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Marcal has immediately stated that they will not rebuild their iconic factory in Elmwood Park following the disastrous fire of last week. Wow that was a fast decision! Could it be due to the labor price fixing of the new minimum wage, the oppressive new taxes, the regulatory overreach, illegal aliens getting education benefits that have to be paid for by the citizens, some combination of the above? And other negative detrimental conditions that accrue to anyone attempting to open a business in this commerce-hostile, landlord-hostile, mediocrity-worshipping sate? I wonder... There didn’t seem to be any deliberation or consideration concerning this decision. Fire on Jan 31, exiting state Feb 5. Just like that. Could LEAVING NEW JERSEY BE THAT MUCH OF A SLAM DUNK?
Last edited by Marc Paolella; 02-05-2019 at 12:36 PM..
I think your "hypothesis" (i.e., projecting) has as much to do with Marcal's decision to not rebuild as it does with my decision to have one cup of coffee this morning instead of two. They're expanding in Vermont. Vermont is moving toward the same minimum wage as NJ, has a lot of taxes and regulation, etc.
It probably has more to do with this being an "opportunity" to consolidate operations closer to supply. But now I'm just spitballing like you were.
I think your "hypothesis" (i.e., projecting) has as much to do with Marcal's decision to not rebuild as it does with my decision to have one cup of coffee this morning instead of two. They're expanding in Vermont. Vermont is moving toward the same minimum wage as NJ, has a lot of taxes and regulation, etc.
It probably has more to do with this being an "opportunity" to consolidate operations closer to supply. But now I'm just spitballing like you were.
They are not opening a new plant in business-hostile socialist-leaning Vermont. They are already stuck there and if a fire burned that down, they’d undoubtedly announce an exit there also, although in might take 10 days instead of the insta-flight we saw here. Vermont is right up there with New Jersey as a business-hating state, having defecated to us the odious and putrescent relic Trotskyite-collectivist Bernie (I hate freedom) Sanders.
Which brings up an intersting conspiracy theory. Their insta-flight announcement was so timely that one might wonder if were prepared in advance. In which case I might be inclined to beef up the arson investigation.
I had a short discussion with my mechanic yesterday, about the upcoming min. wage requirement -- he said that he couldn't hire a new worker because $15/hr. is "too much".
Then I said "but you charge us $95/hr. for your services".
He had no reply.
When you stop and think about how little $15 buys you, and then try to reconcile that fact with how much physical labor those types of workers have to expend in 1 hour, you'd have to be a monster to say that it's "too much".
I had a short discussion with my mechanic yesterday, about the upcoming min. wage requirement -- he said that he couldn't hire a new worker because $15/hr. is "too much".
Then I said "but you charge us $95/hr. for your services".
He had no reply.
When you stop and think about how little $15 buys you, and then try to reconcile that fact with how much physical labor those types of workers have to expend in 1 hour, you'd have to be a monster to say that it's "too much".
This is not about how much or little $15 buys. NJ or any individual state do not operate in a vacuum. If you are expensive, then you will lose business to places that are cheaper. All this will do is make NJ less business friendly and send more business to states that are more business friendly.
If it's about making the wage to an amount that buys you a lot, why stop at $15. Why not go to $30 or $50 or even $500? $500 buys a lot, let's make that the minimum wage then.
As usual, Democrats and the Left will need to learn a lesson through trial and error that many have already known.
I had a short discussion with my mechanic yesterday, about the upcoming min. wage requirement -- he said that he couldn't hire a new worker because $15/hr. is "too much".
Then I said "but you charge us $95/hr. for your services".
He had no reply.
When you stop and think about how little $15 buys you, and then try to reconcile that fact with how much physical labor those types of workers have to expend in 1 hour, you'd have to be a monster to say that it's "too much".
That makes no sense on two fronts. Firstly, in a free society, no wage is too much or too little. It is just exactly correct because it is negotiated freely between the employer and the employee.
Secondly, you did not specify what the $95/hr includes. It includes physical plant, property taxes, insurance, regulatory and environmental compliance, tools, training, utilities, upgrading of physical plant and constant education, and a whole boatload of other costs.
And labor on top of all that, including confiscatory social security contributions, expensive workmens comp insurance, and being forced to comply with family leave bull$hit laws and the rest of it.
So, number one, an employer doesn’t have to justify anything to you in a free society, but even if we want to go there, it is preposterous to assert that $15/hour is acceptable because $95/hour is charged to you at retail.
Marcal has immediately stated that they will not rebuild their iconic factory in Elmwood Park following the disastrous fire of last week. Wow that was a fast decision! Could it be due to the labor price fixing of the new minimum wage, the oppressive new taxes, the regulatory overreach, illegal aliens getting education benefits that have to be paid for by the citizens, some combination of the above? And other negative detrimental conditions that accrue to anyone attempting to open a business in this commerce-hostile, landlord-hostile, mediocrity-worshipping sate? I wonder... There didn’t seem to be any deliberation or consideration concerning this decision. Fire on Jan 31, exiting state Feb 5. Just like that. Could LEAVING NEW JERSEY BE THAT MUCH OF A SLAM DUNK?
You, of all people, should know that the Marcal land is more valuable for something else beside low margin manufacturing. If they are even considering a restarting the plant, they can buy land in western NJ or PA for much cheaper than the value of the Elmwood Park location.
Also, the original family sold to Highland Capital Management in 2008 for about $160 million. The current owners are not tied to history. I am sure Highland Capital Management is looking at the Elmwood Park land as a real estate development opportunity. Highland Capital Management created plans for the site as soon as they bought Marcal.
Marcal has immediately stated that they will not rebuild their iconic factory in Elmwood Park following the disastrous fire of last week. Wow that was a fast decision! Could it be due to the labor price fixing of the new minimum wage, the oppressive new taxes, the regulatory overreach, illegal aliens getting education benefits that have to be paid for by the citizens, some combination of the above? And other negative detrimental conditions that accrue to anyone attempting to open a business in this commerce-hostile, landlord-hostile, mediocrity-worshipping sate? I wonder... There didn’t seem to be any deliberation or consideration concerning this decision. Fire on Jan 31, exiting state Feb 5. Just like that. Could LEAVING NEW JERSEY BE THAT MUCH OF A SLAM DUNK?
Don't hold back anything. I'm sure the largest part of the decision is simply the cost to rebuild. There's the demolition costs of the remaining structure, then any new construction would have to meet current standards, not what pre-existed.
Funny someone mentioned the cost of auto repairs. When I was 18 mechanics on a piecework basis used to get 50% of the labor charge. Today you are lucky to find one that gets 30%, so where has all that money gone. Mechanics still have to buy their own tools. An investment of thousands, yet more and more of the labor charge goes to the "house".
Everyone of the Republican Candidates when asked about minimum wage in the Republican debates stated wages are too high. Yet we cheer the head of United healthcare and others making a multimillion dollar salaries for managing a company that ads NO value to the product. Congress has raised their own pay HOW many times but not minimum wage. Could someone please explain that to me??
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