Comments by "L.W. Paradis" (@l.w.paradis2108) on "$1.9T Stimulus Passes Senate, 8 Dems OPPOSE $15 Min Wage" video.

@sopheakko697 The economy is arranged so that not everyone will find a job. If they did, who would volunteer for the armed forces? In any case, full employment would force up all wages, no law needed. Every time unemployment falls really low and hard, "something happens." Haven't you noticed?
7
@mirasbrush4607 Why does anyone cooperate with this scam, and jeer at the people who work hard but cannot make ends meet no matter how reasonably they live? That is what I do not see in other societies. In other countries, everyone knows the system is rigged. They don't usually go into overdrive to blame the victim and let the perps off the hook, like they do here. A handful do, but this constant barking is not the norm anywhere else. What gives??
6
@makeamericagreatagain3401 Well, in previous generations, this is what minimum wage could do: 1. A full summer of full-time work at the minimum wage equalled a full year of tuition at a state university. Now, only living expenses were left, and people had ways to meet them (part-time jobs, small loans, help from parents, scholarships, work-study). 2. Two roommates working full-time, minimum wage, could afford a small apartment anywhere -- Manhattan, San Francisco, Denver, Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston. Then, they had a base from which to find BETTER OPPORTUNITIES. 3. A married couple working minimum wage could afford their own health insurance and save up for a baby. For real. They did not live in Mom's basement. Nope, Mom was now a doting grandma who babysat for their bundle of joy. People had a future. Life moved forward. Does any of this sound possible any more? Well, what happened?
4
@sopheakko697 All three members of my family worked for companies where, as it turned out, serious crimes were taking place at the very top. Different industries, different decades. The lower level employees suffered. We lost 100s of thousands, were forced into early retirement, etc. Of course I'm talking about people who worked six-day, 50-hour weeks for decades on end, no sick time. Whenever I bring it up, at least one more person present says they experienced the same thing. But NO ONE else will ever tell this story first. I will. You can keep this "opportunity." The opportunity is for legalized crime.
3
@thesquadequalstraitors2273 She is resentful of people who went away to college. It's understandable. The opportunity should not depend on having rich, coddling parents. Everyone who is qualified should have the opportunity. I went to school tuition-free abroad, where I was not a citizen.
2
@blackphillip564 People don't do that (community college plus state school) because they have a reasonable fear that they will never be able to compete with the private school and premier state university (California, Virginia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Texas) kids, and will end up un- or underemployed. Sadly, they have a point. Your idea about what they could do is nice. Too bad it doesn't work. (It should work, but oh well.) I've known CPAs who are baristas. When that happens, does the blame machine go into overdrive yet again?
2
@keithhogan7836 When I was born, plenty of grandchildren of slaves were still alive. They had someone who could tell them about it. Not to mention Douglas Backmon's evidence that de facto slavery ended during WWII. This argument against reparations won't wash. There may be reasons, but this ain't it.
2
@sopheakko697 I didn't pay tuition for my Master's degree, only about $700 in administrative fees per year. Of course in Europe. I call that opportunity. American unemployment statistics have been tricked up for years.
1
In previous generations, this is what the minimum wage could do: 1. A full summer of full-time work at the minimum wage equalled a full year of tuition at a state university. Now, only living expenses were left, and people had ways to meet them (part-time jobs, small loans, help from parents, scholarships, work-study). A hundred bucks a week was usually fine. 2. Two roommates working full-time, minimum wage, could afford a small apartment anywhere -- Manhattan, San Francisco, Denver, Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston. Then, they had a base from which to find BETTER OPPORTUNITIES. 3. A married couple working minimum wage could afford their own health insurance and save up for a baby. For real. They did not live in Mom's basement. Nope, Mom was now a doting grandma who babysat for their bundle of joy. People had a future. Life moved forward. Does any of this sound possible any more? Well, what happened?
1