$15 Minimum Wage Battle Moves To Other Industries

[GG]

A Sonic restaurant nearby added an inside dining area this past winter. They were exclusively drive-up before that. There are now indoor tables in which to sit and eat and ordering inside is done on a kiosk. Sonic is doing well as a company, better than most fast food operations. They ain't waitin' for a $15 minimum wage, but for sure a $15 minimum wage will result in kiosks in many places. Good for the educated and skilled workers that develop and support that technology. Bad for those the libs want to help, but that won't stop libs from pushing it because they can collect votes for a while until those that got suckered are hurt by the very ideas sold to them. That's OK, because liberal politicians will just find another doomed cause to suck in the same crowd.

 

 

I take it you didn't see post #2 of this thread?

[3rdnlng]

The money wont come.All this will do is create layoffs,higher prices for consumers that will not be paid and finally store closures.The thinking of the people that support this crap is so simple its disgusting.

Just curious,if someone decides to get out of bed every morning and be a productive member of society and carry his or her own weight by working at Toys r us who the hell are you to demean them?

Your screen name would seem to be very appropriate. Do you always miss the mark this badly? Regardless, anyone that would work for a company with a name like "Toys R Us" is already being demeaned. He would be better off getting himself fired and when his unemployment ran out going on welfare. You phucking teabaggers are all alike. The government has programs, you know? Why not let them give him probably more than what he makes at a company that can't even spell "are" correctly.

[unbillievable]

The government has programs, you know? Why not let them give him probably more than what he makes at a company that can't even spell "are" correctly.

You should visit the Greece thread.

That is a country that has the same beliefs you do: That it's better to be on government assistance than have a job.

 

Are you still trying to pretend you're not a far-left liberal?

[3rdnlng]

You should visit the Greece thread.

That is a country that has the same beliefs you do: That it's better to be on government assistance than have a job.

 

Are you still trying to pretend you're not a far-left liberal?

I suppose you are one of those 1%ers who idolize the Koch Brothers and want to destroy our planet with your SUV's while putting down the Occupy Movement? Stick to your Guns & God, you racist teabagger and I'll enjoy the fruits of your labor.

[Chef Jim]

Didn't that dork Clinton's labor secretary Robert reich say the minimum wage needed to be raised because you can't raise a family of 4 on it? Lol what an absurd standard. So some kid flipping burgs should make enough money to buy a home, support a stay at home mom, and put 2 kids thru school

$15 per hour here in the Bay Area isn't going to get you out if mom's cellar so what's the point?

[keepthefaith]

How is that bad for unions that have their contracts tied to the minimum wage? Minimum wage goes up, D's solid voting block gets raises. Of course they're going to push for it.

 

Those were the people you were referring to w/ the "those the libs want to help," right?

You're joking, right? There will be fewer of them working.

[Taro T]

You're joking, right? There will be fewer of them working.

 

There'll be fewer unionized workers working? Probably. But union labor is far more inelastic to a minimum wage increase than labor making mimimum is. The campaign checks will keep rolling in, which is what's truly important.

[/dev/null]

A Sonic restaurant nearby added an inside dining area this past winter. They were exclusively drive-up before that. There are now indoor tables in which to sit and eat and ordering inside is done on a kiosk. Sonic is doing well as a company, better than most fast food operations. They ain't waitin' for a $15 minimum wage, but for sure a $15 minimum wage will result in kiosks in many places. .

Dining areas inside a Sonic? That totally defeats the purpose of going there

 

People don't go to Sonic for great food. They go there for the limited human interaction. You drive up, push a button, order food over a radio, swipe your card. Only real human interaction is when the car hop brings out your food. But eventually that can be automated too.

[Azalin]

You're joking, right? There will be fewer of them working.

 

 

There'll be fewer unionized workers working? Probably. But union labor is far more inelastic to a minimum wage increase than labor making mimimum is. The campaign checks will keep rolling in, which is what's truly important.

 

I can tell you from personal experience (I'm a member of the Communications Workers of America, a telecom employee's union) that the unions are indeed involved in the fight to increase the minimum wage, since all union wages essentially use the minimum wage as a baseline to calculate union wage demands for the next contract. I'm not saying that's a smart thing to do, only that they indeed do it.

 

Dining areas inside a Sonic? That totally defeats the purpose of going there

 

People don't go to Sonic for great food. They go there for the limited human interaction. You drive up, push a button, order food over a radio, swipe your card. Only real human interaction is when the car hop brings out your food. But eventually that can be automated too.

 

A Sonic opened up a few years ago here in down town Austin in a building that had previously been an Arby's. It's the only Sonic I've ever seen that had no curbside service at all, being 100% walk-in and sit-down only.

Edited July 3, 2015 by Azalin

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

AP Article: Job market's new normal: Smaller workforce, sluggish pay

 

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/c4f2a1cc39df4ed0ae6e9b1cea53b2c9/job-markets-new-normal-smaller-workforce-sluggish-pay

[KD in CA]

Meanwhile in San Francisco, home of the "livable" wage:

 

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/07/07/we-are-seeing-the-effects-of-the-minimum-wage-rise-in-san-francisco/?utm_campaign=yahootix&partner=yahootix

[Dorkington]

Meanwhile in San Francisco, home of the "livable" wage:

 

 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/07/07/we-are-seeing-the-effects-of-the-minimum-wage-rise-in-san-francisco/?utm_campaign=yahootix&partner=yahootix

My burrito goes up 60 cents in price, and the workers behind the counter have a better quality of life?

 

I'm ok with that.

[/dev/null]

My burrito goes up 60 cents in price, and the workers behind the counter have a better quality of life?

 

I'm ok with that.

