CEO Who Raised Minimum Salary to $70k, Falls On Hard Times

[das omen]

Shouldn't be much of a surprise to the War Room, Dan Price, the CEO of Seattle-based Gravity Payments raised the minimum salary for employees of his company to $70,000 while taking a pay cut of $930,000 himself, seems to be in a bit of trouble about 3 months into this experiment.

The company lost two of his most valuable employees, Price's brother and co-founder of the company, Lucas Price, has filed a lawsuit against the company. The CEO also has to rent out his house just to help cover his own bills.

For the time being, the minimum salary of $70,0000 is still in effect, but how long Gravity Payments can remain operational is anyone's guess.

http://dailycaller.com/2015/08/02/ceo-who-raised-minimum-salary-to-70k-falls-on-hard-times/

 

[SakuMemories]

fucking amazing the irrational fear people have with other people being payed "too much". why do they care so much?!

 

[RubberGuard5]

So, these guys that left the company don't care how much money they have, it's only important that they have a lot more then other people. wtf

 

[oldshadow]

fucking amazing the irrational fear people have with other people being payed "too much". why do they care so much?!

I don't care what any company pays as long as the government minimizes it's regulation of such pay.

I understand some regulation as in minimum wage but that has to be balanced with other considerations.

 

[SakuMemories]

So, these guys that left the company don't care how much money they have, it's only important that they have a lot more then other people. wtf

Pretty much yeah. Or, its only important that the poor keep being poor. This is what motivates those people: The poor need to continue having a shitty life. That is all that matters.

You see this is all the minimum wage debates. What is important to right-wingers is that the poor keep being poor, that they don't earn half a cent more than they "deserve". This is what drives such debates and motivates people ideologically and politically.

Of course they throw in some bullshit like "if minimum wage goes up prices will increase!" forgetting that wages are just a fraction of expenses (sometimes a small one, depending on the industry).

 

[oldshadow]

Maisey McMaster was also one of the believers. Now 26, she joined the company five years ago and worked her way up to financial manager, putting in long hours that left little time for her husband and extended family.

 

[SakuMemories]

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2015/08/02/c...ary-to-70k-falls-on-hard-times/#ixzz3hrxL37tY

^ yeah basically what we were saying

omg did poor people get paid more? OUTRAGE! I QUIT!

people are so cowardly sometimes I wonder how we have survived as a species so far

 

[oldshadow]

^ yeah basically what we were saying

omg did poor people get paid more? OUTRAGE! I QUIT!

people are so cowardly sometimes I wonder how we have survived as a species so far

They said you don't value my talent and what I bring to the company as shown by the pay I get so I would be happier someplace else.

So should everyone be paid the same no matter the requirements of their job and what they bring to the company?

 

[RubberGuard5]

They said you don't value my talent and what I bring to the company as shown by the pay I get so I would be happier someplace else.

So should everyone be paid the same no matter the requirements of their job and what they bring to the company?

They didn't get paid the same. They even got raises. They are buthurt because the gap narrowed. They'll probably be paid less in their next job.

 

[ripskater]

God bless this ceo. Good on him for paying well.

 

[oldshadow]

They didn't get paid the same. They even got raises. They are buthurt because the gap narrowed. They'll probably be paid less in their next job.

How much did it narrow, it must have been quite a lot considering they looked for a new job.

I would say they were smart enough to find something that paid as much or more before the left.

It's his company and he can do what he wants but that raise is not going to help them if they don't have a job anymore.

 

[SakuMemories]

They said you don't value my talent and what I bring to the company as shown by the pay I get so I would be happier someplace else.

So should everyone be paid the same no matter the requirements of their job and what they bring to the company?

Man it really fascinates me that you don't see this. You just fell into the same trap, just seconds after we mentioned it. Its very interesting as a cultural phenomenon, that you guys get so uppity when poorer people earn more. Its amazing.

Me I don't give a fuck what others are paid in my company. I want reasonably defined job positions manned by competent professionals that do their best. I don't care if they are having mountains or money airdropped into their houses every day or are paid 2 cents a year. Doesn't matter.

