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If I was a McDonald's executive I'd be salivating at the thought of raising the minimum wage to 15.00 an hour. The avg. franchise takes in approx. one million per year of which the corporation gets 4% of the gross monthly sales. Wages go up, and I have all I need to up the cost to the consumer which in turn puts more money into the corporations pockets. All the while the cost of doing business just got passed along to the consumer....
That would make sense if the demand for McDonalds is inelastic. I dont believe it is though. If you push the price high enough , people will stop eating fast food.
That would make sense if the demand for McDonalds is inelastic. I dont believe it is though. If you push the price high enough , people will stop eating fast food.
Well, just got another wake up, went to a chicken sandwich chain today, prices had noticeably jumped since I was there last, about 2 months ago. I questioned the manager and was told that they went up 21-24% to deal with the minimum wage costs.
A chicken sandwich,waffle fries and a drink (meal) cost $9 plus 9% tax. No, this is NOT NYC or some other big city btw.
Of course, but a rising minimum wage will spur it along faster. You saw it happen in grocery stores, then Wal-Mart and HD. This new restaurant is a basic business model, nothing that should raise questions they seem to be doing well and have a handful of locations with more slated to open. The only major difference being the self ordering. We should be focused on finding ways to get people to add more value to the work they do (like school, training, etc) rather than forcing arbitrary pay increases.
But getting people more schooling,training is not gonna work if there are not enough jobs for everyone or some people are not smart enough to do more. The bigger overall problem is most all these jobs are gonna be automated eventually so in the long run getting more schooling or training is not gonna help you.
It would make the most sense for the minimum wage to be set locally. In cities around here with the median family income over $100k, people are willing to pay more for those things provided by higher minimum wage workers. In fact, fast food is already at $13-14 just to attract workers. In places like Tulsa OK where the median is only $52, higher prices will cause a hardship for people having to pay more to cover higher minimum wages, especially those making only minimum. Raise it, and they make more, but everything costs more. Businesses will not absorb that additional cost.
Yes, locally.
and by locally I mean set the min.wage at the place of employment.
Colorado just passed Amendment 70, which will raise the minimum wage in stages until it reaches $12 in 2020. We're friends with the manager at a small privately-held company in Denver, so I asked him how it would affect the store's bottom line. He said that the owner and managers had met and determined that they would absorb the costs without any workforce reduction. I was happy to hear it.
to be honest, that makes a lot more sense realistically, why? Because it will progress with living costs, and be more sensible, not hitting everyone with a big hike.
Yanno, it really upsets me, that more people do not even realize, the impact raising the minimum wage to $15.00 an hour is going to have on everything else.
American intellect, has not progressed, it's regressed. All people see are dollar signs, and are unable to factor in anything else...and this will definitely have a huge ripple effect...on everything else....such as, transportation, food prices, gas prices, of course labor prices, and in the end, prices will go up so much all over, that $15.00 won't really help?
to raise it slowly is a much better economic alignment all the way around. I just cannot believe the lack of intelligence in America? And believe me, I'm not the sharpest tac around, however, I am able to view a ripple effect...from all of this? What do they think, if they raise labor in McDonalds to $15.00 an hour, food prices aren't going to go up?
How can they afford to pay their workers that much and still maintain costs? They can't, and won't.
The person who wrote, that minimum wage was created for kids...and so that adults couldn't take advantage of child labor. If $15.00 an hour becomes minimum wage, everything is going to go up...all restaurant prices....all motels/hotel prices, I mean, every company who pays minimum wage will have to raise their prices...simple as that? So, everyone is going to be affected....
When gas prices go up, same thing happens....?????
Colorado just passed Amendment 70, which will raise the minimum wage in stages until it reaches $12 in 2020. We're friends with the manager at a small privately-held company in Denver, so I asked him how it would affect the store's bottom line. He said that the owner and managers had met and determined that they would absorb the costs without any workforce reduction. I was happy to hear it.
Is he currently paying $11.95/hour? If not then he's full of it. Maybe he's planning on closing down in 2019 anyway?
He is going to pass the costs onto the customers so prices will go up. Not just him but for all other businesses that have to pay more. We the people end up paying for it.
btw Why does it matter if one business owner of a small business says that? One data point and you're jumping for joy?
OK, here's my commentary on posts 1-40. If I'm being repetitive on some issues, I apologize. I don't have time to read the whole thing right now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cremebrulee
Protesters are still going strong for a minimum wage reset of $15.00 an hour.
Minimum wage was set, many years ago, to keep people/businesses from taking advantage of kids.
years ago, kids worked all the minimum wage jobs....
so, now you raise the minimum wage and what happens...
either the businesses will find a way to do away with the workers, or charge much higher prices...
the ramifications of this will be bad....this isn't a win/win
and the worst thing about this, is, it won't give many an incentive to work hard and do better by themselves, to take night courses, and go the extra mile....to educate themselves and get better jobs.
I would like to see where in minimum wage law it is written that min. wage is for kids.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suburban_Guy
While I feel bad for McDonald's workers with 4 kids and struggling to pay the bills, I think no one can disagree that the intent of these fat food jobs was more for younger people getting their start in the industry.
It has morphed into something else, but you can't blame these workers either. But it's not the fault of the corporations.
