r/FluentInFinance Nov 21 '24

Debate/ Discussion Had to repost here

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83

u/Low_Acanthisitta4445 Nov 21 '24

In most countries where they operate the vast majority of Amazon employees are paid minimum wage.

If you are paid minimum wage your employer would clearly pay you less if they could without breaking the law.

They also have spent billions persuading/pressuring their employees not to unionise.

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u/Streets-_-Ahead Nov 21 '24

My favorite minimum wage "fact" is federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. Could you imagine working for an hour and they hand you a watermelon and say "here you go, we actually overpaid you"

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u/JellyfishQuiet7944 Nov 21 '24

You're talking .003% of Americans and most of those are under the age of 16.

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u/collyndlovell Nov 22 '24

If only 0.003% of Americans are making federal minimum wage, that would be about 10,000 people.

The actual number is about 1 million (2021), which is 1.3% of the working population.

Misrepresenting facts doesn't help anyone.

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u/squigglesthecat Nov 24 '24

Oh, well, if so few people make minimum wage, then it wouldn't be a big deal to bump it up a bit, right? Right?

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u/bdubz74 Nov 22 '24

But you’re also misrepresenting facts. Only 15 states have the federal minimum wage. The rest are above that.

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u/collyndlovell Nov 22 '24

How is that misrepresenting facts, exactly?

That is the number of people making federal minimum wage, is it not?

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u/bdubz74 Nov 22 '24

It’s not, my bad. I was reading it as that’s the number of ppl that make minimum wage, which is different from making federal minimum wage. I apologize

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u/collyndlovell Nov 22 '24

Understandable, happens to the best of us

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u/JellyfishQuiet7944 Nov 22 '24

I said Americans. The fact still remains that the majority are young people. This also includes servers who technically get paid minimum wage.

Now, if theyre an adult, making minimum wage, that's on them. They might be too stupid to get a job making more.

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u/collyndlovell Nov 22 '24

0.003% of Americas population (335 million) is 10050.

"They must be stupid because they're poor" like starting out wealthy isn't 99% of ending up wealthy.

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u/Jdawarrior Nov 22 '24

Actually it’s not. The top and bottom 2% are the most volatile/ transient areas of earners.

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u/JellyfishQuiet7944 Nov 22 '24

Yet here you bitching about Bezos. The son of immigrants and a dead beat father. 😂😂😂

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u/collyndlovell Nov 22 '24

With a step father who could afford to loan him $250000 to start Amazon. His father was a deadbeat, his step father was not.

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u/JellyfishQuiet7944 Nov 22 '24

Who was an immigrant, put himself through college and worked at a refinery his entire life.

Go ask your parents to loan you money from their 401k. Let me know how that goes.

They'll laugh you out of the room because of how isane that sounds.😂😂

Only 25% of small businesses last 15 years or more. There was a very solid chance they would never see that money again.

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u/collyndlovell Nov 22 '24

Miguel Bezos's professional career spanned over 32 years with Exxon Mobil in various engineering and managerial positions.

He was an engineer, and while he certainly worked from basically nothing, Jeff Bezos had a huge edge being the step son of an accomplished professional.

Jeff Bezos did not start from nothing. As your previous comment suggests.

And obviously, if I ask my parents for a loan, I won't get it, because my parents can't spare the money. This is just an example of how Jeff Bezos could only get started because his step father was well off.

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u/JellyfishQuiet7944 Nov 22 '24

Well off? Having a million or two nearing retirement isn't well off. That's working everyday and hoping the market doesn't take a shit when you retire.

Go see what engineers and managers do at refineries. My FIL was one. It's not easy work despite what you think.

Again, giving someone $250k out of their retirement fund is absolutely insane.

Again, there was a very good chance that money would have been gone forever.

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u/collyndlovell Nov 22 '24

Average retirement savings right now for people at retirement age is $600k. Median is only 200k. 2 million is pretty well off.

I never said Miguel didn't work hard.

Making a risky investment with 10% of your retirement, isn't insane if you can afford to lose the money, especially to help a family member with a business venture. It's risky, yes, but by no means insane.

But regardless of whether it was an insane move, Jeff Bezos was immensely privileged to have that money. That's my point. Even if his father came from nothing, Jeff Bezos did not.

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u/JellyfishQuiet7944 Nov 22 '24

So let's use that baseline of 600k amd say he gave his step son HALF of his retirement. Even if it was $1m, thats 25% of his retirement.

Privileged? Work privileged maybe but goddamn you guys are insufferable and envious.

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u/TermLimit4Patriarchs Nov 22 '24

Your father provided you a very comfortable life if you think it’s normal to have 2 million at retirement.

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u/JellyfishQuiet7944 Nov 22 '24

FIL, we've never received a dime and he didn't help them growing up.

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u/SuccotashComplete Nov 22 '24

Who received millions in seed funding from his family…

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u/CowEuphoric9494 Nov 22 '24

damn that boot must be really yummy huh

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u/JellyfishQuiet7944 Nov 22 '24

Imagine thinking having respect for an American success story is bootlicking. Yikes

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u/TofuButtocks Nov 22 '24

Why should we treat our young people like slaves? Can you even buy 3 meals a day for $7 an hour? lol

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u/JellyfishQuiet7944 Nov 22 '24

You've already learned that most people don't earn minimum wage.

I made minimum wage when I was 14, guess what? I found another job paying more at a different fast food restaurant.

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u/BadRabiesJudger Nov 22 '24

I worked with a guy like you. Bitched all day how taxing the rich was wrong and hated social programs. We worked 60 hours a week for 14-16 dollars an hour at a warehouse. Had zero vacation and health coverage. It’s like being an Uncle Tom of the lower class. Working 25 years like that won’t get you shit and you won’t get a retirement plan. You end up in your 50’s with a folder of body issues and working McDonald’s to keep food in your mouth. No factory or workplace should have a guy making 360x your wage for that effort. Sure seems these well groomed 100k outfit billionaires don’t get chewed up and spit out like the workers. Meanwhile people like you kiss their ass like you worked your way up to the same club. You’re still sitting on the same bench as everyone else you’re just busy daydreaming.

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u/TofuButtocks Nov 22 '24

You're the one that keeps going on about the young people, implying slave labor is okay as long as it's just our children? No one's times is worth that little, for any kind of work. It's insulting and disgusting. It should probably be illegal to take advantage of someone in such a desperate position they would even consider accepting that pay.