Increase in minimum wage could hurt businesses?

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

The market job was a union job so they were pretty good wages and got health care too. The bussing job paid tips in addition to minimum wage. Worked MWFSS, school all day on TTh. Actually did ok. Figured it was about $2,700 a month in mid 80s dollars. The GF I lived also worked and shared expenses. Also got free meals at the restaurant gig. Only did that schedule for two years, it was tough for sure.

Too bad the unions have been gutted, huh?

[khwaidee1 196]

I think the markets in So Cal are still union shops, the food and commercial workers or something like that. Union dues weren't that much and I was making like $9.25hr when the minimum wage was something like $3.75hr. It was a good gig.

[Not a Tailor 1,370]

I think the markets in So Cal are still union shops, the food and commercial workers or something like that. Union dues weren't that much and I was making like $9.25hr when the minimum wage was something like $3.75hr. It was a good gig.

3.75 in 1985 dollars would be 8.29 in today's dollars. The minimum wage now is less than 8/hr. To have the same buying power as what you were making at 9.25, a student working today would have to be making 20.44/hr.

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

So you bagged groceries 40 hours and bussed tables 40 hours. That's 80 hours out of a 168 hour week. Factor in 6 hours a night for sleeping for 42 hours a week. 122 hours in a week are then covered. Add in an hour a day for cooking/eating, that's 129 hours covered. Add in a half hour a day for daily commute (assuming you live near where you work and go to school, which probably isn't the case. 132 hours covered. That leaves just 36 hours for school and school related things and rest/entertainment.

And in today's economy/school system, even doing that much working won't get you a car, an apartment and pay for school.

My wife who has never had a job in her life (always worked for her family) took a 5 month course at the end of last year to get her nail tech license. She works for a Vietnamese couple who pay her 60% of her take. Over the last month she has averaged over 300 per day before tips which average 175 per week. That is not super money but it is 55,000+ per year for someone who has zero work history, a high school education, barely speaks English and is in the middle on nowhere Idaho. She does have to work about 50 hours (and work Saturdays - Sundays and Mondays off). She is artistic and has a talent for this type of thing but most everyone has a talent or can develop a skill in *something*

Her friends tried to get her to work at other places (hobby lobby, fast food joints) but she looked around and chose an option where she could work harder and make more and what was best considering her situation. She makes more money than her entire family combined and you would think she would be thrilled - she is not, she seethes that she has to give 40% off the top (and I'm taking 25% for taxes)... I doubt she will be working for them for very long, she is now starting to do false eyelashes (charging 60 an hour) and is planning how she is going to make her million opening a business with two friends.. She might make it if some western thinking person (or me) doesn't convince her to be happy with what she's is making now.

You don't have to take a job for minimum, there are options - they may require more planning and sacrifice but the options are there. If people refuse to take ####### jobs for ####### pay (and we can stop companies giving those jobs to illegals) or at least dedicate themselves to jumping on these ####### jobs at the first chance then companies will be forced to pay more.

edit: Not sure why ####### is censored.. it was the nice word for poop.

Edited July 8, 2015 by OnMyWayID

[Póg mo 1,749]

A good idea - or at least put a cap on the mortgage deduction so we are not subsidizing million dollar homes.

That would not help workers at the bottom much - unless the plan was to use the money from the mortgage deduction removal to lower the tax rate at the bottom.

It might discourage folks from borrowing as much money, which in turn would reduce property inflation, which in turn would give folks on lower incomes to afford to purchase homes. We are not just talking about million dollar homes either. The whole using your home to store and accumulate wealth deal has gotten way out of hand.

[Póg mo 1,749]

To learn job skills, discipline and how the job market operate. There are some jobs that are "entry level", jobs that provide training and allow you to develop other skill sets and move into jobs that do pay enough to survive. To think otherwise would be naïve. A job at a fast food restaurant was always kind of a summer job or job for college students to have extra money, it was never meant to support a family of four. When I was in college I bagged groceries full time and bussed tables full time. Yes, two jobs and full school was hard but, I had my own apartment, relatively new car, and did ok. Then I got a degree and moved on.

