51–60 of 427 posts
Or maybe it’s a government-benefits surplus. That’s the only thing that’s actually changed.
Painfully obvious too. My little local Mexcian place will be closing down because of a lack of cooks. Talking to the owner, he was complaining about government benefits, and how they all want $20 an hour. I don't understand it, that you'd either a) be willing to drive your business into the ground serving a limited menu because you won't hire a couple cooks at $20 an hour, or b) have a business so close to the brink…
Now, if you know how to do it, there's a big opportunity for you just opened up. You could buy the place (probably for cheap), hire the cooks for $20 or for $50 (they would be ecstatic to work for you, I am sure, you're not that previous greedy owner and would pay them lavishly) and become the model of a businessman. People love good Mexican food. I know I do. I know many people that do. You can't lose, really - it's a mystery why there aren't more Mexican food billionaires... It's so simple, after all.
Somehow most of such attempts I've heard of never turned a profit and shut down soon. Maybe those restaurant owners know something about their business that is not obvious to a random person only reading newspaper headlines...
Painfully obvious too. My little local Mexcian place will be closing down because of a lack of cooks. Talking to the owner, he was complaining about government benefits, and how they all want $20 an hour. I don't understand it, that you'd either a) be willing to drive your business into the ground serving a limited menu because you won't hire a couple cooks at $20 an hour, or b) have a business so close to the brink…
It’s easy to understand. If your customers won’t buy Mexican food at a high enough price to pay $20/hour, it’s better to close than to stay open and lose money. Labor is the highest cost for a restaurant (higher than rent) so bumping wages from $15 to $20 may not be possible if you can’t also raise prices by 30%. This may be hard to understand for us rich programmers. But it’s quite simple for companies that have rea…
You know society is doomed when a wage supporting a middle class lifestyle is deemed "rich".
It's amazing how business seems to understand the free market when it's selling to customers, but can't seem figure out the free market when it comes to hiring labor.
The issue is the temporary competition from government covid benefits. Businesses understand perfectly well, but it’s kind of pointless to compete with higher benefits for not working. In my state, benefits were $16/hour. So businesses have a hard time competing with that because jobs can’t compete much with unemployment benefits. It would be interesting to see what the trade off is for how much money it would take.…
https://www.wxxinews.org/post/what-unemployment-insurance-te...
Painfully obvious too. My little local Mexcian place will be closing down because of a lack of cooks. Talking to the owner, he was complaining about government benefits, and how they all want $20 an hour. I don't understand it, that you'd either a) be willing to drive your business into the ground serving a limited menu because you won't hire a couple cooks at $20 an hour, or b) have a business so close to the brink…
It’s easy to understand. If your customers won’t buy Mexican food at a high enough price to pay $20/hour, it’s better to close than to stay open and lose money. Labor is the highest cost for a restaurant (higher than rent) so bumping wages from $15 to $20 may not be possible if you can’t also raise prices by 30%. This may be hard to understand for us rich programmers. But it’s quite simple for companies that have rea…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Same with a bundle of Great Clips a friend manages for a franchisee. Can’t find staff, doesn’t believe staff are worth what the current effective minimum wage is. “Have you tried offering more?” “That’s too much for cosmetology work.” Getting slapped by the invisible hand of the market.
The barber shop I went to for years used to charge $35 for a haircut pre-pandemic, which with a ~$10 tip ($45) already felt real high. Now a haircut is $50 and I no longer go, opting instead to cut my own hair w help from my girlfriend. Maybe people don’t want $50 haircuts.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Or they could just have raised prices.
All of the local restaurants have raised prices. I've overheard a few restaurant owners talking and it seems customers don't like even small price increases. They also indicate the price increases are necessary for supply costs even as they raise wages and can't fill positions. A lot of restaurants are just cutting menus/services to be able to stay on top of demand. This strikes me as hugely economically inefficient,…
There are people who dine out 3, 4, 5 times a week, who don't really know how to cook anything beyond microwaved meals... that's completely insane!
And I think that's kind of what all of this hysteria is about. Because yeah, if the price of a burrito went up by $2-3, those people would have to learn how to cook some basic meals for themselves.
Not so long ago, dining out -- having another human being cook & bring you your food -- was a luxury, reserved for special events. This is something completely different.
This is so visible even in the tech industry. If your company has trouble hiring, it's a signal that something is wrong with the hiring process and the company needs to change it. Maybe stop leetcode nonsense, maybe offer more equity. Your managers should spend time to figure out the root cause and fix the problem. If your management cannot figure it out, fire them first. If your company has trouble retaining enginee…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Same with a bundle of Great Clips a friend manages for a franchisee. Can’t find staff, doesn’t believe staff are worth what the current effective minimum wage is. “Have you tried offering more?” “That’s too much for cosmetology work.” Getting slapped by the invisible hand of the market.
The barber shop I went to for years used to charge $35 for a haircut pre-pandemic, which with a ~$10 tip ($45) already felt real high. Now a haircut is $50 and I no longer go, opting instead to cut my own hair w help from my girlfriend. Maybe people don’t want $50 haircuts.
Painfully obvious too. My little local Mexcian place will be closing down because of a lack of cooks. Talking to the owner, he was complaining about government benefits, and how they all want $20 an hour. I don't understand it, that you'd either a) be willing to drive your business into the ground serving a limited menu because you won't hire a couple cooks at $20 an hour, or b) have a business so close to the brink…
Same with a bundle of Great Clips a friend manages for a franchisee. Can’t find staff, doesn’t believe staff are worth what the current effective minimum wage is. “Have you tried offering more?” “That’s too much for cosmetology work.” Getting slapped by the invisible hand of the market.
So it's not even an economic argument, "If I pay that I'll go out of business"? It's just a moral one, "They don't deserve that amount of money"?
I can't say I'm surprised, TBH.