You're taking what thethe said too literally. All he and others are saying is that these are jobs in which workers can be replaced by virtually anyone in the workforce. They require no special skills. I don't really get why some aren't admitting this. It's ok to say that a job is a bottom of the rung job. You can't advance the conversation forward if you don't admit this, especially when some people on this board ignorantly accuse those they disagree with of hating minimum wage workers.
Is it not reasonable to just say... ok you are right that these are bottom of the rung jobs, but it's best for the country to raise minimum wage and here's why...
We have to take it literally, because that's what people think all over the country. People have to face reality sooner or later, we need so called unskilled workers to make the world go around. But...if you work in a minimum wage job, the chances of upward movement depends on if you can go to college, if you don't have kids, and if you have parents that will help you....and yes, if you're not brown. All the people who can't afford college, who have kids, and don't have help are stuck in these jobs. There aren't enough good paying jobs to go around, and every corporation knows this and has acted accordingly to take advantage. I talked to a woman working at Target one night. She put in 36 hours that week after Black Friday, and that is not her full time job. She has three school age children, is a single mother, and has rotten teeth. She worked 76 hours a week, and she said she did it to give her children what they needed. That's what we are asking of our citizens, all the while giving tax break after tax break to folks who don't need it. They couldn't spend all that money in 10 lifetimes, but it's okay just because we admire them, envy them, wish we were them????? I have no idea. The wealthy are not special, and there will come a time when people will realize what they are doing to this Earth in the name of profit.