And some people aren't ok with the price increase. So instead of going to Chipolte for what was already an overpriced burrito at lunch time, they opt for a TV dinner. Will the 60 cent increase that you and others are OK with offset the cumulative cost those lost $8 tickets?

[keepthefaith]

My burrito goes up 60 cents in price, and the workers behind the counter have a better quality of life?

 

I'm ok with that.

Oh but there are likely fewer workers working fewer hours.

[Azalin]

My burrito goes up 60 cents in price, and the workers behind the counter have a better quality of life?

 

I'm ok with that.

 

The burrito won't go up in price, because if the market supported a more expensive burrito it would already have been priced higher. You can't just start raising the prices of goods and expect them to sell at the same rate as before. What happens is that people lose their jobs in order to accommodate a higher labor cost, and those that get to keep their jobs have to work even harder.

 

Do you actually think that places like McDonald's just arbitrarily set their prices as their whims dictate? The more you raise the minimum wage, the more people get laid off.

[Chef Jim]

My burrito goes up 60 cents in price, and the workers behind the counter have a better quality of life?

 

I'm ok with that.

 

That's now how restaurants operate. Labor is the easiest cost to control. People will lose their jobs. And it's not just your burrito or fast food. It will negatively affect every type of restaurant seeing they all employ many minimum wage employees. Pretty much every server/busboy/bartender works for minimum wage seeing most of their income comes from tips.

 

So now, are you ok with that?

Edited July 8, 2015 by Chef Jim

[KD in CA]

 

That's now how restaurants operate. Labor is the easiest cost to control. People will lose their jobs. And it's not just your burrito or fast food. It will negatively affect every type of restaurant seeing they all employ many minimum wage employees. Pretty much every server/busboy/bartender works for minimum wage seeing most of their income comes from tips.

 

So now, are you ok with that?

 

What he really meant to say was he was ok having absolutely no idea how economics or business or pretty much anything else works.

[DC Tom]

My burrito goes up 60 cents in price, and the workers behind the counter have a better quality of life?

 

I'm ok with that.

 

Quick BOTE calculation: Running a Chipotle tcounter probably takes a minimum of four people. At $10/hr, that's $40/hr labor costs (actually more, when you add in other expenses like payroll taxes and such, but let's keep it simple.) The rule of thumb is that 30% of finances goes to labor. So to cover that $40/hr labor costs, that's $133/hr in generated revenue to break even.

 

Now raise the minimum wage to $15/hr. Labor costs go to $60/hr, so revenue has to rise accordingly...to $200/hr. That's a 50% increase - your steak burrito goes from $7.20 to almost $11. But in reality, no one's going to pay $11 for a steak burrito. So alternatively, you can keep labor costs relatively stable by firing one worker, forcing the other three to work harder and faster (and longer - employees stay later after closing to finish up maintenance tasks that didn't get done during the day), and revenue only has to rise to $160/hr or so.

 

So your burrito goes up $1.20, and three of the workers behind the counter work harder to make up for the fourth being laid off. You're okay with that?

 

(And in reality, that's still oversimplified. The calculation should be done weekly, not hourly...and I ignored the increased cost up and down the supply chain. I just kept it simple to show you you're an idiot.)

[IDBillzFan]

 

You're okay with that?

 

(And in reality, that's still oversimplified. The calculation should be done weekly, not hourly...and I ignored the increased cost up and down the supply chain. I just kept it simple to show you you're an idiot.)

 

Of course he's okay with it because it takes no effort on his behalf to do anything other than say he's okay with something that sounds like a good idea.

 

Obama got elected on the very same thought process...promising to do things that sounded like a good idea when, in reality, he had absolutely no single clue how to move a bad idea out of the isolated realm of "it sounds good to me."

 

"I will remove all of our troops from Iraq and Afghanistan."

 

"I will get free health insurance for all."

 

"I will put Hillary in charge of my State Department."

[Dorkington]

 

Quick BOTE calculation: Running a Chipotle tcounter probably takes a minimum of four people. At $10/hr, that's $40/hr labor costs (actually more, when you add in other expenses like payroll taxes and such, but let's keep it simple.) The rule of thumb is that 30% of finances goes to labor. So to cover that $40/hr labor costs, that's $133/hr in generated revenue to break even.

 

Now raise the minimum wage to $15/hr. Labor costs go to $60/hr, so revenue has to rise accordingly...to $200/hr. That's a 50% increase - your steak burrito goes from $7.20 to almost $11. But in reality, no one's going to pay $11 for a steak burrito. So alternatively, you can keep labor costs relatively stable by firing one worker, forcing the other three to work harder and faster (and longer - employees stay later after closing to finish up maintenance tasks that didn't get done during the day), and revenue only has to rise to $160/hr or so.

 

So your burrito goes up $1.20, and three of the workers behind the counter work harder to make up for the fourth being laid off. You're okay with that?

 

(And in reality, that's still oversimplified. The calculation should be done weekly, not hourly...and I ignored the increased cost up and down the supply chain. I just kept it simple to show you you're an idiot.)

So 4 of 4 people currently working for below a living wage (in SF, anyways*) turns into 3 of 3 people barely making a living wage, and 1 person unemployed/on a "handout".

 

Kinda sucks either way.

 

To be clear, though, in that article, I was responding to the fact that SF raised minimum wage 14%, and burrito prices (mostly) went up 10%.

 

Also, thanks for more name calling, gotta love it here.

 

* - I've said before, I do not support a national minimum wage of $15/hr... I do in certain jurisdictions, though. SF's cost of living calls for increased minimums, imo. And no, I have not a clue what to do about the employees who lose their jobs as a result. Hopefully the increase in spending from the lower classes offsets that with more jobs.

Edited July 8, 2015 by Dorkington