Question: Opinions on minimum wage

bama_wayne1

All-American
Jun 15, 2007
2,701
18
57
I wonder how the people who were already making $15, 16, 17, 18+ /hour feel about all this? They can't feel good because I doubt they got a similar raise to offset the increased cost in everyday goods. I'm convinced that our government wants nothing more then to completely destroy the middle class because, that is the only thing a high minimum wage accomplishes. How does this help the poor because, no sane business is going to want to risk $15/hour on unproven workers?
But the Liberals know best!!
 

crimsonaudio

Administrator
Staff member
Sep 9, 2002
68,978
85,002
462
crimsonaudio.net
Can't the Prez just say ' I demand that everyone make at least $30,000/year? That way no one would be at the poverty level! Then there wouldn't be anymore welfare!

Why did it take so long to figure this out!
Yah, when people complain about the minimum wage, I always wonder why they don't demand $25/hour - if there are no deleterious effects to double the minimum wage, why not triple or quadruple it? No one ever answers that (because they either do not understand basic economics or the answer doesn't fit their agenda)...
 

rgw

Suspended
Sep 15, 2003
20,852
1,351
232
Tuscaloosa
The problem is ultimately buying power great diminishing for everyone but the upper class. The wages are just symptom of the inflation that drives cost of living up.


I do think that minimum wage ought to be higher because min. wage hasn't kept pace with the economy.
 

Bamabuzzard

FB Moderator
Staff member
Aug 15, 2004
33,267
28,036
337
49
Where ever there's BBQ, Bourbon & Football
Yah, when people complain about the minimum wage, I always wonder why they don't demand $25/hour - if there are no deleterious effects to double the minimum wage, why not triple or quadruple it? No one ever answers that (because they either do not understand basic economics or the answer doesn't fit their agenda)...
Here's another component that I don't see talked about regarding raising the minimum wage. It's an "unintended consequence" so to speak. Raising the minimum wage attracts better candidates and increases the pool of applicants applying for that particular job. Take Chick-Fil-A for example. It's in a sector of business that normally pays minimum wage for most positions. But Chick-Fil-A offers a better compensation package than most of its fast food competitors. Consequently, when someone patrons Chick-Fil-A they notice something almost immediately. The workers are higher quality workers and you get A LOT better service because of it. That is directly due to the compensation package they offer. It attracts A LOT of college kids and the managerial positions attract college degree'd professionals. A Louisiana based company called Raising Canes does the same thing. They are a fast food chicken strips/sandwich establishment but offer good compensation packages, consequently getting higher quality employees.

What ends up happening is the higher minimum wage doesn't necessarily help the ones it was intended to help. It attracts better quality candidates to their positions who end up taking their positions. Leaving them unemployed.
 

crimsonaudio

Administrator
Staff member
Sep 9, 2002
68,978
85,002
462
crimsonaudio.net
Costco is another good example of a business that pays their employees well - and you can tell by the attitude of there employees.

The big difference is that these companies are choosing to do this, not mandated to do so...
 

Bazza

TideFans Legend
Oct 1, 2011
39,669
27,710
187
New Smyrna Beach, Florida
Here's another component that I don't see talked about regarding raising the minimum wage. It's an "unintended consequence" so to speak. Raising the minimum wage attracts better candidates and increases the pool of applicants applying for that particular job. Take Chick-Fil-A for example. It's in a sector of business that normally pays minimum wage for most positions. But Chick-Fil-A offers a better compensation package than most of its fast food competitors. Consequently, when someone patrons Chick-Fil-A they notice something almost immediately. The workers are higher quality workers and you get A LOT better service because of it. That is directly due to the compensation package they offer. It attracts A LOT of college kids and the managerial positions attract college degree'd professionals. A Louisiana based company called Raising Canes does the same thing. They are a fast food chicken strips/sandwich establishment but offer good compensation packages, consequently getting higher quality employees.

What ends up happening is the higher minimum wage doesn't necessarily help the ones it was intended to help. It attracts better quality candidates to their positions who end up taking their positions. Leaving them unemployed.

For some reason after reading this post...I'm hungry for some chicken.....unintended consequences be damned! :cool:
 

Tide1986

Suspended
Nov 22, 2008
15,667
2
0
Birmingham, AL
Here's another component that I don't see talked about regarding raising the minimum wage. It's an "unintended consequence" so to speak. Raising the minimum wage attracts better candidates and increases the pool of applicants applying for that particular job. Take Chick-Fil-A for example. It's in a sector of business that normally pays minimum wage for most positions. But Chick-Fil-A offers a better compensation package than most of its fast food competitors. Consequently, when someone patrons Chick-Fil-A they notice something almost immediately. The workers are higher quality workers and you get A LOT better service because of it. That is directly due to the compensation package they offer. It attracts A LOT of college kids and the managerial positions attract college degree'd professionals. A Louisiana based company called Raising Canes does the same thing. They are a fast food chicken strips/sandwich establishment but offer good compensation packages, consequently getting higher quality employees.

