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Applebee’s exec urges using high gas prices to push lower wages, sparks walkout

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Re: Applebee’s exec urges using high gas prices to push lower wages, sparks walkout

#201

Post by munk-a »

paulpauper wrote: post #112
endisneigh wrote: post #3

I wonder what the USA would look like if minimum wage was defined as; two people being able to afford a 1 bedroom apartment within a 1 hour drive without traffic. The static (both in the nominal and inflation adjusted sense) for minimum wage doesn't make sense imo. Minimum wage should be tied to some level of living (not necessarily a great living, but something ) This guy smh

there are way more expenses besides that. it will never be enough without creating problems . Rather than putting the onus on business, just fire up the brrrrinter.

I am failing to understand what that second sentence means - can you de-meme it a bit?

Re: Applebee’s exec urges using high gas prices to push lower wages, sparks walkout

#202

Post by deegles »

endisneigh wrote: post #3

I wonder what the USA would look like if minimum wage was defined as; two people being able to afford a 1 bedroom apartment within a 1 hour drive without traffic. The static (both in the nominal and inflation adjusted sense) for minimum wage doesn't make sense imo. Minimum wage should be tied to some level of living (not necessarily a great living, but something ) This guy smh

A better method is to give everyone a universal basic income enough to afford a place to live and to eliminate the minimum wage. That way jobs would have to pay what the job is worth to people, not amounts that create a poverty trap.

Re: Applebee’s exec urges using high gas prices to push lower wages, sparks walkout

#203

Post by frumper »

dlbucci wrote: post #132
endisneigh wrote: post #3

I wonder what the USA would look like if minimum wage was defined as; two people being able to afford a 1 bedroom apartment within a 1 hour drive without traffic. The static (both in the nominal and inflation adjusted sense) for minimum wage doesn't make sense imo. Minimum wage should be tied to some level of living (not necessarily a great living, but something ) This guy smh

Or, you know, have a Cost of Living/Inflation adjustment every year. That's such a simple idea to me and it's sort of insane to me that not only is that not something that happens, but no one seems to be even suggesting it (or at least, no politicians are campaigning on it). Hell, adjusting the 70's minimum wage to today's dollars puts it at like $24, so just hearing that, I don't know how it shouldn't be around ther…

Maybe a source? I was curious and using federal minimum wages from either 1970($1.45/hr) or 1979($2.90/hr) would yield less than $12/hr. I know you can contest how inflation is calculated, or use shadow stats, but then you're getting into murky waters. The official numbers are no where near the claim of $24/hr though.

Re: Applebee’s exec urges using high gas prices to push lower wages, sparks walkout

#204

Post by licebmi__at__ »

quantum_magpie wrote: post #64
endisneigh wrote: post #3

I wonder what the USA would look like if minimum wage was defined as; two people being able to afford a 1 bedroom apartment within a 1 hour drive without traffic. The static (both in the nominal and inflation adjusted sense) for minimum wage doesn't make sense imo. Minimum wage should be tied to some level of living (not necessarily a great living, but something ) This guy smh

>two people being able to afford a 1 bedroom apartment within a 1 hour drive without traffic. My immediate reaction to this statement was.. it's insane? In my opinion it should read 'a single person able to afford a 1 bedroom apartment within an hour of public transport commute.' Otherwise it sounds like you don't think anyone should be able to live anywhere reasonable without roommates?

It’s funny that the ideals of granting everyone “life, liberty and a the pursuit of happiness” are regarded as wisdom, but as soon as somebody tries to ponder of what that might be on the specific, then it’s regarded as crazy.

Re: Applebee’s exec urges using high gas prices to push lower wages, sparks walkout

#205

Post by munk-a »

crackercrews wrote: post #130
nostromo wrote: post #30

Ethics aside, this is bad analysis. Gas prices putting financial stress on Applebee's employees will also put financial stress on Applebee's customers, who may cut spending on things like going to Applebee's.

