A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier • Hacker News Board

Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier

#131

Post by stvswn » Thu, Dec 05, 2019, 9:00 PM UTC

Slartie wrote: post #54

x2f10 wrote: post #18

Her job is already going away; McDonald's around me have already replaced cashiers with kiosks. Unionizing and requiring $15/hr + full benefits is only going to accelerate McDonald's automation plans. Is the answer to fight for $15/hr or is the answer to go back to school, apply to more jobs, and/or go into a trade? Honest question.

It's not like they can replace human personnel that easy. Ordering kiosks are the low-hanging fruit, and then comes a long, long stretch of nothing, because it turns out that developing McDonalds-compatible robots capable of preparing burgers and packing up meals is about as easy as developing actually-working autonomous vehicles. And about as expensive. It's probably easier to automate the managers away. Meaning the…

But you concede that some jobs would be automated if the labor prices were higher, and yet you think that's fine? Do you acknowledge a trade-off whereby fewer workers can get higher wages OR more workers can get some wages and prefer the former?

For argument's sake, let's assume that no jobs can be automated. The cost to the franchise owner to operate goes up, and in response they raise prices -- but at some prices they're going to really start losing business, so they also have to lower costs elsewhere or simply get lower profits. How does it all shake out? The fact is that it has to be paid by someone, and it'll likely mean fewer McDonalds are opened because it'll just be harder to make them profitable.

Maybe you're OK with that trade-off, but it IS a tradeoff that will happen, and it means fewer jobs.

Your analysis presumes that the business owners can and will absorb anything without reacting, as if more value can be extracted but there won't be a new equilibrium. I assume that the franchise owners aren't making the kinds of profits where that is true, I assume they're mostly bumping along on fairly low margins.

Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier

#132

Post by matz1 » Thu, Dec 05, 2019, 9:00 PM UTC

Miner49er wrote: post #70

throwaway07Ju19 wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the U.S. there is one presidential candidate championing a UBI of $1000/mo. It would be paid for by a VAT tax. Typically VAT tax is unpopular because it is regressive. But the UBI more than compensates for the extra tax burden.

Yang's implementation is very regressive. You have the regressive VAT tax, but then you also have the fact that you are cutting government benefits then giving everyone $1000. So the poor just end up net poorer. Example: Now: $12,000 a year + $12,000 in benefits = $24,000 $50,000 a year + $0 in benefits = $50,000 UBI: $12,000 a year + $12,000 in UBI = $24,000 $50,000 a year + $12,000 in UBI = $62,000 The poorer perso…

$12,000 of benefits does not equal to $12,000 of UBI. UBI doesn't limit you on what you want to buy. UBI doesn't require paperwork or lengthy approval process. UBI doesn't go away as you make more money.

Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier

#133

Post by excalibur » Thu, Dec 05, 2019, 9:02 PM UTC

Everybody seems to be latching on to the McDonald's part of her story, the author included. But it's the hospital part I find mortifying. McDonald's is pinching pennies left and right, it's their key to success. The hospital is not. How much would you guess they're charging per day for the average patient to stay there? I bet it's enough money to cover full-time employment and benefits for their food service workers.

Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier

#134

Post by gazelle21 » Thu, Dec 05, 2019, 9:04 PM UTC

Wow reading some of these comments makes me sad. Some of you have no idea how sad and hopeless situations can be. Before working as a dev I worked in fast food for 5 year, full time and while going to college. I worked with some people who were so trapped, I feel guilty at times.

Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier

#135

Post by TurkishPoptart » Thu, Dec 05, 2019, 9:04 PM UTC

Miner49er wrote: post #12

codedokode wrote: post #10

> The bus stops running at 10 p.m. on Sunday, but McDonald's asked me to stay until close at 1 a.m. They asked me to stay because they need my help. I know it’s going to be rough to find a way home, but I need the money so I said yes. Cannot she ask them to pay for a taxi then? Also I didn't understand why she lives so far away from work.

Why would McDonald's pay for a taxi for her? I can't imagine them doing that. She might not live that far from work. It might be a 20 minute drive, but with the bus system in most towns in the US it's not crazy for that to take a couple of hours on a bus with walking (the closest bus stop to her is a 30 minute walk it said). I'm sure if she could get a job closer that pays as well she would've by now.

McDonald's...paying for a taxi? Yeah, maybe in Germany. I'm aghast that anyone could think that would happen in America. I'm at the bottom of the bottom at an IT organization and I don't even get a compensated bus pass. Nor would I expect one.

Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier

#136

Post by thinkloop » Thu, Dec 05, 2019, 9:05 PM UTC

duxup wrote: post #112

I worked a pizza (among others) job through high school and college. I've been overworked at many professional technical jobs in different roles before. I'm paid a great deal more now, and yet I was never more tired or worn out or found it hard to study than when I worked the ovens at the pizza place. I often work with people who have never worked such jobs. They're upset that they're 'overworked' and spend their tim…

There is no bigger lie than hard work = prosperity. It is literally the exact opposite. Think of the hardest shittiest jobs and they are almost always the least paying. The richer you get the less hard work is, until you're able to reach the pinnacle of doing absolutely nothing but managing your money and taking advantage of discounted cap gains taxes. I grew up rich with every opportunity and never had one of these jobs, but it's clear as day.

To get more money you have to pry it from people's hands. You have to have something they can't resist not paying you for. That's it.

The suffering of low minimum wage is supposed to "encourage" people to move up the value chain, as the conservative doctrine goes, but it just doesn't work when all your time and energy is spent surviving.

Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier

#137

Post by ryandrake » Thu, Dec 05, 2019, 9:06 PM UTC

maxaf wrote: post #115

tj-teej wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is not a UBI as it is not U. The McDonalds cashier is likely getting subsidized housing and food stamp benefits. Yang's plan would require that the cashier has to choose between the "UBI" or her existing benefits. I asked his campaign why they designed it this way and they did not have an answer, I was told to ask the candidate directly, which was disappointing.

> Yang's plan would require that the cashier has to choose between the "UBI" or her existing benefits. I'm neutral on Yang's campaign, but I like the idea of a UBI because administering it will be much cheaper than running existing benefits. Means-testing has a real and very sizeable cost. What will happen to all the guvment workers who will get laid off once existing benefits have been supplanted by the UBI? They wi…

It’s the government: They’ll just move everyone over to the new Department of UBI, with an Administrator of UBI, a Deputy Administrator of UBI, an Assistant To The Deputy Administrator, a team of consultants, inspectors, auditors, inspectors of the auditors, auditors of the inspectors of the auditors, and so on. Nobody will actually lose their job.

Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier

#138

Post by TurkishPoptart » Thu, Dec 05, 2019, 9:06 PM UTC

oh_sigh wrote: post #46

lwf wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it's mentioned once, in the context of her not having affordable insurance options. > At 29, Brown works approximately 40 hours a week, splitting her time between a McDonald’s in Durham, North Carolina, and a food-service gig a local hospital. “It’s still not enough,” she said. Both jobs are part-time, and she doesn’t receive health insurance through either employer. She can’t afford insurance on her own, either…

I just put her stats into the healthcare.gov calculator. She can get a bronze plan for $370/month, and she qualifies for a $370/month premium tax credit - meaning she can get a bronze level plan for $0/month. Seems affordable. What am I missing here?

How do the tax credits work? As in, you get the money back on your tax refund? This woman makes about $500 a month. And those plans are typically $8000+ deductible, basically shit plans. In most states, people qualify for Medicaid when they make less than $1,200 a month. Which is completely free care.

Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier

#139

Post by jhomedall » Thu, Dec 05, 2019, 9:06 PM UTC

asdfasgasdgasdg wrote: post #16

Miner49er wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would McDonald's pay for a taxi for her? I can't imagine them doing that. She might not live that far from work. It might be a 20 minute drive, but with the bus system in most towns in the US it's not crazy for that to take a couple of hours on a bus with walking (the closest bus stop to her is a 30 minute walk it said). I'm sure if she could get a job closer that pays as well she would've by now.

A bike would possibly be the ideal solution for someone in her shoes. Of course, there's that lovely enhanced risk of dying you get for daring to brave the streets on two wheels in the US. But if she gets back significant time from changing it up, it might be worth it.

The average high in Durham is around 30C (86F) in the middle of summer (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durham,_North_Carolina#Climate). Without a shower, she would be a stinking mess at work.

Re: A Week in the Life of a McDonald’s Cashier

#140

Post by TurkishPoptart » Thu, Dec 05, 2019, 9:07 PM UTC

throw1234651234 wrote: post #22

codedokode wrote: post #10

> The bus stops running at 10 p.m. on Sunday, but McDonald's asked me to stay until close at 1 a.m. They asked me to stay because they need my help. I know it’s going to be rough to find a way home, but I need the money so I said yes. Cannot she ask them to pay for a taxi then? Also I didn't understand why she lives so far away from work.

>Cannot she ask them to pay for a taxi then? This is pretty amazing delusion.

Yes, I just commented on this above. Maybe this happens in Germany or Finland. The idea of a McDonald's manager (at least in the US) paying for an employee's taxi to get to work is laughable and simply unheard of.