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If someone is working minimum wage and they are having to buy milk, they should have worked a little harder in high school to get a better job. The difference between minimum wage and a higher wage is attitude.

The 50% that don't pay taxes need to stop being leeches. Maybe if I didn't have to pay for the scum suckers I wouldn't have to work so hard for my milk.

Reminds me of the protests they had here a few weeks ago mcdonalds workers in day hood wanted to become a union and make 15/hr minimum. They don't understand they would be outta a job over night. Instead of the dollar menu it would be the 5 dollar menu. Minimum wage is a stepping stone many people don't have the skills or will power to climb the ladder therefore they reap what they sow

Shit....... U know damn well that min wage is getting free milk

LOL Yup. The min wage earner should be above the CEO. He get his milk for scratchin his toes and hitting the pipe in between naps. It takes the middle guy a half hour because he's
gotta buy the min wage guys milk first

That's right!

This,,,Comming from a weathly man??

Typical, step on the heads of the less fortunate to position yourself as the person who cares? Maybe you should study hypocrocy instead of minimum wage!!!!

Just an FYI Guidry, im pretty sure minimum wage was not intended for anyone to live off of.

How many min wage earners and middle wage earners work under the direction of that CEO?

That CEO has to work strategically; everything that company does, or does not do rests at the feet of the CEO. When the stockholders start losing money, they are not going to go after the floor sweeper, but they CEO will answer for where company profits are going.

That min wage dude may have to worry about sweeping the floor for his shift. That mid wage earner may be in charge of a floor sweepers and a couple widget making machines. That CEO had to see that there is a floor in the first place, he has to see that someone manages the entire facility (or multiple facilities), control the advertising, manage and counsel people in a chain, interact with buyers and sellers, see to distribution, purchase the raw products, set goals for the company and track progress of those goals....... That CEO generally has a PHD and a long track record of proving himself at managing a large operation.

The funny thing is that in America, we now have a president who never swept the floor, ,never ran a machine, never managed any floor sweepers, was never in middle management, or upper management, nor was he the CEO. He never made, distributed, or controlled anything. So how did that happen?

He did do community organizing in the Saul Alinsky style, where you tell the floor sweepers that the CEOs are screwing them over, and that they need to demand more. He also told those to dad gum lazy to even sweep the floor that they deserve something for free from middle workers and CEOs, like housing, food stamps, welfare, Obama Phones, and Obama care......

ROCK THE VOTE!!

Dg since u, I'm sure feel bad for the min wage making welfare recipient would u charge them less per hr, then say the middle class or the CEO?
Don't get me wrong I don't see how min wage makes it with the inflated cost of life now but and I feel for them but welfare I don't feel sorry bc 95% wanna live like that!

I also believe you should have been in military and run a successful business to be president we have a president that has done neither

Concerning redistribution of wealth.

If you ever find yourself in amongst a group of liberals and redistribution of wealth comes up, I can show you how to slap them across the jaws, and get them stammering and stuttering. It is especially so if said libs are of the college age.

Ask them if Dick Cheney or Mitt Romney deserve the millions of dollars that they have earned, or if that money should be redistributed to the poor in society, and you will find that libs have an absolute hatred for Cheney, and also for Romney and will not hesitate in espousing the value of redistributing their money. Then ask them about the Kennedy family, and if their Billions should be redistributed, and watch them go silent.

If you want to go from slapping their jaws, to directly kicking them in the balls, ask if Oprah Winfrey's billion dollars should be taken from her and redistributed, and watch the look of horror on their faces as they cannot answer. Ask them if Snoop Dog (the rapper) should get to keep his 120 million he earned from rhyming about bitches and hoes, and violence. Ask them to explain their double standard on why we should take money from an Oil CEO who provides the gas for our vehicles, but mere entertainers should get to keep their billions and millions, and see how many can answer you. I have yet to have a lib stay in the conversation of redistribution when I bring up Oprah Winfrey. Throw in Snoop, Mike Jordan, Beyonce, Will Smith.... and they ended up getting imprisoned by their own laws of PC, and cannot speak. It works every time.

