Breaking News: Restaurants Closing All Over Seattle As $15 Minimum Wage Mandate Starts April 1st.

[thereisnospoon]

yep..The decline from 2009 thru the present has continued.....But I would be willing to wager that you believe the old White House narrative that "Obama has created 5 million jobs"....Right

I don't know about 5 million but I do know that the stimulus created 3 million private jobs.

The stimulus? Nearly a trillion dollars?....So those magic jobs pay $300k per year? Because using your math, that's how much each one cost....
Oh?.....And you can prove this...Your turn....

yep..The decline from 2009 thru the present has continued.....But I would be willing to wager that you believe the old White House narrative that "Obama has created 5 million jobs"....Right

I don't know about 5 million but I do know that the stimulus created 3 million private jobs.

The stimulus? Nearly a trillion dollars?....So those magic jobs pay $300k per year? Because using your math, that's how much each one cost....
Oh?.....And you can prove this...Your turn....

Onswipe

Obama s Stimulus Generated Up to 3.3 Million Jobs CBO Says - Bloomberg Business

Lol you obviously don't know what was in the stimulus. The money didn't pay the wages of those jobs. 280 billion of the stimulus was tax cuts. It wasn't purely government spending. A large bulk of it went to extending unemployment benefits to the millions who lost their jobs against their will in the recession. These two facts boosted economic demand in the market and stimulated growth.

Ahh..Nancy Pelosi...She said unemployment compensation stimulated the economy.....And this is rich...."most of the stimulus went for unemployment compensation....But it still created 3 million jobs.....Yeah ok,,,,

I'm citing the CBO and moody when I talk of the growth created by unemployment benefts. I don't care what Nancy said.

So?....Who claimed the writer of those stories is correct....If what they state is true, then why not have everyone collecting unemployment?

 

[DarkFury]

There is no desire to spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on a college degree if the person stuffing french friends into a cardboard container is making what they had hoped to make after going to college. Just go flip burgers and make a killing. A living wage, according to liberals, is being able to buy ANYTHING you want. Cell phones, internet, TV, you fucking name it, that's a living wage. If you can use it while you're living, your burger flipping job should pay for it.

A little eye opener liberals: they won't have a job at all if the fast food they stuff into bags costs more than people are willing to pay.

It's not like the guy flipping burgers deserves the SAME wage as someone with an Airframe & Powerplant degree.

 

[Billy000]

I don't know about 5 million but I do know that the stimulus created 3 million private jobs.

The stimulus? Nearly a trillion dollars?....So those magic jobs pay $300k per year? Because using your math, that's how much each one cost....
Oh?.....And you can prove this...Your turn....

I don't know about 5 million but I do know that the stimulus created 3 million private jobs.

The stimulus? Nearly a trillion dollars?....So those magic jobs pay $300k per year? Because using your math, that's how much each one cost....
Oh?.....And you can prove this...Your turn....

Onswipe

Obama s Stimulus Generated Up to 3.3 Million Jobs CBO Says - Bloomberg Business

Lol you obviously don't know what was in the stimulus. The money didn't pay the wages of those jobs. 280 billion of the stimulus was tax cuts. It wasn't purely government spending. A large bulk of it went to extending unemployment benefits to the millions who lost their jobs against their will in the recession. These two facts boosted economic demand in the market and stimulated growth.

Ahh..Nancy Pelosi...She said unemployment compensation stimulated the economy.....And this is rich...."most of the stimulus went for unemployment compensation....But it still created 3 million jobs.....Yeah ok,,,,

I'm citing the CBO and moody when I talk of the growth created by unemployment benefts. I don't care what Nancy said.

So?....Who claimed the writer of those stories is correct....If what they state is true, then why not have everyone collecting unemployment?

You do know unemployment benefits are temporary right?

 

[SwimExpert]

And that's what proves your ignorance. You really believe a restaurant owner does all that when in reality he makes a pretty modest wage and many times less than the minimum wage employee.

Restaurants are pretty damn lucrative. Here's a hint: Go out to eat at your favorite middle priced restaurant with your S/O and another couple. Order a cocktail and entrees. The profit the restaurant made off your cocktails covered the material overhead costs of your entrees. Food costs typically average 20 to 25 percent. Labor usually is anywhere from 5 to 20 percent depending on the establishment and management's ability to manage labor.

