Minimum wage debate

[SunsetBengal]

(03-04-2019, 08:30 PM)Benton Wrote: The problem is, there's also a lot of jobs in need of people, but they've been locked at a low wage. My brother was a paramedic that got paid about $16 an hour. He was an EMT before, making about $11. There are more examples in the healthcare field, which is crazy when you think about paying g thousands for a medical visit, but the people working there may be making less than $20 an hour.

I get it, there are some professions that just don't pay nearly what they are worth.  I discovered the example that you just mentioned, when I used to serve as a volunteer fire fighter.

However, some trades are in such serious need that there are programs paying tuition, and giving job placement for apprenticeship, while going to night school.  My brother-in-law, up in Ohio, found one of those programs.  He's working/studying HVAC.  Job started at $14.50/hr with full insurance after 90 days, plus paid tuition to Lima Technical College.  He's still with it, a year later, and has gotten two raises along the way.

That is just one example, for sure.  The program he stumbled on had about 5 options, and HVAC was the one that appealed to him, most.