Quantcast

Minimum wage

dante

dante

Unabomber
Feb 13, 2004
8,807
9
looking for classic NE singletrack
pnj said:
http://www.nwasianweekly.com/2014/05/blog-seatac-tells-us-15-minimum-wage/
Click to expand...
Only in America could someone complain about losing a 3% match to their 401k in exchange for a doubling of their wage....

I think I'll wait for a slightly more in-depth study than "I talked to these two anonymous people".

edit: Also, the hotel wasn't providing the benefits out of the goodness of their own heart. They were doing so to attract and retain qualified people. If qualified people realize that they can do far less demanding work for $15/hour, they're going to quit. Which means the hotel will have to start offering SOME type of incentives to attract qualified candidates again.
 
Last edited:
$tinkle

$tinkle

Expert on blowing
Feb 12, 2003
14,591
6
dante said:
Only in America could someone complain about losing a 3% match to their 401k in exchange for a doubling of their wage....
Click to expand...
yeah, i'm just guessing she wasn't maxing it out

in fact, parking is probably hitting her harder
 
dante

dante

Unabomber
Feb 13, 2004
8,807
9
looking for classic NE singletrack
I think that people writing about "Socialism" should first have to demonstrate that they know what it *actually* means...

I'll take PayPal for that $0.01, thanks.

Btw, I also think it's hilarious that that one anecdote about the cleaning staff is now showing up in multiple places.
 
dante

dante

Unabomber
Feb 13, 2004
8,807
9
looking for classic NE singletrack
StiHacka said:
I would love to know how many peeps here actually *lived* in socialism.
Click to expand...
*raises hand*

In the morning I watch neighborhood children get on a bus on public roads, and go to a publicly funded school where they're protected by police, firemen and emergency services. They read books purchased by the Dept of Education and purchased by the school financed through city-wide property taxes. On the ride home they drive under city-operated streetlights, past city workers repairing potholes, and past an accident that's being attended to by police and firemen. The city-owned ambulance takes the victims to a local government hospital. Since the passengers in one car were elderly, their medical costs will be covered by Medicare. The passengers in the other car were poor, and so their medical costs are covered by Medicaid. They'll be treated by doctors who received subsidized government loans, and by one who went to Med School on the GI bill.

Oh.

You were talking about SOCIALISM!?!?!?!! :rant:, or someone being taxed at a higher marginal tax rate than 38.5%. Sorry, no experience on that one.
 
Last edited:
DaveW

DaveW

Space Monkey
Jul 2, 2001
11,229
2,755
The bunker at parliament
Well 1970's NZ was pretty close to text book socialisim?
Cripes even the price of staples like butter and milk was set by central government, and during the 70's oil shock the government set the prices for fuel and controlled which days you were allowed to drive on the roads (yes you were only allowed to drive 4 days a week, for 3 days your vehicle was not allowed on the road every week).
And all social services (phone, mail, tv, health, education, incredibly extensive social safety net etc etc) paid for or owned by the government.
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
86,053
24,579
media blackout
DaveW said:
Well 1970's NZ was pretty close to text book socialisim?
Cripes even the price of staples like butter and milk was set by central government, and during the 70's oil shock the government set the prices for fuel and controlled which days you were allowed to drive on the roads (yes you were only allowed to drive 4 days a week, for 3 days your vehicle was not allowed on the road every week).
And all social services (phone, mail, tv, health, education, incredibly extensive social safety net etc etc) paid for or owned by the government.
Click to expand...
nope.
 
dante

dante

Unabomber
Feb 13, 2004
8,807
9
looking for classic NE singletrack
jonKranked said:
Best Korea?
Click to expand...
That's what I'm wondering, since I think only NK and Cuba have 100% Socialist economies. Everywhere else just provides varying levels of social safety nets and Socialized public goods like roads, rail, health care, education, etc.

Although picturing him crawling under barbwire fences and running through mine fields to desperately escape free health care and government-subsidized rail service makes me chuckle...
 
