This is Why $15/Hr Minimum Wage Will Not Solve Anything

[Sentinel7]

Minimum Wage Activist: I Want $15 per Hour so I Don’t Have to Work so Much

 

 

 

Editor's note: Because of the Holiday Season (or, rather, the busy family-time between Christmas and New Years) this article has been republished from earlier in December. Let not your heart be troubled, as Michael Schaus will return with fresh content for your pleasure, entertainment and/ or ridicule... Some of it might even be worth publishing.

Originally Published 12-08-13:

Believing that fast food companies pay their unskilled labor low wages primarily because they are greedy capitalist pigs, protestors flocked to McDonalds and Wendy’s last Thursday. Well… “Flocked” might be a strong descriptive term. The pro-union activists, nonetheless, demanded from the purveyors of low quality food-like products that employees get a bump in pay. Currently, minimum wage is set at $7.25 per hour. The economically challenged protestors of market driven wages are asking the profit-driven businesses to increase that wage to $15 per hour.

Heck. Why stop there? Let’s kick it up to 25, or 40 dollars per hour.

Ostensibly the demand is being made because the current minimum wage is not a ‘livable” wage. (Apparently you just keel over if you are employed for under 15 dollars per hour.) Protestors and union activists say that workers making minimum wage are incapable of escaping poverty, and such a low wage hinders the economic recovery of America. . .

And then… We have this moment of honesty from a young woman who protested her burger-flipping job in Hartford, Connecticut:

“And that $15 an hour, that would mean I would have to work a little less days (sic) instead of every day, all day.”

Right. If we up the pay for this lowly fast food worker, then she won’t be burdened with the obligation of going to her job all day, every day, just like the rest of us.

The protestor, however, is a prime example of how liberalism injures the very people it claims to empower. Imagine this single mother’s surprise when, after having the minimum wage increased to 15 dollars per hour, she finds herself laid off. Or maybe she will be one of the lucky few who are able to keep their job (with a pay increase) that will now be asked to work twice as much to make up for the laid off portion of Wendy’s workforce.

The truth is, it is hard to make a living on $7.25 an hour. But minimum wage, just like the jobs that offer such a lowly level of compensation, is not designed to be a wage that empowers a livelihood. Flipping burgers, or mopping the floor at your local Wendy’s is not supposed to be a career choice.

Which brings us to the often repeated (in this column anyway) difference between careers and jobs. The Current Walmart CEO started his career as a part time (minimum wage) employee… But notice that he wasn’t satisfied with remaining in that position. Upward mobility, and ambition, does far more to increase the living standards of any given employee than petitions, protests, and government mandates.

The jobs at the center of the minimum wage discussion are jobs that are not designed for the average American worker to make into a career. Flipping a burger is a job for a part time teenage worker. It can even be a stepping stone for someone who fell into hard times, and is actively looking to increase their skill set (in hopes of obtaining more gainful employment). It is even a great job for someone who is looking for some supplemental income while they job hunt for better prospects.

What the single mother in the video fails to digest, is that there is a finite amount of resources her employer can allocate toward her employment. Her pay is not restricted by her boss’s greed, or the corporation’s insatiable appetite for profit (although, it has been proven that most American businesses are actually run with the intention of turning profits.). Rather, her pay is limited by the willingness of the American people to fork over hard earned dollars for convenient (albeit disgusting) fast food. An increase in the minimum wage is also an increase in the cost of operating a business. Wendy’s therefore, would likely be forced to up the prices on their menu; which would likely turn a portion of their customer base away.

Lastly, it is not as if our single mother anecdote is living off of the take home pay from her job. A single mother in America making minimum wage qualifies for a slew of social programs. All these social programs are designed to help her unlivable wage become quite livable. Does she get housing assistance? Day care assistance? Heating assistance? Healthcare assistance? Food Stamps? Welfare? Child tax credit?

She is obviously, after all, not looking for an increase in income… She’s looking for more money for less work. And that attitude, more than corporate profits or minimum wage laws, are to blame for her diminutive pay.

