What’s it like to live on low wages? Wednesday night at City Hall speakers shared their perspective including State Senator Marilyn Moore at a public hearing hosted by the State Department of Labor that is staffed by former State Rep. Chris Caruso. Moore is the first speaker and her remarks begin just prior to the 3 minute mark of the video above.
Moore faces an August 9 Democratic primary from City Council President Tom McCarthy in Connecticut’s 22nd District covering the north and west portions of the city, all of Trumbull and a piece of Monroe. The winner will take on Republican Elaine Hammers in the general election.
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That was an excellent speech. Why we are still having hearings discussing this is beyond me. Good Job Ms. Moore.
Thank you Senator Moore for your intelligence, character and courage to put yourself on the line for the greater good. I’m sorry I didn’t get to this important public forum. This is an important issue that isn’t going away.
Note to Lennie: Thanks for posting this important video. The embedded video “play” didn’t open for me. No biggie, I got to the video at this URL–>
ct-n.com/ctnplayer.asp?odID=13092
State employees with higher wages and more costly and generous benefits than people in the ‘private sector’ have formed an advisory council (presumably decided by the legislature) so they can recommend strategy on how to address low-wage jobs.
The solution has already been determined! Raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour! Brilliant? But wait. Isn’t that part of the Connecticut and National Democratic Committee platform? Raise the minimum and, as in the ‘private sector’ there will be fewer jobs. Then what? Create a ‘job bank’ like the UAW and auto makers did in the 1980s?
How about lower taxes and fewer state government regulations and lower pay to state employees to encourage the creation and retention of real $15 per hour jobs?
Oh, Democrats need to have a message to appeal to people stuck in low-paying jobs. Never mind.
Raising the minimum wage is not a solution. Raise the minimum wage to $50/hr. If $15 is good, $50 is better.
Soon, prices will catch up and the worker ends up exactly where he was. Ask yourself, who makes out from an increase in the minimum wage. The government does. As taxes are based on income, if you raise the income you raise the taxes. A 50% increase in the pay of the largest group of workers is an incredible increase in income tax revenue. Once prices catch up so employers can pay these wages the state also realizes a bump in the sales tax.
The answer to low wages is skills and education. Simply ‘giving’ people a raise that is not based on skills, productivity and/or ability is a hazard to the economy. Businesses will close and jobs will be driven away. The same as any increased business expense (taxes, benefits, insurance). Once you hit the straw that broke the camel’s back, the business closes.
You Republicans never change, keep those at the bottom on the bottom. They are pro-life but don’t want to feed that baby after it’s born even if the mother is unable to feed her child. They want to save a unborn child but want to kill someone with capital punishment. Keep the working poor, poor. These guys have the same mindset as Donald Trump, don’t raise the minimum wage.
How many jobs will be lost when the minimum wage goes to $15.00? Everyone acts like $15.00 an hour is thought to be the end of poverty. Really.
Actually Ron, both parties did a 180. The Republican Party freed the slaves, and the Democrat Party wanted the free labor and opposed it. Up until the voting rights act in 1965 Democrats were the party of slavery, lynching, segregation and Jim Crow laws. Ironically I think if people were paid a living wage the government wouldn’t need to pay for public housing or food stamps for them. These are Democrat domains. From a financial angle if people were given a living wage Democrats would lose funding along with institutions set up to help the needy. There’s a certain amount of money needed to sustain a standard of living without the need of help. Personally I think there should be means testing on wages. If those living wage paying jobs left, someone’s going to have to pick up the slack, it’s either going to be the taxpayer or businesses. Government needs to be the union of its citizens not their employer. While unions are needed they have threshold before they are no longer helpful but harmful. Just look at the union contracts unions made that have overreached and placed a burden on the city. If Bridgeport has financial problems and is facing bankruptcy, it’s the Democrat leadership in Bridgeport which is the primary cause. This is not a Democratic or Republican view, it’s mine.
Ultimately the people will pay, it’s just how. In taxes or in the products or services they want.
Just so you know. With the recent city union givebacks, many city workers are now realizing less than $15/hr. That must be the union contracts unions made that have overreached you are talking about.