$tinkle

$tinkle

Expert on blowing
Feb 12, 2003
14,591
6
dante said:
Or at the very least tell us which "Socialist" country you were able to escape underneath a barbwire fence from?
Click to expand...
probably finland.

what i wouldn't give to be a high-latitudinal white guy right now.
 
dan-o

dan-o

Turbo Monkey
Jun 30, 2004
6,499
2,805
dante said:
So Jon was right, it was NK you were escaping from? Bravo! :clapping:
Click to expand...
Pretty sure he lived in a soviet eastern block country.

Also, LOL at concept of 'more money in poor people pockets helping middle class'.
How exactly does that fantasy work when they will be shouldering the burden of the wage hike through higher costs for goods/services supplied by said min wage workers. Those costs go right back to the consumer.
 
Last edited:
dante

dante

Unabomber
Feb 13, 2004
8,807
9
looking for classic NE singletrack
dan-o said:
Pretty sure he lived in a soviet eastern block country.

Also, LOL at concept of 'more money in poor people pockets helping middle class'.
How exactly does that fantasy work when they will be shouldering the burden of the wage hike through higher costs for goods/services supplied by said min wage workers. Those costs go right back to the consumer.
Click to expand...
Seriously? Here's a hint, poor people spend everything they make. Give a rich guy an extra $7/hour and he'll say "thank you", and pocket it. Hell, I'd do the same, and I'm certainly not "rich".

But give someone making minimum wage an extra $7/hour, and they'll spend it. They'll buy more food, more staples, maybe eat out more. Give a college kid an extra $7/hour and they'll be far more likely to buy a better bicycle to get around town.

As for the middle class "shouldering the burden", really? Wages (especially minimum wage) make up a small percentage of whatever it is you buy. It's why Papa John's said that giving every full time employee health care would add $0.10 to every pizza. Let's say the minimum wage was 10x as dramatic, and it adds a WHOLE DOLLAR to every pizza. Is that really asking the middle class to "shoulder the burden" when they have to pay $15 instead of $14 for a sh!itty pizza? By the way, here's the breakdown for Papa John's expenses for company-owned stores:

Domestic Company-owned restaurant expenses (in 000s)
Cost of sales 156,237
Salaries and benefits 173,316
Advertising and related costs 59,172
Occupancy costs 36,546
Other restaurant operating expenses 92,280
Total domestic Company-owned restaurant expenses 517,551
Click to expand...
So even in one of the most labor-intensive business, one in which the owner was complaining about how much health care was going to hit his bottom line, the salaries and benefits for the entire staff (including managers, assistant managers, health care, etc), was ~1/3 of their total expenses. Even if the salary expense went up by 50% (from $9-whatever to $15 in Seattle), their increase would only be $86m, or less than their total profit for their company owned restaurants ($117m). And that's assuming that every single person in the restaurant was making minimum wage, with no benefits. Remove anyone already making above $15/hour (ie, managers, full time employees) and all health care and benefit costs (again, managers, full time employees) and the increase would be even less. We're talking at most a 10% increase in total expenses, or what the business world calls "doing business".

Figures from last year's annual report: http://quote.morningstar.com/stock-filing/Annual-Report/2013/12/29/t.aspx?t=XNAS:PZZA&ft=10-K&d=7ed0bb73b6246a09b681c7e3ac6a7b50

So please, let me know how much of a "burden" this is going to place on the middle class, I'd love to hear it.
 
dan-o

dan-o

Turbo Monkey
Jun 30, 2004
6,499
2,805
I never said I was against the minimum wage increase, I'm all for it.

But to say the costs of it aren't subsidized by the broader society, however small those increases may be, is fantasy.
'The cost of doing business' is always passed to the end consumer.

That 'only $86m' hit papa johns will pay in labor will be paid by their customers.
Ironically, those customers are likely low wage workers splurging on cheap pizza and they will notice a $1 increase.

Or places will sidestep the minimum wage altogether by replacing cashiers with auto check outs etc because the bulk of the consumer society, those not getting a massive guilt raise to enable them to stay in jobs that by design are intended to be stepping stones not careers, will remain price conscious and continue to shop on price.

As for the college kids, **** them.
They can ask daddy for a new bike or apply the savings from the student loan bailout we'll all be paying for.
That Pre-colonial women's Lit degree will be awfully handy for making small talk while making papa johns pizzas.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom