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[quote=gwynedd1;35095838]Well if real estate was allowed to fall to affordable rates then the cost of living would also fall and there would be no need for $15 an hour.
Exactly I have been saying this forever. Expensive cities do not build enough housing, which is why housing costs in such places are so high.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gwynedd1
Why all the fuss about wage manipulation but not asset manipulation which is causing all the wage distortion in the first place?
This is an excellent point. My response would be that two wrongs don't make it right....it just compounds our economic problems. But you are very right to point out issues with asset price manipulation.
You posted a question about poverty and min wage as though the point of min wage was to pull people out of poverty. I don't believe that is the purpose if min wage and this why I asked.
Okay, what do you believe the purpose of raising the minimum wage is, then?
How come high CEO pay doesn't cause prices to increase?
Because there are only a few of them and a millions making $15 an hour or less. It's called economics of scale. Not that this justifies outrageous CEO pay...but if you understand mathematics, you will understand how a large increase in the minimum wage could have major effects. Most people don't understand math (or don't want to).
Because there are only a few of them and a millions making $15 an hour or less. It's called economics of scale. Not that this justifies outrageous CEO pay...but if you understand mathematics, you will understand how a large increase in the minimum wage could have major effects. Most people don't understand math (or don't want to).
Very true. The math behind the arguments sometimes is something people just don't do. I've heard people say Walmart CEO should give up his bonus so the other employees could have more money. You could take all the comp for their execs and it wouldn't do anything for the employees
Because there are only a few of them and a millions making $15 an hour or less. It's called economics of scale. Not that this justifies outrageous CEO pay...but if you understand mathematics, you will understand how a large increase in the minimum wage could have major effects. Most people don't understand math (or don't want to).
OK, why don't McDonalds' dividends to their shareholders cause prices to increase?
There was another article recently (which I can't find) about how they could DOUBLE all wages and take the money out of shareholder dividends, thereby dropping dividends from $20 bil to $15 bil. Think about that for a second. Shareholders would still get a ton of money, but the workers, the people who actually work and allow McDonald's to exist, would have their wages DOUBLE to a living wage that is actually enough to have a decent first world standard of living.
To offset the increased cost of living. Min wage hasn't moved since 09
Hmm, using the COLA calculator at https://www.aier.org/cost-living-calculator, adjusting the minimum wage from 2009's $7.25 per hour to adjust for the rise in the cost of living would put it at $7.96 per hour today. That seems reasonable, actually.
On the other hand, if we adjust the minimum wage for cost of living starting in 1938 when it was $.25 per hour, we would have a minimum wage of $4.20 per hour. So, do we really want to tie the minimum wage to cost of living increases?
It's called history. It has happened over and over again, every time the minimum wage has gone up. Will the raises be an exact match? No, but they will be pretty close. Close enough, in fact, that the buying power of minimum wage earners will remain essentially the same as it is now.
Cite a time in history where this happened.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JimRom
Answer this question: When is the last time that raising the minimum wage had the long term effect of lifting minimum wage earners out of poverty? All the way back to 1938, when has it happened?
I don't think minimum wage has ever been set high enough to directly lift people out of poverty.
It would be much easier if you cite one time that it hasn't. Seriously, I'm not trying to be difficult, but every time the minimum wage has been raised the market has corrected itself.
Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankMiller
I don't think minimum wage has ever been set high enough to directly lift people out of poverty.
Ahhh, so it's a numbers game then. If we just throw enough money at it the problem will be fixed? Okay then, what's the magic number? Is it a random arbitrary dollar amount such as $15 or $25 or $50? Or is it based on a percentage of FPL like means tested programs are?
In 1968, the minimum wage was raised to $1.60 - that's the equivalent of about $11 per hour today. $11 per hour is a fairly decent wage by today's standards, especially for someone in a no- to low-skilled position. I've known skilled laborers that didn't make $11 per hour. That being the case, the people making minimum wage in 1968 didn't see a long term lifting of their economic status. That $1.60's value in today's dollars was down to +/- $7 within 7 years. The market corrected itself...
To the MCD example a percentage increase in min wage is not a direct correlation to increased fixed cost for MCD. Also a 30% profit margin isn't much? That's actually pretty damn stout . But if min wage went up 40% that doesn't equal bankruptcy even if they can't raise prices, the math behind it doesn't support that
That 30% is not profit. That is after paying for food, wages, and daily operation. Out of that 30% comes loan payments, mandated upgrading, adding new equipment such as FREE WiFi which costs over $10,000, etc., etc., and some required improvements can cost 10 times that much or more. The profits are only a small portion of t ha t 30%. Increase minimum wages by nearly doubling them, if t hey can't raise prices will put the business out of business. That is the real math, in business.
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