The jobs that earn minimum wage are not supposed to be careers, or family sustaining employment opportunities. Raising that wage will harm the poorest among us. Joblessness will increase, teens will be blocked out of the workforce in even greater numbers, and our favorite Single mom in Hartford might just find herself on unemployment.

Of course if she was on unemployment, she wouldn’t have to worry about going into work every day.

 

                       You can't fix stupid and you can't fix sorry ass lazy

 

                          No Surrender No Retreat and No Compromise

[bigwave]

I know a guy that worked real hard every day for his McDonald's manager.

 

After about 1.5 years he joined the Army. After getting out two years later he went back to his old boss and picked up where he left off while looking for a "real Job."

 

He worked for another 1.5 years or so and out lived all other employees there. The boss one day said "would you like to buy me out: and Dwayne said if I had the money to buy you out I wouldn't be here. The boss told him that he could do it over time, "rent-to-own so to speak.

 

After another year or so the deal was done and Dwayne and his wife "flipped a lot of burgers" (old school McDonald.s.)

 

Several years later he bought his second store. And then another and another and again until he owned 17 of them.

 

McDonald's came to him and said "we would like you to buy 8 more and you will be a "diamond." and Dwayne said "8 more I was thinking about selling a few" ( it's a lot of work managing 17 stores let a lone 25.

 

McDonald's came back to him "with an offer I couldn't refuse" and sold them all. (you know I really want to know what that number was but didn't want to be too forward while he was telling me this story.)

 

No education so to speak (GED) and of course Army trained and sense enough to act on an opportunity and flipping a lot of burgers he is definitely one of the riches people I know. Matter of fact he has not missed a Kings game in over 25 years and sits up front.

 

Work hard and smart take some risks and pay only the tax burden required and you will be way better off than a $7.25 hour JOB. 

 

Peace

 

Come on RV

[AmericaInc]

Minimum Wage Activist: I Want $15 per Hour so I Don’t Have to Work so Much

 

 

 

Editor's note: Because of the Holiday Season (or, rather, the busy family-time between Christmas and New Years) this article has been republished from earlier in December. Let not your heart be troubled, as Michael Schaus will return with fresh content for your pleasure, entertainment and/ or ridicule... Some of it might even be worth publishing.

Originally Published 12-08-13:

Believing that fast food companies pay their unskilled labor low wages primarily because they are greedy capitalist pigs, protestors flocked to McDonalds and Wendy’s last Thursday. Well… “Flocked” might be a strong descriptive term. The pro-union activists, nonetheless, demanded from the purveyors of low quality food-like products that employees get a bump in pay. Currently, minimum wage is set at $7.25 per hour. The economically challenged protestors of market driven wages are asking the profit-driven businesses to increase that wage to $15 per hour.

Heck. Why stop there? Let’s kick it up to 25, or 40 dollars per hour.

Ostensibly the demand is being made because the current minimum wage is not a ‘livable” wage. (Apparently you just keel over if you are employed for under 15 dollars per hour.) Protestors and union activists say that workers making minimum wage are incapable of escaping poverty, and such a low wage hinders the economic recovery of America. . .

And then… We have this moment of honesty from a young woman who protested her burger-flipping job in Hartford, Connecticut:

“And that $15 an hour, that would mean I would have to work a little less days (sic) instead of every day, all day.”

Right. If we up the pay for this lowly fast food worker, then she won’t be burdened with the obligation of going to her job all day, every day, just like the rest of us.

The protestor, however, is a prime example of how liberalism injures the very people it claims to empower. Imagine this single mother’s surprise when, after having the minimum wage increased to 15 dollars per hour, she finds herself laid off. Or maybe she will be one of the lucky few who are able to keep their job (with a pay increase) that will now be asked to work twice as much to make up for the laid off portion of Wendy’s workforce.

The truth is, it is hard to make a living on $7.25 an hour. But minimum wage, just like the jobs that offer such a lowly level of compensation, is not designed to be a wage that empowers a livelihood. Flipping burgers, or mopping the floor at your local Wendy’s is not supposed to be a career choice.

