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Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 for all US employees

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Re: Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 for all US employees

#701

Post by rifung »

bhupy wrote: post #679
rifung wrote: post #657

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If a job doesn't provide the means to survive then the government is subsidizing these jobs assuming you make sure everyone has enough to live. Another issue is that the unemployment rate is no longer meaningful although that could be solved by having another statistic but unemployment is much easier to measure.

At the end of the day, we as a society rightly demand a minimum standard of living for everyone, and we collectively pay for that in one way or the other. Either we pay taxes to fund a welfare state, or we pay inflated prices for goods and services to maintain wage floors. The argument I'm making here is paying taxes for welfare is more progressive, as the burden falls on richer people. Paying inflated prices for goo…

That is an interesting perspective that I admittedly did not think of.

However why do the prices have to be inflated? Can't the company just accept lower profits? That would be progressive since most of the profits currently go to the rich at least for public companies no?

Re: Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 for all US employees

#703

Post by ttoinou »

Faark wrote: post #678
ttoinou wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The argument is 1) there is no common definition of what is acceptable, globally it depends on our current living standard hence ultimately the society's level of development 2) on an individual level some would not make the same choices as you so it is ridiculous for you to make judgments on behalf of others 3) if we had implemented those kind of laws earlier, either everybody was forbidden of improving its conditio…

You can repeat the living standards meme as often as you like, but when people think the system is rigged against them, they will try to burn down the current system (best case just by election) and replace it with whatever might be more fair. And become susceptible to crappy populist promises. So: yes, the rising inequality is a problem, no matter how badly some want to sell that as just a part of life (at least the…

I agree, and I don't think inequality cannot be solved. But I really do think minimum wage increase the inequality problem anyway. Also, "fair" could just mean everyone pays the same tax percentage

Re: Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 for all US employees

#704

Post by AnthonyMouse »

chiefalchemist wrote: post #665

This is: - 25% PR - 25% free advertising for their openings (i.e., Amazon pays well) - 25% necessity (we're at full-employment) - and 25% ROI (they've figured less turnover and better quality employees are worth the investment) The question is: how will this effect other companies in the markets where Amazon employs a measurable number of people.

> - 25% PR - 25% free advertising for their openings (i.e., Amazon pays well) - 25% necessity (we're at full-employment) -- and 25% ROI (they've figured less turnover and better quality employees are worth the investment)

On the other hand, their stock is currently down by ~$30/share (~1.5%) following the announcement.

Re: Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 for all US employees

#705

Post by joezydeco »

chiefalchemist wrote: post #665

This is: - 25% PR - 25% free advertising for their openings (i.e., Amazon pays well) - 25% necessity (we're at full-employment) - and 25% ROI (they've figured less turnover and better quality employees are worth the investment) The question is: how will this effect other companies in the markets where Amazon employs a measurable number of people.

And 100% "Get out of Bernie Sanders' crosshairs before he regulates us to do this"

Re: Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 for all US employees

#707

Post by senthilnayagam »

Amazon acquired Kiva systems in 2012, now has over 15000 robots in its warehouses. these robot don’t need lighting or air conditioning, no unions , no overtime. Higher salary means quicker ROI. Smart Move.

Amazon Rising minimum wages is a “amazing” choice. it’s competitors who use more employees in their store will go out of business soon.

Also will be impacted are fast food restaurants chains and coffee and beverage retailers, who are barely surviving in current market.

Re: Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 for all US employees

#708

Post by skybrian »

Sohcahtoa82 wrote: post #693
skybrian wrote: post #663

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I don't take that explanation at face value because it's describing a perpetual motion machine. Sales to your own employees are only going to be a trivial amount of revenue for any reasonable business. And I'm sure he knew that. But interpreted charitably, it's showmanship. This is a way to show leadership, get a lot of publicity, and hire better workers, so what's not to like?

Ford's $5/day wage doesn't happen in a vacuum. The showmanship and publicity causes pressure on other manufacturers to pay that much. Otherwise, anybody working at a competitor will just be thinking to themselves "I'm just working here to get experience so I can have an edge on other applicants at Ford." Competitors that pay less will be dealing with high turnover unless they match Ford's wages. And it's not just car…

Okay, but I doubt this had much effect outside Detroit. Anyone know the history?

This would be like claiming that high salaries in Silicon Valley are somehow going to fix inequality nationwide. There is some spillover but it only goes so far.

Re: Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 for all US employees

#709

Post by philwelch »

hannasanarion wrote: post #611
philwelch wrote: post #474

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The more you pay your people, the more they can spend on your stuff. This is the economics equivalent of a perpetual motion machine.

Isn't that what an economy is? Are you telling me that if your employer stopped paying you, you would keep spending the same as you do now?

If I paid my employer more than they pay me, I would be broke and insolvent.

Re: Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 for all US employees

#710

Post by ttoinou »

pessimizer wrote: post #690
ttoinou wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Putting myself in their shoes is exactly why I think they should be allowed to do whatever they think is best for them. What paycheck would they risk loosing if they can't find a job anyway ? Minimum wage exclude and marginalize poor people Asymmetry and inequalities are everywhere. I don't know which perfect egalitarian symmetric insert here another utopic adjective society you live in, but it's not certainly not mi…

> I don't know which perfect egalitarian symmetric insert here another utopic adjective society you live in, but it's not certainly not mine Societies make a decision to be as they are. If you're trying to say that you prefer an inequitable society, that's fine. If you're trying to say that nature is inequitable, and that society has some responsibility to coordinate with it to preserve that inequity, I'd say 1) that…

I am not saying any of those and I don't want to preserve inequity. I am worried by people trying to force society to be more equal, and in that process produce effect that are going in the opposite direction.

Unfortunately the chances of everyone are rigged because of each of our societies history and past injustices. That's something we need to deal with and it's a hard problem

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