Minimum Wage 101 (capitalism, 2014, small business, buy)
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A low minimum wage is actually a good thing, because it opens jobs for "entry level people" like teenagers seeking their first jobs. Raising the minimum wage to $15-$20 per hour actually eliminates those jobs.
In today's economy, nobody who is a worth hiring is making anywhere near minimum wage. Most make at least double that.
Our economy will pay you what you are worth, not what you think you are worth.
1) i have been sating for at least 20-25 years it should not be raised. Nobody in any city is going to work for $3.35/hr if it was left at that. Nobody, no city, not even Podunk Arkansas.
2) if they really want to help, then they should push for a LIVING wage, not a minimum wage, it WILL vary by city, be it San Francisco or Podunk, Missouri, and even that will be frought will problems.
3) if they really want to help, stair step the minimum: [just throwing out numbers] $10/hr for anyone up to age 18( most live at home and mommy and daddy or aunti and uncle or grandma and grandpa pay the basic bills) they can save for college or a car or whatever.
Then make it $12.5/hr for 18-21 yos, they either live on their own, are working through college, or what have you.
Then make it $15/hr for those over 21. They are on their own, might be building families, going on with life.
[Note it could be $5, $6, $7 or $7, $10, $12, i just threw out numbers].
4) many employers claim they "pay more than minimum wage "....yeah instead of the federal rate of $7.25, they are paying $7.30 / hr.BIG WHOOP. a whole $2.00 more a week so they can buy a candy bar. Its NOT like they are paying $15/hr instead of $7.25, where the $7.25 fed minimum applies. Granted some cities MIGHT.
5) even 6 figure employees on here at city-date groan about their pay vs the stress, demands etc. Of their job. I have pointed out many of them MAY be being paid skin flint wages even though they make 6 figures. ANY employer is going to take advantage of paying the lowest they can get away with for any job.
6) not everyone is cut out for college. College doesnt cure all ills. As ge pointes out in the video, a teacher with the required masters degree may make only $35k a year. There was a blow up tgread on here about that. But if no one taught US, or 9ur kids or the next generation coming up we'd becone a third world country in a hurry. They need to be paid like other masters degreed people.
7) not everyone wants to do minimum wage jobs, yet we rely on them all over, even if they are paid the $7.50 instead of actual minimum of $7.25. So we meed to have RESPECT for these workers instead of looking down our noses at them. Think about te next time you cash out in a store, grab a latte and sandwich at your favorite fast food joint, sit down restaurant or use a CLEAN public restroom. I ALWAYS say "thank you for doing your thankless job, i appreciate it" to ANY public restroom caretaker i see at a highway reststop. How many of you do that? Just because its a minimum wage job doesn't mean they shouldn't get any respect.
I am no genious, i dont have a STEM or mechanical or medical or legal mind or aptitude. My father ( a retired engineer) was bemoaning his ill working ride in lawnmower. He said it had two interlocking drive switches that were going bad. He explained further. Everythibg went over my head completely as im NOT mechanically inclined, didnt know such things existed. Thats an example. Id have to find someone who IS mechanically inclined to fix ot for me. He knows what hes doing, so he can fix it. He can also fix electronics, and meanwhile i dont know a resistor from a capacitor , they are all doohickey to me.
As i said in number one, minimum should be left alone, a more living wage will be forthcoming, im sure, depending on Manhattan or Podunk North Dakota.
And all minimum wage workers require respect...they do jobs no one else wants to do.
What irks me is the usual: consumer products will be more expensive and small businesses will lay employees off because they can't afford a higher minimum wage.
Besides, $20/hour is about $41,600 a year, which is the same as some full time jobs in some industries!! I might as well get a minimum wage job then. Ha ha.
2) if they really want to help, then they should push for a LIVING wage, not a minimum wage, it WILL vary by city, be it San Francisco or Podunk, Missouri, and even that will be fraught will problems.
Yes, I agree the "living wage" issue is even more fraught with problems than the minimum wage issue. Everyone has a different idea of what a living wage is. Look at the very wide range of expectations and standards that we see here on CD. Some here expect it to provide a middle class lifestyle for a a parent and 2 kids. Others think it should be enough for a single person to rent a room and have a bike, but not much more. And posters on CD economic forums almost certainly skew toward middle/upper middle class. Take that and expand it out to the general population and it's very difficult to get a consensus on what a living wage would be.
Beyond all that, I'll comment on the San Francisco question. The biggest problem I see with minimum wage and living wage is that they don't address the underlying issue that creates a high cost area like San Francisco. The biggest reason why the cost of living here in the SF Bay Area is so high is THEY DO NOT BUILD ENOUGH HOUSING (Plenty of articles from mainstream media outlets about this issue the past few years). You don't fix a housing shortage with a minimum wage increase. People at the bottom rung of the income scale will still be priced out. Prices will go up in low wage industries (many of which are patronized by low income people) and/or jobs automated away.
Minimum wage increases don't address:
--Overly strict zoning rules that make it hard to build new housing, thus raising the cost. The poor and the middle class are hurt the most:
--The fact that we have a lot of people who aren't prepared for higher wage jobs.
--The fact that the people who are having the most kids are the least smart / least able. We need fewer single parent families and more married 2 parent. The right wing and left wing researchers agree on this.
--Other government regulations, invisible to the general populace (since most of them are W2 wage earners), also raise the cost of doing business, which gets reflected in prices.
--More could also be done to address Crony Capitalism, which reduces the competitiveness of markets, and raises prices. (Health care is Exhibit A in Crony Capitalism. Private markets are not automatically free and competitive ones). Even though they don't say it, big business loves regulation if it reduces competition.
--Bloat in higher education costs, especially in administration, which jacks up the cost of college. Elizabeth Warren mentioned this more than a decade ago in her book The Two Income Trap.
--Other forms of regulation include over-credentialing and licenses for more than is necessary. This is a way the upper middle class keeps out competition from the smarter members of the lower middle class. This and the zoning issue were a few of many issues addressed in a book called Dream Hoarders by Richard Reeves.
But instead, people want quick, easy, feel good solutions that, at best, help only at the margins but do nothing to resolve the long standing issues listed above.
Last edited by mysticaltyger; 04-03-2019 at 11:24 AM..
A low minimum wage is actually a good thing, because it opens jobs for "entry level people" like teenagers seeking their first jobs. Raising the minimum wage to $15-$20 per hour actually eliminates those jobs.
In today's economy, nobody who is a worth hiring is making anywhere near minimum wage. Most make at least double that.
Our economy will pay you what you are worth, not what you think you are worth.
Yes that's called the "pulling up the ladder" consequence. Basically by "raising the ladder" you get rid of those people who are short on skills, usually those who need to gain experience and skills to get to higher paying positions.
What irks me is the usual: consumer products will be more expensive and small businesses will lay employees off because they can't afford a higher minimum wage.
Besides, $20/hour is about $41,600 a year, which is the same as some full time jobs in some industries!! I might as well get a minimum wage job then. Ha ha.
This is something I've always thought about. If minimum is high, I might as well take some easy job on my off days when I have nothing else to do and pad my salary by another $xx,000. It's $13.50 in NYC now, $15 if you have more than 10 employees (I think). Maybe I'll work front desk where my girlfriend works so I can do my Japanese and masters homework while I work, like back in high school and college. LOL!
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