FReepathon Day 58.
Posted on 11/27/2012 3:37:48 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
With the fiscal cliff looming, the deficit ballooning and the economy far from booming, the ongoing debate over how best to address the nation’s economic woes remains unsettled. Now, labor leaders and Occupy networks are agitating for what may be the fix: higher wages.
This Black Friday, workers at Walmart and other big box stores in 47 states began unprecedented demonstrations calling for higher wages and benefits. Although widespread and formally organized strikes have yet to be seen, the growing movement is likely to drive a larger national conversation about the way tens of millions of American workers are compensated.
Take Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer. There, the average sales associate makes $8.81/hour. Working full time (Walmart defines that as 34 hours per week), that person takes home less than $16,000 ever year. To put that in perspective, the federal poverty level for a family of four is $22,000; hence the label “poverty wages.”
It’s not just the fault of private employers, who typically pursue the wage floor set by the federal and state governments. The federal minimum wage remains at the low low rate of $7.25, less than it was in 1968 (inflation adjusted). Even working a full 40 hour week, that rate still leaves many Americans below poverty level.
Following his election in 2008, President Obama proposed a gradual increase of the federal minimum wage, to $9.50 an hour by 2011. That never materialized, but the promise remains on the transitional website of the President-elect...
(Excerpt) Read more at nyulocal.com ...
A printing press?
A company that earns no profit pays no wages in very short order.
Please tell us all how to raise wages while maintaining or growing employment. Perhaps those under $10 an hour workers at Wal-Mart and similar establishments should either get more training to make themselves more valuable to employers, start their own businesses or work their way up the retail ladder. Did you know that Wal-Mart managers make six and seven figure salaries?
Leftists are angry, dangerous children.
And it strikes me lately that they seem to think that wealth equality is the ONLY thing that matters in life.
Is it now unPC to say that it is often the case that there are manycontent poor people and many miserable wealthy people? Money really isn’t everything. Isn’t there still something to be said for being content with your station in life? Many people find peace in living simply. Or am I not supposed to say that?
It’s called wage-push inflation and the effects are well-known.
It leads to higher unemployment and a slower economy eventually.
And I should suppose that Brett is a poster child for the Food Stamp President’s proposal that “everyone” attend college, even the mentally deficient and mentally ill.
Think about it. Wages is a part of every business model - they are factored into the cost of the products/services. If wages are arbitrarily raised, then the cost of everything will also have to be increased. Raise the minimum wage to $100/hr and the next day that $100/hr has the same buying power as the $10/hr had before the wages went up. I grew up in the '50s and my uncle made about $50/week in '60. He was able to afford an apartment and a new car. Ask yourself why wages and prices have gotten so much higher over the last 50 years or so. What drive costs and wages up? How does it affect people? If costs go up due to outside interference and wages remain static because the business is not making more money even though it has to charge more, what does that mean to the consumer? Why does money devalue?
Just after Pelosi and Reid took the Congressional branch in 2006, one of the first actions they did was to push for a raise in minimum wage. Immediately after the UE rate started climbing and gas started to spike.
I’m sure it was not the cause of the housing bubble burst, however I do believe it was the “straw that broke the camels back.”
It must be nice to wake up as a liberal every morning with no knowledge of history and only filled with utopian hopes and dreams....
“Does anyone think the economy can truly recover without wages rising?....Low wages are the reason so many people are using government welfare programs and voting for the Democrats. “
Wages are irrelevant. What is relevant is purchasing power. What these same dopes are advocating is a 1 for 1 increase in labor and price. In fact, their “higher wage” will actually be a net decline in the purchasing power of those receiving that wage. For every $1 increase in wage, it costs the employer at least $1.10 and as much as $1.35.
In addition, that minimum wage increase not only negatively effects min wage employees, but it does not translate into an across the board raise for all employees. So, the few workers that will benefit will harm everyone’s purchasing power. In the article, it compares a $16K/yr wage with $22K as the poverty line. So, let’s do the math and assume a raise from $16K to $22K, 22-16=6*1.10=6.6.
Now, you can see that this gives the laborer $6K, but costs the employer $6,600 per employee. That cost is added to the goods produced or services offered, and all of a sudden you now have less purchasing power before the big raise! Plus, those making $25K now do not get the raise, but they do get to pay higher prices....
Don’t worry tho, we will be able to talk about how great the government was for giving so much to the poor people, but that was all cancelled out by the evil corporation stealing it all away!
If I were a leftist, I’d just advocate that we raise taxes on those employers! That’ll drive those prices down.
Axiomatic flaw: they think money IS wealth.
It’s not. It represents wealth.
$1 = (total national economic value) / (money supply)
Increase the minimum wage, and we’ll have to increase the money supply, devaluing a dollar to a smaller fraction of total wealth.
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