LA Minimum Wage raised to $15 starting 2020, rest of US may follow

[BringThePain834]

Los Angeles on Tuesday became the biggest U.S. city to raise its minimum wage to $15 an hour thanks to the city council.

Following a hot debate, the city council voted 14 to 1 to approve a plan to gradually increase the required wage to $15 an hour by July 2020. The current $9-an-hour minimum wage was already slated to increase to $10 in January.

The pay bump will affect about 567,000 workers in the city, and the rest of the country is also likely to raise the wage to $15 in the near future as well

Source: Huffington Post

From what I can gather here, the LA City Council has voted to put the city on the fast track to ruin. Minimum wage jobs are not careers. These jobs have been traditionally done by high school/college students as an introduction to the workforce. Now many of these jobs will simply vanish as employers flee LA and those that stay replace employees with automation. Many small business (such as restaurants) will encounter reduced demand as these costs are passed on to customers and customers go elsewhere to find better value. And now, story time.

A long time ago, America had this thing called the Industrial Revolution. Businesses started making millions, and America was on the verge of becoming the #1 economic country in the world. As time went on, the U.K. began to crumble and America kept steadily rising until finally, the U.K. defaulted on their debt, and the U.S. took over as the top dog. This happened at around the time of Nixon. But then these evil things called "unions" started demanding outrageous amounts for work that didn't deserve that much pay. So to comp with that loss, businesses in the U.S. began having to charge more. As time went on, businesses began to charge more and more to comp for the stupid unions pushing for increased minimum wage. Which brings us to this crap. What needs to happen is an even lowering of wages, and thus a mandatory lowering of prices by the government. But will that happen? No. America is screwed if this plan goes nationwide

 

[Slyfox696]

From what I can gather here, the LA City Council has voted to put the city on the fast track to ruin. Minimum wage jobs are not careers.

Simple minded rhetoric which shows no concern for the complexity of the economics in society.

For many people now, minimum wage jobs ARE careers, whether you want it to be or not. Manual labor, which was once an important aspect of the our society, has now been outsourced to foreign countries or removed completely through technological automation. The type of person who traditionally would work those jobs still need some place to work and they should not be denied an opportunity to feed their family because of some elitist attitude about what kind of work is considered "good enough" to be worth a certain wage.

These jobs have been traditionally done by high school/college students as an introduction to the workforce.

And sometimes they still are. But sometimes they aren't. And who are you to say which jobs should or should not be worthy of a living wage?

Now many of these jobs will simply vanish as employers flee LA

Always with the scare tactics from those who fight the idea of paying someone enough to take care of themselves. Usually it's the same people who also despise "welfare".

Which is something I don't understand. They don't want people to earn enough money to provide for themselves but they also don't want to provide welfare for them to eat. I guess those people would rather the poor just die.

and those that stay replace employees with automation.

If a company could afford automation, it would likely already have happened, whether the wages were changed or not.

Many small business (such as restaurants) will encounter reduced demand as these costs are passed on to customers and customers go elsewhere to find better value.

Elsewhere? You mean to a restaurant who isn't paying the minimum wage?

Do you have any idea how ridiculous you're sounding right now?

And now, story time.

Oh boy...

A long time ago, America had this thing called the Industrial Revolution. Businesses started making millions, and America was on the verge of becoming the #1 economic country in the world. As time went on, the U.K. began to crumble and America kept steadily rising until finally, the U.K. defaulted on their debt, and the U.S. took over as the top dog. This happened at around the time of Nixon.

I guess the fact most of Europe was demolished in a costly war, a war which never really touched our shores, had nothing to do with it, right?

But then these evil things called "unions" started demanding outrageous amounts for work that didn't deserve that much pay.

Yes, how dare a group of people get together to demand their fair share of the money being made from the products THEY CREATED.

So to comp with that loss, businesses in the U.S. began having to charge more.

Your grasp of economics is incredibly weak.

What needs to happen is an even lowering of wages, and thus a mandatory lowering of prices by the government. But will that happen? No. America is screwed if this plan goes nationwide

No offense, but after having just now read that last line, I almost feel bad for wasting my time on someone which such an ignorant, and rather stupid, view of how the world works. You are literally pushing for government mandated deflation of the economy by taking control of business prices and you think this will make everything better.

I hope you realize how ridiculous you sound right now.

