Quote:
Originally Posted by Outdoorsman
I would question this part of your post...
Granted you will pay more in taxes (roughly 33% for the group of earners we are talking about and more so if you move to a higher tax bracket). So that is all relative. You still "take home" more money.
Medical Insurance is a fixed rate. It does not fluctuate based on pay.
Other items go up:
Child support type items could go up (rightfully so).
401K's will go up (as they should and good for you for a bigger contribution) but not enough to say it is a 5% hike if it is PRE-tax. This will only put you in a better position in life/
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You may "take home more money" but over time it will buy less because other people have the same idea that you do, wanting more pay without providing more value. Their increase in wages makes the products they are associated with more expensive to you, diluting your "more money". Even any money you save has less value because of inflationary effects. Some of the earnings on that money is due to inflation so you need to seek higher rates of return to actually make more.
As to medical insurance, the rate is fixed FOR THAT YEAR but next year it will go UP even more than usual because of inflation. You think the people that provide medical services are going to ignore rising wages of others and the associated rising costs? They will want higher wages as well. Medical products will increase in costs.
When I say "in the end" I mean over a period of several years. It becomes a rat race. The inflationary "unearned" wage increase is diluted over time and you are forced to seek even higher "unearned" wages just to keep up; triggering another cycle of inflation.
Only wages increased by increased productivity through higher skill levels and more diligence are REAL gains and are non inflationary. If you want a living wage you have to EARN it by providing the skills and the work attitude required to make you productive enough that your boss will be ABLE to pay you for it through the increased VALUE you provide to him and his customers.
And the reality is, many jobs are simply NOT "living wage" jobs and they can't be. The value such jobs provide to customers is insufficient to justify such a wage. I worked many such jobs when I was younger and there was no way I could have "lived" on the income. Nor did I expect to. That's why I went to college, to increase my VALUE to employers by developing a much higher awareness and skill level. College is not required, and is not a good fit for everyone, but LEARNING is essential along with a good work ethic.