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McDonalds’ suggested budget for employees- Anyone see this?

22K views 193 replies 57 participants last post by  jvp 
#1 ·
http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/202...w-impossible-it-is-to-get-by-on-minimum-wage/

Interesting financial advice here. Especially interesting is the recommended budget of $0/month for heat and the recommended second job (despite the fact that this is a budget for a full time employee at McDonalds).

Like I said before, something in our economy is going to give eventually. Too many college grads can't get a decent job and too many qualified workers can't earn a family wage...
 
#3 ·
Interesting. I would like to know what exactly a "living wage" is defined as? It seems like one of those statements that gets tossed around because it sounds nice, but no-one wants to define it. I don't know that raising the min wage would do much anyways. The vast majority of people who work for federal min wage or below are age 25 and younger, so I don't know how raising the min wage would affect that many working families.

http://www.bls.gov/cps/minwage2011.htm
 
#4 ·
Wages have not kept up with what should be a comfortable middle class life style. We have the wealth in this country for a much higher standard of living for everyone but workers can't earn enough. Something is out of balance.....
 
#5 ·
This country has a ton of opportunity to make a comfortable middle class life style. Hence immigrants risking their lives and leaving their families to come live here. What is out of balance is our feeling of entitlement for a middle class lifestyle and thinking the government can legislate it for you. That moral hazard is whats making it harder for people to have the employable skills required to earn a comfortable middle class lifestyle.
 
#11 ·
Since this is a fishing and hunting board I thought I would throw this out there: What do you think the shrinking middle class will do for the long term health of fishing and hunting in general? If more and more people cannot afford to hunt/fish there will be a drop in numbers. As this happens the number of advocates for our hobbies will drop... I wonder how guides, tackle shops, charters, fishing/hunting gear manufacturers feel about this?
 
#17 ·
If you want to be successful in this country you have to find the drive to do it. I will say minimum wage is too low, but there are higher paying entry level jobs out there. I hired kids routinely who made $16-$23/hr with minimal work experience.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2
 
#18 ·
I always thought jobs like burger flippers were entry level jobs. They are just jobs to get you started and on your way to a real career. I don't think some kid right out of high school should be making a living wage. Making minimum wage should suck and not be comfortable. Otherwise what would be the motivation to work hard or study more and become more than a fry fryer?
 
#20 · (Edited)
I think there is a segment of the workforce that are truly underpaid for what they do. Just the same there are those that are grossly overpaid.

McD's is a minimum wage job. Always has been. I remember working at Arbys as a kid making less than $3 an hour.

Our daughter, a recent HS grad, not wanting the expense of college right now got a job at McD's and hated it. She hated it everyday for year while she worked hard on finding a better job.

The happiest day in her life, it seems, was giving her two week notice to go start her new job where she makes a bit more. But more important for her than the money was working someplace that had just a bit more street cred. Someplace where she could have some pride.

There is a stigma that comes with wearing the burger visor. And maybe it is valid. And maybe that is the point.

Short of going into management, McD's is entry level all day.

Remember, we have a right to the pursuit of happiness, not a right to happiness itself.

My 2 cents.
 
#62 ·
One other important point. McDonalds wasn't suggesting a budget.

http://www.practicalmoneyskills.com/mcdonalds/budgetJournal/budgetJournal.php

McDonalds simply offers a resource to teach its employes to keep a budget. The budget in question was simply an example of the process of keeping a budget (the math).


anyone else notice they are missing a couple of rather important things on that budget?

food and water

that budget leaves you cold, hungry and thirsty
The former needs to be stressed.


P
 
#34 ·
I went in and checked this out for Clackamas County where I live. Evidently my wife and I need to spend a few hundred dollars more per month for food so we can survive. In surprised we haven't died of starvation because we don't spend anywhere close to $900 a month for us and our 3 kids. Then again, we don't eat out at McDonalds every day. At least someone was able to attempt to define this "living wage" that everyone keeps throwing around. I don't think it's reasonable, but that's just me.

I am curious, if we raise the min wage, let's say to the above mentioned $20.00 an hour mark, do programs like food stamps go away? I would personally rather see someone work for money.