 

[Navi]

From what I can gather here, the LA City Council has voted to put the city on the fast track to ruin. Minimum wage jobs are not careers. These jobs have been traditionally done by high school/college students as an introduction to the workforce. Now many of these jobs will simply vanish as employers flee LA and those that stay replace employees with automation. Many small business (such as restaurants) will encounter reduced demand as these costs are passed on to customers and customers go elsewhere to find better value.

Where will these employer's flee too? Do you really think that paying someone and extra $40.00 a week is going to ruin someone's business? If that's the case then maybe they shouldn't be in business in the first place.

Besides if prices do go up, then those making minimum wage will still be in the same boat won't they. As what they are bringing in with the increase will go to buy the same items they always do.

I seriously doubt people will stop eating out just because a restaurant charges an extra couple of dollars for a meal. Most people won't even realize it. The only ones that will are cheap bastards, that don't eat out in the first place. Prices are raised all the time as the cost of living goes up, it's about time that wages reflected it.

 

[klunderbunker]

Regarding the prices going up, here's how that works in the real world.

Let's say you have three hamburger restaurants: Wendy's, Burger King and McDonald's. In the wake of the minimum wage going up (which is only going to directly affect a portion of the population in the first place), Wendy's and Burger King increase the price of a hamburger to let's say $2. McDonald's keeps their price at $1. Customers flock to McDonald's instead of the other two, forcing Wendy's and Burger King to lower their prices.

Simple, and above all else, logical instead of screaming THEY'RE RUINING THE COUNTRY AND KILLING ALL OF US BY HELPING PEOPLE NOT BE POOR!

 

[ABMorales787]

Psssstttt..... I'm a cook, caretaker and custodian at a Kindercare center here in the area. A credited child development center with schools all over country. Guess what. I don't make $15 an hour. I'm not close to it and its not minimum wage. And you know what? Even though this is a job that requires training for all 3 positions I work, its still unable to match the cost of living. So, yeah. That minimum wage increase? I could really use it. And I'm about $3 above the current one. So, OP. How's about you research on the lives of everyone in the area before you speak?

 

[Bagpipes]

Why anyone would complain about the government telling employers they have to give more of their money to the people who actually make them the money is beyond me.

 

[Steamboat Ricky]

I'm should read up more about this before I comment specifically on the minimum wage in LA leading to the demise of the United States' economy. But, I can't imagine that an increase in minimum wage would matter as much if corporate CEOs would be willing to give themselves reasonable salaries.

 

[BringThePain834]

Well basically what I'm saying is that all of this will lead to either more businesses laying more people off and demanding more work from less people, or increased prices. For example:

If I was paying $10/hr to 3 employees, I'm spending $30/hr total, right? Well now I'll pay $15/hr to 2 people, still totaling $30/hr. And those two people will be expected to do the work of three. Don't like it? Leave. Someone else will do it.

Or I'll continue paying my 3 employees equally, now at $15/hr, totaling $45/hr, but I'll raise prices to minimize my losses, which will decrease sales, cost me more money, lead to layoffs, etc... all for the economy to balance itself the way it does.

These employees who demanded the increase can't see it now, but they just screwed themselves completely. Two brain cells worth of business sense would have prevented this.

 

[ABMorales787]

Well basically what I'm saying is that all of this will lead to either more businesses laying more people off and demanding more work from less people, or increased prices. For example:

If I was paying $10/hr to 3 employees, I'm spending $30/hr total, right? Well now I'll pay $15/hr to 2 people, still totaling $30/hr. And those two people will be expected to do the work of three. Don't like it? Leave. Someone else will do it.

Or I'll continue paying my 3 employees equally, now at $15/hr, totaling $45/hr, but I'll raise prices to minimize my losses, which will decrease sales, cost me more money, lead to layoffs, etc... all for the economy to balance itself the way it does.

These employees who demanded the increase can't see it now, but they just screwed themselves completely. Two brain cells worth of business sense would have prevented this.

Has it occurred to you that if minimum wage goes up then that means people can pay for those higher priced meals, gas, etc? The idea is to make income and outcome balanced. Not throw off small businesses. This is Los Angeles we're talking about. The economy here is driven by international trades and Hollywood. Don't think the city itself will suffer for trying to balance things. The area commands about 100 billion dollars and still has a lot of unemployment and homeless people . I'd worry more about the drought if I were you.

 

[Alastor]

The intention might be to help the minimum wage earning population cope with rising costs of the city, but you can't deny the potential impact on small businesses. Some small business owners are living off small profit margins and the increase in labour costs might be the difference between staying in business or closing shop. Why risk incurring heavy losses for barely more than the projected minimum wages income when you can work for someone else and making slightly less without the burden of incurring losses if business fail?

