Social Minimum Wage now at $20 an hour in California

[Senzo Tanaka]

The people complaining about $20 minimum wage have never tried to live on minimum wage. It’s literally impossible. $20 makes it somewhat doable but would still be tough in CA. The entire purpose of minimum wage was to ensure the bare minimum you can be paid where you can afford to eat and live and yes, that included rent/mortgage.

The burden is on the government to hold business accountable and not raise prices, outsource or automate. These companies are rolling in profit and while yes, they will lose a little profit by paying workers more, it’s a drop in the bucket for them.

Instead of blaming the workers, blame Wall Street and stock trading for demanding insane profit and growth every quarter.

 

[ColemanwastheGOAT]

And yet unemployment effectively stayed flat in the state (slightly down due to economic slow down). Sounds like the labor market adjusted and absorbed these workers.

Cooked numbers. As usual.

It's the highest in the nation and will get higher.

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2024-03-22/californias-unemployment-rate-is-the-highest-in-the-nation-slower-job-growth-is-to-blame

 

[nostradumbass]

And yet unemployment effectively stayed flat in the state (slightly down due to economic slow down). Sounds like the labor market adjusted and absorbed these workers.

No it didn't. California's unemployment rate was 3.8% a year and a half ago, and it's now 5.3%.

The people complaining about $20 minimum wage have never tried to live on minimum wage. It’s literally impossible. $20 makes it somewhat doable but would still be tough in CA. The entire purpose of minimum wage was to ensure the bare minimum you can be paid where you can afford to eat and live and yes, that included rent/mortgage.

The burden is on the government to hold business accountable and not raise prices, outsource or automate. These companies are rolling in profit and while yes, they will lose a little profit by paying workers more, it’s a drop in the bucket for them.

Instead of blaming the workers, blame Wall Street and stock trading for demanding insane profit and growth every quarter.

The burden is on the government to force businesses to stay open and lose money? Christ, 4 years ago it was their job to shut them all down, and now it's to force them to stay open at a loss. Nobody was "blaming the workers" in the first place, the blame is on the state for coming up with disastrous ideas to cover for the mistakes they've already made.

Most fast food places are franchises, meaning they're small businesses that don't even make that much individually. The corporations make their money off franchise fees, royalties and real estate. The average profit for a McDonald's location is about $150k. With an average of 8 employees working at a time, open for 18 hours in a day, that would make a $5/hour pay increase an additional $262,000/year for a place that only had $150k profit in the first place. How in the shit is that place supposed to stay open without increasing prices, cutting hours, or just closing down and moving?

OK, great, let's just pretend that all of these places don't raise prices, keep hiring people and just operate at a 6 figure loss every year and stay open for some bizarre reason, so that every 18-24 year old no longer needs a roommate and everybody can instantly buy their own house with their first job as a cashier. Do you think housing prices would increase or decrease if everybody started buying places individually instead of living with other people?

 

[Sinister]

He probably does. What he doesn’t understand is how to write good posts

He is barely literate.

 

[avenue94]

Cooked numbers. As usual.

It's the highest in the nation and will get higher.

https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2024-03-22/californias-unemployment-rate-is-the-highest-in-the-nation-slower-job-growth-is-to-blame

How are the numbers cooked? Their quoted in your article from a right-leaning think tank.

No it didn't. California's unemployment rate was 3.8% a year and a half ago, and it's now 5.3%.

That's not the time frame the article mentioned, which is what I was referring to.

 

[west42]

No it didn't. California's unemployment rate was 3.8% a year and a half ago, and it's now 5.3%.


The burden is on the government to force businesses to stay open and lose money? Christ, 4 years ago it was their job to shut them all down, and now it's to force them to stay open at a loss. Nobody was "blaming the workers" in the first place, the blame is on the state for coming up with disastrous ideas to cover for the mistakes they've already made.

Most fast food places are franchises, meaning they're small businesses that don't even make that much individually. The corporations make their money off franchise fees, royalties and real estate. The average profit for a McDonald's location is about $150k. With an average of 8 employees working at a time, open for 18 hours in a day, that would make a $5/hour pay increase an additional $262,000/year for a place that only had $150k profit in the first place. How in the shit is that place supposed to stay open without increasing prices, cutting hours, or just closing down and moving?

OK, great, let's just pretend that all of these places don't raise prices, keep hiring people and just operate at a 6 figure loss every year and stay open for some bizarre reason, so that every 18-24 year old no longer needs a roommate and everybody can instantly buy their own house with their first job as a cashier. Do you think housing prices would increase or decrease if everybody started buying places individually instead of living with other people?

Businesses don't exist to make a profit they exists to provide livable jobs to their employees

 

[nostradumbass]

How are the numbers cooked? Their quoted in your article from a right-leaning think tank.

That's not the time frame the article mentioned, which is what I was referring to.

The time frame of the article is from when it was signed, during which the unemployment rate did increase, but fast food jobs cut more than other sectors. The new law doesn't apply across the board, it's just fast food, excluding the places that Newsom's friends own, so jobs being cut from that industry and shifting to ones where the new wage mandates don't apply is about what you'd expect. The employees still don't get the increase, they just have to change jobs and get their old wage from somebody else.

