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I thought the whole $15/hr nonsense had died out but it seems a lot of politicians and groups are still fighting for it. From a purely logical standpoint the whole $15/hr demand makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
The minimum wage guy gets a raise to $15/hr so then what happens to the guy/gal with a little more skill currently making $15/hr, does he get a commensurate raise to $20/hr? So then the guy with a bit more skill than that who is making $20/hr is going to revolt and demand $25/hr... so what you have here is the whole hierarchy moving upwards.
The increase in salary without a corresponding efficiency/productivity increase in the economy creates nothing but pure inflation so the net effect is absolutely and virtually nothing.
Instead of increasing minimum wage focus on improving productivity, encourage people to get more skills. Improve upward mobility by providing easier access to education. Increasing minimum wage is not the answer to current social problems.
It's absurd that such a large proportion of the general populace and people like Bernie Sanders and other politicians do not understand such basic concepts.
CEO's make millions and many don't even know how do an entry level job for the corporation they run. They get bonuses when a merger goes though and many employees lose their jobs as a result due to duplicate jobs. They also get millions in compensation when they leave a company even if it failed under their leadership. But that's never talked about. It's always lets target minimum wage workers or the lower class. People claim prices will go up as a result and that's true, but when my cell phone bill goes up did any of the lower tier workers see a raise? Nope, but I bet the CEO's did. My point CEO's don't really run a company the workers who show up and do their job do. Lets give a little more to the ones who really run it. But that will never happen.
Inflation adjusted, the minimum wage in 1968 was $10.25. I don't see why we can't set that as our national minimum wage and index it to inflation. I think there should be regional adjustments to the minimum wage. $10.25 spends totally differently in Little Rock or Mississippi compared to Manhattan or San Francisco. I also think that if the minimum wage is bumped to $15, there should be exclusions for teens and for the unemployed entering the workforce for their first 90 days.
I don't mind the minimum wage increase itself :S I just have a problem of their $ point...
mostly, everyone seems to want to call minimum wage a living wage... from the MIT study, the living wage is where the middle class wage starts... IE housing is 1/3 of take home, you get 1/3 for food/necessities, 1/3 for savings/fun... They can't even explain why housing cost being 1/3 of paycheck is good, or even why that is the "standard" for what is "living". They just took 1/3 as a ratio because someone else said it was good. If housing cost 1/2 of paycheck, then their definition would be inflated and their goal was to drive minimum wage up, not down...
So how is the MIT study not just renaming middle class?
why should the minimum wage be able to supply a middle class life? IE, what would motivate people to do better then later on?
Company profits are at record highs and that money is sitting in the pockets of executives. Sorry, but it is time for the people who created those profits to get a raise!
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Happiness-is-close
Company profits are at record highs and that money is sitting in the pockets of executives. Sorry, but it is time for the people who created those profits to get a raise!
Actually, that money is in the pockets of the shareholders. Despite their multi-million dollar salaries, the CEO pay is a drop in the bucket as a percentage of the profits.
The federal minimum wage is the bottom floor, but due to the huge variance in cost of living, especial rent, minimum wages should be determined at a local level. Tacoma, WA has two proposals on the November ballot, $12 and $15. It will be interesting to see how they go. With Seattle having the $15 minimum (phased in) and the lower cost of living in Tacoma I would think that $12 would be more appropriate, but those voters making the current state minimum of $9.47
are likely to support the $15 and there are plenty of them in Tacoma.
The minimum wage guy gets a raise to $15/hr so then what happens to the guy/gal with a little more skill currently making $15/hr, does he get a commensurate raise to $20/hr? So then the guy with a bit more skill than that who is making $20/hr is going to revolt and demand $25/hr... so what you have here is the whole hierarchy moving upwards. [/QUOTE]
Where you are getting lost is that you are still thinking in capitalistic terms where effort and skill equals reward. The current sentiment is a socialistic economy where everyone (including the government) is an equal partner in the total revenue distribution. In simplistic terms, communism has the govt own and manage the gnp and dole out the shares, socialism allows the people to own and manage the gnp and give the govt and everyone else their share. The only real difference is that the govt has less actual work to do.
Under this share and share alike economy there is no reward for doing extra work or having extra skills. Everyone gets an equal share of the profits and can live happily ever after in a luxurious lifestyle. Dont wake me up, this is a good dream! You do all the work and I get to ride your coattails and society enforces my lifestyle. whats not to love? dont get all excited, you can slow down and work less too and still get paid the same. (Unless everyone realizes that. hmmmmm)
Actually, that money is in the pockets of the shareholders. Despite their multi-million dollar salaries, the CEO pay is a drop in the bucket as a percentage of the profits.
The federal minimum wage is the bottom floor, but due to the huge variance in cost of living, especial rent, minimum wages should be determined at a local level. Tacoma, WA has two proposals on the November ballot, $12 and $15. It will be interesting to see how they go. With Seattle having the $15 minimum (phased in) and the lower cost of living in Tacoma I would think that $12 would be more appropriate, but those voters making the current state minimum of $9.47
are likely to support the $15 and there are plenty of them in Tacoma.
I'm aware of the shareholders as well. The point is that the people creating these profits are getting zero benefit from it.
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