newsobserver.com projects - Free tuition, min. wage bump delayed - Comments

Re: Free tuition, min. wage bump delayed

justacommenter — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 21:21:13 -0500

oh my! I am running for election. I swear! I have alot of ideas for restoring the economy none of which include free tuition and raising min. wage. It seems that is all these politicians think they can do is raise min. wage. probally because it was already thought of. what the heck is .50 and hour raise going to do? 20 dollars a week? sounds good though, doesn't it. Hello?!? you are only throwing money down the drain!!!!! a min. wage worker gets there paycheck.....still collects money from welfare to pay their bills and now they got a little more money to burn. I will be glad when someone sees fit to redo the whole system inside out. free tuition? great! I'll sign up. and I don't even NEED IT! some of these ideas are developed over a long sit on the toilet, i believe.

Re: Free tuition, min. wage bump delayed

willncsu — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 16:33:53 -0500

Nice try. Thats just their take home pay. Their total comp is more like 70+/hr. Far out of line with fair market values. When the bottom of the market for SUV's fell out the companies had to continue paying the exorbitant salaries even when the plants closed because the UAW had them handcuffed. The companies were not allowed to adapt quickly enough due to union pressures. I guess everyone should make as much as their boss too? Socialism it a terrible and ridiculous. Read up on the actual living conditions in Eastern Europe and Argentina under socialist regimes before you start trashing capitalism. It works. People are just panicking right now but conditions are nowhere near as bad as they are in other parts of the world. All thanks to "evil" capitalism. I dont think it is a coincidence that the NC economy is stronger than most while also being one of the harshest states towards unions.

Re: Free tuition, min. wage bump delayed

radioman — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:34:37 -0500

DETROIT (AP) --Hourly wages for United Auto Workers laborers at General Motors Corp. factories actually are almost equal to those paid by Toyota Motor Corp. at its older U.S. factories, according to the companies. GM says the average UAW laborer makes $29.78 per hour, while Toyota says it pays about $30 per hour.

It's NOT the fault of the unions that the car makers are going broke. They made ALL OF THE BIG SUV'S for the yuppies, now they are too cheap to buy them. Why is it bad that a working man makes about $ 55-60K...and a person that sits on their BUTT, makes $ 70K ?

How was I so blind?

cornbread — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:47:22 -0500

So those ruthless shift workers forced the helpless, handcuffed executives to chose stagnant business models and reject innovation?

It's all solved! Run, tell everyone!

Re: Free tuition, min. wage bump delayed

willncsu — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:35:21 -0500

Sure, I can connect the dots...

Government or Union mandated higher wages -> Fewer Jobs -> lower ability for companies to innovate -> Stagnant business models -> failing companies(Ford, Chrysler...).

Lets just go ahead and let the government run everything so that something as simple as grocery shopping can be as pleasant as a trip to the DMV.

You took the first step...

cornbread — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 14:16:59 -0500

...now the next.

"Since no one is buying cars" affects the WHOLE industry.

Why is the whole industry in trouble? Perhaps because there is no credit to fuel the beast known as capitalism?

I would think Milton Friedman and his acolytes at the Locke Foundation would heartily suggest flooding more credit and liquidity into the economy. Bernanke thought Milton F. was right - and here we still are.

Why, you could add liquidity to the economy with higher wages and lowering the costs of education (the genesis of this thread).

Come on, connect the dots. You can do it.

Re: Free tuition, min. wage bump delayed

willncsu — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:55:44 -0500

If you dont think the Unions are the problem with the big 3 then you are an idiot. My family works in the car business and it is painfully obvious that they have choked them close to death. To even try to compare Toyotas problems to the US automakers is a joke. Toyota is still in a great position, they just had to cut back on production since NO ONE is buying cars.

Re: Free tuition, min. wage bump delayed

cornbread — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:42:31 -0500

Geez...Is there a post where young Mr. Sanders of The Flat Earth Society doesn't pimp his diaries?

To the point - Toyota announced yesterday that they were shuttering production for an extended period for the first time in their history.

How does that square with the pro-labor movement being the downfall of the Big Three (and other ignorant anti-labor tirades here?

It doesn't. Pro-labor policies weren't the problem at the Big Three or Toyota. Nor would such humane policies be a hinderance to increasing the quality of life in NC.

Re: Free tuition, min. wage bump delayed

jonoflocke — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:12:20 -0500

PackMan97, well said.

I wonder if it's better to be "anti-labor" by not extending intrusive government policies into wage agreements, or just to be anti-poor-and-unskilled by extending those policies and making it even harder for the poorest among us to find employment.

Re: Free tuition, min. wage bump delayed

PackMan97 — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:47:33 -0500

We don't need an increase in the minimum wage ....WE should ALL work for NOTHING in this wonderful anti labor state.

It really is amazing how anti-labor this state is! The harder I work the more money they take from me! The more others don't work, the more they raise my taxes so they don't have to work! The more companies lay people off, the more my company has it's unemployment insurance raised to compensate!

It's unbelievable anti-labor and I think you for pointing out how awful this state is! Bev would do well to remember that people pay taxes. One way or the other the folks left working will have to pay for all her spending.

Re: Free tuition, min. wage bump delayed

NotLiberal — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:38:43 -0500

Ironically, Bev Perdue won't have to do anything. The Fed is still talking about raising the min wage this year. So it is a win - win for her. She campaigned that she would raise the min wage, decided it was a bad idea after the election, and when the Fed raises it for her, she can campaign again in 4 years saying she supported the min wage. And should the fed, change their mind about raising the wage, she won't end up with egg on her face because the Fed out did her and didn't raise it either.

So far, Mrs. Perdue is acting like a true politician.

I wonder how long it will be before her name is used in vain just like Easley's.

Re: Free tuition, min. wage bump delayed

radioman — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:30:06 -0500

We don't need an increase in the minimum wage ....WE should ALL work for NOTHING in this wonderful anti labor state.

Re: Free tuition, min. wage bump delayed

ncpoli — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:58:20 -0500

What? A Dem admitting that a higher minimum wage would be a bad idea during a recession? By using an anecdote about supply and demand of labor? All those labor unions who donated to Perdue are going to love this!

Free tuition, min. wage bump delayed

markjohnson — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:53:10 -0500

Gov.-elect Beverly Perdue said today she will hold off on pursuing her campaign pledges for tuition free community colleges and an increase in the minimum wage because of the sluggish economy.

"I don't believe that my first priority and first accomplishment willl be free community college because of the budget (difficulties)," Perdue said in an interview with Dome Wednesday morning. "It's much harder than it was this time last year."

Perdue and legislators writing the next budget expect to face a gap between revenue and planned spending that could be as large as $3 billion.

Neither the free tuition nor the minimum wage was featured prominently in Perdue's campaign until after her Democratic primary opponent, state Treasurer Richard Moore began trumpeting the ideas. During the general election, her Republican opponent, Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory ridiculed the idea of free tuition by saying that someone would have to pay the costs.

Minimum wage also has moved to the back burner.

"I look forward to continuing to push for a minimum wage increase," Perdue said, "but my priority this year is to keep people working, and I've got folks who talk to me and are willing to take a less-than-minimum wage job right now just to have a paycheck."