Advocates make case for $15 minimum wage in Minneapolis (health insurance, find a job)

[lukas1973]

A full time job at the minimum wage should be sufficient to cover all costs for a modest lifestyle. I don't know how much would be needed for a modest lifestly in Minneapolis.

Since last year we have a minimum wage of €8.50 in Germany. I often think about this amount when we order pizza. A 12 inch pizza with at least 3 toppings cost at almost all pizza places about €7.00 - €9.00. With the exception of a few fancy "gourmet" pizza places, no pizza cost more than €10.00. And these prices already includes 7% VAT (if the pizza is delivered or taken home) or 19% VAT (if the pizza is eaten inside the restaurant).

Considering the actual minimum wage of $9.00 in Minnesota, the prices for pizzas in Minneapolis seems way too high. Either the ingredients are very expensive or the profit margins for the pizza place owners are way too high. I don't think that the wages of the staff have a significant impact on the pizza prices.

An increase of the minimum wage of maybe 50% will increase the prices of the pizza by maybe 10-15%.

They could increase the minimum wage to $12 in two steps and then increase them by 3-5% every year.

[my54ford]

Originally Posted by Eli34

And what, starve? People work for minimum wage because they have no choice. The government is there to make sure they get paid fairly for the exchange of their labor. And the wages are set according to inflation and minimum amount needed to live.

If Employers can't afford to pay their employees a fair wage, then they really shouldn't be in business. For example Wal-Mart, they pay low wages and many of their employees are dependent on gov't services to make ends meet. That's a burden on tax payers. Paying decent wages is the cost of doing business in a first world, democratic civilization. If they don't like it, they can move to Mexico or China where their workers are treated like garbage.

Maybe slave wage walmart should close it's does right now??? I'd love to see 2.1 million people out of work in one day....

[Mason3000]

Raise it to $15, or $20, or even $25. I'll still get hired at that rate and so will my kids when the time comes. There's lot's of people who won't be hired at those rates though and they're the ones most in need of good jobs.

[spectre000]

Those millions who are struggling don't need $25 an hour. But $15 would be an enormous boost. You may feel smug and comfortable that your job is secure today, but it may not be safe tomorrow. For you or your children. Technology is going to continue to advance either way.

We're all just a few generations away from being obsolete.

[Minnesota Spring]

I typically lean pretty liberal, but I think that if this passes (if it's even legal to do so) it would be a hardship for Minneapolis and it's residents. Restaurants will close or leave or lay off staff, stores will think twice about opening. Prices will increase.
People move to the City with one of the reasons being the great restaurants. I predict that places like St. Louis Park and Edina would become the new restaurant hubs of the metro. Minneapolis wouldn't be as an attractive place to live. Would this wage increase apply to food trucks?? If not, kiss sit down restaurants in Minneapolis goodbye. People would have a much tougher time getting these minimum wage jobs and the suburbs would benefit. Seattle and SF passed the $15 minimum wage, but the cost of living in those places is a lot higher than Minneapolis. The proposal needs to be better thought out as it makes absolutely no sense as of current.

[spectre000]

I think the $15 min wage law would quickly spread to the rest of the state. When St. Paul banned smoking in restaurants everyone said all the businesses would close. It didn't happen. The rest of the state banned it as well.

I think people are just over reacting. Ordering kiosks are coming anyway. It'll still take a human to clean a deep fryer. Mop the floors. Make a hamburger. People aren't going to just stop eating out. Prices will rise. But I think so will quality. Restaurant businesses are NOT going away. Some will close. But it's always been a very tough business sector. The creme will always rise to the top. Look no further than Punch Pizza. If the McDonalds of the world can't compete with the Punch's, then someone will just take there place.

[Glenfield]

Would there be more jobs, fewer jobs, or the same number of minimum wage jobs at $15 an hour?

If the government raised the price of chicken to $15 a pound would people eat more chicken, less chicken, or the same amount?

If chicken was $15 a pound in Minneapolis but $8.50 in surrounding communities would be more inclined or less inclined to buy their chicken from stores in Minneapolis?

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by spectre000

It'll still take a human to clean a deep fryer. Mop the floors. Make a hamburger. People aren't going to just stop eating out. Prices will rise.

Actually, it doesn't.
Momentum Machines The Next Industrial Revolution

And restaurants know that when prices go up people eat out less. Restaurants' competition is the grocery store.

[spectre000]

I don't see Minneapolis being at a disadvantage to other surrounding areas because of a higher minimum wage, simply because the state could just follow suit and raise it state wide. Just as it did with the smoking ban.

Robots and other machines will be doing more and more human jobs as time passes. Pretty inevitable. Driverless cars will be taking taxi and truck driver jobs. Roombas could take cleaning jobs. Hospitals facing high malpractice costs, have surgery done by a robot instead.

[spectre000]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

Would there be more jobs, fewer jobs, or the same number of minimum wage jobs at $15 an hour?
?

Fewer jobs in the future period.