I don’t agree. And the snarkiness was uncalled for.
Your wage is a cost, one of many, that must come out of the sale of the good or service. I sell HVAC services. I can’t pay employees more than what I can sell them for on the open market, minus their other associated costs. The market for their services is what sets their wage. Employees don’t understand this, but that’s how it is. Wages go up when your services help the company make more money; not because you have worked another year, have worked hard, or whatever other inane reason people come up with.
You're right and I apologize
Your wage is a cost, one of many, that must come out of the sale of the good or service. I sell HVAC services. I can’t pay employees more than what I can sell them for on the open market, minus their other associated costs. The market for their services is what sets their wage. Employees don’t understand this, but that’s how it is. Wages go up when your services help the company make more money; not because you have worked another year, have worked hard, or whatever other inane reason people come up with.
What you say doesn't really make any sense. Because if a cost other than labor goes up, say copper tubing, you adjust the price of your product to account for the increased copper costs. If you labor expenses have to go up in order to acquire and retain quality employees than the price of your product needs to likewise go up. There is not some magical HVAC equipment price that customers won't go over.