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Pay in the USA?

PK1

PK1

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Last night I saw a program we have in Australia called Foreign Correspondent, an Australian investigative journalism program that is usually very informative and accurate. The report last night was titled "USA - Down in Jungleland". In the report they told of educated people in the USA earning only $2 an hour and one bloke who worked for Walmart who earned about $9 per hour! The impression I got was that the majority of the population only earned these meager amounts and relied on "tips" to survive and there is no such thing as a minimum wage in the US. I find this strange because in Australia we have a minimum wage of about $16 per hour.

Here is a link to the website. USA - Down in Jungleland - Foreign Correspondent - ABC

If you go to "iView" you can view the whole program (30min): ABC iview

The question I have for you is: Is this true?
 
Our minimum wage sure as hell isn't $16 an hour, but we do have minimum wage... that differs with waiters/waitresses. They can get paid less, as long as their tips bring them up to minimum wage.
 
Unfortunately, $7.25 is the Federal Minimum Wage here in the States, which is entirely out of line. You would need 5 people in your household making minimum wage and working 40 hours a week just to eke by. Me, I haven't had a raise in years, yet my cost of living goes up practically every 6 months! Totally sucks but true!
 
This is a hot button issue. Traditionally few people stay at these type jobs as they gain experience and move up, and these jobs are NOT meant to enable people to support a family on their own. They are often entry level positions and pretty much reflect the value of their service. If you make $9 at a McDonalds that is pretty much what value you add to McDonalds business. Some people want to raise it to $15 as a 'living wage', but why not $20, $25 or even $50? What's the right number? You can argue it all day, every day and everyone will have a different opinion. At the end of the day the extra money comes from somewhere, and that somewhere is the end customer who has to pay more for goods and services, the employer isn't going to 'eat' those extra costs. Raise it to $15 and that Big Mac will go up in cost which means fewer people buy them which reduces employment. Raise it to $25 and most Macca's would operate at a loss. The last numbers I saw was that only about 2-3% of US workers get only the minimum wage, so if the report you saw alluded that the great majority of Americans are only earning two bucks an hour and surviving on tips that is flat out wrong. Waiters and a few other workers can be paid less because they also get tips, a good waiter at a middle of the road restaurant can earn more reasonably good money. Most people tip 15% so if the service is good the person can make good money.

Of course with this crummy economy (lots of reasons there and which is why the two political parties can't agree on things) the whole wage structure is being held down, and further being distorted by the ACA, (aka Obamacare) which is throwing a monkey wrench into the employment picture right now. The price of labor, like everything else, will reach it's equilibrium point on it's own (supply and demand), but gov't likes to stick their fingers in the pie and we know how that turns out. The best way to raise wages is by growing the economy which hasn't been very robust since the Recession ended back in June 2009. We are treading water.
 
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I’m on the fence of whether I think there even needs to be a minimum-wage set by the government – but I digress…

If the program left you thinking the majority of Americans were making $2-$9/hr, it was extremely misleading. The last stats out show for 2012, the MEDIAN income was $51,000/year (which equates to about $25+/hr.)
 
Raising the minimum wage hurts the people by raising the cost of everything. The new higher prices basically wipe out any gains the minimum wage worker gets. The net result is everyone pays more.
 
These facts may give you a little different perspective.

http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-livin...jsp?country1=United+States&country2=Australia

Consumer Prices in Australia are 58.03% higher than in United States
Consumer Prices Including Rent in Australia are 65.23% higher than in United States
Rent Prices in Australia are 82.13% higher than in United States
Restaurant Prices in Australia are 53.97% higher than in United States
Groceries Prices in Australia are 45.77% higher than in United States
Local Purchasing Power in Australia is 23.58% lower than in United States
 
super googan said:
Suggested retail price for a 2014 FZ1 is $10,780 in the USA.

Whats the price in Australia ? Just wondering
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I think it is equivalent to about USD 16,500 OTD, or thereabouts at the present time. Lots of reasons for that.....small market, high taxes, limited competition. It's difficult to directly compare to the US although the higher cost is pretty much in line with general Australia/US price ratio for other goods. It is very difficult to compare prices from one location to the next without knowing the full context of prevailing wages and taxes and what a worker is left with in his pocket. I've lived in many places around the world, including 5 years in Melbourne, and each place has good points and bad points, but for sheer selection and pricing you cannot beat the USA. You can get anything you want, usually for less money than anywhere else in the world. It's free market competition that does this.
 
I get paid "enough" to live comfortably. I would always like more but do I really need more? Not really. I guess I'm comfortably Happy? ;) I never went to college and taught myself all the skills I needed to be successful. I was not around for the past week because I was in a boot camp that was required training to become certified. Last Friday, I just upped my marketability by becoming VMware VCP510 certified. :tup:

My kids? Well, they cannot afford much and need to apply themselves and learn something new.
 
I would say yes and no. If you focus on no or low skill jobs yes. If you look at technical jobs, or white collar jobs no.

For example McDonalds trains more people for their first job than any other employer, including the US Military. In the southern part of the US many workers are from Mexico, Central or South America. McD's, or another fast food place, is often their first job in the US, period.

At WalMart, many of their locations are rural and they are the only major employer for many miles. There you'll find people who are degreed, but no white collar jobs in their area, or people who have a high school diploma, or a GED. In other words it maybe their only option for employment.

If you look at Fortune 500 companies you will find a SHORTAGE of degreed and technically skilled workers, hence the high demand for H-1B workers (tech workers from Asia).

For example the company I work for (ACMP) currently has 165 openings, we will be adding another 75 jobs, and we CAN'T find people! The lowest paying job is about $45,000. The highest is probably $175,000+. Why? Applicants 1) don't have the relevant education, 2) don't have relevant experience, 3) are not the right personality fit, 4) don't want to relocate.