I’m not buying what you’re saying since you don’t go by your real name. Obviously you are not trustworthy. If people making $15/hour had to give back, it’s because the money is going to others. Haven’t you and others been complaining about jobs and pension payments that are not needed and wasted money on programs and initiatives? ASK JML if the city has been wasting money that could go to a living wage for city employees.
Okay, then trust yourself. Here is the AFSCME contract.
www .bridgeportct.gov/filestorage/89019/96373/104098/AFSCME_AGREEMENT_LOCAL_1522%2C_COUNCIL_4.pdf
Go to page 40 on and see how much people get paid. Let’s pick ‘ATTENDANCE INTERVENTION LIAISON’ at $26,937. Take away the 3% raise gives you $26,152. Minus 10 furlough days or 10/240 or 4.2% and you get $25,062 or $12.05/hr. You can find any number of jobs in the list that pay less than $30K/year before the givebacks.
At $26,152 that’s $12.95, with the givebacks $12.05. They give back $.90 an hour back at $1,872
1 they’re not even getting $15 hour, $4200 in the hole.
2 take that $90,000 no-show pothole job and apply the money to Attendance intervention liaison 44 of whatever an attendance intervention liaison is would not have to give back anything. I will refer you to JML he is well knowledgeable on Bridgeport wasteful spending that could have been applied to the current givebacks, plus what about the $4,000,000, I’m sure that could have helped. PS ask if those Attendance intervention liaison are in favor of $15/hour. No union givebacks on that.
That is true. The $0.90/hr you were screaming about as part of the union contracts unions made that have overreached actually went to him; the four new people Ganim brought in to his administration.
The part that makes no sense is, when the unions get a 2.5% raise as part of their negotiations it is union contract overreaching. When Moore suggests a raise for a city worker from $12.95 to $15 or 15.8% she is a hero. You are a hypocrite.
No, I said unions are needed but there comes a point when they cross a threshhold and become harmful not only to employera but to their members also. I’m sure JML can give you more examples of wasteful spending causing harm. Since you busted out Bridgeport’s Agreement I’m sure you can name some overreaching union contracts. From what I read the Police Chief can work, get paid and collect benefits. I call that overreaching and harmful to the city, its employees and taxpayers. The Union didn’t have to give back anything. From what I saw the city strong-armed them with layoffs for the givebacks.
What I find hypocritical is you calling me hypocritical. What I said was there’s a certain amount of money needed to sustain a standard of living. Whatever that standard is the money has to come for either businesses or governments. I said because manufacturing left that paid a living wage to their employees. They are now going to have to find an equal-paying job to maintains that standard. If there aren’t any they have to take a lesser-paying job, the Government (taxpayers) generally picks up the slack. I said ultimately the taxpayer was going to pay it with either higher taxes or higher price in products. The money has to come from somewhere. There are three options in my opinion. One though work, two assistance from government, or three, crime, or a lowing the standard of life. Again you have to draw the lowest standard of life you want your society to have. And that’s the true debate.
You are the flip side of Ron. At least Ron isn’t a coward who hides behind a pseudonym. Again your opinion, right or wrong is baseless because you remain nameless. If you can’t put your name on your opinion it means nothing.
The police chief working after retirement was not a union deal. You really do not know what you are talking about. Besides, that was a good deal for both him and BPT. He collected a paycheck that was slightly less than his pre-retirement income and collected his pension for a net increase in income. BPT got a police chief at a lower salary and did not have to pay healthcare or retirement benefits for a net savings to fill this position.
Minimum wage is not the answer to poverty. Training, education and skills are. A minimum-wage job should not be a career focus. You talk about manufacturing jobs. You must mean something like a machinist, welder and tool maker. These were not minimum-wage jobs because they were manufacturing jobs. These were high-paying jobs because these people were skilled.