Now comes the part where everyone thinks I only support the big CEO's and drank the kool-aid against my own best interests. My employer had a bunch of layoffs, hiring freezes, and a reduced budget that goes to raises for the rank and file. They also cut a bunch of the other employee perks that they previously offered. All in the same year the executive staff gave themselves an overall 76% pay increase! The CEO literally doubled his salary! That is a tough pill to swallow for anyone.

All I am saying is the polarization comes in when you disagree with one extreme, you get shoved into the other extreme, more frequently than not against your will.
 
#23 ·
So, all of you people who think all the people in this country that are making minimum wage can just walk down the street and find a better paying job, and how many million people was that
So, when these millions of jobs appear out of nowhere and all the people working for minimum wage quit their jobs what will that do for the economy, when these companies can't find several million workers
There was a ten year period in this country that minimum wage did not go up at all, yet all the companies like McDonald's raised there prices, paid their CEO's a lot more and made huge profits BUT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE THE BACKBONE OF THEIR COMPANY MEAN NOTHING
There was a company recently who blamed their bankruptcy on there employees union after the union employees took three pay cuts amounting to 27 to 32%, while their CEO's pay went from $750,000 a year to $2.5 million and that doesn't count all of upper management getting raises and bonuses, while mismanaging the company into bankruptcy and if you don't believe that, it was in the Wall Street Journal
If you have employees (I don't care what their job is or what skill level they are at) as a honest employer it is your duty to pay them a decent wage (which varies depending where you live) so that they can live a decent life
All you people that talk about minimum wage people getting a raise is some kind of entitlement, these people give a large part of there lives to there employer and deserve a fair wage, which is certainly more than they are getting
Another thing that is bogus is 'a lot of minimum wage workers are under 20 yrs old', what does age have to do with how much a job pays?
Anybody that works should be paid a decent wage no matter how old they are
I will now get off my soap box so everyone that is against minimum wage can make a bunch of stupid statements why there should not be a minimum wage

MICHAEL BEAMER
 
#27 ·
So an electrician and a guy that thaws out burgers and squirts catchup should get payed the same? No way. Minimum wage = minimum brain power,skill and risk.
Some dude that dropped out of school should not be making 40k salting my fries. He should be barely getting by and hating every minut of it. Then using that as modivation to do better, get smarter and get a better job.



So, all of you people who think all the people in this country that are making minimum wage can just walk down the street and find a better paying job, and how many million people was that
So, when these millions of jobs appear out of nowhere and all the people working for minimum wage quit their jobs what will that do for the economy, when these companies can't find several million workers
There was a ten year period in this country that minimum wage did not go up at all, yet all the companies like McDonald's raised there prices, paid their CEO's a lot more and made huge profits BUT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE THE BACKBONE OF THEIR COMPANY MEAN NOTHING
There was a company recently who blamed their bankruptcy on there employees union after the union employees took three pay cuts amounting to 27 to 32%, while their CEO's pay went from $750,000 a year to $2.5 million and that doesn't count all of upper management getting raises and bonuses, while mismanaging the company into bankruptcy and if you don't believe that, it was in the Wall Street Journal
If you have employees (I don't care what their job is or what skill level they are at) as a honest employer it is your duty to pay them a decent wage (which varies depending where you live) so that they can live a decent life
All you people that talk about minimum wage people getting a raise is some kind of entitlement, these people give a large part of there lives to there employer and deserve a fair wage, which is certainly more than they are getting
Another thing that is bogus is 'a lot of minimum wage workers are under 20 yrs old', what does age have to do with how much a job pays?
Anybody that works should be paid a decent wage no matter how old they are
I will now get off my soap box so everyone that is against minimum wage can make a bunch of stupid statements why there should not be a minimum wage

MICHAEL BEAMER
 
#29 ·
The main negative effect is the CEO's vacations in the Hamptons might be cut short by a month or two. Bring the wage disparity back down to the 1950's levels and everything works fine for the entire country. And tax the CEO's the 1950's rates too, then perhaps we can make this country great again.
 