I agree they may need to cut their prices. How would this email have been received if it had said: We are facing headwinds and may need to cut prices To stay viable this means we need to cut costs One way to do this is offer lower starting wages. Though this wasn't viable in the recent past, it may be possible now. That's because our pool of workers are feeling pinched and may need to pick up extra jobs I understand…

I think maybe workers would be receptive to this if it weren't for the fact that whenever there's plenty of cash going around it doesn't loosen the belts of workers - it just gets dumped into BS like stock buybacks.

You can't ask for grace when you offer none.

Re: Applebee’s exec urges using high gas prices to push lower wages, sparks walkout

#206

Post by lotsofpulp »

giraffe_lady wrote: post #114
shadowgovt wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Surely they know that the culture and environment that will attract people will be the one that pays better, right? No, it's the one that offers the most perks, like foosball tables and microkitchens. Ask any successful Silicon Valley startup. /s

This is the restaurant industry so it's more on the level of like, the one that lets you take an unpaid day off every once in a while.

These are businesses that operate on single digit profit margins. And are easily replaced by eating meals at home. They either find a way to procure cheap labor, or shut down, because Applebees clientele do not really have the will or ability to spend more at Applebees.

Re: Applebee’s exec urges using high gas prices to push lower wages, sparks walkout

#207

Post by bremac »

As much as I am not a fan of Applebee's, the article title on HN should probably be fixed. The executive who sent the email works for Apple Central, a mid-sized franchisee with less than fifty locations. They do not work for Applebee's itself, nor do they represent a major franchisee. (Though in this case, it sounds like their views aren't even representative of their own franchise.)

Re: Applebee’s exec urges using high gas prices to push lower wages, sparks walkout

#208

Post by nostrademons »

endisneigh wrote: post #3

I wonder what the USA would look like if minimum wage was defined as; two people being able to afford a 1 bedroom apartment within a 1 hour drive without traffic. The static (both in the nominal and inflation adjusted sense) for minimum wage doesn't make sense imo. Minimum wage should be tied to some level of living (not necessarily a great living, but something ) This guy smh

Inflation, probably followed by corruption. Minimum wage would rise to the point where a person could afford a 1BR apartment within a 1 hour drive without traffic. Then the rents of those 1BR apartments would rise to capture that new minimum wage. Then minimum wage would rise to afford the new rent, and so on. Eventually someone's going to say "Hey, I own an apartment block downtown, I'm supposed to rent it out to the hoi polloi, but I'll let you live there rent free if you work for me and do exactly as I say, wink wink".

This is a very common situation in much of Latin America - both inflation being transmitted through CoL-indexed social goods, and the corruption that comes from trying to bypass that.

Any durable solution needs to address the questions of "How do we ensure that there are enough 1BR apartments within a 1 hour drive for everyone who wants one to get one?", "How do we incentivize the construction of these 1BR apartments?", "How do we maintain the desirability of these apartments once they're built?", and "How do we prevent one firm from owning all of the desirable 1BR apartments and setting whatever price they want?"

Re: Applebee’s exec urges using high gas prices to push lower wages, sparks walkout

#210

Post by tssva »

brightball wrote: post #184
endisneigh wrote: post #3

I wonder what the USA would look like if minimum wage was defined as; two people being able to afford a 1 bedroom apartment within a 1 hour drive without traffic. The static (both in the nominal and inflation adjusted sense) for minimum wage doesn't make sense imo. Minimum wage should be tied to some level of living (not necessarily a great living, but something ) This guy smh

I know this won’t be popular but minimum wage shouldn’t exist. Basic income, sure but not minimum wage. Every discussion of minimum wage blames employers for something that is completely out of their control: inflation. When the price of gas, housing and food rises the business where you work doesn’t suddenly have more money to hand out. If anything their costs have gone up too reducing what they can afford to pay ou…

Hmmmm, how could a business possibly compensate for increased costs including labor costs?
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