Rangerp: those arguments might fly if the disparity in wealth weren't so large and widening almost exponentially. It is not good enough to say that Ceo's and stockholders should be paid more and more of the pie so that more jobs will be created while leaving the middle class farther and farther behind. I know y'all ride my ass about mentioning Harvard but ill mention anyway that Harvard Business School has retooled its teaching philosophy to place more emphasis on the moral responsibility of leaders to do good and to abide by and promote ethics in business. I'm for capitalism but have you seen the profits being made by the Haliburtons, BP, Ford, etc lately. Good times are a Rollin' in the board rooms but min wage is still fricking $7.25....WTF? I've always paid part time college students who work for me $10 and more per hour. Why can't Walmart do that?

Because if you're stupid enough to need a minimum wage job, then you're not valuable enough to be paid any higher.

If that CEO works a 40hr work week and all 52 weeks in a year, he'll bring home just under $42,000,000. A little over stated I'd say. I'd love to know who came up with $20,160/hr.

More importantly, I'd like some information on who will hire me at that hourly rate.

Mandating a minimum wage increase is a bad idea. It sounds good on the surface. It puts more money in the hands of the poor — in theory. Minimum wage will not support a family, and it only affects about 2 percent of the workforce, maybe less, so in the grand scheme of things it is not much more than a political fairy tale.

What can actually happen is a different story. First, let’s look at the numbers.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the industry most impacted by federal minimum wages or below is leisure and hospitality (no surprise) at 22 percent, primarily in food services. In fact, one in four in food preparation and serving related occupations is paid at or below the federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 per hour.

However, we cannot overlook the fact that some of this number work for tips and the minimum wage is a secondary source of income.

The three states with highest percentage of hourly employees at minimum wage or lower are Georgia (9.6 percent), Mississippi (8.5 percent) and Texas (8 percent). On the surface that might hint at a great number of low-wage jobs, which is no doubt true, but there are exemptions to the Fair Labor Standards Act that determine who must get paid that minimum. Among the exemptions affecting these states are tipped employees, full-time students, workers with disabilities and small farm agricultural workers.

The three states with the lowest percentage are California, Oregon and Washington, all under 2 percent. They are among the eight states that have minimum wage laws exceeding the federal minimum already. These three and the northeastern states have the nation’s highest costs of living and have strong union representation. The state of Washington is reported to be raising its minimum wage again this year from its existing $9 an hour.

Over the years the percentage of hourly labor at or below the minimum wage dropped from 15 percent in the recessionary years of 1980-81 to 2.2 percent by 2006. Since the financial crisis that percentage has risen, and in 2011 it was 6 percent. The most affected demographic is between the ages of 16-19 in part-time jobs with 22.8 percent of the hourly workforce in that category.

OK, statistics are behind us. So why is raising the minimum wage a bad idea? Unemployment rates will increase because more people on the sidelines enter the job market attracted by better pay. Costs to employers go up and, therefore, either consumer prices increase or fewer people are hired, which also results in a negative impact on employment.

Over time, technology speeds up to supersede higher costs of labor and replaces those new hires anyway. Marginally productive units of a business can be shuttered, costing yet more jobs.

In fairness however, higher minimum wages do not translate into failed businesses. In fact, in one study small business activity actually increased significantly over a four-year period following an increase in the minimum wage. But no one has determined that the increase in wages is directly causal to the increase in business activity.

That period was 1997 through 2001, and there was an enormous boom in some businesses for much of that time (the dot-com boom). Consequently, this outcome is counterintuitive and should be considered suspect until economists can link the relationship between increased business activity and increased minimum wages.

Better applicants are a relief for the consumer standing in line at the fast-food joint, but the more marginal youngsters now working those kitchens and counters are passed over for more qualified workers newly on the job market. That risks denying opportunities for minorities and disadvantaged kids to learn the soft skills, better preparing them for life as working adults.

