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Actually they might not even have to sell their wares for more money. The heads of some of the larger corporations may have to take a smaller paycheck (one that they probably won't even feel. It makes folks like the CEO of Costco an outcast for having standards regarding how much more of a salary he commands compared to his lowest paid employees, since it sets an unpopular precedent.) Or they can choose to raise the prices, but it wouldn't be out of necessity; it would merely be as a matter of choice. And you know in these current times more people then ever may have to turn to these minimum wage, supposedly only for teenagers, jobs to feed their families or pay their mortgage. The point of minimum wage is to kind of avoid the return of slave labor, although I am sure there are those that would argue a free market should sort that out & not legal means, b/c it has worked so well in the past & never resulted in any sort of extreme backlash to the other end of the political spectrum
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Originally Posted by jamesandveybe
This scare is BS. Businesses simply don't want to pay their people more, and businesses know they will have to get off their butts and work to sell their wares for a little more money after the law kicks in. It evens out. Blame the Federal Reserve and the missing gold standard if you want to have a fit about inflation.
Federal minimum wages have gone up dozens of times, none of which contributed to financial crisis.
It doesn't create a crisis when you raise minimum wage, it only accelerates inflation.
And if you think the gold standard would stave off inflation, you need to study some history. Part of the worst economic conditions in history were under the gold standard.
Oh, and if you think a company won't raise prices in order to pay the new mandated raise, I have some oceanfront property in Oklahoma for sell really cheap.
I agree about one thing, it depends on the worker. One reason I think I hate big box stores. Most of them, have a lot of people working hiding from the customer. I am sick and tired of going into a Lowes or Home Depot and a few people helping and the others walking around telling you let me get someone to help you or I will be right back and an hour later they walk by and ignore you, trying to get out of finding out the answer or whatever. They do not even deserve minumum wage, and these are often adults not teens or young adults. Often I think they may feel that they were forced to work at this suck of a job for whatever reason and that they can swing by and not really do anything. Again, not all places are like this but, I have seen far too many. So, I guess, they get what they pay for, if Walmart pays minimum wage usually you can see the type of help they have and that is why I do not usually shop there, I try to go to smaller places owned by individuals who know their products and can help me.
And if you think the gold standard would stave off inflation, you need to study some history. Oh, and if you think a company won't raise prices in order to pay the new mandated raise, I have some oceanfront property in Oklahoma for sell really cheap.
No. Look at inflation after (1) the Federal Reserve corporation was created and also (2) after the USA left the gold standard for currency in favor of worthless paper. Anyone who can read a line chart can see the impact. And if you're thinking CPI, forget it. It's worthless.
As to price increases, I already said that is part of the deal. Check out a chart online about the buying power of minimum wage. It look slike an inverted inflation chart. Incidentally, real inflation has been 10% per year since 2001.
The world was on the gold standard when it started.
Didn't help. (In fact, that was part of what started it.)
The gold standard is not inflation proof at all.
In reference to Wal-Mart, there's an interesting book called "The Wal-Mart Effect". It takes a little while, but it has the exact opposite effect of what everyone is scared of; it actually relieves poverty by lowering the cost of living in the surrounding area.
I don't understand the justification for a "living wage". Let's say the "living wage" in an area needs to be $15/hour. How do you justifyl paying a barista or burger flipper that much money for low-skilled work? What about the forklift driver who's making $10/hour? Will he keep that job or go to work for the fast food restaurant? Will his employer raise his pay by fifty percent to keep him? Will that have an artificial upward pressure on wages and hence, prices?
I thought that we were supposed to pay people based on their skills and abilities? If you're going to artificially raise someone's pay to create a socialist utopia why stop there? And how does that prevent the "living wage" from continuing to increase non-stop due to the continued escalation in costs and prices?
My understanding of the minimum wage was that it was never meant to be a "living wage". It was always my understanding that it was a springboard to something else--learning more and newer skills, getting an education, etc. Someone please explain.
Location: Oklahoma(formerly SoCalif) Originally Mich,
13,387 posts, read 19,436,175 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobmulk
I don't understand the justification for a "living wage". Let's say the "living wage" in an area needs to be $15/hour. How do you justifyl paying a barista or burger flipper that much money for low-skilled work? What about the forklift driver who's making $10/hour? Will he keep that job or go to work for the fast food restaurant? Will his employer raise his pay by fifty percent to keep him? Will that have an artificial upward pressure on wages and hence, prices?
I thought that we were supposed to pay people based on their skills and abilities? If you're going to artificially raise someone's pay to create a socialist utopia why stop there? And how does that prevent the "living wage" from continuing to increase non-stop due to the continued escalation in costs and prices?
My understanding of the minimum wage was that
Quote:
it was never meant to be a "living wage"
. It was always my understanding that it was a springboard to something else--learning more and newer skills, getting an education, etc. Someone please explain.
Where did you hear that? At one time only one person was need to keep bread on the table for a whole family. Alot of these people worked in factories and worked over 40hrs a week and made minimum wage.
The ones earning the money are the ones who make it a living wage by living adjustments.
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