Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
And again, in a truly competitive market, the prices wouldn't have risen beyond the cost increase. In fact, if just one of the chains had limited their price increase, then in theory that chain should have taken business from the other two. But everybody had their comfortable little niche of the market and no one business feels the need to cut their profit margins in order to increase market share.
Again, an oligopoly exists in the video rental market in this town.
Maybe, but then these price jumps never occurred outside of correlation to the minimum wage increase, not at that level of profit increase that is. Prices did increase from time to time, but competition kept them adjusting up and down.
Also, this was not simply an occurrence with that entertainment focus, but a function that applied across all markets. Food, rent, entertainment, etc...
Now they all didn't go up at once (some specific areas did), but there was a notable trend after the occurrence with each focus raising sequentially after the other.
End result was that minimum wage lost buying power due to the increase as well as most wage levels.
To me the mention of "truly competitive market" does not exist outside of a vacuum. The concept is applicable in a practical manner, but varying influences can open up "opurtunities" which avoid the academic nature of such.
This is why I disagree to an extent on your reasoning of an oligopoly being at the core of this. I think that while lack of competition does provide such, I also think that there are variables of influence such as regulation to which provide "opportunities" to achieve similar appearances that would not otherwise be obtainable without such regulation (hence the constant vying for favor by lobbyist).
California's Energy crisis also being at the center of such involvement of regulation and manipulation that without such influence would not be obtainable within the unfettered competitive environment.
Due to this, I think that the regulation of minimum wage allows companies to subvert traditional means of competitive balance.
edit:
In the case of the minimum wage, the oppurtunity was simply to use the situation as a means to increase profits while being able to avoid the repercussions of such without explanation, "sorry, minimum wage increase" is a perfect cover for obtaining this and it is to this reason why I think it existed across the board making it appear to be as you describe.
Quote:
Originally Posted by djmilf
My mistake then, I apologize.
I took North Texas to mean the Panhandle area. Say, Amarillo, not Dallas-Fort Worth.
Home health aids, those who take care of the elderly, and day care workers don't make a lot of money.
As for the college kids in the Youtube video, did they say they were spending their $$ or did their parents give them money to go out and buy the tv?
You can sit here and try to demonize the poor but everyone of every income level has made a bad financial decision at some point in their lives. It just makes people feel better to talk down about/to the poor.
OhioBound sounds like a person who has had everything haned to him/her and does not understand the real world
True, and very high minimum wage encourages more outsourcing of jobs and more the more hiring of illegals who think $4 or $5 an hour is a real great deal and will gladly take those jobs. Illegal immigration certain increased with higher minimum wages and so those jobs don't go to Americans at all.
Good Point you have, illegals gladly work for the $4 or $5 an hour happily.
Because they do not compensate difference and cost of living will go up with the minimum wage increase. Some stores simply can not afford that level of increase and retain the spread among higher wages. So, the lower level gains more money, but the mid level loses money.
When prices increase, the lower level is back to where they were (often less buying power) and the mid range lose buying power as well, yet job duties to which reflected the wage of responsibility do not change. You do the same, but essentially get paid less for it.
I remember when I was young being a shift manager for a store, my wage was a dollar and a quarter above minimum. The staged increases came through which took the entry worker up to the same wage as I. The work refused to give raises until we protested it adamantly and threatened to quit (who in their right mind work work at entry level pay and take on more responsibilities than an entry level worker?)
So, we got our raise. It was a 25 cents raise. To go from $1.25 above to .25 cents combined with the fact that the change caused price increases, well... my buying power effectively dropped significantly. And what was once considered a cushion of extra wage, now effectively put me back at the starting point of entry level.
It wasn't the end of the world, I was simply going to school, but the wage increase did nothing but damage spending ability for both the entry and those just above them.
History has shown time and time again that increases in min wage do little to now damages to business. There was also no great price increase when min wage went up every time it goes up we hear the same old complaints but they never happen
My first job out of college paid $15k and I was able to live on that. How long ago was that? That's the point. Many influential thinkers believe the minimum wage should be abolished. Politically unable to do that, the compromise is to just let inflation erode it. Not all jobs are subject to the minimum wage. Regarding the illegal alien problem, maybe it is time to start prosecuting those who hire them.
My first job out of college paid $15k and I was able to live on that. How long ago was that? That's the point. Many influential thinkers believe the minimum wage should be abolished. Politically unable to do that, the compromise is to just let inflation erode it. Not all jobs are subject to the minimum wage. Regarding the illegal alien problem, maybe it is time to start prosecuting those who hire them.
On the other had we have way too much debt and not enough income to service the debt. Upping the minimum wage a lot will tend to inflate the economy from the bottom up. It will also tend to devalue the dollar. This will tend to bring the top closer to the bottom. It will also tend to set up for long term growth in the economy. We need to get total debt as a % of GDP way down. With it as high as we have it now we can't service the debt. What drove the great depression was the pay down of debt. Inflation is faster.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
