501–510 of 1001 posts
This seems pretty simple to me since the special unemployment insurance is up to $600/week[0] through at least July 31 it’s going to be hard to convince someone to work for less than that. So if it’s a choice between $15/hour, steady to not work and $18/hour variable to bus tables or whatnot I’m not surprised that people choose the $15. I expect this will be different once unemployment goes back to pre-covid and peop…
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Your second sentence is debatable, as it appears that many European countries have high enough minimum total compensations (including benefits and other indirect costs) that unemployment is relatively high, and it can be very tough to get on the economic ladder.
My second sentence is suggesting that fast food restaurants will pass higher labor onto consumers. Your point seems entirely unrelated to that idea.
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Paying poverty wages is wrong, and child labour is wrong. They don't cancel each other out.
Exploitive child labor is wrong. Allowing teens to willingly enter an employmemt contract is neither exploitive nor child labor.
Non-adult teens (“Teen” spans the border) are indeed children, and their labor – while in some circumstances, quantities, etc. – permitted, is regulated as part of the broader regulation of child labor (which is not a total ban, even for very young children, and is graduated by age.)
Whether it ought to be within the scope of acceptable child labor or not is a separate discussion, but it is child labor.
People say "If a business can't afford to pay a living wage, then they should close". But won't that hurt consumers and distort the market? Personally, I like having many options for food to eat. If all the marginal small businesses had to close because they can't pay someone $15/hr to wipe tables, then we might just be left with large chains like Olive Garden or Cheesecake Factory. I think people should get paid wha…
Right now, that only happens because some people aren’t lucky enough to be born in the right house. People don’t work nights and weekends for paltry wages out of their desire to serve people food.
So it would hurt consumers. But it would help those who provide to the consumers.
Imagine how expensive food would be if the people on this forum demanded to be paid “fairly” for weekend and evening work.
People say "If a business can't afford to pay a living wage, then they should close". But won't that hurt consumers and distort the market? Personally, I like having many options for food to eat. If all the marginal small businesses had to close because they can't pay someone $15/hr to wipe tables, then we might just be left with large chains like Olive Garden or Cheesecake Factory. I think people should get paid wha…
I have a cookie company that raised the pay after we opened our 2nd location (economies of scale, buying in bulk, etc).
Its in my interest as an employer to raise the pay since it typically raises the buy-in from employees. Companies like Netflix and Costco pay at the top of the competitive range and it allows you to run a tighter ship.
Payroll is a cost, sure, but it's also an investment if you can afford it. Raising the minimum wage removes that competitive advantage for me.
It takes time to bootstrap a company. It still only pays me half an engineering salary after 3 years.
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Really? The OP provided an example of country and a policy. You’ve stated an opinion, as a theory with zero evidence. Youth unemployment in Australia is ~double the unemployment rate. 11.8% vs 5.6% https://tradingeconomics.com/australia/youth-unemployment-ra... Employment is more complex than hourly wage.
Easy on that accusatory tone mate. They didn't claim that as their own opinion, but merely gave an alternative viewpoint: "One concern is that...".
Fair enough to call that out.
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One concern is that this makes teenage employees relatively more attractive and so increases the adult unemployment rate above what it would be with a uniform minimum wage.
I had this concern until I realized teenagers have to go to school so there’s a huge chunk of the day that they cannot work. Adults have to take those shifts. This realization also led me to determine that these jobs aren’t purely for teenagers despite hearing all my life burger-flipping was for teens.
Honest question: why do discussions about minimum wage in the U.S. never propose having teenagers having a different minimum to adults? In australia we have a $12.50/hr minimum for 15 year olds. It climbs in increments until about $25/hr. This system allows teenagers to get a foot in the door for low-skilled jobs, and allows adults to get paid a livable wage. The result is that a lot of fast food jobs are performed b…
You don't want to create a class of people who get paid badly because their jobs are terrible (and also low-skilled.) The only reason you would want a lower minimum wage for young people is because young people are stupid, and you want to put them into a job where they can learn i.e. low-skilled, but ramping up over time, like an apprenticeship. Paying people almost nothing to work a horrible job because you can get…
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Please, define what is a poverty wage, it is important. How much stuff one should afford to avoid being called poor. What is the change of the model in case of the restaurant? I can see only one, automate the jobs away to reduce the costs, namely replace humans with robots. But, if we consider these crappy jobs, what about people that are not qualified/able to do any more advanced jobs? People have vastly different c…
> Please, define what is a poverty wage, it is important. The ability to afford adequate housing, food, and clothing. I'm not saying we should mandate people can afford a 1500 sq. ft. home, ribeye steaks every evening, and Ralph Lauren Polo threads, but how about at least a one bedroom, one bathroom apartment; nutritious, nourishing food; Walmart clothing at a minimum. > What is the change of the model in case of the…
Now, what does adequate mean? I guess a place to sleep, a place to clean oneself, food and clothing seems like a reasonable bar for a wage above poverty. Are there many full time jobs in the US that do not allow that?
> Removing the "tipping" system. Increase prices such that an employee can afford the above mentioned necessities.
Removing tipping and increasing prices beyond the tipping, it reduces to just increasing prices. I guess not very smart people create these enterprises, if only they hiked prices… And seriously, they definitely increases them, it is just a necessity. But I would not call this as a change in the model.
> I think the industry will go here no matter what changes we do or do not make to policy, business models, etc.
We do not have to necessary speed it up. People are already having difficult with keeping up with the changes.
> We either decide these people are expendable, or that they are human beings worthy of a baseline of a dignified life. I define a dignified life as the ability to have at least the minimums I described above.
Are there really only two options? Is not that a bit simplistic? And what does that even mean, do you think we should provide everyone with the job that ensures they have the mentioned stuff. What if they have different needs. And what if they do not qualify for any job, should we provide them with the exact stuff that people who work 40h a week get, or the equivalent in money? How is that fair for those who do these boring jobs.
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If a business closes, lots of people lose employment + business owners become more employment competition. Increasing unemployment wrecks wages. It is also not free to give unemployment benefits, it requires higher taxation which moves the sustainability bar higher and more businesses close, etc etc.
This really just raises the question on why employees don't get a share of profits. They take on all the same risk as owners do
Each growth stage presents tough choices of additional risk, as well.
An employee doesn't shoulder any of this. There is a world of difference!