I know you’re a racist. As for my manufacturing more like Bridgeport’s heyday. “Skill” level needed to perform manufacturing of products. Those jobs went to other countries like Mexico. You know, the country where Trump wants to build a wall? Is that wall to keep Mexicans out or companies in? Are those manufacturing companies leaving and moving to Mexico because Mexicans are more skilled than Americans or can they pay them less? How much does a postman make, not much skill in that, but they make a living wage, enough not to be on some kind of welfare and state assistance. Now to mention retirement benefits. Right? Please I saw the police pay posted on OIB. What is the hourly rate for the Chief when you combine the salary and the pension pay? Is it less than $15 an hour we are talking about? I’m sure the $125 an hour job for the chief works for him and his family but a $12/hour job not so much for their family. I’m betting you make way more than $15 an hour. Please tell me what skills or degrees you have to allow you to make so much.
Robert Teixeira, you wrote this, “Actually Ron, both parties did a 180. The Republican Party freed the slaves, and the Democrat Party wanted the free labor and opposed it. Up until the voting rights act in 1965 Democrats were the party of slavery, lynching, segregation and Jim Crow laws. Ironically I think if people were paid a living wage the government wouldn’t need to pay for public housing or food stamps for them,” thank you, you make my point. Both Democrats and Republican Parties have taken advance since the first African slave in 1619 came to America. Blacks were Republicans until 1965 when President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. Before that the South was Democrats but when Johnson signed that bill the South became Republicans, they hated the Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education and now civil rights for blacks, well the federal government had gone to far. Now knowing all this tell me at what point in American history did black lives matter?
Robert, as for 2016 and Republican Party, try this.
m.ctpost.com/news/politics/article/Critics-Trump-speech-signals-shift-to-coded-race-8403932.php
Speech-signals-shift-to-coded-race
m.ctpost.com/news/politics/article/Critics-Trump-speech-signals-shift-to-coded-race-8403932.php
LMAO Ron, Trump is selling racism and you’re buying it. Try his steaks while you’re at it. 🙂
www .youtube.com/watch?v=Nbm3ZmoF-6k
Ron, wash your Trump steak down with Trump wine.
www .youtube.com/watch?v=tE_G0hLByqI
No Ron, I didn’t make your point. You said the Republicans Party never changed. You never mentioned Democrats being the party of slavery, lynching, segregation and Jim Crow laws, or the Republicans freed the slave and fought against the things you say they are doing now (prior to the Civil Rights Act). You’re always one-sided or should I say black and white. Yes this country used humans as slaves and they were treated horribly. Yes there were black and there were white slaves. Let us not forget about the Irish white slaves and what the English did to them. I acknowledge both black and white slavery in America.
There was no white privilege for white slavse in America. Being privileged is being privileged, it’s not based solely on color. While Doug acknowledges his privilege and his whiteness, not every white person is as privileged as Doug. Not all whites were slave owners and not all blacks were slaves either. At the peak of black slavery in the South, only 6 percent of Southern whites owned slaves. If you include the white people in the North, it means only 1.4 percent of white Americans owned black slaves at the height of slavery. An estimated 3,000 blacks owned a total of 20,000 black slaves in the year 1860.
Why the switch in party labels? I think I know why. I will tell you my opinion after you tell me yours though. On the surface it really doesn’t make sense. Black people didn’t change color and stop being mistreated when Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law did they? Why didn’t Kennedy sign the civil rights act before his assassination? Think about it this way. After the Civil War and the blacks were freed did they leave the plantations and were they able to walk away from their prior owners?
I don’t see issues with blacks advocating on behalves of other blacks. While we can debate about Black Lives Matter and those who say Al Sharpton is a racist for who, how, why, and when he speaks out about a black person being shot by a cop. Cops shoot and kill more whites than blacks. I never saw a White Lives Matter protest for when a cop shoots an unarmed white man even though whites are shot at twice the rate of blacks. Ironically a cop is more likely to be shot by a white armed suspect than a black suspect. While there’s obviously an overreach in cops performing their role in keeping the peace, protection, and order in our society, especially after the shooting of the behavioral therapist, which I find ironic considering the protests, I would like to think they’re about cops’ behavior when doing their job. Blacks being shot at half the rate as whites is probably due to the protests.
