“I don’t know how they do those 40 hour weeks...”

[ponyboy]

You think 4-5 weeks is long to get a mower fixed? Wait till minimum wage goes to $15 like we keep hearing about. There will no longer be small engine repair mechanics. Fast food and retail will be booming. Heck, paramedics make around $15/hr...why would anyone want to deal with what they deal with when they can go work in retail and hang up shirts all day in a climate controlled environment?

 

[Walt34]

Truth is i really have no idea what the pay is?

Last time I looked (15 years ago?) it was maybe $10-$12/hour in northern WV for most. New engines and parts are so cheap that more often than not it's cheaper to buy a new engine if you even want to go to the bother of that. New carburetors from China can be had for $10-$20 depending on make.

 

[ncbill]

Or buy a better mower in the first place.

I'm thankful my relative bought one of those automatic choke (~$500 new)
self-propelled mowers.

I left it sitting all winter, but the bolt that holds the carburetor's float bowl is also the jet, both easily cleaned out with nothing more than a spray can of carb cleaner & a rag.

Once re-assembled I put in fresh gasoline, and it fired right up.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Oh, there are plenty of guys willing to work fixing lawn mowers and other small engine powered stuff. But the really good ones won't do it for $9/hour. Or even $15.

Trouble is, most people are not willing to pay the labor rates that would allow those people to buy a house, a new car every ten years, send their kids to state college, eat a steak once in a while, etc. I even very briefly considered being a small engine mechanic as a post-retirement job until I found out what it paid. Nope, not gonna go that for peanuts!

So it goes in the other direction. Harbor Freight sells a fine brand new replacement lawn mower engine for ~$100 if you get it on sale and a cheap big box store new walk-behind mower costs $300, often less, again if you catch it on sale. Lots of used ones for half that on Craigslist. And then folks bemoan the "throw-away society" and the declining work ethic.

Rant over....

This is what I call the "Wal-Mart Issue" Folks want to be paid $15+ an hour to work menial jobs (cashier at Wal Mart) but when they get off work, they want to buy a shirt at Wal-Mart for $2.99. Basic economics tells us this can't work very well.

 

[Pellice]

This is what I call the "Wal-Mart Issue" Folks want to be paid $15+ an hour to work menial jobs (cashier at Wal Mart) but when they get off work, they want to buy a shirt at Wal-Mart for $2.99. Basic economics tells us this can't work very well.

But is that really the case? Working Wal-Mart wages puts one at pretty much the bottom of the pay scale. Fear and poverty are close at hand. Yes, one may very well want to buy a shirt for $2.99. One may very well have not the resources to choose more than that. But go up the pay scale, and people receiving more are willing to pay more.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

But is that really the case? Working Wal-Mart wages puts one at pretty much the bottom of the pay scale. Fear and poverty are close at hand. Yes, one may very well want to buy a shirt for $2.99. One may very well have not the resources to choose more than that. But go up the pay scale, and people receiving more are willing to pay more.

And will have to because prices will reflect the wages. Perfect example? Look how much some of those s* box houses cost in Silicon Valley.

 

[EastWest Gal]

Lots of people avoid the 40 hour work week, but they do it by working more than 40 hours.

+1
Virtually all physicians do this.

 

[EastWest Gal]

This is what I call the "Wal-Mart Issue" Folks want to be paid $15+ an hour to work menial jobs (cashier at Wal Mart) but when they get off work, they want to buy a shirt at Wal-Mart for $2.99. Basic economics tells us this can't work very well.

Actually, lot’s of folks who can afford better also go to Walmart. I had a discussion a few years ago with a now-retired pediatric surgeon, whose wife is a retired-anesthesiologist. Their house is 10,000 sq feet, on several acres, with garden, built in outdoor kitchen/barbecue, pool, hot tub, volleyball court, and fishing pond. His favorite place to shop was Walmart.

The price of goods will only go up a little compared to an increase in minimum wage, and most will have no problem paying for it. DS makes $16/hr as a medical scribe. He works about 5-6 hours/day. He made the same wage as a substitute teacher, both without benefits. He prefers the lower stress job (scribe), while looking for full time teaching employment.