Yer kidding....Have you ever worked in the food an beverage business and been on the level where one of your responsibilities is to buy provisions? I have. I saw where the money goes....We paid $12 for a case of domestic beer. We sold it for $2.50....After the costs were figured in, we made a whopping 25 cents per unit.
We could have increased our price but we depended on repeat business and our customers chose us because our place was not only a good place to gather, our prices were somewhat lower than other bars in the area.
Those chicken wings that we sold for $8 per dozen? They cost us 20 cents per pound. In bulk,. Chicken has a very short shelf life. So we had to sell it quickly or dispose of it.
One of the major costs of fried food is the oil...We paid $75 for a 5 gallon container of cooking oil. Yeah...it's not cheap....And we had to change out the oil in our two friers every third day. That's $150 twice a week.....
Since you know little about the food and bev business, what else would you like to discuss.

I'd like to discuss the fact that you were apparently working in a shithole of a sinking failure.

You've already admitted that you were catering to low ball price customers. Stop catering to low ball price customers! That's just a poor business strategy, plain and simple. It seems you are relying on fried food to fill your menu. What the fuck!?! That's the lowest, shittiest type of food for an eatery to be selling. Get a real menu!

But I suspect the main problem is that you and your colleagues are obviously pathetic jokes of managers since you can't do the basic 3rd grade level math to know what your costs are and what your profits are supposed to be in comparison. You paid $12 per case (24 beers) and you only made 20 cents a piece at a retail of $2.50?!?!

Hello!!! At $12 a case, your cost is 50 cents each! If you sold at $2.50 a beer, you were making $2 profit on each, not 20 cents. No wonder you had such a hard time, 90% of your profits were leaking out the door because you were too fucking stupid to know how to do your job! But I guess I should expect no different from a person who doesn't know the difference between a cocktail and a beer.

Hey guess what mr what the fuck....It was a sports bar....and a very successful one at that.....So much so that a larger restaurant company made a very lucrative off on the place and the owner of course sold..Why not? That's what a business is...An investment.
And hey shit for brains....There are other costs associated with running a restaurant than just the cost of the item and the final sale price.
Labor, utilities....Oh why am I bothering to explain....You have your mind made up and you having never been in the food and beverage business are 100% correct...
And it is telling that you are just spewing a bunch of horse shit because you had to resort to calling me names and criticizing me...
Well.
Now, go finish stabbing yourself in the eye with a lawn dart.
You're too fucking stupid to have a job.

So let's recap....

You admit that you're not talking about a restaurant, you're talking about a sports bar. That makes everything you said moot anyway.

You say it was "very successful" but the owner sold it. Why sell it?

How long did the guy own it? Sports bars are one of the most difficult types of bars to operate. They take huge, astronomical investments (more expensive than any other type of concept) and more often than not people find themselves in trouble before long because they can't figure out how to get the place off the ground. They tend to sell because they need to get out. Often the sale is to another person who doesn't know they don't know what they're doing, or to someone who does know how to turn it into a cash cow and is willing to offer a good price to a struggling owner because they know they can do much better than the last shmuck. It's one of the reasons successful sports bars nowadays are usually chain concepts, and why chain sports bars are growing so rapidly. They have the deep pockets to front the initial capital, and they have the experience to make the business successful, which most proprietors lack.

Sports bars generally rely on high volume. A successful sports bar will net millions a year. That's quite a bit more than the $2.13/hr wage of any of their servers!

Alright, you've had your spanking. Now go to bed!

 

[HenryBHough]

I don't think too many waiters/waitresses will be out of work as a result of Seattle's having forced restaurants out of business.

They'll just have to get up earlier and spend a lot more on gas to drive to their new jobs in the growing number of restaurants just outside Seattle. Of course they'll get home later, too, but their children will never notice.

 

[OKTexas]

Oh look! An article that states the reasons for many of the closings!! What a coincidence!!

The OP mentioned "Little Uncle". See why they are closing......

Seattle Magazine Restaurants Why Are So Many Seattle Restaurants Closing Lately

Right in the middle of your article you fucking moron.

And for Seattle restaurateurs recently, there is also another key consideration. Though none of our local departing/transitioning restaurateurs who announced their plans last month have elaborated on the issue, another major factor affecting restaurant futures in our city is theimpending minimum wage hike to $15 per hour. Starting April 1, all businesses must begin to phase in the wage increase: Small employers have seven years to pay all employees at least $15 hourly; large employers (with 500 or more employees) have three.

Since the legislation was announced last summer, The Seattle Times and Eater have reported extensively on restaurant owners’ many concerns about how to compensate for the extra funds that will now be required for labor: They may need to raise menu prices, source poorer ingredients, reduce operating hours, reduce their labor and/or more.