The most important challenge facing this country is not police behavior, it’s the dismantling of the healthcare system or should I say the privatization of it. Not only is it financially burdensome to Capitalism, it is hindering growth. It’s a service like the need to call 911 when you’re in trouble. Everybody needs to see a physician when they get sick and everybody will get sick. Just like no one should die at the hands of a cop when the cop’s life is not endangered. A kid shouldn’t die of an ailment because the cure isn’t available or they can’t afford it. I don’t see heath care as privilege. Every Black Lives Matter who ever finds themselves in a situation where civility has gone out the window and chaos ensues, they will call the police. Every human being on the planet is going to need medical treatment. Like the dismantling of slavery there will be opposition to it mostly from those who profit from it, and like the police there are evil elements that need to eradicated within.
Robert, what did I say at 2:20 today about the Democrats? My point is today in 2016 it’s the Republicans who are not interested in helping blacks for fair play.
It’s not just black and white anymore or Republican or Democrat who are not interested in helping blacks now. The Republican Donald Trump of 2016 or the Democrat Donald Trump of 2008? What about the time of the Civil Rights Act of 1964? What party was not interested in helping out blacks? The Republican Strom Thurmond or Democrat Robert Byrd who filibustered the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts?
Eight hours a week.
And Tom White, BOE SPY, Andy Fardy and Robert Teixeira don’t see anything wrong with that!
They’ll just say all they need to do is get six jobs like that and they can work 48 hours a week. No benefits. No OT. No nothing. But take it or leave it. There are plenty of people so desperate for anything they’ll take 8 hours a week.
Well, thank you Senator Moore for going as far as you did so some people can’t just sit back and say there are plenty of jobs all they have to do is find them.
And then we will blame it on the USA being a welfare state rather than the country being run by greedy corrupt businessmen like, hmmm, Donald Trump?
No one gives you a job or a paycheck. You earn both. With the $15 minimum wage you will have fewer jobs. One interesting idea is increased minimum wage leads to increased spending among these workers. I.e., they stay just as poor as they always were, just with more stuff. This seems to point to poverty is more a function of spending than income.
www .epionline.org/release/o115/
That stuff you mentioned. What kind of stuff? A new car, home or clothes? Doesn’t stuff define wealth? What is Bill Gates’ $79 billion doing to increase his richness?
Or according to Ron, his whiteness. Or Oprah’s $3 billion non white privilege money doing to increase her richness?
What in hell are you talking about?
Maybe those things. Maybe cell phones, gold ropes and 42″ rims. I guess it depends on who you are. Stuff no more defines wealth that diet defines nationality. Besides, minimum wage is not designed to make you wealthy. Regardless of what the minimum wage is, you will still be poor. The higher the minimum wage goes the poorer you get. Here is why.
When a worker gets $10/hr he pays $2 of it to social security. The employer pays another $2 on the worker’s behalf. Make that $20/hr and it doubles. The worker sees a $10/hr increase in pay. The employer sees a $12/hr increase in cost. There are other payroll taxes that work the same way.
Now, the employer needs to make an extra $12/hr to pay the worker $10/hr and the unseen taxes. He raises his prices. The price increase is a fraction of a percent higher than the realized increase in earnings. I.e., the worker gets poorer.
The other consequence is, a worker who is currently making $15.50 will not get a raise but will still suffer the increased cost. This worker will get considerably poorer.
I don’t know if stuff defines wealth, but the stuff you mentioned (Cell phone, gold chains, rims) and your position on people making money defines your racism. Sorry to hear it, like love it can consume you. Ironically you can say the same if people were laid off and can’t buy a businesses product. I had 10 customers and two lost their jobs and three had to take a pay decrease. So I lost five customers. Now I have to increase my service to the remaining five customers to keep my current standard of business or I have to lay off employees until business picks up.
Increased minimum wage results in workers being laid off. Another reason to not increase minimum wage.
The list of products I supplied was to show stuff and wealth are not the same. Even people who make a lot of money may not be very wealthy. Look at performing artist ’50 Cent.’ For all the money he made he declared bankruptcy. He is not very wealthy. I.e., spending is more important than income.
Besides, why do you attribute a color to someone’s shopping preferences (cell phones, gold ropes and 42″ rims)? I could find people of any color owning these products. Everyone owns a cell phone. I could post a picture of Vanilla Ice wearing gold ropes. What, colored people buy fancy rims? You are a racist.