A lot has changed since the 1980s. How many good paying industrial jobs have been shipped overseas and replaced by not so well paying service jobs?

[OnMyWayID 1,489]

It might discourage folks from borrowing as much money, which in turn would reduce property inflation, which in turn would give folks on lower incomes to afford to purchase homes. We are not just talking about million dollar homes either. The whole using your home to store and accumulate wealth deal has gotten way out of hand.

I can't disagree with any of that.. I would also like to see reforms to the Mortgage laws to auto-reset payments once a year based on any over payments made during the year - I think allowing that would have reduced some of the pain of 2008 and rewards people for paying down their loans without having to refinance or wait to the end of the loan.

[Dashinka 23,246]

The thing that these math equations always conveniently leave out is that when a majority of businesses increase wages in a region, the residents have more money and they therefore can make more money with a minimal price increase (often the price increase is a matter of a couple of pennies). In many more cases, a significant price increase is, much more accurately, a matter of corporate greed than a matter of necessity.

What I find difficult to understand is that if corporations are greedy, why would they raise wages unless they have too? The argument here is that if the government raises the minimum wage would it have an effect on employment. A raise in the minimum wage does not guarantee that all businesses will raise the wages of employees that are making more than the minimum wage. I for one do not expect to see a wage increase if the federal minimum wage goes up. So will the government include requirements that all wages must increase at the same percentage as the minimum wage? That is a much different argument, and essentially just increases inflation overall which really isn't good for anyone.

Assuming that only the minimum wage is increased, prices will rise or profits will fall or other measures will be implemented to keep operating costs in line. This can lead to some losing their jobs.

[Robby999 1,024]

The Eastman Examiner was invited to try out the all new Kiosk ordering system at McDonalds in Eastman. Along with the roll out of the new kiosk is a new menu item called the Build Your Own Burger. Of course the traditional menu is still available and all orders may be made with the new kiosk.

The owner of the Eastman store, Tom Pizald, explained that the new system is only being installed in a select few stores in the Macon District and due to the recent renovations within the last year, the Eastman store made a great location to place the new system.

Included in the change is a whole new dining experience not normally associated with fast food restaurants. Instead of placing your order and waiting at the counter, customers now place their order, either at the kiosk or at a traditional register, and then find their seat. An electronic coaster given the customer, shows the host or hostess your location in the store and your order is then brought to you. Additionally, servers are constantly in the dining area ready to wait on the customer. Much like a normal dine-in restaurant, servers will get your drink refills, provide any condiments, and even clean up your trash.

http://eastmanexaminer.com/eastman-mcdonalds-introduces-kiosk-ordering/

I suspect they will all be reclassified as waiters and waitresses in the future and have their wages recalculated accordingly. They just thought minimum wage sucked, waitresses and waiters are paid about $2.13 per hour plus tips. I wouldn't expect the tips to be very generous either since McDonalds isn't a mecca for the high rollers and big tippers.

[Póg mo 1,749]

What I find difficult to understand is that if corporations are greedy, why would they raise wages unless they have too? The argument here is that if the government raises the minimum wage would it have an effect on employment. A raise in the minimum wage does not guarantee that all businesses will raise the wages of employees that are making more than the minimum wage. I for one do not expect to see a wage increase if the federal minimum wage goes up. So will the government include requirements that all wages must increase at the same percentage as the minimum wage? That is a much different argument, and essentially just increases inflation overall which really isn't good for anyone.

Why? I think folks with lots of debt, would be very happy to see inflation.

[Dashinka 23,246]

Why? I think folks with lots of debt, would be very happy to see inflation.

Only if they incurred that debt at a fixed rate. If the inflation rate goes up, the purchasing power of consumers as well as the overall standard of living will go down. Other markets such as housing or buying durable goods on credit will decrease as well with increased interest rates.