See my previous response. I'd like to see where in McDonald's (Burger King, Arby's Wendy's, etc) business plans it says that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by zzzSnorlax
Keep in mind that the upper few percentage points of earners would have a disproportionately upward skewing effect on the average since the disparity between what someone working at McDonalds as a fry cook makes vs what the CEO of McDonalds makes is huge.
Assuming it is just a general average, one person working for $1000 an hour and 100 people working for $7.50 gives an average around $16 an hour even though 100 out of 101 people in the average make $7.50 per hour.
Exactly! And though I know this has been discussed, I'd like to say for health care workers the doctor's wages must have been factored in to make it as high as in WorkingClassHero's link. I was not making that much as an RN before I retired ~ 1 year ago. Granted, I worked in an office where wages are lower, but there are plenty of HCWs who make even less, e.g. CNAs, CMAs, phlebotomists, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cremebrulee
it is very well true and has been that way for years....and a lot of women use it to make more welfare...
Oh, c'mon! You've raised a family, no? Would you have another baby, and another, and another just to get more welfare, temporarily?
Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroWord
Speaking as a liberal Democrat, say get rid of minimum wage completely.
That is more the Libertarian POV. While that might work for professionals, who make well above minimum wage to begin with, it doesn't work for people in very low skill (low wage) jobs who don't have much if any bargaining power. They don't want to do the job for $7.50? Fine, there are plenty more out there who will!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Statz2k10
The thing that concerns me a lot with raising the min wage to $15.00 is what about all the people already making $15.50 or $16.00 or even $17.00? Do these people get a raise also?
There are a lot of jobs out that that people have worked at for a long time & now they make $16.00 per/hour. If that was me & I saw people now being bumped up to $15.00 per hour I'd be pissed.
You also will have people being happy with $15.00 and not want to better themselves because now they have a "living wage".
I don't have any #'s but I would love to know what % of people making poor wages are some what a result of them getting pregnant at a young age and not being able to to go school. So they get trapped into these jobs that pay low wages. Instead of working a low page job and putting yourself in school to make much more later on. Sure it might be a rough 5-6 years but in the long run it will make a difference.
And just in case anybody is wondering the reason I use that as an example is because women who I went to high school with that are working the kind of jobs that pay low wages. Are the same women that got pregnant in there late teens or early 20's. They had to stop any schooling they had because they were now a mom.
It amazes me how many people are single with 2-3 kids yet living hard times because they have min wage jobs. And yes some people are in unfortunate situations not in their control. I.e. spouse died. But let's be honest that is not the majority of those examples.
I'll take these two bolds. Yes, I think raising the minimum wage like that would cause a rise for all jobs paying just above the proposed minimum wage, maybe even up to 2X the proposed. Who's going to want to work for $30/hr as an RN when the minimum wage is just 1/2 that? Currently it's now 3-4 X the min. wage, depending on the state.
Yes, the $16.00 per hr employee is going to expect a raise. If min. wage doubles, that person is going to expect $32. Even if you just raise the other worker's wages say, $7.50/hr (assuming that's min. wage in your state) the $16/h employee should expect $23.50.
I'll take these two bolds. Yes, I think raising the minimum wage like that would cause a rise for all jobs paying just above the proposed minimum wage, maybe even up to 2X the proposed. Who's going to want to work for $30/hr as an RN when the minimum wage is just 1/2 that? Currently it's now 3-4 X the min. wage, depending on the state.
Yes, the $16.00 per hr employee is going to expect a raise. If min. wage doubles, that person is going to expect $32. Even if you just raise the other worker's wages say, $7.50/hr (assuming that's min. wage in your state) the $16/h employee should expect $23.50.
Why would people be pissed about having their bargaining power improved? Someone making $15 now will greatly improve their leverage over their employer, so they will get a substantial raise, yet these people are pissed at this and want very low wages for other people even if it means lower wages for themselves? How about raising all boats instead of fighting with each other to keep all workers' pay and benefits as low as possible?
Its also a big myth that people will flock to deadbeat jobs and not bother to educate themselves if minimum wage jobs pay better. In every country with much higher effective minimum wage than America, there are no shortage of people wanting to fulfill their intellectual potential.
Why would people be pissed about having their bargaining power improved? Someone making $15 now will greatly improve their leverage over their employer, so they will get a substantial raise, yet these people are pissed at this and want very low wages for other people even if it means lower wages for themselves? How about raising all boats instead of fighting with each other to keep all workers' pay and benefits as low as possible?
Its also a big myth that people will flock to deadbeat jobs and not bother to educate themselves if minimum wage jobs pay better. In every country with much higher effective minimum wage than America, there are no shortage of people wanting to fulfill their intellectual potential.
The point is, someone now making $15/hr might get just a token raise. I've seen it happen when the starting salary is raised for a job, that current employees do not get a commensurate raise. Sometimes the new employees are making more than long-time employees.
Seriously? "(F)ulfill their intellectual potential"? LOL! In most European countries the decision that a student is college bound, or not, is made in about 8th grade, sometimes younger. Not to mention, I didn't say anything about people forgoing education if minimum wage is raised. That never occurred to me.
I don't want minimum wage increases. I want congress to do it's constitutional duty to balance trade and seek surpluses and even tariffs and to regulate immigration all in the best interests of the average American. Then let the market decide wages and prices.
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No, this is NOT NYC or some other big city btw.