Which brings us to the often repeated (in this column anyway) difference between careers and jobs. The Current Walmart CEO started his career as a part time (minimum wage) employee… But notice that he wasn’t satisfied with remaining in that position. Upward mobility, and ambition, does far more to increase the living standards of any given employee than petitions, protests, and government mandates.

The jobs at the center of the minimum wage discussion are jobs that are not designed for the average American worker to make into a career. Flipping a burger is a job for a part time teenage worker. It can even be a stepping stone for someone who fell into hard times, and is actively looking to increase their skill set (in hopes of obtaining more gainful employment). It is even a great job for someone who is looking for some supplemental income while they job hunt for better prospects.

What the single mother in the video fails to digest, is that there is a finite amount of resources her employer can allocate toward her employment. Her pay is not restricted by her boss’s greed, or the corporation’s insatiable appetite for profit (although, it has been proven that most American businesses are actually run with the intention of turning profits.). Rather, her pay is limited by the willingness of the American people to fork over hard earned dollars for convenient (albeit disgusting) fast food. An increase in the minimum wage is also an increase in the cost of operating a business. Wendy’s therefore, would likely be forced to up the prices on their menu; which would likely turn a portion of their customer base away.

Lastly, it is not as if our single mother anecdote is living off of the take home pay from her job. A single mother in America making minimum wage qualifies for a slew of social programs. All these social programs are designed to help her unlivable wage become quite livable. Does she get housing assistance? Day care assistance? Heating assistance? Healthcare assistance? Food Stamps? Welfare? Child tax credit?

She is obviously, after all, not looking for an increase in income… She’s looking for more money for less work. And that attitude, more than corporate profits or minimum wage laws, are to blame for her diminutive pay.

The jobs that earn minimum wage are not supposed to be careers, or family sustaining employment opportunities. Raising that wage will harm the poorest among us. Joblessness will increase, teens will be blocked out of the workforce in even greater numbers, and our favorite Single mom in Hartford might just find herself on unemployment.

Of course if she was on unemployment, she wouldn’t have to worry about going into work every day.

 

                       You can't fix stupid and you can't fix sorry ass lazy

 

                          No Surrender No Retreat and No Compromise

Sentinel I enjoy your angry rants against liberal stuff ---- like workers, etc.

What you don't realize is that YOU are paying the rest of the living wage of these workers.

 

That's what is so funny. Hilarious, really.

 

You see, Wal Mart workers who get food stamps or other assistance to feed their families because the company doesn't pay them enough for full time work -- YOU pay for that in your taxes. If Wal Mart paid its workers a living wage, your taxes would go down.

 

Then you also pay for corporate welfare for huge, rich companies who get tax breaks and subsidies when they are making billions in profits as well.

 

But you are unaware of that,,,,as well. LOL 

[SgtFuryUSCZ]

***///

 

Taxes will never go down for the little guy regardless.

[Kandi77]

Sentinel I enjoy your angry rants against liberal stuff ---- like workers, etc.

What you don't realize is that YOU are paying the rest of the living wage of these workers.

 

That's what is so funny. Hilarious, really.

 

You see, Wal Mart workers who get food stamps or other assistance to feed their families because the company doesn't pay them enough for full time work -- YOU pay for that in your taxes. If Wal Mart paid its workers a living wage, your taxes would go down.

 

Then you also pay for corporate welfare for huge, rich companies who get tax breaks and subsidies when they are making billions in profits as well.

 

But you are unaware of that,,,,as well. LOL 

 

Our taxes may go down, but the cost of a hamburger is going to go through the roof!!!

[R2D2]

Not if you don't buy them. I just avoid mickey and his slop!

[SgtFuryUSCZ]

***///

 

Excellent advice, R2 !

 

Support local Mom n' Pop eateries!  You'll be surprised at how much you end up preferring fresh food made by folks who REALLY care ! 