#26 ·
Raising minimum wage seems so easy to a non business owner. The local corner grocery store used to be able to hire a kid after school to sort cans and bottles and sweep the parking lot. Not any more. At 9 bucks an hour that job no longer exists. Also, with minimum wage continually rising, everyone else on the payroll suffers. When the new, unproven guy gets 9 bucks, Sally who has worked there for years and proven herself, also gets the same 9 bucks because there are only so many labor dollars to go around. Every time we raise minimum wage a certain number of jobs go away. Talk to the small business owner who is being taxed to the hilt and would love to hire some extra help.
 
#32 ·
I thought the point of this article was to point out that there are (too) many people who can barely scrape by with 2 full time jobs. No matter what side of the minimum wage fence you are on, you must be able to see the consequences of this. It is not just McDonalds that does it, there are workers in many other fields that have the same problem (how much does a construction worker earn?). I read the other day that recent STEM graduates have 25-50% unemployment rates.
 
#33 ·
It's not new that McDonalds and other places like that don't pay enough to live. I can't say why some people would think it does. Even 40 years ago the primary worker was the teenager. That doesn't make them awful. It's "a" place to get some work experience and make some money when you aren't qualified for anywhere else. We need jobs like that too, but they shouldn't be depended on to be permanent employment.

My advice for those that are making too little. Do something about it. If you are really poor, there are plenty of programs to go to school. No, it won't be easy. You could join the military to help pay for school, but that isn't easy either. Or, continue on ... there are plenty of us who didn't have rich parents who are doing "ok". You can, too. If you aren't making it, it isn't the fault of big business.
 
#41 ·
I own a carwash and I pay $10/hr + tips. Most of my employees are in transition in their lives, usually college students or recent college grads. They use these jobs to get by until they move to their careers. I openly support the notion that these jobs are a stepping stone to the rest of their lives. (probably much like McDonalds)

I've certainly had employees supporting their families on these wages too and I can tell you that every single one of them had a smart phone and a car.

At $10/hr it's getting harder and harder to find good employees that will stay around, but that's all the business can support.
As a small business owner, I pay property taxes and personal property taxes whether I make a pennie or lose $10,000.
Add to that the requirements for fire inspections, water valve inspections, payroll taxes, worker comp insurance, liability insurance, and ever increasing utility rates.
Just to keep the doors open is expensive and most of that cost comes from mandated state and city burdens. It may be easy for folks to make bold statements about increasing the minimum wage, but I'm sure I'm not alone the fact that most small businesses simply couldn't sustain much more. Payroll is my highest variable cost and rivals the fixed cost's of owning the business.
I pay slightly more than minimum and I'm proud that I can do that. Even at $10/hr it's getting harder to find employees.
 
#42 · (Edited)
Wages have not kept up with what should be a comfortable middle class life style.
Wages have not kept up because minimum wages keep rising causing the middle class (who do not get those government imposed raises) to move toward the bottom.

Define comfortable or "living wage". Necessities of life-Food, clothing and Shelter? Or must it include computer, smartphone, a car, truck and an Alumaweld in the driveway, annual paid vacation to go hunting/fishing/on a cruise, employer paid health care? Maybe the phrase should be "what should be a covetable life style".

We have the wealth in this country for a much higher standard of living for everyone but workers can't earn enough. Something is out of balance.....
You're right. Because our society has become "comfortable" and forgot how to "kill something". Workers have little risk. Creators have the wealth because they have the risk and subsequent reward. Don't like your (plural form) lot? You created it. Education and age has nothing to do with it. I have a 24 y/o son that cost me over $100K for a college education. He's making $12/hr. I have a 21 y/o son with just 1 yr of college that is making $60K+. That's today, not 1955. They have each chosen their path.

Does wanting to earn a wage from a full time job that affords you food, shelter and clothing, plus a little bit of savings count as a sense of entitlement?
Yes, if you expect it because you can fog a mirror. The hardest door for anyone to open is their front door. If you want it, go get it.

I think the number of people that might fit this definition are a very small percentage of the overall population. By human nature most people like to work- it gives them a sense of worth.
I think you are off by 180. Yes people like to work for the sense of worth. But how many are willing to take the risk to create the wealth they crave?

Making minimum wage should suck and not be comfortable. Otherwise what would be the motivation to work hard or study more and become more than a fry fryer?
Correct

Remember, we have a right to the pursuit of happiness, not a right to happiness itself.
But it is attainable by EVERYONE

So, all of you people who think all the people in this country that are making minimum wage can just walk down the street and find a better paying job
No, but those that walked down the street to try, are closer than those who didn't

when these millions of jobs appear out of nowhere and all the people working for minimum wage quit their jobs what will that do for the economy, when these companies can't find several million workers
The jobs won't appear. They'll be created. But that's the fundamental understanding of humanity- That millions won't create anything which is why companies know they don't have to pay higher wages.

If you have employees (I don't care what their job is or what skill level they are at) as a honest employer it is your duty to pay them a decent wage (which varies depending where you live) so that they can live a decent life
Again, define decent? When calculating the ROI on a position, what is the decency factor I include? As a member of the human race, is it your DUTY to ensure your neighbor has a decent life?

All you people that talk about minimum wage people getting a raise is some kind of entitlement, these people give a large part of there lives to there employer and deserve a fair wage, which is certainly more than they are getting
They deserve the wages they negotiated when they took the job. Do I deserve to complain about the trains that have been going by at 3am for the 40 years before I bought my house?

Allowing people to make more money actually invigorates the economy.
Absolutely correct. I am not seeing any post where people are not allowed to prosper.

My advice for those that are making too little. Do something about it.
:applause:

My employer had a bunch of layoffs, hiring freezes, and a reduced budget that goes to raises for the rank and file. They also cut a bunch of the other employee perks that they previously offered. All in the same year the executive staff gave themselves an overall 76% pay increase! The CEO literally doubled his salary!
Sounds like a publicly traded company. Rarely do CEOs of publicly traded companies give themselves a raise. The Board of Directors handles that. Shareholders elect the BOD. If you are a shareholder of any company, do you participate in the conversation?



Warren Buffet once said "there are three types of business- innovators, imitators and idiots" I submit the same goes for income earners.

I am 49 years old, grew up in a lower income factory worker family in the midwest. I do not have a college education. I have owned my own business(es) since 2006. Some have succeeded, some have failed. I read a lot. I can read and explain a Balance Sheet, PNL and Cash flow statement. I know how to do an ROI. Times have been challenging. I've never missed a payroll, but have reduced staff. I live a "comfortable" (by my standard) life. I do covet more- time, money, stuff. I don't blame anyone for my "status" other than the guy I see in the mirror. Yes, I have drank from the Kool-aid fire hose of personal accountability and responsibility taught to me by my father.

Gregg Marshall
 
#43 ·
Sounds like a publicly traded company. Rarely do CEOs of publicly traded companies give themselves a raise. The Board of Directors handles that. Shareholders elect the BOD. If you are a shareholder of any company, do you participate in the conversation?
OK, I have to laugh at this comment...I work for a publicly traded company. The chairman of the board is also the CEO and is the largest single shareholder. He, along with the other board members possess the majority of the stock. Our company has long had a wage freeze, practices many layoffs and facility closures while giving the CEO and other vice presidents wage increases for several years running. I also own some stock, but my vote does nothing because the people up for board election are presented to me as a list that I have no input and since the people on that list own the majority of shares, they all have each others back come voting time. My bet is the scene I describe is fairly commonplace.
 
#44 ·
Many of these comments are a sad reflection of the everyone gets a trophy mentality going on right now.

Hard work will get you ahead, if you are a CEO, you deserve the pay, as a CEO the productivity of the company directly depends on your thought and planning.

As for minimum wage, if you strive to not accomplish **** with you life then you deserve what you get paid.

There are thousands of hardworking people in the trades who started as temps and now some make close to 6 figures +, they got their by hard work. The bottom line is that pay is based off skill, hard work, and production. Being a burger flipper, cashier, and gas pumper, are not jobs that require skill and as such deserve the low wage they are paid.

