How Would $15 Min Wage Impact Non Working Seniors? (moving, relative, retirees)
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Why do these types of questions always turn into a bunch of democrats protecting their man despite loads of FACTUAL data saying otherwise. If you support working people, you would be challenging government to get the heck out of over-regulating every nit picky issue some "do-gooder" comes up with.
Let free people take risk with capital to start or grow business unencumbered by bureaucracy.
Sorta like Libertarian principles that also reject Social Security and Medicare! Got tickets!
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cruzincat
But will the elderly be able to cope with ordering their food via a robot? You know, the ones that refuse to even get a cell phone!
It may apply to the current crop of seniors in their mid 70s-80s, but those of us in the early-late 60s have not only embraced technology but have helped it grow. We have a good percentage of employees in out IT department that are in that age group, retiring in the next 5-10 years.
While prices rise SS remains the same. This alone is bad enough, but what will happen to prices if and when the minimum wage is $15? How will those on fixed incomes be affected?
Assuming you have the same amount of money to spend, you will have to purchase less goods and services as all the items you buy will probably go up a little in costs.
If you live on your investments these may decline. As the costs go up for the companies you invest in their dividends and value of your shares may decrease.
Thus you could have less income, more inflation and higher costs.
"IF" the $15 minimum wage gets beyond pandering for votes, which the politicians do every few years, the next step will be actually implementing it. In a non-election year that will be much tougher than simply waving signs (unless an Obama-care like Executive order is simply dropped into place with no plan to pay for it).
But, suppose a $15 minimum actually became law (as it may in California and some tourist-intense areas, such as Destin, Fl.). The first thing that will happen is that middle managers (fast food) now making $15 per hour, would need a raise to $20+ per hour ... an on up the line in a domino fashion. Businesses will use whatever loopholes allow them to avoid the $15 minimum (ie; a minimum number of hours). Package and portion sizes will be further reduced - and finally, prices will continue to steadily increase (as they have) over a period of time (rather than a sudden 40-50% increase). Ultimately, workers earning minimum wage, whether $8 or $15, are not going to be any better off (relatively speaking) than they are now.
Retirees (and everyone else) are going to face price increases whether the minimum wage goes to $15 or not. Even without the minimum wage, the obscene U.S. debt will cause the government to print more money and thus, steadily devalue everyone's buying power. The thing that leaves many retirees in a bind is low investment returns and SS/Pension COLA's that don't keep pace over extended life spans. Overall, today's retirees will manage the minimum wage price increases (except those already living on a shoestring budget), but, middle-income America get further squeezed into a 2-tier social/economic system: The Haves and Have Not's.
This scenario is bunk. Several states besides California, including New York, have passed $15 minimum wage, and nothing like what you claimed has happened anywhere. First of all, on both the state and national levels, the minimum wage is implemented incrementally over several years; it doesn't jump 100% from one day to the next. Secondly, workers can't be excluded from the minimum wage law because of the number of hours they work. They are excluded because of the type of work they do. The two major groups that are excluded from the general minimum wage are agricultural workers and tipped wait staff. There may be a few others.
Wages, including the minimum wage, have been stagnant for the last 30 years, which has resulted in the percentage of Americans being in "middle America" shrinking by about 30 percent (from about 70% to 50% of the population). Meanwhile, corporate profits, and especially executive compensation, have soared as has the income and wealth gaps between the wealthy and the rest of Americans. Significantly raising the minimum wage will put upward pressure on all wages, which will benefit many more Americans than continuing to shrink Americans' paychecks.
Ummm. Will robots and their employers be paying payroll taxes and contributing to your expected SS and Medicare benefits? Will they be competing with you for limited social support service dollar Store? Hmmm money for CHIPS children's health insurance or a 90 year olds nursing home costs?
No. Social Security and Medicare taxes on 100% of the income of the rich people who own the robots (stock in the corporations that own the robots) will pay for it. It's the inevitable outcome of income and wealth stratification in a democracy. FOX News can only delay the inevitable so long. The problem is that the delay on those tax hikes is already threatening the economy as the debt to GDP ratio has sailed past the 100% mark. At some point, the United States does a Greece and it will be ugly.
WRONG, food and fuel is excluded from the figures that are used to calculate SS COLA.
Let me be as adamant in my response to you as you were in responding to the earlier poster.
WRONG
And in case you're still confused and/or unsure about your belief that food and fuel are excluded from the computation of the CPI for purposes of determining the Social Security COLA, let me state for the umpteenth time in this thread that you are unequivocally, categorically, and universally:
WRONG, food and fuel is excluded from the figures that are used to calculate SS COLA. They are an important part of the budget for seniors.
WRONG --
"Food and energy are not excluded from the Consumer Price Index. The standard CPI, which is used to make cost of living adjustments to Social Security (among other things), reflects a full consumption basket, including food and energy.
The index that excludes food and energy is the core CPI, which is used for a very different purpose -- namely, the U.S. Federal Reserve's decisions about U.S. Monetary Policy." Bureau of Labor Statistics
No. Social Security and Medicare taxes on 100% of the income of the rich people who own the robots (stock in the corporations that own the robots) will pay for it. It's the inevitable outcome of income and wealth stratification in a democracy. FOX News can only delay the inevitable so long. The problem is that the delay on those tax hikes is already threatening the economy as the debt to GDP ratio has sailed past the 100% mark. At some point, the United States does a Greece and it will be ugly.
I agree with you about the inevitability. People argue with me about it because they know I am very liberal, but that isn't what drives me to say this is inevitable. I know most of the things I would like to see won't happen anytime soon if ever. But this has to. Math doesn't take sides.
Wages, including the minimum wage, have been stagnant for the last 30 years, which has resulted in the percentage of Americans being in "middle America" shrinking by about 30 percent (from about 70% to 50% of the population). Meanwhile, corporate profits, and especially executive compensation, have soared as has the income and wealth gaps between the wealthy and the rest of Americans. Significantly raising the minimum wage will put upward pressure on all wages, which will benefit many more Americans than continuing to shrink Americans' paychecks.[/QUOTE]
The minimum wage is intended for first timers on the job and they get a raise in 3 months. Not for people who have been working for awhile. It was never intended for anyone but beginners not for adults.
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