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No one is going to hire a person for $15/hr to do a job that requires few skills and is only worth (to the employer) $5.50/hr (for example). That work will be redistributed to other departments/employees, increasing their work load. I have seen it happen.
The government cannot make such decree's and just expect business to roll over. Isn't going to happen.
Pay scales are set by the Market. That is as it should be.
Anyone who can't 'make it' on what they are now earning simply needs to learn new skills. It isn't as easy as it once was — largely because of government interference in the free market. Don't like it? Vote Republican!
No one is going to hire a person for $15/hr to do a job that requires few skills and is only worth (to the employer) $5.50/hr (for example). That work will be redistributed to other departments/employees, increasing their work load. I have seen it happen.
The government cannot make such decree's and just expect business to roll over. Isn't going to happen.
Pay scales are set by the Market. That is as it should be.
Anyone who can't 'make it' on what they are now earning simply needs to learn new skills. It isn't as easy as it once was — largely because of government interference in the free market. Don't like it? Vote Republican!
Ahh yes. The market. The market is apparently far more important to you then people are. Lets not lose sight of things. And lets talk about market health.
So lets say you are employing someone at $8/hr that earns you a net profit of $4/hr. Now lets say as time goes by and inflation rises....you start making $8/hr in net profit. Do you give the employee a raise? Of course not. Your profit has nothing to do with the pay of the employee.
But as time goes by you make more and more of the money...while the employee does not. Good for you right? well.....yes and no. The employees are also the customers. If you had increased the pay of your employee, it would have increased the speed of gains of everything. In the end you not paying your employee more results in you ending up with less in the end.....but it results in the employees gaining nothing.
Talking about market forces, and free markets is great. They work well in many ways. But...they should not be a religion. And your entire post treats them as a religion that should not be questioned. That no matter what...they should be this way.
Reality is that you are oversimplifying a complex reality, and making it into a argument that should not be questioned due to your unseasoned belief.
Its kind of interesting to see these sorts of arguments. Its just as valid as the ones that say "ignore past experiences, believe this because this is how it should work-ignoring that it doesn't actually work that way."
Ahh yes. The market. The market is apparently far more important to you then people are. Lets not lose sight of things. And lets talk about market health.
So lets say you are employing someone at $8/hr that earns you a net profit of $4/hr. Now lets say as time goes by and inflation rises....you start making $8/hr in net profit. Do you give the employee a raise? Of course not. Your profit has nothing to do with the pay of the employee.
But as time goes by you make more and more of the money...while the employee does not. Good for you right? well.....yes and no. The employees are also the customers. If you had increased the pay of your employee, it would have increased the speed of gains of everything. In the end you not paying your employee more results in you ending up with less in the end.....but it results in the employees gaining nothing.
Talking about market forces, and free markets is great. They work well in many ways. But...they should not be a religion. And your entire post treats them as a religion that should not be questioned. That no matter what...they should be this way.
Reality is that you are oversimplifying a complex reality, and making it into a argument that should not be questioned due to your unseasoned belief.
Its kind of interesting to see these sorts of arguments. Its just as valid as the ones that say "ignore past experiences, believe this because this is how it should work-ignoring that it doesn't actually work that way."
You took inflation into account when talking about profit but you didn't take it into account at all for the cost of the raw materials needed.
Inflation hits all around. Your rent may have gone up, your utilities may have gone up. You didn't account at all for the cost of doing business.
I sell my surplus chicken eggs. The cost of scratch, crumbles and egg cartons have all gone up over the past year.
I had to raise my price by $1 to offset those costs. I have no intention of operating at a loss. And I don't employ anybody.
I think 15 dollar amount minimum is a ridiculous idea. 15 dollars no matter what you do? The problem is, there are things I don't want to see go away because they are worth having, but the job isn't worth paying someone 15 dollars an hour to do. I'm in North Idaho and I think the best example I can think of is Silverwood our local amusement park. Most of the employees are seasonal and don't make anywhere near 15 bucks and hour. They hire people as young as 14 up to retired people that just want something to do. Open May thru Oct. Hundreds of people. I think a mandatory wage hike like that would cause the owner to close the park. Has anyone thought of this? These rich people that run places or own them, it is not going to be mandatory for them to keep that business in existence. If it isn't worth it financially to them it shuts down and those jobs are gone.
One can easily turn what your saying around and say that with a higher minimum, more people will be able to utilize those parks (they can be quite expensive) as more people will have a few more bucks to spend. More customers will make them want to keep their employees. They can anyway, right now they are charging 4 to 6 dollars for a med or lg coke filled completely with ice! 5 bucks for a regular hotdog. Those are prices now. They're not going up. Let the employees actually make something.
So every time in the past that minimum wage was raised it hurt workers? Raised unemployment? this is a argument I hear over and over, and its nonsense. Theres no historical record of it. Its when people try a simple answer for a complex reality.
Because while minimum wage goes up....so does demand as those minimum wage workers spend more.
So look towards historical reality, not over simplistic nonsense.
Demand is not likely to go up as a result of raising the minimum wage. Again, this is basic supply/demand, and basic algebra. After we raise the minimum wage, the wage rate goes up, but the hours worked goes down. The overall demand (price (wage rate)*quantity(hours worked) is going to drop. It's econ 101 and algebra 101.
I live in Washington state where we passed a voter initiative for a high minimum wage that is bumped up every year per inflation. We have the highest minimum wage of any state (9.47/hr), unless you count D.C. @10.50/hr. None of my friends' teenage kids are able to get jobs. Why pay a 16-yr-old $9.47/hr when a 20-something, probably an immigrant, possibly with a family to support, will do that job, show up on time, and produce? Washington youth unemployment is much higher than the national average. Think the minimum wage plays a role?
One can easily turn what your saying around and say that with a higher minimum, more people will be able to utilize those parks (they can be quite expensive) as more people will have a few more bucks to spend. More customers will make them want to keep their employees. They can anyway, right now they are charging 4 to 6 dollars for a med or lg coke filled completely with ice! 5 bucks for a regular hotdog. Those are prices now. They're not going up. Let the employees actually make something.
You like to just totally make stuff up don't you?
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