Nuvendil said:
You clearly have next to no knowledge of the small and middle tier business world. 90-95% of small businesses and middle tier business could not sustain $15 an hour. And they don't have the war chest to float a transition. I know this. Also, let's not fall into the trap that CEOs are EVIL and the rich are EVIL. While some can be dicks, many are very altruistic. And the job of major executives is one 95% of people couldn't do. I've seen that myself, most average joes couldn't run a taco stand much less a multi billion corporation. As for standard of living, that is radically different from state to state and that's the problem with a $15 minimum wage. Cause cost of living effects pay and that effects business plans and structuring. It effects EVERYTHING. NY or Washington State might be able to support $15 without too much fuss. But Texas? NC? SC? No, it would be a complete and utter train wreck. The US is huge, the cost of living, wage disparity, economic strength, etc is not universal. Such a high federal minimum wage would be highly ill dvised. Let the States decide in accordance with what the State needs. |
This exactly. (Almost all of it so I'm not going to do bolding.
1)$15 in a lot of places is a death sentence to industry in many different areas. I live in an area were people who have office jobs don't even get $15.00/hour. So a mandated across the board price hike would kill off industrial and office jobs who are paying their workforce $12-to-$13 on average because it what the business can afford. So when topics like this come up from customers or employees, I explain to this that most minimum wadge increases in the past only affected the service industries, but a deep pay rate like this where it is nearly doubling the current one will affect all businesses across the board and they will not offset the pay, some may but it is up to them and no the goverment really can not mandate it. I have been through 3 minimum payrate hikes and I can say two of the three screwed me one of them screwed my little brother where they finally got out of the minimum and there they are again.
2) Since $15 is too much for some and not enought for others. I argue that the US governement should mandate the states set up the minimum wadge according to the price of living in the area. (Untilities, average rent, and the cost of three meals a day, times that by 3 and then divide by 160.) The three is because living expenses should be about a third of a person's wadge. The 160 is 4 weeks of 40 hour work. And allow each state to make regions in the state with different minimum wadges so it the state has an area or two with a higher living cost it will not adversly affect the areas that don't need a higher wadge hike. And require the states to review and adjust the wadge every few years.
3)McDonald's tried to use "robots" before, but they were far too expensive at the time, in the 90's, as replacments for having a person cook at the grill. It was expensive per robot and they needed constant repair. But as a person who has worked fast food, things like this would be welcomed, I can not tell you how many undesireable employees who are retained because there is no one else to hire we could have gotten rid of this way. I had one person who though wearing gloves ment one hand, and with the other bare hand handled raw meat, which isn't against food safty practices if she washed her hand right afterwards but she would constantly had to be reminded, she also made way too much and kept them food for way to long.
4) As for CEO's there are a lot of good CEO's who don't "give themselves", it usally the board that decides the CEO's pay, pay raises as the compay has problems. Two prominate examples whould be Ford's CEO how slashed his salery to $.01 a year, he still had his perks which were based on how well them company did, when the big "three" were having problems. Because of this and other measure such as selling off company jets etc, Ford didn't need to get a bail out. The other would be the late Iwata who cut his pay to help Nintendo when they were having losses.
And thing to add is article brought out about those who are being paid below federal minimum, this is allowed when food a board or tips are involved and they have their own federally mandated minimum wadge. (I think it is about $3/hour) So technically they are not being paid under the federal minimum. I had other thoughts but forgot them while I was eating with my parents.