Washington Restaurant Association's Anton puts it this way: “It’s not a political problem; it’s a math problem.”

He estimates that a common budget breakdown among sustaining Seattle restaurants so far has been the following: 36 percent of funds are devoted to labor, 30 percent to food costs and 30 percent go to everything else (all other operational costs). The remaining 4 percent has been the profit margin, and as a result, in a $700,000 restaurant, he estimates that the average restauranteur in Seattle has been making $28,000 a year.

With the minimum wage spike, however, he says that if restaurant owners made no changes, the labor cost in quick service restaurants would rise to 42 percent and in full service restaurants to 47 percent.

“Everyone is looking at the model right now, asking how do we do math?” he says. “Every operator I’m talking to is in panic mode, trying to figure out what the new world will look like.” Regarding amount of labor, at 14 employees, a Washington restaurant already averages three fewer workers than the national restaurant average (17 employees). Anton anticipates customers will definitely be tested with new menu prices and more. “Seattle is the first city in this thing and everyone’s watching, asking how is this going to change?”

Reading comprehension, you suck at it.

I saw that. It doesn't concede that any closings are due to the increase. In fact..it concludes that more restaurants are opening than ever amidst the increase.

You fuckers have NEVER been able to prove that minimum wage increases cost jobs. NEVER.

You need to find another cause. You lost this one. America wants living wages for all full time employees in all fields and in all locations. Deal with it.

I guess you didn't read your link completely, it talks about the coming wage hikes and owners are wondering how they will make the math work.

 

[1stRambo]

Yes....the rich democrats are going to get what they want in Seattle....a few really good restaurants, with great waiters and the rest of the poor on food stamps......that is what you get when you hike up minimum wage for no good reason......

Seattle eateries closing as 15 minimum wage approaches Hot Air


Seattle’s $15 minimum wage law goes into effect on April 1, 2015. As that date approaches, restaurants across the city are making the financial decision to close shop. The Washington Policy Center writes that “closings have occurred across the city, from Grub in the upscale Queen Anne Hill neighborhood, to Little Uncle in gritty Pioneer Square, to the Boat Street Cafe on Western Avenue near the waterfront.”

Of course, restaurants close for a variety of reasons. But,according to Seattle Magazine, the “impending minimum wage hike to $15 per hour” is playing a “major factor.” That’s not surprising, considering “about 36% of restaurant earnings go to paying labor costs.” ..,

“Washington Restaurant Association’s Anthony Anton puts it this way: “It’s not a political problem; it’s a math problem.”

In reference to that last quote, it’s certainly a math problem for the restaurant owners, but that doesn’t eliminate the fact that it’s a political problem for the social justice warriors who shoved this initiative through. Of course, the problems in question are all too real for the workers who are now “benefiting” from having their wages bumped up by more than 50% in some cases, and it involves some calculating as well. Our friend Bruce McQuain asks the question which puts this whole math issue in focus. What’s $15 times zero again?

Are there alternatives to closing? Sure. But they’re the same ones we’ve talked about for years:

Restaurant owners, expecting to operate on thinner margins, have tried to adapt in several ways including “higher menu prices, cheaper, lower-quality ingredients, reduced opening times, and cutting work hours and firing workers,” according to The Seattle Times and Seattle Eater magazine. As the Washington Policy Center points out, when these strategies are not enough, businesses close, “workers lose their jobs and the neighborhood loses a prized amenity.”

Welcome to the land of $17 dollar cheeseburgers. And, as you can figure out fairly quickly, everything else will be more expensive too … which, of course, erodes the purchasing power of that $15 wage. More importantly, if you work for one of those establishments that is closing, your wage is $15 times zero hours, isn’t it?

Yo, this is the kind of shit that happens when you vote for a Socialist Progressive Democrat!!! These people in that Party should be selling hot dogs at a ballgame, non-Political Job!!!

"GTP"

 

[Steve_McGarrett]

It is possible to have higher wages, but that goes with an all-White society.

In today's unnecessary multi-racial society, we have the following problems:

Businesses are forced to hire incompetent non-Whites making them less productive

Everyone must pay taxes to support the ever-increasing welfare class

White people must spend more of their income on bloated mortgages for the privilege of living in a neighborhoods without gang scumbags roaming the streets so many people stop going out and stay at home more.

 

[1stRambo]

Yo, Seattle should`ve done this? You notice what Party came up with the idea? Yes, Socialist!!!