What ends up happening is the higher minimum wage doesn't necessarily help the ones it was intended to help. It attracts better quality candidates to their positions who end up taking their positions. Leaving them unemployed.
I believe some of Chick-fil-A's secret sauce with respect to employee quality has to do with where they open their stores.
 

bama_wayne1

All-American
Jun 15, 2007
2,701
18
57
When I was teen, way back in the 70s, I made $2.10/hour. It was definitely not a living wage. That fact propelled me to study hard and be able to make a good living. I think a $15/hour minimum would take that away. That would be a shame.
 

DzynKingRTR

TideFans Legend
Dec 17, 2003
46,656
37,146
287
Vinings, ga., usa
When I was teen, way back in the 70s, I made $2.10/hour. It was definitely not a living wage. That fact propelled me to study hard and be able to make a good living. I think a $15/hour minimum would take that away. That would be a shame.
In the 90's i made 4.50/hour. That was one motivating factor for me plus my boss was a jerk and an idiot. Some years later while working my way through architecture school, I worked for Carmax. No one there was paid less than $9.00/hour (as assistant inventory manager I made $11/hour. They were owned by Circuit City which is now out of business and Carmax is owned by someone else. I do not know what they pay their grunts now.
 

Bamaro

TideFans Legend
Oct 19, 2001
28,909
14,311
287
Jacksonville, Md USA
Federal minimum wage needs to be left low (although somewhat higher than what it is now) since one size doesn't fit all but localities can raise it to whatever they feel.
 

DzynKingRTR

TideFans Legend
Dec 17, 2003
46,656
37,146
287
Vinings, ga., usa
Federal minimum wage needs to be left low (although somewhat higher than what it is now) since one size doesn't fit all but localities can raise it to whatever they feel.
For a change I agree. The minimum wage in LA, New York, Chicago, etc should not be the same as Oneonta, Alabama or some other small towns.
 

bama_wayne1

All-American
Jun 15, 2007
2,701
18
57
For a change I agree. The minimum wage in LA, New York, Chicago, etc should not be the same as Oneonta, Alabama or some other small towns.
If there were no minimum wage the market would dictate that. That is what happens in other level of employ.
 

bama_wayne1

All-American
Jun 15, 2007
2,701
18
57
where did I say no minimum wage? I said it should not be a federal magic number. I said it should be dictated by city or state.
I'm sorry I was unclear, I didn't mean to imply you said that. I just wanted to see what you thought about that.
 

4Q Basket Case

FB|BB Moderator
Staff member
Nov 8, 2004
10,624
16,122
337
Tuscaloosa
If raising the minimum wage will improve the poverty rate, why don't we just eliminate poverty altogether? Make the minimum wage $100 an hour. $200k a year. Problem solved.

Seriously, this is the fallacy taken to a ridiculous extreme. If I own a McDonald's, and have to pay 16 year old burger flippers $10 - $15 an hour ($20k - $30k a year), investing $100k in a machine to do that looks better and better.

The machine works 24/7, doesn't call in sick, doesn't space out and burn burgers near as much as the teenager, doesn't whine about time off to go to a concert, and doesn't play grabass with the workers of the opposite sex.

There's a reason unskilled workers don't get paid much....they don't add as much value as others.

Raising the minimum wage doesn't help poverty. It raises an already-nasty unemployment rate for unskilled workers, and puts yet another obstacle in front of someone wanting to acquire skills by way of work experience, and thereby lift themselves out of the ranks of the unskilled.

In other words, it perpetuates the very thing it purports to alleviate.

It never ceases to amaze me why the government believes that:

Raising the price of things it doesn't want us to consume (tobacco, gasoline, sugar-based soft drinks) by way of a tax will reduce the consumption.

BUT, raising the price of labor by way of a mandated minimum wage will have no effect on the consumption of that commodity.

SMH.

Rant over. Back to regularly-scheduled offseason programming.
 
Last edited:

rgw

Suspended
Sep 15, 2003
20,852
1,351
232
Tuscaloosa
If raising the minimum wage will improve the poverty rate, why don't we just eliminate poverty altogether? Make the minimum wage $100 an hour. $200k a year. Problem solved.

Seriously, this is the fallacy taken to a ridiculous extreme. If I own a McDonald's, and have to pay 16 year old burger flippers $10 - $15 an hour ($20k - $30k a year), investing $100k in a machine to do that looks better and better.

The machine works 24/7, doesn't call in sick, doesn't space out and burn burgers near as much as the teenager, doesn't whine about time off to go to a concert, and doesn't play grabass with the workers of the opposite sex.

There's a reason unskilled workers don't get paid much....they don't add as much value as others. Raising the minimum wage doesn't help poverty. It raises an already-nasty unemployment rate for unskilled workers.

It never ceases to amaze me why the government believes that:

Raising the price of things it doesn't want us to consume (tobacco, gasoline, sugar-based soft drinks) by way of a tax will reduce the consumption.

BUT, raising the price of labor by way of a mandated minimum wage will have no effect on the consumption of that commodity.

SMH
We should welcome automation replacing the vast majority of labor. That is probably the only thing that will bring the awareness to the masses that we need to upend the conventions of how we subsist.