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Actually it might be the NY Post is lying.....but they are known for that. Seattle has seen some job loss, but not in minimum wage jobs, they have been in manufacturing jobs which happens there from time to time as companies go from project to project. Retail jobs which tend to pay minimum wage actually has seen an increase due to the booming economy that is currently going on in Seattle. To say otherwise is being dishonest or just ignorant of what is going on in Seattle.
If they are producing enough value, why would there be millions of others ready to accept even lower wages and millions are doing their jobs at lower wages?
The very fact that you have to put a gun on people's head to force them to accept the wage increase is already self evident!
We do not live in Somalia, we live in a nation that will not allow people to starve to death on the sidewalk. So yes, you could eliminate the minimum wage and allow the wonderful free market to decide that the real value of labor is $3 an hour, then we could spend 3 or 4 times the $152 billion that we are already paying out in SNAP, EITC, subsidized housing, welfare etc. to subsidize minimum wage earners That sure sounds like a great plan, doesn't it?
Actually it might be the NY Post is lying.....but they are known for that. Seattle has seen some job loss, but not in minimum wage jobs, they have been in manufacturing jobs which happens there from time to time as companies go from project to project. Retail jobs which tend to pay minimum wage actually has seen an increase due to the booming economy that is currently going on in Seattle. To say otherwise is being dishonest or just ignorant of what is going on in Seattle.
OK, stop the whining. We put all sorts of extra costs on businesses, because the market hasn't corrected their behavior and we - as a society - has decided the alternative is unacceptable. Boo-effin'-hoo.
Safe working conditions cost more, and had to be enforced by law - i.e., ultimately enforced at the point of a gun. It turns out workers - when faced with the choice of a possible mine collapse vs. the certainty of not feeding the kids - can be enticed to work in risky conditions.
Sound environmental practices cost more. Took ages to convince chemical plants that "a hole in the ground" is not a viable option for chemical waste. Not even if they own the ground in which said hole is dug.
Please drop it. Setting wage is by no means comparable to setting health, safety and environmental policies.
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Paying people starvation wages because "the market will bear it" comes with a cost to the rest of society, because it turns out we're not OK with people lacking the essentials. So we help out and as a result, not only do I help pay the Wal-Mart shelf-stocker's life necessities, even if I don't shop at Wal-Mart - I bloody well see the store next door run just fine paying the shelf-stocker a decent wage. In other words, Wal-Mart's business model puts a load on the surrounding society. And I don't wee why we have to put up with that.
It's not a starving wage. You got that on reverse. It is the workers don't have enough marketable skills to earn a wage that can keep them fed.
If you say, as a whole nation, we shouldn't let people starve. I'd agree with you and suggest we set up a basic income - oh wait, our welfare system is already doing that.
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The idea that "The Market" is sacrosanct and will always arrive at the correct valuation may work in basic economy textbooks. In reality, the worker and the employer are not buying/selling labor in an open and free marketplace, no matter what ideas Econ 101 (or, God forbid, Ayn Rand) may have installed in somebody's head.
Where does the money come from to cover the wage increase?
We do not live in Somalia, we live in a nation that will not allow people to starve to death on the sidewalk. So yes, you could eliminate the minimum wage and allow the wonderful free market to decide that the real value of labor is $3 an hour, then we could spend 3 or 4 times the $152 billion that we are already paying out in SNAP, EITC, subsidized housing, welfare etc. to subsidize minimum wage earners That sure sounds like a great plan, doesn't it?
I see you just brushed aside my question on the morality, ethics, and fairness. Sure, let's throw those away and talk about "reality."
What's wrong with the welfare programs? Why can't we subsidize? Why is this called subsidize? Anybody working at the current minimum wage level is perfectly fine feeding themselves, no?
Millions upon millions illegal immigrants live here happily and even sent money back home on their below minimum wage earnings.
Actually it might be the NY Post is lying.....but they are known for that. Seattle has seen some job loss, but not in minimum wage jobs, they have been in manufacturing jobs which happens there from time to time as companies go from project to project. Retail jobs which tend to pay minimum wage actually has seen an increase due to the booming economy that is currently going on in Seattle. To say otherwise is being dishonest or just ignorant of what is going on in Seattle.
Your reply above to epliny still doesn't answer or even address one of Epliny's questions...namely....If $15.00 per hour is so great, so beneficial, then why not raise to $15.00 per hour immediately rather than incrementally?
Your reply above to epliny still doesn't answer or even address one of Epliny's questions...namely....If $15.00 per hour is so great, so beneficial, then why not raise to $15.00 per hour immediately rather than incrementally?
Because that is a stupid idea, any time you make a change, you want to do it incrementally to give everyone time to adjust.
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No thank you.
