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I think everyone is going to have a different POV on this topic just because we all come from different backgrounds. I am definitely no expert and I think those that have to analyze this and make decisions about it have a very hard job.

Even though I'm a republican and think I'm taxed waaay too high, I think it's ludicrous how low our minimum wage is. You should be able to work 1 minimum wage job and support a family. Not lavishly, but feed and clothe them without having to take on debt or get further assistance. I worked my butt off and went to college and now make a good living, but what if I were laid off and forced to take a min wage job? It could happen to me just like not being able to go to college in the first place could happen to someone else. I see a trend in this country of big companies becoming monopolies and not paying their fair share in taxes. All the money goes ot the people at the top, while the everyday workers starve. That doesn't apply to every company, but it's definitely becoming a trend and it's troubling.

But I am angry about the amount I pay in taxes. I don't think I'm allowed to keep a living wage considering where i live and how expensive it is. So stories I hear about birth rates for welfare moms going down in areas where the local govt decided to not give any additional $ for additional babies make me mad. Because clearly that shows once the $ burden is on them, they finally decide to change their lifestyle. But then again I know that's just one side of it. I joke that i want a receipt showing where the 40% of my paycheck goes lol!

@jedeve: That is awesome, thanks!! I will look at it more later..

Ehhh. I can't say political party has anything to do with anything, because I was raised by Democrat parents who were strict and raised me to work my ass off. By contrast, I have cousins whose parents are extremely wealthy (and Republican) and they feel like they are entitled to everything their parents earned. I feel like our culture as a whole has several generations that have an entitlement complex, regardless of political party.

Disclaimer: I actually don't subscribe to the views of any political party

@plantains: 100% agree, my grandpa owned his first home with children on a minimum wage salary, that would never happen today. Most can't afford rent and food in the same month.

@andrea86: but how is that fair if you CANNOT go to college? There are so many structural barriers that make college impossible for low income folks, including having poor credit that precludes student loans as an option. Everyone should get a fair shake.

@Andrea86: Even college grads should expect to start out at a "low paying job." That's part of the problem with the *entitlement* mentality.

Entitlement is a problem that has plagued generations - it is certainly not a recent phenomenon.

@MsLipGloss: Well said.

The problem with entitlement is that anyone and everyone feels it. It's not only those who didn't go to college or those who did...conservatives or liberals...it comes in all shapes and sizes. I don't think it's fair to say that only liberals feel entitled...there are plenty of conservatives I know who feel the same way and it annoys me all the same.

@Mslipgloss: I agree that college graduates should also start off at *lower* paying jobs, but if they too should expect minimum wage, why go to college? Should we be paying doctors, lawyers, and others who have worked their way through years of college the same starting salary as those who chose to drop out of high school?

I dont know how you can calculate how much money it will cost to support a family? Are you referring to a family of 2, 4, 6, what if the family has 12 kids? Should they make more than those with no kids because everyone should be able to support their family.

@Andrea86: I didn't say that college grads should expect to earn minimum wage (although realistically, based on the degree, some should not expect to do much better right out of college). A college degree does not guarantee (or *entitle*) you the right to make more money . . . it simply doesn't automatically eliminate an opportunity to make more money when the access to same is controlled by an education requirement.

"Low paying" is all relative and about perspective. You can't compare "low paying" for a HS graduate to "low paying" for a person holding a doctoral degree (which is, btw, only about 2% of the U.S. population . . . I think about 25ish% of the pop holds a bachelor's degree) . . . or "low paying" for rural Wyoming versus "low paying" for a large metropolitan area.

FWIW, I am an attorney.

@Andrea86: I think you are I are defining terms differently. For me, low paying is not limited to minimum wage. Rather, low paying (to me) is income that is disproportionate to the level of education--or experience--for a position. That is why you can't compare "low paying HS" to "low paying doctoral." They just aren't comparable.

And, (as I stated in my previous post), I agree that a college degree may provide access to jobs that have higher starting salaries, although not necessarily "much higher." (An example would be a corporate environment where a college grad and a HS grad start out in the same entry-level position, but the college grad likely has more opportunities for advancement due to his/her education . . . their starting salaries are likely similar, with a small advantage being given to the college graduate).

ETA: Last question removed, as I realized that you are not the OP!

