A Company Copes With Backlash Against the Raise That Roared • Hacker News Board

Re: A Company Copes With Backlash Against the Raise That Roared

#21

Post by jsprogrammer » Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 6:48 PM UTC

ForHackernews wrote: post #6

Crab Mentality[0]: Not just for people earning slightly-above minimum wage anymore. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_mentality

Anthropomorphize much?

Are the crabs aware of their situation? Are they actually consciously preventing the other crabs from escaping? Or are they just trying to grab on to anything they can get get out of the crab-pile?

Seems like a deeply flawed metaphor that will likely lead you astray.

Re: A Company Copes With Backlash Against the Raise That Roared

#22

Post by temuze » Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 6:49 PM UTC

jameshush wrote: post #9

dopamean wrote: post #2

Am I crazy for thinking it seems naive to not anticipate that current employees may not take kindly to people who earn half as much as them getting bumped up to their salaries?

I know what you're saying, but I've never understood this logic personally. How does someone else earning more money hurt you? It's not like a person doing better than you is taking your money.

“The only time you look in your neighbor's bowl is to make sure that they have enough. You don't look in your neighbor's bowl to see if you have as much as them.”

Re: A Company Copes With Backlash Against the Raise That Roared

#23

Post by jetskindo » Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 6:50 PM UTC

This reminds me of a few months ago when gas price was down to a mere $2.00 . It was wonderful for the public, but all I heard on TV is how bad it was for the economy.

We shouldn't let this be the norm, these employees complaining or those who quit are angry that their "inferior" coworkers are getting the same wages.

Re: A Company Copes With Backlash Against the Raise That Roared

#24

Post by infamouscow » Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 6:50 PM UTC

dopamean wrote: post #2

Am I crazy for thinking it seems naive to not anticipate that current employees may not take kindly to people who earn half as much as them getting bumped up to their salaries?

If it bothers you that your peers are going to have more financial security, then you're a self-centered asshole.

Re: A Company Copes With Backlash Against the Raise That Roared

#25

Post by mmanfrin » Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 6:50 PM UTC

dopamean wrote: post #2

Am I crazy for thinking it seems naive to not anticipate that current employees may not take kindly to people who earn half as much as them getting bumped up to their salaries?

This is the main argument I hear from people who are against the push to raise the minimum wage to $15.

Question to you: how does others who used to earn less than you now earning the same as you affect you?

Re: A Company Copes With Backlash Against the Raise That Roared

#26

Post by jonas21 » Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 6:50 PM UTC

Link to the HN thread when the raise was first announced:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9371854

Re: A Company Copes With Backlash Against the Raise That Roared

#27

Post by austenallred » Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 6:52 PM UTC

While I have no idea whether this will work (or if it's a good idea), the most interesting part of all of this, to me, is the backlash from people calling it "unbridled Socialism."

I'm still not sure how a CEO of a profitable company electing to pay his employees more becomes a political debate. If it fails, perhaps it's a failed experiment in Capitalism? It's not like anyone is forcing the business owner to do this.

Theoretically, economics would dictate that by paying people $70K who would get paid $40K would make them fight like crazy to keep their jobs, wouldn't it? And if that's the case, wouldn't one conclude that their productivity would increase, and the company would be much better off? Unwise investment? Perhaps. Unbridled "Socialism?" Definitely not.

http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2015/04/15/ceo_buys_short_...

Re: A Company Copes With Backlash Against the Raise That Roared

#28

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 6:52 PM UTC

DarkTree wrote: post #7

dopamean wrote: post #2

Am I crazy for thinking it seems naive to not anticipate that current employees may not take kindly to people who earn half as much as them getting bumped up to their salaries?

No, not at all. I think it would have made more sense to give each employee a raise based on a percentage of their income. That way, everyone gets a pay raise, and you can give more money to the lower earners without offending employees because it is an equal percentage increase.

[deleted]

Re: A Company Copes With Backlash Against the Raise That Roared

#29

Post by apsec112 » Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 6:53 PM UTC

Talking about "cost of living" in a place like Seattle, as if it were an ordinary economic issue, masks the real problem, which is that liberal US cities have made it very difficult to construct new housing. If a million families want to live in a city, and the city only allows half a million houses to be built, then a lot of people are going to be forced out. It's not a question of economics, it's a simple question of arithmetic. It doesn't matter how much you pay people or what minimum wage you have or what other policies you enact. It's like a giant game of musical chairs - if there are more people than chairs, it doesn't matter what else you do, because someone's going to wind up without a chair. Increase salaries, and rents go up to compensate. Subsidize housing for the poor, and landlords will charge more. Enact rent control, and watch as everyone converts rental buildings into super expensive condos. It's like trying to squeeze Jell-O to death: you can't beat the fundamental law that, if there are houses for X people, only X people can live there.

Re: A Company Copes With Backlash Against the Raise That Roared

#30

Post by goldenchrome » Fri, Jul 31, 2015, 6:56 PM UTC

I think this is half the problem for the backlash: "“What’s their incentive to hustle if you pay them so much?” Ms. Brajcich said they asked."

It relies on the assumption that the only motivation people would have to work, is that they will be homeless if they don't. I think the idea that you can work towards something bigger than you is a foreign concept to the majority of people.