Posted on Apr 1, 2016
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California minimum wage
I'm hearing in the news that California has passed a bill to raise the minimum wage to $15/HR. While I have major economic reservations against doubling the minimum wage, I also have another issue I would like addressed by those in favor of this type of measure. There are many in the workforce that have attended school, additional training, and gained seniority to be able to reach $15/hr. Do you think minimum wage legislation includes/ should include mandatory proportional wage increases so those who worked hard to get ahead are not defacto demoted because of this measure? This is a separate question not concerning inflation, automation/ labor opportunity costs, ect... please keep it to this topic if you answer.http://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/new-york-california-move-closer-15-hour-minimum-wage-n549161
I'm hearing in the news that California has passed a bill to raise the minimum wage to $15/HR. While I have major economic reservations against doubling the minimum wage, I also have another issue I would like addressed by those in favor of this type of measure. There are many in the workforce that have attended school, additional training, and gained seniority to be able to reach $15/hr. Do you think minimum wage legislation includes/ should include mandatory proportional wage increases so those who worked hard to get ahead are not defacto demoted because of this measure? This is a separate question not concerning inflation, automation/ labor opportunity costs, ect... please keep it to this topic if you answer.http://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/new-york-california-move-closer-15-hour-minimum-wage-n549161
New York, California Move Closer to $15-an-Hour Minimum Wage
Posted from nbcnews.comPosted in these groups: 
Economy
Minimum Wage
Economy Minimum Wage
Edited 8 y ago
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 9
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Yes. Raise it to $20.00. I'm DEAD SERIOUS. For those that want that, I remember as a young troop, my PSG and 1SG were always saying beware of what you ask for....you might get more than what you asked for. In this case, they REALLY did. I'll give them $20.00 an hour, and they freakin feel good. On top of the world right? Ok here is where the other shoe drops...I have to cut your hours back to keep my company fiscally responsible and alive. Didn't see that part now did you? I'll do you one better...to keep YOU employed, I'm going to lay off half of your workforce AND I STILL want the same level of production from this section OR I'll lay you off too. Healthcare...enjoy paying for that too. I'm all for everyone getting paid, but this was already proven to be a mistake in Seattle with the gentleman who raised his entire company to 70K minimum. He's struggling to stay afloat.
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SSG Warren Swan
SSG Trevor S. - it doesn't. They're about to get the green weenie hard, deep and....dry. I know that is crude to say, but it's true. This is like you or me enlisting and instead of a Shark Attack when we get off the cattlecar, the DS hands everyone meritorious promotions to FULL General. How is the Army going to survive with everyone suddenly instant four star officers? What about that old crusty four star who came in as a 2LT? He outranks us ONLY by TIS/TIG. We're going to drive him to an "early" retirement, and bankrupt the Army. DOD would be bankrupt within a year? If DOD goes "broke", no one gets paid, but we have lots of cool coins to give our disgruntle peers who only have coins that don't mean crap themselves.
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SSG (Join to see)
In order for you to cut people or hours intelligently at least one of three condition must exist, either you could have gotten by all along without paying someone for those hours or your willing to cede market share to someone else or the market can't bear the burden of increased cost so demand is destroyed resulting in less need for workers.
If you need all your workers to produce a good or service and you get rid of half of them, you are going to produce less goods and services or goods and services of less quality.
If you may decide to get rid of some of the less profitable aspects of your business to reduce overhead, a competitor will eventually fill the void you leave open.
If you were selling 2K cheeseburgers a day for 99 cents each, and now your only selling 1600 a day because you raised the price up to 1.19... some demand has been destroyed, and you will need a little less labor. The upside to that is those still working are at least being paid a decent wage... demand for goods and services will eventually increase with less people living in poverty.
If you need all your workers to produce a good or service and you get rid of half of them, you are going to produce less goods and services or goods and services of less quality.
If you may decide to get rid of some of the less profitable aspects of your business to reduce overhead, a competitor will eventually fill the void you leave open.
If you were selling 2K cheeseburgers a day for 99 cents each, and now your only selling 1600 a day because you raised the price up to 1.19... some demand has been destroyed, and you will need a little less labor. The upside to that is those still working are at least being paid a decent wage... demand for goods and services will eventually increase with less people living in poverty.
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SSG Warren Swan
SSG (Join to see) - That is a rosy way of looking at it, but until we get to that point where I begin to see profits again due to less people in poverty, I'm running the risk of either cutting hours, personnel, both, or shutting down which helps no one...especially me.
What isn't mentioned is the fact that am I the business owner ready for this sudden jump? McDonalds has been experimenting in Japan with a fully "automated" store. You come in pick what you want, the way you want it, and get it. For a large initial impact to the pocket, I make long term money without the overhead of people. If the corporation contracts out maintance to a local or even internally keeps it, that's more money the locals will not see, but I loose nothing overall.
Now move that to whatever business you want, and what does the local economy get? They loose actually. Detroit is proof that technology can kill your chance at a job. And they did it when it was harder to design things. Tech is cheaper now, and depending on where it's originated like McDonalds in japan, it'll be damn near perfect when it comes here.
