Forgive me if I'm ignorant but... - Page 4

[happysmileylady]

Originally Posted by kittywitty 

Originally Posted by ExRxMom 

It was December 6, 1992 the Pyramid Apartment Fire in Carbondale, it was arson five students died.

Ah...I had just moved to the area, so that's why I didn't know about it.I'll keep Embassy Suites in mind, thanks!As for losing $15k income minimum by being a SAHM, I strongly disagree. I worked a good job at the hospital making more than minimum wage and working 70+ hours a week and barely took in $16k gross. That was several years ago, but I can not see how this would be true for anyone just working min wage nowadays-especially with high unemployment, high daycare & school costs, and high transportation costs among other things.

Minimum wage is $7.50,X 40 hrs a week X 52 weeks is $15,600 gross.   
 

[kittywitty]

Originally Posted by happysmileylady 

Originally Posted by kittywitty 

Originally Posted by ExRxMom 

It was December 6, 1992 the Pyramid Apartment Fire in Carbondale, it was arson five students died.

Ah...I had just moved to the area, so that's why I didn't know about it.I'll keep Embassy Suites in mind, thanks!As for losing $15k income minimum by being a SAHM, I strongly disagree. I worked a good job at the hospital making more than minimum wage and working 70+ hours a week and barely took in $16k gross. That was several years ago, but I can not see how this would be true for anyone just working min wage nowadays-especially with high unemployment, high daycare & school costs, and high transportation costs among other things.

Minimum wage is $7.50,X 40 hrs a week X 52 weeks is $15,600 gross.   
 

Shows how long it's been since I worked! Either way that doesn't take into account taxes, benefits you pay for like insurance and mandatory retirement funds, union fees for a lot of jobs, work related expenses such as transportation and clothing costs, childcare expenses, etc.

[happysmileylady]

Originally Posted by kittywitty 

Shows how long it's been since I worked! Either way that doesn't take into account taxes, benefits you pay for like insurance and mandatory retirement funds, union fees for a lot of jobs, work related expenses such as transportation and clothing costs, childcare expenses, etc.

No it doesn't take into account taxes, but if you work minimum wage and have any kids, it's pretty likely that you don't have any tax liability, so you could set up your w-4 to not have any taken out.  Also, if you (general) are working minimum wage, I think it's unlikely that you are the breadwinner of the family, and benefits are likely taken out of your SO's income.  Though I know this is not always the case, I would venture a guess that a substantial number of moms (since we are talking about the folks who leave a min wage job to be a SAHM) who work min wages jobs don't carry the insurance...for that matter if they were the one carrying the ins, they probably aren't going to be leaving the job.  Mandatory retirement funds?  Do you live in Canada?  That's a genuine question, because I am pretty sure that other than social security (which comes out as taxes) there isn't any retirement savings that can be made truely mandatory in the US.  Union fees-I have worked a LOT of min. wage jobs (and in fact currently am just barely above min wage) and I can't think of a single one that even HAS a union, let alone mandatory fees for it.  The only union I have ever had to deal with, mandatory or otherwise, was when I was teaching, not min wage.  Unions are usually for skilled positions, min wage usually isn't skilled.  Transportation...well that one's up in the air.  I know I drive much much more on my days off than I do on the one day a week I currently work.  But then I have recently determined that I am somewhat of an anomoly in the driving department, I drive a LOT in general.  It's nothing for me to drive an hour, one way, for just one errand out of say six or so in a day.  And some folks work close to home, some not.  Childcare-not necessarily an expense of working....and if you are working min wage AND have to pay childcare, well, it's barely worth working anyway.  If you have two kids that need childcare, you are probably paying more in child care than you bring home, gross pay. 

[freestylemama]

I will also add that if you're paying union dues, chances are you're getting that money back and then some.  I've had one job where I paid union dues.  During this time I worked 10 hours a week, got free healthcare and paid maternity leave.  It was sooooooooo worth the small amount that I paid.

[kittywitty]

Not all unions-my mom works on a road construction crew and her union dues are insane. The insurance they get in turn is crap, too. She showed me the check and I was astounded. Plus with the custody arrangement, she can't claim my little brother, so she does not get deductions for dependents which is insane since she has him full time (horrible divorce/custody settlement). Dh's union is a good thing, but we still pay out the butt for it. Plus his insurance (community college professor) is over $1600-2000 a semester out of our pocket even with union. Paternity leave is the minimum required by law. He also has mandatory retirement funds for his job. He can not, by contract, keep his job without contributing a certain percentage of his paycheck. So if I got a job (unlikely with the employment situation in this state and area) it would be minimum wage and I would have to carry insurance, plus I could not claim dependents not being the biggest bread winner.

Basically what I'm saying is it's very dependent on the situation and not the same for everyone. A minimum wage would not be in any way feasible for a lot of people to carry and make it worth their time and energy. We need a true living wage (and healthcare!) system in place.