The right question to ask about the minimum wage

[wheaties]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money...onalds-wendys-burger-king-taco-bell/15058943/

Should we do it or not appears to be an irrelevant question.....It looks like the correct question to ask is how do we prepare for it? Who and what are the political and economic forces driving the change, and what is their ultimate objective? Do these factions have the political capability to implement change? What side effects will there be?
These are very real and relevant questions... fundamental changes are coming and they will be significant.

Those of you who like to spot changes in the trend BEFORE they happen should definitely be reading the article above. This is small now but it's going to get much much bigger.

 

[Arnie]

The same that happens every time they do this. Workers get a raise. Everybody else gets a raise. Prices for food, rent etc.. go up. Buying power goes down. In a few years they will be crying for another "raise".

 

[loyek590]

The same that happens every time they do this. Workers get a raise. Everybody else gets a raise. Prices for food, rent etc.. go up. Buying power goes down. In a few years they will be crying for another "raise".

yes, until they eliminate it or tie it to inflation this will go on and on.
I like what they are doing at McDonalds. Workers are demanding $15/hr and totally bypassing the government. And McDonalds humorously replies, "Hey, don't blame us. It's the government that sets your wage. And we're on your side. We think it should be raised gradually."

 

[dbphoenix]

Should we do it or not appears to be an irrelevant question.....It looks like the correct question to ask is how do we prepare for it?

Depends on what you mean by "prepare". As a consumer, be prepared for higher prices, though we've already experienced substantially higher prices virtually across the board, so "higher" may end up being trivial.

Who and what are the political and economic forces driving the change, and what is their ultimate objective?

Republicans have traditionally been on the side of business and have therefore worked for lower taxes, suppression of wages, higher profits, fewer regulations, and so forth.

Democrats have traditionally been on the side of labor and have therefore worked for higher taxes on the wealthy, higher wages, equitable profits, necessary regulations, and so forth.

All this changed in 1976 with Buckley v Valeo, in which the SCOTUS decided that money constituted free speech. Consequently, Democrats depend on corporate money now as much as Republicans do. This leads as one might expect to a certain amount of hypocrisy. However, it is difficult for Democrates to shake off history entirely, and they continue to have a more sympathetic ear to the voices of the poor, the handicapped, the elderly.

The ultimate objective? Staying in office.

Do these factions have the political capability to implement change?

If by "factions" you mean those who are active in labor even though they may not have -- or yet have -- a union to represent them, that depends entirely on their resolve. The McD workers, for example, may not get their wage increase by next week, but if they are united, the franchisees will not be able to hold out forever. The WM heirs, on the other hand, seem not to care whether or not every WM burns to the ground. They have their money and have no particular stake in continued growth or even continued profits. Therefore, there's no reason to expect them to budge on wage issues.

What side effects will there be?

Same as there've always been. For that, there's plenty of history to consult.

Those of you who like to spot changes in the trend BEFORE they happen should definitely be reading the article above. This is small now but it's going to get much much bigger.

Yes, it will get bigger. The people are a "sleeping giant", and those who underestimate them, much less consider them to be stupid cattle, will likely be surprised.

 

[wheaties]

>>Yes, it will get bigger. The people are a "sleeping giant", and those who underestimate them, much less >>consider them to be stupid cattle, will likely be surprised.

Could not agree more. The power of the Fed to steer the economy pales in comparison. This new movement IS the economy. Its the new economy and it does not exist on a computer in a closet in a building in some suburb.

 

[dbphoenix]

>>Yes, it will get bigger. The people are a "sleeping giant", and those who underestimate them, much less >>consider them to be stupid cattle, will likely be surprised.

Could not agree more. The power of the Fed to steer the economy pales in comparison. This new movement IS the economy. Its the new economy and it does not exist on a computer in a closet in a building in some suburb.

I don't know that it's "new". So far it's tracking much the same as the French Revolution and the rebellion against the 19th-century robber barons. If this stuff moves in 100-year cycles, we're a little late.

 

[wheaties]

This article is great:
http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/sep/04/fast-food-strike-work-unions-membership-restaurants

From the above link:

"Here’s the secret of fast-food strikes: they’re working."

“The unions themselves are recognizing that the old system is broken and they need to retool and try new strategies and new things, and that’s what the fast food strikes represent,”

"Today’s strikes are different from previous ones in a number of ways, demonstrating the willingness to innovate, said Milkman. The widespread civil disobedience – courting potential arrest by walking out on the job – is one aspect that has been widely mentioned"

English translation: The workers are taking their angst to the street. They are using and will continue to use physical force to impose their will.

"The big labor unions have been fighting their hidebound reputations, but with their falling membership rolls they’ve needed to recruit warm bodies. This year, they’re doing it by working through “alt labor”, or organizing groups that don’t bear the SEIU or other big union names. Like indie labels, “alt labor” is meant to capture the current zeitgeist of the American worker, who is no longer the white factory worker of decades past."

English translation: "We have cultural bonds that transcend industry and politics. We are united".

Here is the Wheaties three word summary of the article: "INFLATION IS COMING".

As wages start to go up dramatically, expect to see an even bigger influx of illegals into the country. An interesting side effect of this will be when we see immigrants who are working legally have their wages undercut by immigrants who want to work illegally. Suddenly, fighting illegal immigration wont be "racist" when immigrants lose their jobs to illegal immigrants.

 

[piezoe]

The minimum wage should be raised in increments to bring it to approximately 10.50/hr. The benefits to the economy will vastly outweigh the downside. The low, current minimum wage is damaging the economy and producing unjustified cost shifting.

 

[piezoe]

The same that happens every time they do this. Workers get a raise. Everybody else gets a raise. Prices for food, rent etc.. go up. Buying power goes down. In a few years they will be crying for another "raise".

This is utter nonsense.

 

[dbphoenix]

This is utter nonsense.

I suspect Arnie has a fundamental misunderstanding of the wage-price spiral. And Wheaties is misinformed to claim that "inflation is coming" since inflation is already here and has been here for quite some time; the government just doesn't recognize it.

Yes, technically, price can be raised in a given company if there's an increase in wages, but the increase in price is not a necessary result. And prices on products and services, even rents, have gone up without any concomitant increase in wages.