A perfectly rational & reasoned post by Cecilie1200 on another thread has inspired me to belch out the following thoughts on the almost inevitable minimum wage increase. Warning, no simplistic, binary, shallow bumper sticker sloganeering ahead. I'm hopeful they'll be kept to a minimum on this thread (he says, not holding his breath).
First, if we take it out to the 20,000 foot level, an increase in the minimum wage (to, say, $15) will certainly not only squeeze profits in a low-margin industry and ultimately increase retail costs, but it will necessarily set off a chain reaction of higher wages and costs right up the salary scale. It won't just be an increase in wages at the lowest end, which appears to be what the clearly informed think.
But here's where it gets interesting - what would that actually look like? Well, there's the good, the bad, and the unknown. I'll (mercifully) keep them all as short as possible, and if the thread goes anywhere, we can expand on them.
The Good: Obviously an increase in the minimum wage will put dollars (deserved or not, from a business perspective) in the hands of low-income workers, increasing their quality of life (theoretically) and provide better stability on the low end of the economic scale. And it would largely mitigate the most reasonable argument proponents of the increase have: In this country, it's absurd that people who work full time still require public assistance. That truly is a form of corporate welfare.
The Bad: As mentioned above, it will set off a chain reaction of salary increases up the scale across the board and increase prices. But more concerning is the fact that it will also lead to hours cutbacks, slower hiring and further momentum towards automation. A business has to protect itself, and unfortunately there are far too many people in this discussion who really don't have the foggiest idea what running a business involves. Further, wage inflation is mitigated somewhat by price inflation, rendering it less valuable.
The Unknown: Here's a discussion I never see. I don't have data to back this up (too lazy right now) but I'm guessing that among the most affected industries and products will be fast food and lower retail cost items. Okay, to make a long story short, perhaps we're then talking quality over quantity. So we might be less likely to buy 3 Big Macs™ and wash them down with an extra super duper size fries; we won't find ourselves buying seven $3 shirts; on the other end, more of us may settle for a 48" mondo big screen teevee instead of a 60" double mondo version. On and on.
I guess what I'm saying here is that proponents of the increase will never bring this up, I suspect because they're afraid it might damage their argument. Still, the "freedom" (there's that word) to cram our homes and mouths with a lot of cheap crap may very well dinged somewhat by this increase.
But is that necessarily a bad thing, really?
Just saying.
.
First, if we take it out to the 20,000 foot level, an increase in the minimum wage (to, say, $15) will certainly not only squeeze profits in a low-margin industry and ultimately increase retail costs, but it will necessarily set off a chain reaction of higher wages and costs right up the salary scale. It won't just be an increase in wages at the lowest end, which appears to be what the clearly informed think.
But here's where it gets interesting - what would that actually look like? Well, there's the good, the bad, and the unknown. I'll (mercifully) keep them all as short as possible, and if the thread goes anywhere, we can expand on them.
The Good: Obviously an increase in the minimum wage will put dollars (deserved or not, from a business perspective) in the hands of low-income workers, increasing their quality of life (theoretically) and provide better stability on the low end of the economic scale. And it would largely mitigate the most reasonable argument proponents of the increase have: In this country, it's absurd that people who work full time still require public assistance. That truly is a form of corporate welfare.
The Bad: As mentioned above, it will set off a chain reaction of salary increases up the scale across the board and increase prices. But more concerning is the fact that it will also lead to hours cutbacks, slower hiring and further momentum towards automation. A business has to protect itself, and unfortunately there are far too many people in this discussion who really don't have the foggiest idea what running a business involves. Further, wage inflation is mitigated somewhat by price inflation, rendering it less valuable.
The Unknown: Here's a discussion I never see. I don't have data to back this up (too lazy right now) but I'm guessing that among the most affected industries and products will be fast food and lower retail cost items. Okay, to make a long story short, perhaps we're then talking quality over quantity. So we might be less likely to buy 3 Big Macs™ and wash them down with an extra super duper size fries; we won't find ourselves buying seven $3 shirts; on the other end, more of us may settle for a 48" mondo big screen teevee instead of a 60" double mondo version. On and on.
I guess what I'm saying here is that proponents of the increase will never bring this up, I suspect because they're afraid it might damage their argument. Still, the "freedom" (there's that word) to cram our homes and mouths with a lot of cheap crap may very well dinged somewhat by this increase.
But is that necessarily a bad thing, really?
Just saying.
.
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