Posted on 04/25/2018 9:44:57 AM PDT by blam
I stopped to grab a burger in Marin County today and was kind of shocked to see the following posted on the front door.
That is a pretty steep starting wage for nonskilled labor, and $5.00 more than the California minimum wage.
In-N-Out does pay their employees well. The private burger chain pays store managers an average yearly salary of more than $160,000 with no college degree or previous management experience required. Facebook engineers soon to be flipping burgers.
Nonbinding
It is clear the minimum wage in California is nonbinding — that is irrelevant — and all the bluster about raising it would cause unemployment is just that, bluster.
During softer economic times, when the minimum wage is binding, the story changes. Not now, however.
Passing It On
Nevertheless, it did feel prices have risen for a burger, fries, and soda since the last time I was in an In-N-Out. I think it cost me around $8.50 today.
Does anyone remember the days of a $.35 Big Mac?
Real Minimum Wage Higher
Here is what is interesting about that $16.00 per hour offer.
In 1980, the minimum wage was $3.10 per hour, which equates to $9.94 in today’s inflation-adjusted dollars. The minimum wage is $11.00 in California, so a slight increase in the real wage.
If In-N-Out is forced to pay almost 50 percent above that to attract decent burger flippers and the company can pass it on in higher prices, inflation cometh is here, folks.
Other firms will have to pay higher wages to keep and attract their workers if In-N-Out is going to start bidding up the labor market.
We are happy for the entry-level workers, high school, and college kids that now have a higher return on their labor.
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at macromon.wordpress.com ...
I remember getting a hamburger & French Fries at McDonalds in San Jose, Calif in 1966 for $0.18.
Inflation sucks:
Inflation: the gift that never stops giving, to the government. The ruling elite has protected itself from rising prices by giving themselves “Cost of living adjustments” in their salaries and pensions. Rising prices allow the economists to crow about how the economy is “growing”, when all that is happening is that the numbers are increasing due to the decreased purchasing power of currency. The constantly decreasing value of savings tends to reduce a lifetime’s work effort to zero value. This makes the elderly, who are not allowed to work, more dependent on the fucking government.
I usually stop and get an egg mcmuffin every Sunday on my way to Church. I have for years. I’ve noticed they’ve been going up about a nickle every two or three weeks for the last 6 months, at least.
I've never heard of Global Macro Monitor in my life, but — based on this story — I question the quality of their thinking.
In-N-Out has always paid more than its competitors, because they are busy, the kids are really nice, and the stores make a lot of money.
blam:Yes, I miss the gold-backed dollar as well.
"Does anyone remember the days of a $.35 Big Mac? "
I remember getting a hamburger & French Fries at McDonalds in San Jose, Calif in 1966 for $0.18.
I don’t mind paying more if a place pays their employees decently.
If somebody is worried about a buck in the price of a 6 dollar burger to the point they are upset at a hard working kid making $15 an hour they deserve to have their burger made by illegal with typhus and a 105 fever.
Inflation - the cruelest tax of all.
The sit-down restaurants are hiring fewer staff because of the minimum wage hike. As a result, longer waiting times to have your order taken, to have your meal delivered to your table, and and the food is not as good anymore,
Seems to me the price of almost everything has doubled in the last 15 years. We consistently pay more and get less.
>>>If...the company can pass it on in higher prices, inflation cometh is here, folks.
That’s a big if. Restaurants and grocers have not been able to pass on the higher costs.Instead, they are seeing tighter margins
It helps kids with student loans who have fixed rates, people who own a home and want to sell, older people with money in savings accounts who will get higher interest rates.
Inflation hurts groups who have loaned out money and will be paid back with money 'worth less' - bankers, landlords who hold long term leases... etc. It'll hurt people with variable rate mortgages and help people with fixed rates.
It is not correct to observe the high minimum wage in Marin County and extrapolate to the entire country.
Marin County is one of the richest in the US. There are fewer potential workers there to draw on so I&O has to pull them from poorer areas.
Inflation is a monetary phenomenon not a function of wage rates.
A bag of burgers for $1
The big caveat to that is - you have to trust the Government's inflation statistics. Many people do not.
If you’re living on a fixed income inflation’s dreadful... Each month your money’s worth less. If you’re paying off a loan, each month what you pay back is less - well, if you have a fixed rate loan.
Memorial Indigestion
Inflation is also being lied about. There are myriad games they play in what goes into the calculation. Beef goes up, they substitute that number with chicken.
The government has a deep personal interest in saying inflation is low. That way they can justify no COLA for social security, no military pay raises, etc. But most of all the interest rates don’t go up on their incredible debt load.
Them pretending inflation is low is essentially yet another tax.
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