50 States + DC + Puerto Rico ranked by minimum hourly wage required to afford 2-bedroom housing

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I think though that the labor force should have more a say in terms of pay and benefits. The less of a disparity of income levels between blue collar jobs and skilled labor, the easier and less destructive it is to our economy as the job market fluctuates.

Steven, they don't pay me what they pay me because they like me or because they respect me or because they respect what I do. They pay me what they pay me because they found out that they have to, to get me (or equivalent).

When I have a plumbing issue that I can't figure out, I call a certain company. Not just any company but a certain company and I ask for a certain guy. He charges over $200 to just come in but he always does it right, does it fast, does it clean and I've never had to call him back for the same thing again. He is blue collar but I get he makes a lot more than I do on a yearly basis. I know he was mad busy during the flooding last year!

The disparity between white and blue just don't exist. The disparity is between jobs that require specialized skill/knowledge and those that don't.

Which job do you think you will find more candidates for? Someone who answers the phone and then redirects you, or someone who can pour a foundation or design a new computer system for a brokerage?

Isn't it obvious you would pay the phone person a lot less? Why pay more when there are others who will take your initial offer? It doesn't make sense.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I think though that the labor force should have more a say in terms of pay and benefits. The less of a disparity of income levels between blue collar jobs and skilled labor, the easier and less destructive it is to our economy as the job market fluctuates.

Steven, they don't pay me what they pay me because they like me or because they respect me or because they respect what I do. They pay me what they pay me because they found out that they have to, to get me (or equivalent).

When I have a plumbing issue that I can't figure out, I call a certain company. Not just any company but a certain company and I ask for a certain guy. He charges over $200 to just come in but he always does it right, does it fast, does it clean and I've never had to call him back for the same thing again. He is blue collar but I get he makes a lot more than I do on a yearly basis. I know he was mad busy during the flooding last year!

The disparity between white and blue just don't exist. The disparity is between jobs that require specialized skill/knowledge and those that don't.

Which job do you think you will find more candidates for? Someone who answers the phone and then redirects you, or someone who can pour a foundation or design a new computer system for a brokerage?

Isn't it obvious you would pay the phone person a lot less? Why pay more when there are others who will take your initial offer? It doesn't make sense.

Those are valid points, but again if we were to look at types of job in percentages of the total job market - and let's say 60 percent of available jobs out there are minimum wage jobs, we have a big problem. I'm not sure what solution(s) would fix it, but it is a problem that creates a cascade of other problems if a large portion of the labor force can't even afford housing.