This will be a "fun" experiment until technology shows up.
What isn't mentioned is the fact that am I the business owner ready for this sudden jump? McDonalds has been experimenting in Japan with a fully "automated" store. You come in pick what you want, the way you want it, and get it. For a large initial impact to the pocket, I make long term money without the overhead of people. If the corporation contracts out maintance to a local or even internally keeps it, that's more money the locals will not see, but I loose nothing overall.
Now move that to whatever business you want, and what does the local economy get? They loose actually. Detroit is proof that technology can kill your chance at a job. And they did it when it was harder to design things. Tech is cheaper now, and depending on where it's originated like McDonalds in japan, it'll be damn near perfect when it comes here.
This will be a "fun" experiment until technology shows up.
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If this indeed the case I expect many people in California to become unemployed. There are many other effect to this as well as you touched on like devaluing a college education. Who needs a free college degree when you can make the same flipping burgers. This may have an impact on the cost of education - lowering the cost per credit hour but that will more than likely be recouped by colleges and universities with larger classes or reducing resources. The student will pay one way or the other. However the greater immediate impact is going to be on the small business owner. That is some rather simple math in figuring out how many employers at what rate do I need to remain profitable. Such a hike will more that likely make many small business models economically unsustainable. Thus removing competition from the market will increase the supply of goods and services. This will cause prices to increase and unemployment to go up that will then cause the economy to contract causing more people to get laid off. The market will correct its self no matter how much people try to tinker with the system. This is a short run solution with negative long run effect. But I guess people without a degree who don't understand this don't really care or understand how this is going to play out. Politicians pandering to demands know all to well that people with the jobs and paying taxes will be paying for all the unemployed and their political gains - they don't really care either what's best - just doing whatever it takes to get elected and reelected.
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SSG (Join to see)
If your overhead goes up you have three options, raise prices, reduce overhead in other areas and/or reduce profits. If I buy 100 cheap umbrellas made in China for $2 a piece, and pay someone $10 an hour to stand on the street corner and sell them for 8 hours. It's going to cost me $280 to pay my guy and buy the umbrellas for each day. Let's say I'm selling the umbrellas for $5 a piece, and earning $220 profit every day.
Minimum wage goes up to $15 an hour, so of course I'm going to pay my guy on the street corner at least $15 an hour. Now it costs me $320 a day to pay my guy and get my wholesale umbrellas. I could simply accept that I now get $180 a day in profit, or I could hire another umbrella seller and put him on a different street corner and try to bring my profits up that way. I might also consider raising my price from $5 for an umbrella to $6 for an umbrella... that way I increase my profits to $280 a day, however there is a risk that less people will buy less $6 umbrella's than $5 umbrellas... so that's risky. Another option might be to buy some umbrella's from India that cost $1.60 a piece instead of $2, that way my profit margin stays the same and I just have to hope my customers don't mind using the even cheaper umbrellas.
Minimum wage goes up to $15 an hour, so of course I'm going to pay my guy on the street corner at least $15 an hour. Now it costs me $320 a day to pay my guy and get my wholesale umbrellas. I could simply accept that I now get $180 a day in profit, or I could hire another umbrella seller and put him on a different street corner and try to bring my profits up that way. I might also consider raising my price from $5 for an umbrella to $6 for an umbrella... that way I increase my profits to $280 a day, however there is a risk that less people will buy less $6 umbrella's than $5 umbrellas... so that's risky. Another option might be to buy some umbrella's from India that cost $1.60 a piece instead of $2, that way my profit margin stays the same and I just have to hope my customers don't mind using the even cheaper umbrellas.
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My daughter is a certified EMT and certified Phlebotomist with a BS in Biology, earning $10.50 per hour drawing blood at the local hospital. How much should she earn when the Burger King "food specialist" gets paid (notice I didn't say "earns") $15.00?
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SSG (Join to see)
The $15 an hour minimum wage isn't limited to food service workers, she would need to be paid at least $15 an hour as well. Then there is the issue of finding the qualified people needed to do jobs that require some skill. The local hospital had to pay a few bucks over minimum wage to attract qualified workers previously... if they want to retain them they are going to have to continue doing the same.
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Maj John Bell
As an EMT I have to pay $1000 to go through the basic certification course. Once certified I go on runs and see, smell, touch and hear things God did not intend people to see, smell, touch, and hear(still kinds of sounds like working in fast food). I don't make $15/hr. You raise burger flipping to $15/hr.
Why does anyone become an EMT? Well than you raise my wage except my town can't afford it. People are already losing their houses because of property tax foreclosures. So you shut down the ambulance service, fire department too. I just figured it out, were following the Detroit Business plan.
Why does anyone become an EMT? Well than you raise my wage except my town can't afford it. People are already losing their houses because of property tax foreclosures. So you shut down the ambulance service, fire department too. I just figured it out, were following the Detroit Business plan.
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