We are an oil pipeline company and have operations in some pretty remote/rural, but beautiful places. People simply don't want to move there. Oh, we pay relocation too.

The result? Turn over is higher than we like, and we may not find "the best" people. When I was in tech, we found "the best."

Regarding minimum wage, many workers are in high school (first job), or are immigrants with limited education and language. Remember the US takes in more, and a wider variety of immigrants than any other country in the world. Thus resulting in low wage jobs. Over US history it's been the Irish, Germans, Czechs, Mexicans, Chinese, Vietnamese (boat-people in the early '80's when I was in High School), etc, etc.

So I guess it really depends on who, and what you are looking at.

And check out: Careers | Access Midstream

We need workers!!!
 
Just throwing this out thers but over 50% of americans earn less than the average salary of the US. This is because there are a select few who make so da** much it brings the average up to that.

I make jack squat here. Barely 30k a year with 2 degrees. If I were to move out to the oil fields 75-100k easy in the same field but who wants to work 70 hours a week? If I were to put that in here I'd be doing ok here too...
 
Sebastian F7 said:
Just throwing this out thers but over 50% of americans earn less than the average salary of the US. This is because there are a select few who make so da** much it brings the average up to that.

I make jack squat here. Barely 30k a year with 2 degrees. If I were to move out to the oil fields 75-100k easy in the same field but who wants to work 70 hours a week? If I were to put that in here I'd be doing ok here too...
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I'd say check it out. Oil field hourly rate, depending on what you do, is about $40 to $75 an hour. Figure in OT and you're banking. Our company has a 100% match on 12% of your salary for your 401k, plus stock grants, bonus if you are management, and 100% cliff vesting in 2 years. You add it all up and that is over $175K to $200K a year.

Each man needs to make his own call, and determine what is right for their family and situation of course.

My wife and I talked about it, and we decided to suck it up for a few years. Sock the money away, and then move back home to Austin.

Do I like OKC? Nope, not one bit. I view it as a deployment. Some days I scream because I hate it so much. But do I want to retire? Yes.

I'm not pointing fingers, only explaining the situation as I view it.
 
Hellgate said:
I'd say check it out. Oil field hourly rate, depending on what you do, is about $40 to $75 an hour. Figure in OT and you're banking. Our company has a 100% match on 12% of your salary for your 401k, plus stock grants, bonus if you are management, and 100% cliff vesting in 2 years. You add it all up and that is over $175K to $200K a year.

Each man needs to make his own call, and determine what is right for their family and situation of course.

My wife and I talked about it, and we decided to suck it up for a few years. Sock the money away, and then move back home to Austin.

Do I like OKC? Nope, not one bit. I view it as a deployment. Some days I scream because I hate it so much. But do I want to retire? Yes.

I'm not pointing fingers, only explaining the situation as I view it.
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I say you are viewing the situation in the right manner. I was in the oil business almost my entire career and got posted to some out of the way places and some good ones as well (South Dakota, Houston, Australia, New Jersey, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Chicago area, Nova Scotia and a few others), 16 different places in 36 years which works out to 2.25 yrs per location, my wife and I used to joke that she 'pitched the tent' and made a home while I made the money. In Australia we only got back to the US once a year, but we made it work. And the last 5 1/2 years of work I was on single status in Canada and Beaumont, TX (makes OKC look good) and only was home about 60 days a year, but I banked the travel allowance and extra living allowance.

It all paid off in the end when I retired with a nice 401(k) and a fully paid company pension....oil companies are one of the few industries that still gives all those 'old timey' benefits. Now I can spend all the time I want at home, ride the bike whenever the weather is nice and I feel like it, and still have money to travel as we wish. Assignments are long hours but they pay well. Spending long winter nights in Nova Scotia in February was not too pleasant, but summer evenings in Melbourne, Australia in December were pretty sweet). These jobs aren't for everybody but in the last years I was working we all noticed a fall off in younger kids not wanting to do the moving, some was due to working spouses (a real consideration) but there was a general feeling among the grey haired set, and management, that they just didn't want to leave their local cocoon.

No finger pointing here either, just observations. Opportunity is usually self made and in this environment companies like to see go getters. You gotta' do what you can to stand out in the sea of applicants and workers.

Another reason companies have a hard time filling these positions in out of the way places is drugs. Industry data shows about 25% of the applicants will fail a drug test which excludes them immediately. You can't afford someone on drugs working in areas that can be hazardous if you don't have your wits about you. A sign of the times.
 
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Hey thanks for all the great replies. They have certainly given me another perspective of employment and renumeration in the US.....which is why I thought I'd ask some real people!
 
PK1 said:
Hey thanks for all the great replies. They have certainly given me another perspective of employment and renumeration in the US.....which is why I thought I'd ask some real people!
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It really is the land of the free. You, and you alone, can make as much money as you desire. It's all about having the right skill set and finding the area that needs you and those skills. If one of those two do not fit, you need to either develop new skills or move to where your current skills are needed. Pete is a testament to this and is living it. He found where his skills apply and are needed. He's sacrificing today for a better tomorrow.

I'm in the same boat. I'm making great money here in NH but this is also not where I want to be. I'm dealing with it (not that New England is a bad place, I'm just tired of winters) until I can make a move. Perhaps I'll land in Austin about the same time Pete moves back?

My wife retired last year at 45 yrs old. But, because she is also wishing to hasten our move south, she went back to work to bank a lot more money quickly.

Our new goal is to sell this house and go to Austin with enough money to buy a place with cash. We'll arrive with no mortgage, no outstanding credit and all vehicles owned out-right. I'll only need to work to pay utilities and put gas in the two FZ1's tanks. :D
 
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