 

[JPatrick]

There are days when I'd consider a broken mower to be a gift from the heavens.

 

[Winemaker]

I mentioned this months ago on another thread. Our safety net is too generous or the rules are too quick to react. An acquaintance of ours, an unmarried mother, ( that's a different story) works as a server in a high end restaurant four days a week. Less than 35 hours. I got her a job interview, which she passed with flying colors, then she took an aptitude test. She aced it, and got a job offer with medical benefits, 401k, paid vacation, and $15/hour, 18/hour in 6 months. She declined the offer, and apologized profusely to me. She explained that she needed $20/hour just to maintain the lifestyle where she was. She explained that once you hit a certain income level, she lost free healthcare for the child, super cheap day care, higher taxes, and loss of WIC and other social programs. She actually would lose cash money, if she took the job at $15/hour.

 

[pb4uski]

.... Or just maybe the $9hr crowd very mobile- why not?

It's easier to be mobile when all your worldly possesions fit in the back seat of your car.

 

[Bamaman]

We were in France last week where the maximum allowable is 35 hours per week. Workers show up about 10:00 a.m. and often read the newspaper and drink a little coffee before getting to work. I watched a bunch of co-workers take a long, leisurely lunch. Then it's another couple of hours work before they reach their maximum time there. And they get 5 weeks' vacation the first year of work.

Those work habits are not experienced in the U.S.

When I was working, I'd often drive 35 hours per week. Then stay up until 2:00 a.m. in some obscure motel 500 miles from home doing my full time job. No wonder so many Americans yearn for ER--because we earned it.

Oh, by the way. You can order Honda lawnmower carbs. online cheaper than 1/2 hr. labor in a lawn mower shop. Bolt them on and you're good to go.

 

[copyright1997reloaded]

We were in France last week where the maximum allowable is 35 hours per week. Workers show up about 10:00 a.m. and often read the newspaper and drink a little coffee before getting to work. I watched a bunch of co-workers take a long, leisurely lunch. Then it's another couple of hours work before they reach their maximum time there. And they get 5 weeks' vacation the first year of work.

Those work habits are not experienced in the U.S.

Just so we are clear: they have a standard of living that reflects the work. According to OECD data:

the average household net-adjusted disposable income per capita is USD 31 304 a year

about 65% of people aged 15 to 64 in France have a paid job,

The average house size in France is about 1250 sq ft.

Note that I am not saying this is good or bad, only that life is one of choices. Even here in the United States it is possible to life a life with less stress and less 'things' if one is willing to do so (and willing to give up those things).

 

[Mdlerth]

And while you're at it, peel me a grape!

Am I the only one who finds it amusing/ironic to read about fewer hard working guys/gals in a forum explicitly for folks who want to not be working as early as possible?

You are not alone.

To be absolutely honest, however, I have every expectation of joining the Hypocracy once I clock out for the final time. "Get to w*rk, you sluggards, while I idle on the deck drinking coffee."

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Actually, lot’s of folks who can afford better also go to Walmart.

Oh, no doubt...but that wasn't the point I was trying to make. We could afford to buy stuff at more expensive places, but Wal Mart is the primary location for us...well, if we can't get it at Amazon.

 

[Teacher Terry]

When my DIL was a high school teacher in Poland she was done working by 1:30. The standard of living is much lower.

 

[REWahoo]

I'm done working every day at 10 AM even though I don't get started before 7:30. Replacing the roof on my well house is a little more strenuous at age 72 than it was at age 57. Not sure why they decided to package those shingles in heavier bundles...

 

[folivier]

I'm not a mechanic by any means, but also not afraid to dive into something. Last year my 15 year old pressure washer with Honda engine wouldn't run. When trying to start it felt like the engine was seized up. Did a little research and a few youtubes later I ordered a valve rocker arm for ~$15.00 replaced it and runs like new.
I did call a few small engine repair guys and they said since it was "mowing season" it would be 4-6 weeks and $100 minimum. No idea what their pay rate is but they are obviously overloaded by the commercial guys who get their machines fixed quickly.