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If one closely watched product prices, one could note that the rate of increase was nowhere near the level of wage increase. That is, they were adding in profit buffers each time the minimum wage law was pushed through.
Putting the minimum wage aside for a moment, what you have described is indicative of an oligopoly. A few sellers dominating the market are able to price their goods and services higher because there's not enough competition in the local area.
Frankly, it sounds like that if it wasn't minimum wage being used as the excuse, then it could have just as easily been any other reason for the price increases.
It would cause more job losses. Small business are the backbone of America and if you raise the min. wage it will hurt them.
Min. wage is there for a reason. For the unskilled worker who only provides the minimum amount of skills to that employer.
The wage has NOTHING to do with how you can barely live on it. If you are willing to put out the effort and learn a skill or trade then you can make more then minimum wage.
If you have to work for minimum wage that is your fault for not learning a skill or trade to make yourself more valuable.
Some people need to understand how business work, a business cannot just pay someone 7.25 to just show up and spend 8 hours and do nothing.
The employee needs to be more valuable then the 7.25 they pay you, if you are not then you have taken profits from the business with the business not getting a return on its investment.
If you are a min. wage worker you really need to take a long look at yourself and see why. Then do something about it to make yourself more valuable to someone.
Ok, so maybe the question should hav been, should we decrease the minimum wage, so that there would be more jobs available?
In a sense we are because unemployment handouts are being extended indefinitely so that millions of people no longer even have to work for a living. How long can they keep people doing nothing but being paid?
Whatever they do, I think minimum wage should be higher than unemployment and welfare because there should be some incentive for people to work for a living.
Not just no, but hell no! It should have never been risen to 7.25 as it is. Why on earth some teenager still in high school, one who barely graduated with a GED or someone just out of highschool with NO working experience should be making 7.25/hr. It should be lowered to around 5.50, maybe 5.75/hr tops and if you want to make more, than learn skills through certification programs or go to college. Min. wage was never meant to be used as a wage to support your family on but to encourage people to learn a skill or trade to move up through the workforce
Highly pissed me off that with all my years (a total of almost 8 years!) working in QC that I was only making about 10.75/hr (avg rate for the area sadly) and that someone just starting out in QC for the first time with NO experience started at 7.25/hr on reg shift or made 8.25/hr on swing then in less than 6mths because of raise could be at 9.00/hr!
No, but it should be tethered to some measures of cost of living, and it should be based locally not federally.
Just as an example:
Minimum wage should be 2 weeks pay (at 40 hours per week) after taxes equal to the cost of rent of the lowest 10% of housing within 5 miles of the jobsite. (maybe 10 miles if rural)
I think something similar to that would be fair. There needs to be some worker protection as well, too. For example if someone is taking night classes, and their schedule is reglularly days, then the employer can't just switch them to nights and force the employee to choose between work and school, there needs to be adequate notice.
The problem with that, the slumlords will just raise their rents to whatever, knowing that the government will raise minimum wage so they can get whatever they ask for rent.
It should be supply and demand. If rent levels are too high and wages too low, landlords will have empty apartments and will have to lower their prices.
Not just no, but hell no! It should have never been risen to 7.25 as it is. Why on earth some teenager still in high school, one who barely graduated with a GED or someone just out of highschool with NO working experience should be making 7.25/hr. It should be lowered to around 5.50, maybe 5.75/hr tops and if you want to make more, than learn skills through certification programs or go to college. Min. wage was never meant to be used as a wage to support your family on but to encourage people to learn a skill or trade to move up through the workforce
Highly pissed me off that with all my years (a total of almost 8 years!) working in QC that I was only making about 10.75/hr (avg rate for the area sadly) and that someone just starting out in QC for the first time with NO experience started at 7.25/hr on reg shift or made 8.25/hr on swing then in less than 6mths because of raise could be at 9.00/hr!
True, and very high minimum wage encourages more outsourcing of jobs and more the more hiring of illegals who think $4 or $5 an hour is a real great deal and will gladly take those jobs. Illegal immigration certain increased with higher minimum wages and so those jobs don't go to Americans at all.
Highly pissed me off that with all my years (a total of almost 8 years!) working in QC that I was only making about 10.75/hr
If you wanted to make more than 10.75 an hour, then perhaps you should have gone to college or become certified in a trade or at least worked harder at improving your marketability.
At least that's what I've heard from every one who wants to reduce or eliminate the minimum wage.
What are minimal wage jobs? The only thing comes to mine are restaurants and department stores. I don't know what a factory in Florida or Alabama will pay their employees. I believe minimal wage should be set by state government. I also don't see why a person who makes $10 a hour will be upset if the feds set minimal wage to $7.25.
Putting the minimum wage aside for a moment, what you have described is indicative of an oligopoly. A few sellers dominating the market are able to price their goods and services higher because there's not enough competition in the local area.
Frankly, it sounds like that if it wasn't minimum wage being used as the excuse, then it could have just as easily been any other reason for the price increases.
Yet it was consistent across the board. Entertainment, clothing, rent, food, etc...
And this was a smaller town, but not severely small as there was plenty of competition and the range of businesses were across the board (big chains, small mom and pops, etc...)
It would seem plausible if it was merely a very small town with only a few stores, but it had 2 full size malls, and chain stores of most names.
A collusion as you suggestion seems unlikely and as I said, these increases occurred every time Minimum wage was raised. The cost increases were almost instant (the moment legislation passed, increases happened).
I think this was simply independent opportunity to raise prices with a very good pat answer. I would watch people ask and then hear the pat answer and say things like "Well that's good, they needed a raise".
While some increases were no doubt out of necessity, many places took advantage of such. I worked for a small town video store chain (he had like 12-14 stores around the areas) and the owner stated he was capitalizing on the good excuse for an increase above necessity.
It was simply too good of an excuse to pass up. People did not argue with it and nobody questioned that it didn't match up in its relative increase.
Btw, I saw the same signs here in North Texas and this place is far too big and competitive to suggest such.
If you wanted to make more than 10.75 an hour, then perhaps you should have gone to college or become certified in a trade or at least worked harder at improving your marketability.
At least that's what I've heard from every one who wants to reduce or eliminate the minimum wage.
My trade was earned through military and I was going to college.
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