[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

I've lived in many areas with higher minimum wage and prices for common goods and food are the same as here. There will be a lot more money being circulated into our economy. It will raise incomes on all levels as well over-time too. One of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco is this small hole in the wall place where my average bill is $10 and it's a lot of food. Rents are crazy high in San Francisco and so are wages, etc. I was working on the home loan for the owners son, so I got their financials and their taxable net income was over $1 million from this small restaurant that was always busy. Higher wages doesn't mean higher prices, etc. I used to live in Australia and once again, prices weren't noticeably different, yet minimum wage there is around $20. Minimum wage employees pretty much spend 100% of their paychecks, that is great for businesses.

Was this restaurant hiring locals to work there? Or was it strictly owned and operated by the owners themselves (like many Chinese restaurants, for instance) where every single cent of profit went directly to their pockets?
The average small business owner is not going to be able to afford to increase all staff wages by some ~$7/hr ($15,000/year) without undergoing some drastic changes. Most small business owners are not wealthy, and this money is going to have to cut directly into their personal finances.

Australia's minimum wage is near $20 ASD... Which is a little over $12USD. It's the highest in the world.

[cfenn006]

That's what happens when you ignore the deficiencies in Market setting wages and inflated Cost of Living. Government intervention. People in lower demand regions going to suffer, but it was pro-low wage lobbying efforts that forced this issue. Agreements in Central Florida's Lodging and Restaurant Associations made agreements to increase wages and failed to follow through. South Florida as well.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by cfenn006

That's what happens when you ignore the deficiencies in Market setting wages and inflated Cost of Living. Government intervention. People in lower demand regions going to suffer, but it was pro-low wage lobbying efforts that forced this issue. Agreements in Central Florida's Lodging and Restaurant Associations made agreements to increase wages and failed to follow through. South Florida as well.

Exactly, and from a larger perspective it's where having zero union representation has negatively impacted the average worker.

[Arcenal813]

It can (MAYBE) work in large cities.
Statewide, in a place like Florida, it’s going to be a disaster.

[beach43ofus]

I think the new law bumps it from $8.56/hr to $10/hr early in 2021. Then, it get bumped $1/hr each year thereafter, until it reaches $15/hr in 2026.

Employers who can afford the up front costs to automate (national fast-food chains for example), will automate to cut headcounts. I could see grocery stores going to all self check out.

Some will cut hours, and staff headcount, which will mean lower service levels, & lost jobs.

It will be harder to enter the workforce, as an entry level employee, so that will hurt teens, & college students particularly.

Employers will all raise prices, and pass the higher costs along to us consumers.

It could force some existing businesses to close, who rely heavily upon low wage labor....full serve car washes for instance, landscapers, restaurants.

More jobs will be outsourced, to offset some of these added costs. Outsourcing cuts hiring, firing, training, payroll, insurance, & accounting costs. You could have all the maids at the hotel working for Kelly Girl, or Manpower. Many truck drivers have already experienced this.

In the end, consumers, wind up paying for it. Its like a new hidden tax.

[cfenn006]

It starts $10 next year and increases a dollar each year till I think 2026, so there is businesses can make adjustments. Rent and Property has skyrocketed here, because demand has been affected by Out of State and Country Wealth, citizens needed more advocacy in fair and reasonable wages to survive, this measure has been long overdue.


Just goes to show if firms and government were doing the right thing from the start, this total shift in how they both will have to do business could have been avoided.

[gemstone1]

"Twenty-nine states plus Washington, D.C., Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage, the highest among these being D.C., with a $14 minimum wage. In May, Connecticut became the seventh state to pass legislation to incrementally increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour."

"In the handful of progressive cities that have already raised minimum wage to $15 an hour, the results have been mixed. When New York City's wage bump went into effect in late December of 2018, restaurant owners said they needed to cut workers' hours in order to stay afloat, CBS News reports. The city's unemployment rate has risen from 4.0 percent to 4.3 percent since December of 2018. But when the City and County of San Francisco implemented a $15 minimum wage in July of 2018, it had the opposite effect: The unemployment rate has since dropped from 2.5 percent to 1.9 percent as of May of 2019. " link

Regards
Gemstone1

[Hemlock140]

The oil change places will just raise their rates. Here the local Valvoline place is advertising "Now Hiring - from $17/hour" and our current minimum is $12. They charge $39.50, the same as the local new car dealers. Those places used to be much cheaper than Ford or Chevrolet.

[ebbe]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

The oil change places will just raise their rates. Here the local Valvoline place is advertising "Now Hiring - from $17/hour" and our current minimum is $12. They charge $39.50, the same as the local new car dealers. Those places used to be much cheaper than Ford or Chevrolet.

Yep, often the prices get passed on to the consumer.

[floridarebel]

15 an hour minimum wage would be different in Southeast FL than it would be in rural north FL etc. Should be based on cost of living instead.