Raising the minimum wage in an economy driven by international trade is even worse. You are making yourself even less competitive. There is a reason why studios are already making more and more films overseas. That's money going overseas.

How is raising the minimum wage going to help with unemployment? It is more with helping the working poor cope with costs. If anything, it would mean less jobs at that level because businesses need to cut costs to remain profitable.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Remember this: all the previous posts concern huge chain restaurants like Wendy's, McDonald's and Burger King......but the minimum wage would be required of every employer, right? (if not, disregard this post)

My Dad owned a medium-sized, neighborhood wine shop that did okay, not great. He put in 66 hours a week by himself and had two part-time employees. Had he been required to pay $15/hour, he would have been forced to go to one part-timer.

So, one person would be thrilled at her new wages, while the other would be looking for a job.....and my Dad, who worked too much anyway, would be forced to work even more.

I'm not saying the minimum wage increase is a bad thing; I'm just asking people to consider that not every employer is McDonald's......and there are additional ramifications to be considered.

 

[Torgo]

You guys do realize that the businesses will be forced to fire those they can no longer to afford to keep hired right?

Put it this way, the local mom and pop burger place is getting by, but barely. Now, they have to double their payout. What happens? They are gonna have to let go their staff. Maybe close down. Is that better?

I know, the minimum wage needs to go up. But, as how fast food isn't meant to sustain a family, a fast food job is not and will not support a family, no matter how much you raise the wage.

It also makes me mad when people say that they deserve 15 dollars an hour to flip burgers or push buttons on a cash register. How does that take more skill than, say, computer programming? No, you do not deserve a high wage for an entry level job. It's harsh but the truth is harsh sometime! Get a real job, then ask for 15 dollars an hour.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

You guys do realize that the businesses will be forced to fire those they can no longer to afford to keep hired right?

Or become more efficient, increase the price of their product, find cost savings elsewhere, get innovative, among other ways of running a business.

Put it this way, the local mom and pop burger place is getting by, but barely. Now, they have to double their payout. What happens? They are gonna have to let go their staff. Maybe close down. Is that better?

Double? Now? They are going from $9 to $15, that is not doubling and they are not making that leap now. It is a series of increases that will take years to take place. Please read.

Also how have the Mom and Pop been surviving all the other changes of cost in their business? The price of beef fluctuates. Delivery costs. Property taxes or rent. Store maintenance. How are they managing all this but some how an increase in the cost of labor is straw that break the camels back?

I know, the minimum wage needs to gotep. But, as how fast food isn't meant to sustain a family, a fast food job is not and will not support a family, no matter how much you raise the wage.

What if you raise it to $100 an hour? In other words, are you trying to make a point?

It also makes me mad when people say that they deserve 15 dollars an hour to flip burgers or push buttons on a cash register. How does that take more skill than, say, computer programming? No, you do not deserve a high wage for an entry level job. It's harsh but the truth is harsh sometime! Get a real job, then ask for 15 dollars an hour.

What computer programmer is making $15 an hour? Get out of Cheektowaga already!

Anyway, if a computer programmer is making $15 an hour, then that computer programmer will have additional options to find employment. Employers of computer programmers will be forced to be competitive with those other employers and thus have to increase the wages of the $15 an hour computer programmers. Pretty sweet deal for the pay class of employees who are not directly impacted by the minimum wage.

Make sense?

 

[Torgo]

Or become more efficient, increase the price of their product, find cost savings elsewhere, get innovative, among other ways of running a business.

Or close down. Which is more likely in this day and age?

Double? Now? They are going from $9 to $15, that is not doubling and they are not making that leap now. It is a series of increases that will take years to take place. Please read.

I'm talking on a national level. Current national minimum wage is 7.25/hour. Double that is 14.50

What if you raise it to $100 an hour? In other words, are you trying to make a point?

You could. You have about 2 paychecks before the place went bankrupt.

What computer programmer is making $15 an hour? Get out of Cheektowaga already!

I'm in Amherst

I'm also talking generally. I have no clue, that's not my field.

Anyway, if a computer programmer is making $15 an hour, then that computer programmer will have additional options to find employment. Employers of computer programmers will be forced to be competitive with those other employers and thus have to increase the wages of the $15 an hour computer programmers. Pretty sweet deal for the pay class of employees who are not directly impacted by the minimum wage.

Ok, so why can't the burger flippers use additional opputunities to find new employment?