So I guess the bottom line on this thing is that Washington is making political hay on a subject that primarily affects young, part-time workers, in an economy where low-skill jobs and the percentage of those affected has been steadily shrinking. Then it removes from the workforce those who most need skills.

above article was by Russ Wigh

What am I missing?


Russ Wigh is a professor of business. Email him at rdwigh@bellsouth.net.

think raising min wage would help? Say we went from the $7.25 to $10 hour that will net u an extra $110 before tax per week. Once u take taxes out you may see $65 of that. If u can't make a living now off of $7.25/hr $65 more a week isn't gonna improve u life status. Min wage jobs should be an example of where u don't want to be. Making that low of money should spark someone to do something with their life so they don't have to worry about living on $200 a week.
I busted my ass through college only to net 58% on my salary each month, yet I still have to pay $500 a month in student loans. Is it right that because I better myself by busting ass through school to have a huge chunk taking out to support the the lazy and at end of day take another $500 to pay for the school.
Between me and lady last year fresh out of school paid $51,000 in taxes shouldn't we get a break to pay off the $60000 student loans we have?

Mandated minimum wage also hurts the people making $10 to $20 per hour, because they will get less of a raise and longer times between raises if the company has to cover cost for the low end wage earners. To me, minimum wage is for the dumb, the lazy, those possessing a chip on their shoulders about having to work, or for kids in school.

If one becomes valuable to the company, they will make more. They change their attitude to work hard, be responsible for the company. They will not make min. wage for long.

Dguidry - your statement "Absolutely, and Pres Obama wants to address the crushing student debt crisis but guess who's blocking the effort"


So the American tax payer is now responsible to pay for college debt?

We got folks going to college, taking all of the liberal arts degrees that do not amount to a squirt of piss, and then they want someone else to pay their debt.

If you cannot pay it back, then do not borrow it in the first place.

The founding fathers guaranteed our right to pursue happiness, they did not guarantee happiness.

Not everything in life is a guarantee, and I do not want a government that thinks they can guarantee everything. A gov that can give everything can also take everything.

How did you pay for your college?

I joined the Army, paid my 100 dollars a month for the GI bill, and then EARNED a Green to Gold Scholarship. It took 13 years of Army service and three trips to combat to pay for my two degrees. I was so grateful; I gave another 13 years of service. If you think I want my tax money to go for some turd burger that borrowed money, and now wants to skip out on paying it, then you are smoking crack.

Voo Doo

Your statement "If one becomes valuable to the company, they will make more. They change their attitude to work hard, be responsible for the company. They will not make min. wage for long."


Hey Dude, comments like that will not be tolerated. Words like "hard work", and " individual responsibility", are not the sort of things that push us closer to socialism, and it is not jiving with the Obama group think. Cease with the comments there comrade, or the black helicopters will on their way to pick you up.

yea people like voo doo who want to advance in life are exactly what's wrong with this country!

^ this

Why is it that peope that go to colledges such as guidry and his children feel the need to put themselves on a pedistal or put thier children there?

What i see, is a country that is turning into a huge fraterninty! And being runned by such. So guidry, its in fact your fraternity that you push so hard that keep the rest of the workers down. You just use this song and dance as all liberals do, share the wealth, but not mine!!!! haha...

Its funny how with almost any large company you have a 1000 times better chance of getting hired if you are from the colledge that the managers are from!!! Just like our company at the this very moment, if you are from LSU you have a 100% chance ahead of anyone else getting hired at a six figure position!! If you are alumni, you are in!!!!

Dean - I do not think the milk poster got the effect you were looking for. It appears the mud running crowd is sort of fond of hard work, determination, capitalism, and the American way.

I'm thinking of paying TonyB for a sponsorship on here offering spell check services.

T u ever consider credibility of these school. If u think an education from Delgado is the same as an education from LSU, u are sadly mistaken. I wasn't in fraternity and went to school for engineering something can actually get a job. If I was hiring someone and had to choose between graduate from LSU, Nichols, McNeese or Delgado. I would 100% LSU guy at least for interview. The curriculum can't even compare.

and if you need milk that bad, you could always get a job on a dairy farm.

I'd work there if she is there too