"If minimum wage goes up, the price of everything goes up."

[jediuser598]

I think Jedi is suggesting that there's a magical Minimum Wage that affects nothing! OTHERWISE, why not a $30/hr Minimum Wage, or $100/hr. Hell, just hand the money over to the Worker, that's what Marxism is all about isn't it, the Worker IS the Owner.

I get so fuckin' sickin' tired of Minimum Wage people thinking ONLY LABOR is not affected by Market Forces.

When minimum wage is so low, it's the Tax Payer that is picking up the tab. If a worker works 40 hours a week at $15 an hour that's $600 a week. $2,400 a month. $28,800 a year. That's widening the tax base, my friend. That also means that they start not qualifying for other programs that they would qualify for at the federal minimum wage level of $7.25.

Also, this means they spend more money, putting more money back into the economy. A person that spends at a 1:1 rate is better for the economy at $15 an hour than they are at $7.25 an hour.

Now, there certainly is a limit, and I think you'll find that most people aren't advocating $30, $100, $200 an hour minimum wage.

[jediuser598]

DBTrek, weren't you saying some time ago that the job market in Seattle is thus, "If you can't find a job, you're just not trying." Something along those lines, with the minimum wage now being $15 an hour, is that still true, is there still a surplus of jobs in Seattle?

It's not the minimum wage jobs that make Seattle a good place to live.
It's the tech jobs, the manufacturing jobs, and the housing market.

You can work minimum wage jobs in any city.

Is it hard to find a job in Seattle?

[DBTrek]

Is it hard to find a job in Seattle?

For me, or for people with minimum wage skills?

[jediuser598]

Is it hard to find a job in Seattle?

For me, or for people with minimum wage skills?

The latter.

[TheReal_ND]

https://www.expresspros.com/Job-Seekers/Default.aspx

Boom all hooked up

[DBTrek]

I don't know . . . I never looked for minimum wage jobs in Seattle. The least I ever made was in 2004 when I first moved here as a temporary game tester for the Xbox team. Even then it was over $13 per hour. I imagine, like anywhere else, the steepest competition for jobs is among the nonskilled workers.

I came here with a work history, a technical background, and a college degree.
Wasn't hard to get a job.
If I came here with a HS diploma and no work experience?
No idea . . . ask someone in that situation.

[jediuser598]

Unemployment doesn't seem bad in Seattle:

Seattle/Bellevue/Everett
Unemployment rate 3.3%

https://fortress.wa.gov/esd/employmentd ... report.pdf

[BjornP]

I think Jedi is suggesting that there's a magical Minimum Wage that affects nothing! OTHERWISE, why not a $30/hr Minimum Wage, or $100/hr. Hell, just hand the money over to the Worker, that's what Marxism is all about isn't it, the Worker IS the Owner.

I get so fuckin' sickin' tired of Minimum Wage people thinking ONLY LABOR is not affected by Market Forces.

What I run into constantly is the saying "If you raise the minimum wage, the price of food will go up."

I would say that's simply not true, sure raising minimum wage might be a factor, but it's hardly the deciding factor.

We can run out all of the studies we want, from fox news, washington post, new york times, which one time or another all of you have said you simply don't trust, but the price of milk is the price of milk, something anyone can easily go and see. Just because minimum wage goes up, doesn't necessarily mean that the price of food goes up.

So, an orchard owner needing to pay his workers a higher minimum wage, will not need to make up the difference, somehow? If not the price of his product, then where? If we're talking major corporations with shareholders making more and more each year while employees get less and less, I can see that it's moving in a bad direction (globally, I think). But not all businesses are multi-national corps, and it's not really a minimum wage issue.

[TheReal_ND]

Implying an orchard owner isn't hiring Mexicans already

[jediuser598]

I think Jedi is suggesting that there's a magical Minimum Wage that affects nothing! OTHERWISE, why not a $30/hr Minimum Wage, or $100/hr. Hell, just hand the money over to the Worker, that's what Marxism is all about isn't it, the Worker IS the Owner.

I get so fuckin' sickin' tired of Minimum Wage people thinking ONLY LABOR is not affected by Market Forces.

What I run into constantly is the saying "If you raise the minimum wage, the price of food will go up."

I would say that's simply not true, sure raising minimum wage might be a factor, but it's hardly the deciding factor.

We can run out all of the studies we want, from fox news, washington post, new york times, which one time or another all of you have said you simply don't trust, but the price of milk is the price of milk, something anyone can easily go and see. Just because minimum wage goes up, doesn't necessarily mean that the price of food goes up.

So, an orchard owner needing to pay his workers a higher minimum wage, will not need to make up the difference, somehow? If not the price of his product, then where? If we're talking major corporations with shareholders making more and more each year while employees get less and less, I can see that it's moving in a bad direction (globally, I think). But not all businesses are multi-national corps, and it's not really a minimum wage issue.

When an orchard owner pays so little for his employees, guess who is picking up the tab anyways? The Taxpayer.

At federal minimum wage ($7.25 an hour), 40 hours a week, for a year, that employee of the Orchard Owner gets $13,920 a year, which buys less and less each year as inflation continues to make the dollar worth less and less.

What is your solution?