 

[Breakitdown]

Pretty obvious that this would happen. People don't care about the dollar amount (presumably they were fine with their pay beforehand), they care about how much more they are making than their lower level co workers. Pretty embarrassing insight into the minds of the people who quit.

 

[kpt018]

Why wouldn't we be surprised? There are plenty of companies with high salaries that are very profitable (law firms, accounting practices, consulting, IT firms, off the top of my head).

Here is a better piece on this story:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/02/b...klash-against-the-raise-that-roared.html?_r=0

It's hard to tell without financials and being inside the company, but it sounds like a lawsuit, loss of key employees and loss of customers had just as big if not a bigger role in causing financial stress as the raise in salary for workers.

 

[IDL]

It was a social experiment. It's going to have pros and cons.

It's predictable that it would impact the incentive of higher earners as one of the drawbacks. Often people do want to see their efforts as paying off. It provides incentive to climb.

 

[oldshadow]

Man it really fascinates me that you don't see this. You just fell into the same trap, just seconds after we mentioned it. Its very interesting as a cultural phenomenon, that you guys get so uppity when poorer people earn more. Its amazing.

Me I don't give a fuck what others are paid in my company. I want reasonably defined job positions manned by competent professionals that do their best. I don't care if they are having mountains or money airdropped into their houses every day or are paid 2 cents a year. Doesn't matter.

How does a company reward hard work and the value you are to them?

The only way is through some type of payment or benefit (including promotion to a higher paying job).

 

[PolishHeadlock]

Pretty much yeah. Or, its only important that the poor keep being poor. This is what motivates those people: The poor need to continue having a shitty life. That is all that matters.

You see this is all the minimum wage debates. What is important to right-wingers is that the poor keep being poor, that they don't earn half a cent more than they "deserve". This is what drives such debates and motivates people ideologically and politically.

Of course they throw in some bullshit like "if minimum wage goes up prices will increase!" forgetting that wages are just a fraction of expenses (sometimes a small one, depending on the industry).

I don't think you're going to find many people that are totally against the idea of a minimum wage but a lot of people realize that a national minimum wage isn't rational as the cost of living is different in different areas. I have no problem with states and/or municipalities enforcing minimum wages as they know the cost of living better and other states/municipalities can see the effect.

On top of that I know liberal economists who worry that bumping up the minimum wage too much can price unskilled labor out of the market and speed up industries switching to automation.

I think we should be focusing our resources more on education/job training etc than minimum wage especially when you look at the % of people that make the minimum wage.

http://www.industryweek.com/education-training/why-america-has-shortage-skilled-workers

Over the next decade we're going to have a shortage in supply of 2 million skilled manufacturing laborers.

 

[kpt018]

Pretty obvious that this would happen. People don't care about the dollar amount (presumably they were fine with their pay beforehand), they care about how much more they are making than their lower level co workers. Pretty embarrassing insight into the minds of the people who quit.

We see a similar thought process when discussing the minimum wage. I lost count of how many times I have seen people bitch about the $15/hour law because of something along the lines of "I'm a paramedic and only make $11. Those dumb fast food workers don't deserve to make what I make!". These types literally would rather make $11/hour instead of $15 to maintain their social standing. It's fucking nuts (not to mention fast food is a shitty job and you do actually work your ass off and deal with asshole customers).

 

[Lee978]

I applaud his efforts but can't say that I'm surprised.

 

[oldshadow]

We see a similar thought process when discussing the minimum wage. I lost count of how many times I have seen people bitch about the $15/hour law because of something along the lines of "I'm a paramedic and only make $11. Those dumb fast food workers don't deserve to make what I make!". These types literally would rather make $11/hour instead of $15 to maintain their social standing. It's fucking nuts (not to mention fast food is a shitty job and you do actually work your ass off and deal with asshole customers).

How much training does it take to replace that fast food worker and how much does it take to replace the paramedic?

What should the paramedic's reward be for the training and responsibly he now has?