Companies leaving leads to layoffs like GE. Why did you disparage a black man to make your point about wealth? Trump declared bankruptcy four times I think. I will let the people decide who will stay poor, i.e. because spending doesn’t equal wealth. I’m not talking about wealth though, I’m talking about a standard and quality of living a job needs to pay without government assistance. That gives people dignity and how to achieve it. I told you I’m racist, I hate everybody, some more than others, I hate them nonetheless.
PS I can see people not needing gold chains and 42″ rims but cell phones. It’s not even called a cell phone any more, it’s called devices. And that’s at the core of this debate the standard and quality of living and the deprivation of something to someone. Sure masses of people running around look to catch Pokémons sounds stupid but they’re not causing mayhem for the police.
Whats the matter Bob, you can’t answer the question? How many jobs will be lost if the minimum wage goes to $15.00 per hour? Whether you like it or not there are jobs out there that should not be paid $15.00 per hour.
Bob, why am I mentioned in your comment? I said nothing to your claim. I pointed out Ron’s claim Republicans never changed. I said there’s a threshhold when it comes to unions, once you get the 8 hours a week, overtime, health benefits, vacation. At some point it becomes harmful. It could come in the form of the raising of the minimal wage to $50 or a union wanting $50 an hour. I read Chief’s contracts is give them their pension while still working as a cop at a very handsome salary. I’m sure JML can really give some examples of waste, harmful contracts and policies. I said there’s standard of living based on a set amount of money needed. I didn’t place the blame on the Republicans or Democrats. I said the people will pay for it. The question is whom they’re going to receive from and in what form or payment. The standard of living line may vary but we try to keep a minimum level of civility.
The Democratic party platform is calling for a minimum wage of $15.00 per hour nationwide. Cities and states went out on a limb when they tried to raise their minimum wages on their own. It’s a whole new ballgame when the whole country is in play. There is no cheaper labor force in another city or state for minimum wage employers to run to. It can and will work on a federal level. The minimum wage sets the floor for all workers. It levels the playing field for all employers. Yes, employers will constantly seek ways to reduce costs to gain competitive advantage, but they will no longer do this by paying unlivable wages. I think we can all agree human beings deserve a certain level of dignity in our society. The minimum wage is one small piece of the puzzle to reduce the inequality that is creating such tension in our country.
It could also drive more jobs overseas. They will reduce costs by laying off workers. Labor is a supply and demand commodity. Right now the labor supply outpaces the labor demand. Hence, low wages. It would behoove Dems to address this problem by addressing the job supply. The current wage pressures result from governmental policies that do not sufficiently protect us from the world market. They allowed American companies to send jobs to cheaper labor markets while not providing sufficient training to let the displaced workers participate in the labor market that remained. You could also surmise the low-wage workers did not have the motivation to pursue the high-paying jobs. BPT has three colleges, one junior college, a nursing school, a tech school and a CDL training school within walking distance. There is really no reason for a lack of training.
Cheap labor rings a bell. Isn’t that what we are talking about? What about American companies looking for a cheap labor here in America, are you for that?
I hope our Government sets polices that won’t let companies use cheap labor here.
The government already has a policy that lets companies use cheap labor here and the Dems are fighting tooth and nail to keep it. It is called illegal immigration.
Illegal immigration doesn’t mean cheap labor. Cheap labor is based on paying them a cheap salary. Who Seems to be fighting tooth and nail to keep it cheap? Isn’t that what this blog page is about? It’s blatantly obvious you’re not against people have wealth. I’m sure you wouldn’t mind having stuff. You’re very selective in who has it and who doesn’t. There’s nothing wrong with it. When you have to deprive others from trying to achieve it, that’s what makes a racist. There’s no sense in trying to talk to you. Good Luck with your soul people. Bam, I’m out.
I am so not in the consumer culture it is not funny. I will take cash over stuff any day. I have so little stuff you would be amazed but I have a lot of cash. Wealth is the accumulation of tangible assets. Assets that have value. Like property, cash or precious metals. Your car is not a good investment.