 

[avenue94]

The time frame of the article is from when it was signed, during which the unemployment rate did increase, but fast food jobs cut more than other sectors. The new law doesn't apply across the board, it's just fast food, excluding the places that Newsom's friends own, so jobs being cut from that industry and shifting to ones where the new wage mandates don't apply is about what you'd expect. The employees still don't get the increase, they just have to change jobs and get their old wage from somebody else.

Yes, and I pointed out, overall state unemployment stayed flat during the time period of the article (down 0.2 percent, likely accounted by the overall economic downturn). This suggests the labor market was able to absorb displaced fast food workers.

 

[nostradumbass]

Yes, and I pointed out, overall state unemployment stayed flat during the time period of the article (down 0.2 percent, likely accounted by the overall economic downturn). This suggests the labor market was able to absorb displaced fast food workers.

So who does it help if you were making $16/hr working as a cashier at burger king before, and are now making $16/hr working as a cashier at home depot? The wage mandate didn't follow you to the next job, your wage did. The work is the same, the pay is the same, it's just a different person writing the check.

 

[avenue94]

So who does it help if you were making $16/hr working as a cashier at burger king before, and are now making $16/hr working as a cashier at home depot? The wage mandate didn't follow you to the next job, your wage did. The work is the same, the pay is the same, it's just a different person writing the check.

1. Net spending increase for the state as anyone still working in fast food now has more disposable income
2. You're also assuming that Home Depot will maintain the same wage, which it might, or it might increase in order become a more competitive buyer of labor.

At any rate, it's way too early to determine whether the wage increase worked or not, but it's pretty clear we haven't seen all the claims of doom come to fruition so far.

 

[nostradumbass]

1. Net spending increase for the state as anyone still working in fast food now has more disposable income
2. You're also assuming that Home Depot will maintain the same wage, which it might, or it might increase in order become a more competitive buyer of labor.

At any rate, it's way too early to determine whether the wage increase worked or not, but it's pretty clear we haven't seen all the claims of doom come to fruition so far.

Do you have a source suggesting other minimum wage places have voluntarily increased their wages to match the ones that have caused other places to slash jobs and hours and increase prices?

It isn't even too early. It certainly should be, and would be if the increase was smaller, but jobs being cut at 6x the rate of other industries almost instant price increases on what were already the highest in the country. What hasn't come to fruition? They've all increased prices, cut jobs and hours, and business has declined.

 

[avenue94]

Do you have a source suggesting other minimum wage places have voluntarily increased their wages to match the ones that have caused other places to slash jobs and hours and increase prices?

This is one of the main concerns of minimum wage increases. At any rate, I said they might or might not. I doubt Home Depot has raised its wages overnight, big chains like that don't react that quickly to labor market shifts.

They've all increased prices, cut jobs and hours, and business has declined.

Sounds like the problem is more with the overall fast food business, rather than labor costs. At any rate, McDonald's corporate fucks franchisees far more than labor costs. It's telling that labor costs are what immediately spring to mind when folks want to play the "woe the poor franchisee" card.

 

[ColemanwastheGOAT]

So who does it help if you were making $16/hr working as a cashier at burger king before, and are now making $16/hr working as a cashier at home depot? The wage mandate didn't follow you to the next job, your wage did. The work is the same, the pay is the same, it's just a different person writing the check.

Apparently, he went to the Jack Savage school of economics lol.

 

[Loiosh]

I thought I was getting him a treat. He turned his nose away.

My cats won't eat salmon, some pets are just freaks.

Or my salmon is poison.

 

[PBAC]

if you care that much why not consider just drinking in a cheaper store? I mean, it's the most expensive coffee brand.

 

[emefer]

My cats won't eat salmon, some pets are just freaks.

Or my salmon is poison.

Maybe it’s just your cooking.

 

[Loiosh]

Maybe it’s just your cooking.

I didn't cook the salmon I gave my cats.

On the other hand, one of my cats fucking LOVES pork belly.

 

[no fat chicks]

People with low income already have to spend it all on basic necessities. Giving them more money will help them stay afloat while giving local businesses more customers.
I can't believe the disdain for poor people. There's no reason they should be worse off now than 20 years ago.

 

[ShadowRun]

My cats won't eat salmon, some pets are just freaks.

Or my salmon is poison.

I would have bet your cat was a vegetarian ....

 

[Two Crows]

People with low income already have to spend it all on basic necessities. Giving them more money will help them stay afloat while giving local businesses more customers.
I can't believe the disdain for poor people. There's no reason they should be worse off now than 20 years ago.

They aren't, at least in the majority of the USA.

Every standard has risen compared to 20 years ago. When I was a kid, we actually ate "government cheese", and I can't find a person within 20 years of my birth that even knows what that was.

"Garlic Bologna" and cheese (meaning government cheese) was at least 50% of my meals before finishing high school. I can't remember the last person I met who even knew what either of those things were.

If you believe "poor" people today are anything like poor people in the 1980's or 90's ... I don't have any idea how to bridge the gap, lol.