[softwalker]

The last time we experienced a rise in the minimum wage I went to the restaurant that I was eating at approximately 3x per week and they raised the price by $2 a meal. Multiply that by 4 people and it was an 8 dollar expense that I couldn't afford so stopped going to that restaurant nearly so often (more like once every 6 months).

 

Food prices went up across the board at all the fast food places as well, and store prices jumped up a few cents per item.  Costs for many things went up and swallowed up any raise in salary.  Even costs for rent and electricity and things like that jumped up. I realized that raising the minimum wage just caused these businesses to raise their prices and nobody wins out. 

 

It doesn't benefit you to get 15 an hour if things cost that much more to purchase because of the wage increases.  The businesses just pass it along to the customer, and who is the customer but you and me wishing for the raise so we could feel we had more money to pay our bills that now cost more to pay because the minimum wage went up.   

 

Solutions for the people who are forced to work at these lower paying jobs is not as simple as raising their rates.  I wish it were.  A better economy, lower housing costs, lower utilities, lower costs to purchase, maintain a car, and put gas in it - all of these things would make my salary go further.  I have watched these costs go up and never come back down. It does not seem that long ago that I could fill my car up for $11 dollars.  Today it is close to $40. 

 

I spend a few thousand dollars every year maintaining a car - repairs have gone through the roof.  And parts intentionally created to break and need replacing are the cause.  Greed and corruption are the cause of much of the reason my salary seems too low. Would it really solve anything to raise McDonald's rates when the owners would just raise the cost of the hamburger?  Would it solve anything to pay me more so that the oil companies can charge me more for gas at the pump?  So that I can pay more for my mortgage?  So I can get charged more for the electricity I use?

 

All companies need to value their employees more.  At McDonalds they have a large number of employees to serve me as I drive through and the line goes very quickly. Would it go as quickly if they fire half their employees so they could pay the other half twice as much?  How many people would wait in line then?

 

Yet I feel for these employees because their pay is so low.  I know many people in these jobs working a second and third job to pay bills because of the low wages of each one.  I agree it's not right, but how do we fix it?  What will fix it and not just make it worse?

 

I have no answers to these questions, but realize that raising a wage is not always the answer.

[Sentinel7]

Sentinel I enjoy your angry rants against liberal stuff ---- like workers, etc.

What you don't realize is that YOU are paying the rest of the living wage of these workers.

 

That's what is so funny. Hilarious, really.

 

You see, Wal Mart workers who get food stamps or other assistance to feed their families because the company doesn't pay them enough for full time work -- YOU pay for that in your taxes. If Wal Mart paid its workers a living wage, your taxes would go down.

 

Then you also pay for corporate welfare for huge, rich companies who get tax breaks and subsidies when they are making billions in profits as well.

 

But you are unaware of that,,,,as well. LOL 

I am well aware of what and what is stolen from my hard work.

I am also aware as evidently you are not that it will not change if they move the minimum wage to $15.00 hr these people will just stop working when they meet there weekly needs.

We will have to pay their welfare because they will not work enough hours in order to stop that free money.

The only thing that will change is every thing in the US will go up and all of us who work

Every day and trying to get ahead can’t

 

But the drunks keep drinking the druggies keep drugging the sorry get sorrier and you  want keep giving them more money so they can keep screwing all of us

 

I don’t find that funny in the least but I am glad you like it without the KY

 

 

               No Surrender No Retreat and No Conpromise

[Mountain Girl]

I have been working in restaurants for over 30 years. The standard you go by is keep food costs to 30% or below.  Payroll, 30% or below and hopefully all the other expenses will be at about 30%. This includes rent or loan payment, utilities, insurance, advertising, upkeep on equipment, stuff like that. Hopefully, you will have a 10% to 20% profit in the end.  I've worked for many places that have had to borrow or even get a second mortgage on their homes to keep the business running.  Maybe the larger companies can afford this, but your smaller ones can't.  If minimum wage goes to $15 an hour, me and everyone I work with will lose their jobs. The battle cry really should be "Create living wage jobs!". Raising minimum wage will not turn it into a living wage, they are two separate things.