Minimum Wage,£7 an hour
Poll: Minimum Wage,£7 an hour
Total Members Polled: 313
Discussion
Negative Creep said:
You still need line rental and a land line to get broadband. I pay about £30 for Plusnet landline and unlimited broadband (no TV) and a £15 SIM only contract which is pretty much the cheapest way to go about it
You don't need unlimited. For the basics in life you only need web access. Unlimited is a luxury.And you don't need home and data sim. One or the other...
(I agree that web access is a necessity for services these days, but unlimited is not, and basic web services do not consume many GB a month)
Vaud said:
Negative Creep said:
You still need line rental and a land line to get broadband. I pay about £30 for Plusnet landline and unlimited broadband (no TV) and a £15 SIM only contract which is pretty much the cheapest way to go about it
You don't need unlimited. For the basics in life you only need web access. Unlimited is a luxury.And you don't need home and data sim. One or the other...
(I agree that web access is a necessity for services these days, but unlimited is not, and basic web services do not consume many GB a month)
Vaud said:
Negative Creep said:
You still need line rental and a land line to get broadband. I pay about £30 for Plusnet landline and unlimited broadband (no TV) and a £15 SIM only contract which is pretty much the cheapest way to go about it
You don't need unlimited. For the basics in life you only need web access. Unlimited is a luxury.And you don't need home and data sim. One or the other...
(I agree that web access is a necessity for services these days, but unlimited is not, and basic web services do not consume many GB a month)
johnS2000 said:
More employers will turn to agency and "0" hour contracts .
Partly. And also use outsource / freelancers where practicable.The world of ancient productionised working practices are evolving in our post-industrial society and that's going to have a greater impact than £7 or £8 minimum wage. People are already working more flexible hours, becoming location agnostic and adjusting their expectations so outright cash is becoming less important than working environment, workplace flexibility and social/family empathy.
However, a couple working hard for 37hrs at 7 quid an hour will be touching £30k pa. .
Negative Creep said:
jonah35 said:
Live with a friend or partner and save £340pm on bills. But, rent somewhere for £350pm and save more. No need for a car. No need for mobile and internet. Do some evening work and/or work more hours.
Easily doable.
But, no one wants to do it.
Not everyone has a friend or partner to live withEasily doable.
But, no one wants to do it.
My last job was in tool hire, i worked 50hour week and took home about £1000 a month. I must say it was pretty tough. When i left after a year i was in about £2k of (barely manageable) debt. I had a few luxuries, but if i'd have had a mortgage i simply wouldn't have been able to afford to pay it.
jonah35 said:
Live with a friend or partner and save £340pm on bills. But, rent somewhere for £350pm and save more. No need for a car. No need for mobile and internet. Do some evening work and/or work more hours.
Easily doable.
But, no one wants to do it.
You try it for a just a year then. Easily doable.
But, no one wants to do it.
Cue tales of living on a can of beans for a month when younger.....
Negative Creep said:
What about those under 21's who are never going to have the qualifications or skills to climb the ladder? Someone has to be at the bottom
I was staggered to hear the crass simplicity of Labour ministers saying the increase in MW would 'cost nothing' because it would reduce reliance on benefit and increase tax contributions; absolutely no thought to the consequences of the firms that will have to employ these people. It is a zero sum game - if you increase one set of business overheads, then either firms go bust or otherwise reduce other spending, which may be capital or other forms of investment.It is not the role of business and industry to find jobs for those the system have failed to educate.
Jacking the MW wage up may simply result in more indigenous unemployment as firms seek to gain more productivity - to compensate for higher wage costs - by actively recruiting immigrant workers. It's happening to an extent already.
The left are masters of the politics of unintended consequences. Economically and commercially dyslexic.
Pebbles167 said:
these luxuries were .......a mobile phone.
In fairness, a mobile phone is pretty much a necessity in the modern world.Digga said:
It is not the role of business and industry to find jobs for those the system have failed to educate.
I don't see it as the system's failure to educate. The schools, etc. exist. I see it as the individual's failure to accept education when it's available.
I agree that it's not the role of industry to compensate for that later.
soad said:
Rovinghawk said:
Pebbles167 said:
these luxuries were .......a mobile phone.
In fairness, a mobile phone is pretty much a necessity in the modern world.But some tariffs are eye-watering expensive (with a latest must-have iDevice etc).
Negative Creep said:
I still don't think it would be high enough. I did a bit of an experiment recently on trying to rent a house with the current minimum wage (which we'll call £1000 a month after tax), single male with no children.
Rent £500 a month
Council tax £80
Bills £100
Petrol and insurance £100
Food £60
Mobile and internet £50
=£890
If the minimum wage went up so that same single make took home say £1100 instead of £1000, what do you think will happen to the rent costs? They'll rise to meet the new demand. And people will be back to square one.Rent £500 a month
Council tax £80
Bills £100
Petrol and insurance £100
Food £60
Mobile and internet £50
=£890
oyster said:
Negative Creep said:
I still don't think it would be high enough. I did a bit of an experiment recently on trying to rent a house with the current minimum wage (which we'll call £1000 a month after tax), single male with no children.
Rent £500 a month
Council tax £80
Bills £100
Petrol and insurance £100
Food £60
Mobile and internet £50
=£890
If the minimum wage went up so that same single make took home say £1100 instead of £1000, what do you think will happen to the rent costs? They'll rise to meet the new demand. And people will be back to square one.Rent £500 a month
Council tax £80
Bills £100
Petrol and insurance £100
Food £60
Mobile and internet £50
=£890
Just one single example of a whole raft of potential, unintended consequences that ensue when headline-grabbing politicians attempt to interfere in markets.
Another consideration would be the question "is someone who is worth employing at £x per hour still worth employing at £x+1 pounds per hour?" At some point, for some individuals, the sad but true answer is "no".
Rovinghawk said:
...
I don't see it as the system's failure to educate. The schools, etc. exist.
I see it as the individual's failure to accept education when it's available.....
Which is a failure of....? Probably piss poor parenting and a belief that the state will bail them out if they don't try.I don't see it as the system's failure to educate. The schools, etc. exist.
I see it as the individual's failure to accept education when it's available.....
It makes you wonder when this whole cycle started. It's probably always been thus. Pre-welfare state I guess the people in this bracket relied on charitable hand outs and most others didn't think about them too much (other than donating to charities). It'd be interesting to see if the situation is worse or better post-welfare state introduction.
Either way, as many have pointed out this is a nonsense move by a politician wanting to score points rather than do something meaningful. Forcing a minimum payment for a service without fully looking at everything else is dumb. But it does appeal to those who have limited capacity to see the full implications.
The unavailability of council houses needs to be addressed,so means testing of the recipients should be introduced so once over a certain earnings thresh- hold the rent increases until it is more economical to buy so freeing up houses for the genuinely needy!
P.S. Why is a mobile phone an essential and if it is a £10 Tesco would suffice with a payg sim.
P.S. Why is a mobile phone an essential and if it is a £10 Tesco would suffice with a payg sim.
You can sort of understand why someone wouldn't want to room share etc, to pull in a paye minimum wage (if you can get one of these), because there is no light at the end of the tunnel, limited chance of promotion you would think, and no chane of buying a property etc. Talk about disenfranchised, work till you drop, a perfect storm.
Negative Creep said:
What about those under 21's who are never going to have the qualifications or skills to climb the ladder? Someone has to be at the bottom
If companies can afford to employ them, or to put it another way are allowed to pay them what they are currently worth, then they can acquire some skills. The minimum wage just pulls up the drawbridge. Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff