It's time to raise California's minimum wage (2014, insurance)

[sjnative]

Luis Alejo tells you what's "fair."

I'm glad he has so we can all support the increase in minimum wage which will be paid for by the giant piggy bank in the sky.

The cost won't be borne by employers who will pass on that cost to consumers who pay for their goods and services. They won't adapt by charigng the same fee for reduced goods and service, a higher fee for the same good and services or, best of all, an increased fee for reduced goods and services.

Employers won't adapt by reducing their labor expenses by reducing hours- thus reducing any eligibility for benefits- reducing pay raises for high-performing employees or by reducing hiring of new, unskilled employess who require training.

We can be confident that employers won't do those things because employers exist to meet our personal needs. That's why they go into business, after all. They don't exist to make a profit for themselves and they definitely didn't do the hard work or assume the risk of starting a business because they were self-interested- which their workers aren't, of course.

Let's all advocate and vote in favor of that minimum wage increase. It's only fair!

[Think4Yourself]

I'd honestly rather see the minimum wage go down to the Federal level so we could see more low end job growth. Right now many of those low end jobs are simply priced out of the market and that's why the 16-22 year old unemployment rate is ~60%. Yes, these will be low paying jobs but they do let young people get experience which they can use to move up the job ladder so it's an important part of the over all economy.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by Think4Yourself

I'd honestly rather see the minimum wage go down to the Federal level so we could see more low end job growth. Right now many of those low end jobs are simply priced out of the market and that's why the 16-22 year old unemployment rate is ~60%. Yes, these will be low paying jobs but they do let young people get experience which they can use to move up the job ladder so it's an important part of the over all economy.

But, but, but they deserve more so they can feel they are .... well, paid enough?

I started working before there was a minimum wage. I was glad to get any work. That never hurt me one little bit and now I make enough to meet my needs and help others.

[5thgenSF]

Originally Posted by expatCA

But, but, but they deserve more so they can feel they are .... well, paid enough?

I started working before there was a minimum wage. I was glad to get any work. That never hurt me one little bit and now I make enough to meet my needs and help others.

you mean like paid enough to eat and have housing?
you're talking about another era. it doesn't work that way any more.

[Curmudgeon]

[sjnative]

Originally Posted by 5thgenSF

you mean like paid enough to eat and have housing?
you're talking about another era. it doesn't work that way any more.

What a distraction.

Maybe a person should be paid what his labor is worth, which is what the (employer) market will bear.

If a person wants to increase his value and therefore his compensation, he'll need to acquire more knowledge, skill, experience or all those things.

I think these minimum wage advocates assume it's the employer's duty to meet the employees' needs, and I'm not convinced of that. A for-profit privately-held business entity is just that. It's not a soup kitchen.

EDIT:
I think ol' C is trying to say something, but decided to just post a pic instead under the assumption of a picture being worth a thousand words. If it is, my thousand words would include that a person can take measures such as to (a) make more money per hour, (b) cut expenses by spending less on luxury items and, (c) not increase expenses by having children one cannot afford to care for, "(c)" being a foreign concept in some cultures.

[oldtrader]

Due to competition there is only so much money that can be added to your product price or service and still stay in business to cover recovery for sudden increases in wages or benefits demanded by the government. An owner needs a certain income from their business.

Result:

Raise the minimum wage, and watch the hours be cut, and more people laid off, with the remaining workers just told to produce more. Happens every time they raise the minimum wage.

In 2014 Obama Care goes it effect. Already business after business has announced they will be cutting staff, going to part time workers, and doing away with health care benefits for all workers. It will be cheaper to pay the extra tax (Supreme court has already said it is a tax) for the workers than to pay for the insurance. Then those that have lost their insurance, have to buy it out of their pockets or pay hundreds to thousands of dollars if they do not buy insurance in the penalty tax.

When ever the government increases the cost to do business, businesses have to make changes to reduce costs. And this causes a lot of employees financial problems. The 16 to 22 age population with already a 60% unemployment rate, will see it go even higher.

One reason that a lot of new jobs have not been created, businesses are waiting to see what additional employee costs and taxes the government is going to stick them with. They are not going to do anything till they can make plans for the future, based on what they know it is going to cost them to do business. With the threatened higher taxes in California, and the other potential cost of doing business increases such as higher minimum wages, businesses are not going on hiring binges putting California as the 49th highest unemployment state in the nation only behind Washington D.C., and New York State. Yes D.C. is counted equal to a state for these computations as they are a separate entity and have a much larger population than some states .

[SunnyTXsmile]

If I'm reading this map correctly, well, it can't be correct. There's no way that housing in MD costs more than CA. Perhaps I'm missing something.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by SunnyTXsmile

If I'm reading this map correctly, well, it can't be correct. There's no way that housing in MD costs more than CA. Perhaps I'm missing something.

Probably a lower state minimum wage. Also, measuring something like that on a state level doesn't tell you much.

[5thgenSF]

Originally Posted by sjnative

What a distraction.

Maybe a person should be paid what his labor is worth, which is what the (employer) market will bear.

If a person wants to increase his value and therefore his compensation, he'll need to acquire more knowledge, skill, experience or all those things.

I think these minimum wage advocates assume it's the employer's duty to meet the employees' needs, and I'm not convinced of that. A for-profit privately-held business entity is just that. It's not a soup kitchen.

EDIT:
I think ol' C is trying to say something, but decided to just post a pic instead under the assumption of a picture being worth a thousand words. If it is, my thousand words would include that a person can take measures such as to (a) make more money per hour, (b) cut expenses by spending less on luxury items and, (c) not increase expenses by having children one cannot afford to care for, "(c)" being a foreign concept in some cultures.

spoken as someone who doesn't make a wage not fit to live on. too many companies don't give a rat's a$$ about employees any more. chew 'em up and spit 'em out. there is absolutely no guarantee that good work gives a raise. and minimum wage does not ALLOW any luxury items so how can they be CUT OUT? i'm a single person, no children. did not have children because i could not afford them. have worked ALL my life (age 15 on), have never been on welfare of any sort. i can tell you good work does not ensure a raise. good work does not ensure benefits, vacations, health care, pension or any other such thing. i've had two jobs in the last seven years. one for a billionaire and one for a multi-millionaire. guess what? both minimum wage/no benefits. if they can't pay a living wage, maybe they should just do the work themselves!