[Winona Online Democracy]
My apologies in advance if this is a repeat posting. I tried to post the
following question a couple of days ago, but apparently something went
amiss. No worries--the discussion is still going so, I'll ask again:
For those of you who are employers (and for everyone else), what would you
consider an entry level wage in your business (or in Winona)? What do you
expect in terms of educational background and experience for that wage? What
sort of benefits, if any? What would it take to increase that wage? How
much time? Experience? Increase in productivity (and how do you measure
that?) How much of a raise.
Is an entry level wage sufficient for a young adult to live on independently
(ie, pay rent, utilities, groceries, perhaps a used car and car insurance,
savings)? Imagine that you are 18-24 years old--or older, with tastes that
were not extravagant, even by your generation's standards. Look at the
rents, cost of utilities, auto insurance, groceries. Could you live on an
entry level wage? For how long?
The reason I'm asking is that I think that there are several reasons that
employers in Winona may be struggling to find the quality of employees they
wish to hire for entry level wages. One may be a lack of work ethic. I am
certain this is partly true. I am also certain that part of the problem is
that it is genuinely difficult to make ends meet, even with a room mate or
two, working for low wages (and the generally equally low or non-existant
benefits.), especially if you have little hope of increasing your earnings
enough to allow you to upgrade to a nicer apartment, nicer car, perhaps,
etc. And if you have medical expenses, or car repairs, all of your savings
is likely eaten up pretty quickly.
Just curious.
Terri Hyle
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