German employers get creative to skirt new minimum wage
Thursday, March 12, 2015 MICHELLE MARTIN FOR REUTERS

• image: http://newsdaily.com/wp-content/upl...15binary_LYNXMPEB2B0ZR-BASEIMAGE-800x517.jpeg
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Members of the Verdi trade union move a giant police signalling disc demanding a country-wide minimum wage in Berlin, June 18, 2014. The writing reads: "Minimum Wage". REUTERS/Thomas Peter
  

By Michelle Martin

BERLIN (Reuters) – From charging slaughterhouse workers for their knives to compensating staff with tanning salon vouchers, German employers are coming up with creative ways to avoid paying a new minimum wage, angering unions.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government introduced Germany’s first nationwide wage floor of 8.50 euros per hour early this year. The law was the brainchild of the Social Democrats (SPD), who made it a condition of joining Merkel’s coalition in 2013.

The centre-left party argued that it was a necessary response to the sharp rise in low-wage jobs over the past decade. Some 3.7 million people were expected to benefit.

But in the months since it went into effect it has become clear that not everyone is taking home more pay. The NGG food and catering union is fielding up to 400 calls a day from people who say their employers are finding ways to circumvent the law.

“We’re seeing some employers display an awful lot of creativity to get round paying the minimum wage,” Burkhard Siebert of the NGG said.

He said some workers were no longer getting paid for overtime. Others are being charged for drinks and clothing they are required to wear on the job.


Read more at German employers get creative to skirt new minimum wage NewsDaily

"GTP"

 

[Sonny Clark]

There is no desire to spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on a college degree if the person stuffing french friends into a cardboard container is making what they had hoped to make after going to college. Just go flip burgers and make a killing. A living wage, according to liberals, is being able to buy ANYTHING you want. Cell phones, internet, TV, you fucking name it, that's a living wage. If you can use it while you're living, your burger flipping job should pay for it.

A little eye opener liberals: they won't have a job at all if the fast food they stuff into bags costs more than people are willing to pay.

A "living wage" is one that allows a worker to be self-supporting, without the need for assistance, especially government assistance programs. Of course, it's different depending on where one lives. It cost more to live in New York City than it does to live in Jackson Mississippi.

 

[Where_r_my_Keys]

The Labor Force Participation Rate is "back to the 70s". Job creation in this fake recovery is less than half of what it was in the 80s. We have record numbers of people classified as being in poverty. These aren't exactly hallmarks of a Robust Economy, bub.

1/4 of that labor participation loss is retirees. Others are people going on disability. Yes, certainly a portion of it is people who gave up looking for a job. However the issue isn't so much of a lack of jobs - that growth has been great - it's because wages are too low. People won't take jobs with shitty pay. Another reason for this is that there are too many jobs that Americans are not qualified for. Obama tried to address these issues in two ways: trying to raise the minimum wage and trying to implement job training programs at community colleges. Republicans blocked both of these attempts. They are scumbags.

Translation: 3/4 of the drop is due to Dismal Obamanomics which destroys job creation.

Suck on that lollipop, junior.

Um no. The labor participation has been declining since before Obama took office. You recall that recession that happened at the end of Bush's second term? Yeah that one. We lost 8 million jobs from that and we have regained 11 million since then.

NONSENSE... obama took office after the catastrophic (inevitable) failure of socialist policy, wherein the Ideological Left coerced the financial markets to turn from sound, actuarial lending principle in favor of a perverse notion of 'fairness'... this resulted in the collapse of tens of thousands of businesses who in one way or another were modeled on or around the financial markets.

This resulted in the current depression the US has been in since 2008... .

Giving loans to people with no down payments, poor credit history, and insufficient incomes to make regular payments....what could possibly go wrong?

Yeah, right?? It turns out that 'everyone' does NOT deserve to own their own home.

My guess is that is what the sound, actuarial lending principle was used to figure out.

Go figure...

 

[Missouri_Mike]

Keep in mind these same people claiming mandated higher wages don't cost jobs are going to be the same ones demanding more money for welfare because too many people are out of work.

 

[DrDoomNGloom]

What is meaningless about that? You still haven't explained why enforcing a specific wage creates anything "artificial" whatever that means. The labor participation rate is down BECAUSE wages are low. People are discouraged by all the shitty paying jobs. The creation of part time jobs verses full time is really up to the actual job creators wouldn't you say? There is no evidence illegal immigrants is why wages are low. That's bullshit. Yes, technology also plays a role in the lack of hiring. Again, blame the job creators. Oh, and the stock market has been doing stellar.

No moron the labor participation rate is down because people are lazy and as long as they can sit on the couch and draw a check from uncle sambo, then they have no incentive to work .................

