39 PM)Tom in Lazybrook Wrote: I see nothing wrong with a 15 dollar minimum wage and
We could pay for it, easily with a 35% tax on carried interest, recapture of health care reserves, reinstating estate tax levels of greater than 5 million with taxation, a AMT flat tax of 35% on all income over 350,000 per year, a requirement that all charitable donations go to the public good and not be accessible by a private group of persons, an end to tax free status for private clubs (including property taxes, which would help the states and cities immensely) holding property worth over 500,000.....as well as a ban on pharmaceutical companies charging more in the USA than they do in the G20 for drugs, etc. If that doesn't cover it, a Federal property tax on people who hold real property in excess of 1,000,000 might help too.
We'd probably run a budget surplus at those levels.
Then why don't you and those who agree with you band together and live in a self-governed community and enact such things.... and see what happens.
The funny thing about all of these proposals is they always seem to come from people either not subject to many/any of the taxes or who COULD voluntarily make such contributions already, yet they don't.
Why do we need to wait on the government to do it for us? We'll set up a 501 charity... and you and anyone else who would like to participate can contribute any of those pieces they can... let's start with these as they would be easy to calculate, administer and donate....
35% tax on carried interest, reinstating estate tax levels of greater than 5 million with taxation, a AMT flat tax of 35% on all income over 350,000 per year... you can merely stop making any charitable donations that don't go to the public good and not be accessible by a private group of persons and not join any private clubs etc (including property taxes) holding property worth over 500,000..... and a voluntary property tax on people who hold real property in excess of 1,000,000.
Take all that money that the government won't take from you... and elect your OWN
government to administer those funds. Assist people in your community, etc etc etc.
When everyone else sees how great that works, it WILL catch on and everyone will do it.
Why does this almost NEVER happen?
It's somewhat close in SF... and I recently gave a mandated 'market adjustment' raise to all of my employees based solely on tenure. Of course, that means my worst employees got raises and my best employees didn't as they were already above the market... and they're not happy as you'd imagine. Amusingly, we also gave out bonuses based on customer satisfaction at our facilities... and of course the poor performers who just got a raise kept the better performers from getting as much of a bonus. The poor employees are very happy. Everyone is encouraged to 'do less'.
A lesson in the problems of socialism in the socialism capital of the US.