I fear survival of the fittest is dead in our great nation and now it is filled in large part by entitled people who feel they deserve something they haven't earned!
 
#46 ·
chairman of the board is also the CEO and is the largest single shareholder
Does he own 50%+1 shares? If so, doesn't this in effect make him the owner? Regardless of being publicly traded or corporate classification, he also has the most at risk? If not, he is at risk of being replaced if the remaining share holders unite against him. But don't be naive in dismissing the old cliche of "don't bite the hand that feeds you"
 
#48 ·
No, he doesn't himself own the majority, but together with the other board members they do own > 50%. So yeah, technically, if 4 of the other board members banded together, they could oust, but I tend to doubt it as they have all been compatriots in other ventures for years.

And yes, they carry the investment business risk, which I'm not really arguing. My point was that participation/non-participation in BOD voting for any other shareholder is a moot venture because it ultimately does nothing if those 5 people vote themselves every time. Considering some of them are also officers in the company that give themselves raises at a whim, while freezing wages for everyone else, demonstrates a corporate business practice contrary to what you described and from what I've seen in business news, is not all that uncommon; corporate brass boosts their own salary, while holding down all other wages for the people that actually do much of the actual work.

The current BOD's strategy in the past, has been to maximize their shareholder value through major cost-cutting in the short term, then after the stock hits a predetermined point, they dump their shares, then extricate by moving on to something else; in the end, the company typically suffers because it is now left dangling in the wind with short staffs and facility losses; their history shows they don't hang in for the long term or for company growth...but that strategy is a conversation outside the scope of this thread.
 
#47 ·
Keep in mind that the job is the job, not the person doing the job.

The job pays what the market will bear, and not a cent more. Many people have the skills necessary to flip a burger, so the supply of workers is high. When the supply is high and more than the quantity demanded, the price goes down.

CEOs are in high demand and the supply is limited. When demand is high and supply is limited the price goes up.

It has nothing to do with the value of the human doing the work. It's simply supply and demand in the marketplace. "Living wage" is a nonsense term.


P
 
#49 ·
Next time try making it less personal by not inferring the "you"
"You" can be singular or plural. Internet authors are challenged in articulating their readers reception.

It's the working man that are the wealth creators
So if I start a company and hire staff to (re)produce what I developed (innovation or imitation), they are the creators? Or are they accepting a negotiated wage for their effort in a position I created? All the while I take on the added costs of staff, thus reducing profits individually, yet increased collectively by duplication of my original effort. I also still have all the risk of my investment in the success/failure of the overall company?
 
#56 ·
So if I start a company and hire staff to (re)produce what I developed (innovation or imitation), they are the creators? Or are they accepting a negotiated wage for their effort in a position I created? All the while I take on the added costs of staff, thus reducing profits individually, yet increased collectively by duplication of my original effort. I also still have all the risk of my investment in the success/failure of the overall company?
You can't do it without employees doing the actual labor, whether here or overseas.
 
#50 ·
The current BOD's strategy in the past, has been to maximize their shareholder value through major cost-cutting in the short term, then after the stock hits a predetermined point, they dump their shares, then extricate by moving on to something else; in the end, the company typically suffers because it is now left dangling in the wind with short staffs and facility losses; their history shows they don't hang in for the long term or for company growth...but that strategy is a conversation outside the scope of this thread.
Ethics is a whole other question and problem. Remember the movie Wall Street back in the 80's. As long as the rule makers (read government) are ethically challenged. Let's be honest, our societal moral compass has never been true. The "ME" attitude has always prevailed. Kind of like wanting (vs. earning) a higher minimum wage to have a comfortable lifestyle.
 
#52 ·
Ethics is a whole other question and problem.
Agreed. It's a matter of which trait you are more intolerant of, laziness or greed. That unfortunately dictates which side of the argument most people tend to land, which is not productive. People who will stab someone else in the back to get a dollar suck, but to me it’s no different than the person who is irresponsible and won’t get off the couch to try to find work, or can’t prioritize wants vs. needs with the money they do have
 
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