Author Topic: Wave of states look to pass $15 minimum wage laws in 2019  (Read 1012 times)

rcjordan

  • I'm consulting the authorities on the subject
  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 16268
  • Debbie says...
    • View Profile
Wave of states look to pass $15 minimum wage laws in 2019
« on: February 16, 2019, 07:44:05 PM »
https://www.axios.com/minimum-wage-states-3868ecc0-d2e7-47de-b59a-20b16404d81b.html

But wait, the dismal science weighs in....

After Winning a $15 Minimum Wage, Fast Food Workers Now Battle Unfair Firings - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/12/nyregion/fast-food-worker-firings.html

"The Times discusses several examples of people who were dismissed for what look like small offenses. These firings aren't inexplicable or arbitrary. They are the predictable consequence of a binding minimum wage in a competitive labor market."

https://www.forbes.com/sites/artcarden/2019/02/15/protip-if-theyre-working-to-get-you-fired-theyre-not-your-friends/

TL;DR: Employers are culling the herd.

littleman

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6531
    • View Profile
Re: Wave of states look to pass $15 minimum wage laws in 2019
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2019, 09:21:08 PM »
>dismal science

So, how do you subsidies the people on the bottom without putting pressure on job substitution?  Increasing benefits for the working poor; expand SNAP, lower the threshold for Medicare.  As the crisis gets worse some type of minimal basic income will probably have to come in too.  Everyone is afraid to even talk about taxes, but we are going to have to get ourselves in order on that topic too.  Right now the federal government is like a teenager with a credit card.

rcjordan

  • I'm consulting the authorities on the subject
  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 16268
  • Debbie says...
    • View Profile
Re: Wave of states look to pass $15 minimum wage laws in 2019
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2019, 11:38:27 PM »
I wonder if workers at the bottom do better overall with a hiked minimum wage?  I can see where employers are going to cull the outliers and cut the remaining employees less slack, but I'd bet that -overall- more money flows to the bottom layers.

>taxes

All I read says they're going up, for sure.  Even conservatives are nodding the affirmative.  That said, I've not seen anything that says anything realistic proposed to increase the social safety net.  Medicare for all isn't realistic, imo, given our current deficit.

 

rcjordan

  • I'm consulting the authorities on the subject
  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 16268
  • Debbie says...
    • View Profile
Re: Wave of states look to pass $15 minimum wage laws in 2019
« Reply #3 on: February 17, 2019, 12:18:27 AM »
<added>

>minimal basic income

Hungary and other countries have long-term incentives to increase the birth rate.  What if the opposite were offered?

I wouldn't count on compassion...

Commentary: Utah has an Orwellian definition of ‘compassion’ - The Salt Lake Tribune
https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commentary/2019/02/16/commentary-utah-has-an/



littleman

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6531
    • View Profile
Re: Wave of states look to pass $15 minimum wage laws in 2019
« Reply #4 on: February 17, 2019, 12:47:40 AM »
>I wouldn't count on compassion..


Democracy is asset insurance for the rich…

One thing that we haven't really been talking about is that as populations fall, so will demand, so the problem doesn't go away, just shrinks.

rcjordan

  • I'm consulting the authorities on the subject
  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 16268
  • Debbie says...
    • View Profile
Re: Wave of states look to pass $15 minimum wage laws in 2019
« Reply #5 on: February 17, 2019, 01:00:21 AM »
>fall

Like we said in that now-gone housing crisis thread; "We don't have a system to handle that." 

As a related aside, I'll add that I live in an area that is losing population to cities.  I'm taken aback by how many empty houses there are along the highways.  It's particularly ironic given the homeless & poor in the cities.

martinibuster

  • Inner Core
  • Full Member
  • *
  • Posts: 180
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Wave of states look to pass $15 minimum wage laws in 2019
« Reply #6 on: February 17, 2019, 04:56:24 AM »
McDonalds probably has seen the high cost of labor as a future issue, has done the math, and concluded that kiosks for ordering meals are more cost effective than employees because they did the math and concluded that not having to pay FICA, health insurance and other employee related costs made automation cost effective.