Working Class can’t afford the American Dream in Pittsburgh (McDonald: 2014, home)

[Faer]

Originally Posted by tyovan4

So... if we raise the floor, then everything will also rise accordingly. Labor costs, costs of goods and services, etc.
If we raise the minimum wage without concurrently raising everyone else's wage, then folks like me are going to take a financial beating.
If we raise the minimum wage, and we allow other prices and wages to raise concurrently - then we're right back to where we started.

Labor is only a fraction of the cost of goods and services. Its why Australia has a min wage of over $16, and a big mac is still cheaper than the US (and yes, the Big Mac Index is an actual economic thing.) You're sacrificing a dollar to save a nickel.

[jfds]

Originally Posted by tyovan4

I don't feel threatened - it is more of a hatred. I live modestly. I live within my means. I make financially-wise decisions. I support myself and am content with my current quality of life. After all of my bills are paid (on-time, in-full, and my credit card is paid off completely at the end of every billing cycle), I have a few hundred dollars left over. Frankly, I'll be damned if I'm willing to share any of that little bit left over with people that made decisions that weren't as wise as mine. I can take care of myself, and I'm not interested in having my quality of life penalized because other people aren't wise enough to take care of their own business.

But you are assuming that working class people don't work hard and put in long hours. Perhaps they made all the same decisions that you made, yet they continue to lose ground.

Not everyone is going to be successful in college. We need more opportunities for those who want to earn a decent living and support their family.

Raising the minimum wage is one way to start that process.

[tyovan4]

Originally Posted by Faer

Labor is only a fraction of the cost of goods and services. Its why Australia has a min wage of over $16, and a big mac is still cheaper than the US (and yes, the Big Mac Index is an actual economic thing.) You're sacrificing a dollar to save a nickel.

Regarding Oz:
Moderator cut: Link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Moderator cut: Link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Yes, Australia is expensive but there are fringe benefits if you live here

[Paul2421]

Originally Posted by Faer

Labor is only a fraction of the cost of goods and services. Its why Australia has a min wage of over $16, and a big mac is still cheaper than the US (and yes, the Big Mac Index is an actual economic thing.) You're sacrificing a dollar to save a nickel.

Labor is the biggest or second biggest cost in most industries. Yes even food service. It is definitely the most controllable cost in most.

[tyovan4]

Originally Posted by jfds

But you are assuming that working class people don't work hard and put in long hours. Perhaps they made all the same decisions that you made, yet they continue to lose ground.

Not everyone is going to be successful in college. We need more opportunities for those who want to earn a decent living and support their family.

Raising the minimum wage is one way to start that process.

Where are you getting that assumption from?

My maternal grandmother doesn't have a high school diploma.
My dad grew up in public housing and was later adopted because he and his two siblings were abandoned by their mother.

My mom worked two jobs when I was a kid. As a teenager, my stepdad was laid off and went back to school to bolster his resume. During those years, my mom supported 6 people on her salary.

My dad had two jobs for decades. At one point, he had three.

My first job was in an amusement park cleaning up other people's vomit. I've been working since I was 14 years old.

My job during my college years was working in a warehouse with my dad on the night shift, doing back-breaking work. There were mornings I literally couldn't fall asleep at age 18 or 19 due to lower back pain.

My first job in Pittsburgh was at UPMC, making $9.85/hour.

Please don't talk at me like I have no frame of reference for working class life.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Paul2421

Labor is the biggest or second biggest cost in most industries. Yes even food service. It is definitely the most controllable cost in most.

Maybe especially in food service, which is pretty labor-intensive. Here is an interesting article about McDonald's in various countries: https://www.theatlantic.com/business...tralia/278313/

[Paul2421]

Originally Posted by Katarina Witt

Maybe especially in food service, which is pretty labor-intensive. Here is an interesting article about McDonald's in various countries: https://www.theatlantic.com/business...tralia/278313/

so raising prices, eliminating workers with computers, and pushing higher margin items.

[Faer]

Originally Posted by tyovan4

Regarding Oz:
Moderator cut: Link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Moderator cut: Link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Yes, Australia is expensive but there are fringe benefits if you live here

Cool, thanks for the link. Lets compare Perth and Pgh (since Sydney comparisons are lol.) If a min wage worker in Pgh got the min wage of Perth ($16.87), and also the loss in purchasing power (-10.42%), they would see an increase in real purchasing power of 208%. Heck, if a person making $15 an hour right now ended up with both Perth min wage and loss of purchasing power, even they would end up with a 7% net increase in purchasing power.

And there's some limitations even with that. We're assuming, in this model, that min wage increases = an equivalent purchase power decline (which is not an undisputed fact) and we are ignoring the additional logistic costs in AU. Almost everything costs more in Australia in large part because almost everything has to get shipped thousands and thousands of miles.

[_Buster]

Originally Posted by Faer

Cool, thanks for the link. Lets compare Perth and Pgh (since Sydney comparisons are lol.) If a min wage worker in Pgh got the min wage of Perth ($16.87), and also the loss in purchasing power (-10.42%), they would see an increase in real purchasing power of 208%. Heck, if a person making $15 an hour right now ended up with both Perth min wage and loss of purchasing power, even they would end up with a 7% net increase in purchasing power.

And there's some limitations even with that. We're assuming, in this model, that min wage increases = an equivalent purchase power decline (which is not an undisputed fact) and we are ignoring the additional logistic costs in AU. Almost everything costs more in Australia in large part because almost everything has to get shipped thousands and thousands of miles.

The minimum wage in Australia is actually a lot less for teenagers and apprentices. So they are certainly hiring mostly them in the fast food industry in order to keep their costs down.

[gladhands]

Originally Posted by _Buster

The minimum wage in Australia is actually a lot less for teenagers and apprentices. So they are certainly hiring mostly them in the fast food industry in order to keep their costs down.

Yes, because fast food restaurants are only open between the hours of 4 and 9 pm, right? I'm sure they have cashier apprenticeship programs too.