That may be one “honest” way of looking at some of the facts, but it is not a clear picture.
You talk about groups that make minimum wages of $43 K and $60 K. A person at minimum wage, $8 per hour, amounts to about $16 K per year. The average family size is 2.54 people. On average, if all in the family have minimum wage jobs they can't make more than $40 K total. So obviously some in the family make more than minimum wage, especially if some are below working age. You obscure the picture when you intermix the statistics.
When you talk in averages and percentage of averages the picture is obfuscated. What is more significant is the absolute percentages in terms of the total population. That is, 7% of 25% of some undefined number is not an totally honest way of looking at the facts.
It is obvious that most people make more than minimum wage. And it is obvious that anyone in poverty can get out of poverty by working more. However, elderly, disabled people, cannot always work more. “The solution is jobs - nothing else” What jobs?
McDonalds and Walmart are paying sub-survival wages because they can and they add to their profits that way. Sure that's what businesses are supposed to do. The upshot is that the government has to help bail those in poverty and thus indirectly subsidize those companies. I stand by my statement that Walmart and Mc Donalds benefit at the tax payers expense.
The CEO of Wal-Mart and McDonalds lie awake at night thinking of how to make my life better. The President of the United States does not. That's amazing, isn't it? The greedy corporate chieftain, the robber baron, the 1-percenter, has a personal interest in making me happy. The community organizer, the solution-provider, the too-good-for-profit public servant has no such motivation.
Anyone in any business is in the business of pleasing customers. It's not just Owners and Managers, and not just those in the employ of retail giants. Software engineers, designers, assembly-line workers, all devote time and energy to making their goods faster, better and cheaper. For me. They even want my buying experience to be a pleasant one (hello, HeathCare.gov?). And there are millions of these folks around the world.
Now, Barack Obama has a phrase for this vast, unseen army of people striving 24/7 to improve my life. They call it, "You're on your own."
In contrast, they call their philosophy of growing the vast army of pensioned bureaucrats scheming to relieve me of my liberty and property, "We're all in this together."
Ironically, competition produces cooperation.
Lag, I have one question for ya, Where is this money going to come from my friend? This will not and can not continue, it will come to an end and it won't be pretty.. Regards Doug