@2Peasinapod: I actually am still going to college, so I do not believe that I am entitled to anything of the sort. However, yes I do think that if somebody obtains a college degree they should be given an "advantage" for that. I also said that someone could work their way up so I do believe that work experience can be "substituted" for that college degree. What I am saying is people should not be able to finish high school (or drop out) and suddenly be making close to $20 an hour. Why shouldn't someone that spent years in college and sacrificed their time and money on their education be able start out higher than those who choose not to go to college? Those sacrifices should be for nothing? They should still start at the same pay level as those starting fresh from high school with no work experience or training? If thats the case, then why even try to get a higher education, training, work experience, or anything that generally would give you an advantage and opportunity for higher paying jobs? What it sounds like you are saying is that we are all *entitled* to the same thing, regardless of the work, effort, or sacrifice that we put in.

@Mslipgloss: Yes, I was using the term *low paying* in an overall sense.

@andrea86: I would think that if the minimum wage was $20, we'd see an across the board wage inflation.

I think the salient point is more about bringing up the minimum wage so that it is a living wage, and that we see a smaller gap between the lowest wage earners and the highest ones.

The USA has one of the highest pay gaps in the world between CEO and worker pay. Part of that is the stratospheric CEO pay, but part of it is also on the low end--that minimum wage is abysmal.

@Andrea86: What I am about to say should be taken with a grain of salt, but nonetheless . . .

You seem to be operating under the guise that the world is a fair place. It is not. Everything in life is a roll of the dice . . . Most people do what they can to slant the odds in their favor (, i.e., whether it be obtaining a post-HS education or trying to get the best paying job possible for their skill set, etc.), but nothing is guaranteed. You are not guaranteed to make *a lot of money* (which again, is based on your definition of *a lot*) simply because you are educated, work hard, etc. At best, all you can do is increase your access to/opportunities for better paying, more stable jobs and increase the likelihood that you will, in fact, be successful and able to be financially stable.

@ModernDaisy: I, too, would like a *receipt* to show where my tax dollars are going!

I'd just like to clarify that regardless of wealth, status, political leanings, education, etc. (I'm lumping in everyone here because entitlement knows no bounds) I dislike entitled people who feel they are owed.

@jedeve: Exactly. Some people are not book learners but are incredibly talented in other areas, or even more important than that, have a good work ethic and put their all into their job, even if it doesn't require years of education in order to do that job. Why should those people be paid a pittance compared to someone who has letters after their name? Hard work is hard work and it should be compensated as such, whether it's filing someone's taxes, removing children from an unsafe home, or shoveling gravel in the hot sun.

I will be honest, it kind of disheartens me to see some of the elitism on this thread. Thinking that those who have higher degrees are better than those who do not just makes me sad....and this is coming from someone who highly values education and has multiple degrees to show for it.

I think the sense of entitlement goes hand in hand with the mentality of keeping up with the Jones's. I agree that political affiliation is a non issue because there are abusers on both sides of the political spectrum.

I get beyond frustrated with some of the things I see on FB. I grew up in a working class town and many of my HS classmates did not attend college or get associates degrees instead opting for minimum wage jobs. Which is fine, and I personally think if that is the path you have chosen or are on (for one reason or another) you should live accordingly. Just because you want the new iPhone doesn't mean you should go get it. As a recent example, a girl I went to HS with recently was complaining on FB about her inability to get her children a game console for Christmas that they had been asking for for months, she posted this from her iPhone 5. Seriously....live within your means people.

Sorry...probably a bit off topic...but yes the "entitlement" coupled with the need to live outside ones means really stresses me out these days.

@septemberlove: agreed 100% on everything you said. I work for a fortune 100 company and our current CEO is a lifer who grew up in a bad part of town, worked his butt off to get scholarships for school and ultimately grad school and has earned his way to the top of the corporate ladder through hard work and drive. Like you I feel for those who really want and try to better themselves, I would feel a million times better about my tax dollars going to those individuals as opposed to the individuals who give government assistance programs a bad name,

@Septemberlove: My thoughts exactly!!

It seems like everyone is picking out parts of my posts to scrutinize with out reading them entirely. I have expressed several times that hard work and work experience can be used as a "substitute" (for lack of a better word) of a higher education. However, people with no training and no higher education can not expect to make a lot of money. There are opportunities for EVERYONE if they are willing to make the sacrifices required.