Jeez you folks perspectives are extremely skewed / biased!!

Lol perhaps you should educate on the following issues:

1) Who exactly is on welfare
2) The different types of welfare programs
3) How much those on welfare actually receive

Dependence on Government vs. the American Dream

 

[Billy000]

What is meaningless about that? You still haven't explained why enforcing a specific wage creates anything "artificial" whatever that means. The labor participation rate is down BECAUSE wages are low. People are discouraged by all the shitty paying jobs. The creation of part time jobs verses full time is really up to the actual job creators wouldn't you say? There is no evidence illegal immigrants is why wages are low. That's bullshit. Yes, technology also plays a role in the lack of hiring. Again, blame the job creators. Oh, and the stock market has been doing stellar.

No moron the labor participation rate is down because people are lazy and as long as they can sit on the couch and draw a check from uncle sambo, then they have no incentive to work .................

Jeez you folks perspectives are extremely skewed / biased!!

Lol perhaps you should educate on the following issues:

1) Who exactly is on welfare
2) The different types of welfare programs
3) How much those on welfare actually receive

This graph does nothing to address my three tasks, Do i really need to explain that to you?

Dependence on Government vs. the American Dream

This graph has nothing to do with the three tasks I assigned you. Do I really need to explain that to you?

 

[SwimExpert]

What is meaningless about that? You still haven't explained why enforcing a specific wage creates anything "artificial" whatever that means. The labor participation rate is down BECAUSE wages are low. People are discouraged by all the shitty paying jobs. The creation of part time jobs verses full time is really up to the actual job creators wouldn't you say? There is no evidence illegal immigrants is why wages are low. That's bullshit. Yes, technology also plays a role in the lack of hiring. Again, blame the job creators. Oh, and the stock market has been doing stellar.

No moron the labor participation rate is down because people are lazy and as long as they can sit on the couch and draw a check from uncle sambo, then they have no incentive to work .................

Jeez you folks perspectives are extremely skewed / biased!!

Lol perhaps you should educate on the following issues:

1) Who exactly is on welfare
2) The different types of welfare programs
3) How much those on welfare actually receive

Dependence on Government vs. the American Dream

Your graph is a crock of shit.

 

[Billy000]

It is possible to have higher wages, but that goes with an all-White society.

In today's unnecessary multi-racial society, we have the following problems:

Businesses are forced to hire incompetent non-Whites making them less productive

Everyone must pay taxes to support the ever-increasing welfare class

White people must spend more of their income on bloated mortgages for the privilege of living in a neighborhoods without gang scumbags roaming the streets so many people stop going out and stay at home more.

As usual you say things that simply sound right to you without actually bothering to educate yourself on the most basic of facts.

 

[airplanemechanic]

But "living wage" doesn't mean "living high on the hog wage".

I've seen numerous liberals say that means they should be able to buy a house, a car, TV with full cable, cell phone with unlimited everything, home internet service, etc all on a burger flippers pay.

That ain't living, that's chillin'.

 

[DarkFury]

But "living wage" doesn't mean "living high on the hog wage".

I've seen numerous liberals say that means they should be able to buy a house, a car, TV with full cable, cell phone with unlimited everything, home internet service, etc all on a burger flippers pay.

That ain't living, that's chillin'.

You know a funny thought just crossed my mind. Seattle elected it's first member of the communist party to the city counsel.
May 1st is May Day a big communist holiday. Strange it would start then.

 

[SuperDemocrat]

It’s evident that those Demoncrats don’t have a clue about economics. They never think of the consequences of their “feel good policies.” Neither do they have a clue how a business is run and operated. Seems to me this should be a litmus test for elected officials



Seattle eateries closing as 15 minimum wage approaches Hot Air

Don't you know anything. Those jobs will be filled by illegals...I mean...undocumented Americans. Documented Americans can't get them because the restaurant owner would have file taxes for them but with undocumented they don't have to let anyone know they are working there.

 

[PaintMyHouse]

It’s evident that those Demoncrats don’t have a clue about economics. They never think of the consequences of their “feel good policies.” Neither do they have a clue how a business is run and operated. Seems to me this should be a litmus test for elected officials



Seattle eateries closing as 15 minimum wage approaches Hot Air

Don't you know anything. Those jobs will be filled by illegals...I mean...undocumented Americans. Documented Americans can't get them because the restaurant owner would have file taxes for them but with undocumented they don't have to let anyone know they are working there.

Capitalists love cheap and undocumented labor, obviously.