I do not understand your comment ‘Cheap labor is based on paying them a cheap salary.’ Duh? They undermine the American worker. They accept a lower standard of living and a lower wage. They will work for less than minimum wage. That is a problem. If companies wanted this work done they would be forced to pay a wage that people would accept. Illegals interfere with that. Even your $15/hr minimum wage will be meaningless if there is a segment of the population that will accept a lower wage. The people who are willing to accept $14/hr will get the job and work under the table.
Value is an illusion, something we place on it. Things have value based on what we give it. Hasn’t property value gone down in Bridgeport over 1 billion dollars from what I heard? A car is more a necessity than an investment for most people, unless you’re Jay Leno. The same thing can be said for workers. Hence black lives matter. Remember, this government valued blacks at 3/5 of a human being and they were considered property. Where do you stand on the value of human property? Would you consider slaves an investment or stuff that doesn’t equate to wealth? Let me clarify something, I’m NOT a racist. I hate everybody. I believe in clarity.
Actually, value is the illusion someone else (the buyer) places it. The one billion dollar drop in the grand list is a function of business property moving out of town. Not necessarily a drop in residential values. I am sure some residents did drop in value but the individual owner’s loss would depend on when the property was bought. Your house is still the best investment you can make. You mean your car is a necessity but it is still a bad investment. The cheaper the car you buy the less you lose. Even a classic car is not that great an investment. Travel back to 1964. You buy a $15K house in BPT and a Mustang for $2400. Today, your house will be worth ~$160K your car would be worth ~$22K. Your house made you 4.7% interest on money you needed to spend on living regardless if you owned or rented. You capitalized your living expenses. Your car made you 4.4% if you made it last that long in good shape. I.e., you could own it but not use it.
What if that car got you to school and a high-paying job afterwards and without it you wouldn’t able to go to school and get that job? Wouldn’t that be one of your most important investments? We are splitting semantic hairs now. Either way any investment is not a guarantee.
That is a little bit of a quandary. You buy the cheapest new car you can, $12K. Drive it off the lot and it is worth $6K. Your high-paying, after-school job nets you $12?/hr. You would have to work 500 hours to break even and 1000 to just pay for the car. Never mind gas, taxes insurance and maintenance. Say you work 5 hours a day after school and 8 on Sat and 7 on Sun, a total of 40 hours. That is 25 weeks to break even. You would be far better off putting that time into your studies, becoming valedictorian, going to college for free (a $40K/year profit) and getting a really good job after that. Say, you become a teacher at $21/hr then $30/hr when you get your masters. There are some people who could do both.
How many valedictorians are there? How many people get to go to college for free? There was no slave analogy. It was a value analogy. White slaves (Irish) were not considered 3/5 of a human being and were called indentured servants. Slaves none-the-less though. You are selective when making your point, not that it is wrong, just selective and insufficient. Not everybody can become a teacher. What about the lunch lady, janitors and all other menial jobs that go with maintaining a school? Don’t they deserves a decent standard and quality of life? The only poor analogy per se is people can just leave. These jobs have to be filled hence somebody has to stay and do the work. Like the businesses you keep on saying will lose if the minimum wage is imposed. If you ran a large business are all your employees going to be valedictorians? No, there will be many employees with many levels of skills. They need to be treated with standard and quality of life, if this is in your being or you may want to exploit them.
You talk a lot about exploitation. Okay, I have two janitor positions and eight people want that job. I get the best deal for my money. I exploit that advantage. I also need an accountant but three other companies also need him. He picks the best position he can. He exploits his advantage. That is the labor market. Laborers do not have an inherent value simply because they are born. Your quality of life is your responsibility. Your value as an employee, no relation to your value as a human being, is dependent on the value you have added to yourself.
Your slave analogy is a poor comparison. No one is a slave. A guy with a crappy job is just a guy with a crappy job. Okay, go get a better job. You are not owned or trapped by your boss. Use your skills to find a better job. The operative word being skills. The only person who trapped you in your job is you.
This seems to be the modus operandi of too many unskilled, low-paid workers. They are happy to get a job then want that job to be something different than what is was advertised as. The pay and expectations were explained when you applied. If your job fails to fulfill your expectations, then quit or look for something better while you are working.