Posted on 08/01/2013 9:26:15 PM PDT by Jim Robinson
The Huffington Post reports that McDonalds could double its workers wages by raising the price of a Big Mac by 68 cents. It went large on the Internet on Tuesday.
Unfortunately, what it originally claimed was a study by a University of Kansas researcher turns out to be somethinga term paper, maybe?given to Huffington Post by a KU undergrad. And there are serious problems with it. The correction on its provenance came too late, though: its all over the internets:
McDonalds can afford to pay its workers a living wage without sacrificing any of its low menu prices, according to a new study provided to The Huffington Post by a University of Kansas student.
Doubling the salaries and benefits of all McDonalds employees from workers earning the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour to CEO Donald Thompson, whose 2012 compensation totaled $8.75 million would cause the price of a Big Mac to increase just 68 cents, from $3.99 to $4.67, Arnobio Morelix told HuffPost. In addition, every item on the Dollar Menu would go up by 17 cents.
Since the HuffPost doesnt bother to publish the actual study, which wasnt really a study, we cant really tell where these numbers are coming from. So lets back into them.
First of all, 68 cents may not sound like much, but it really means that McDonalds would have to raise its menu prices across the board by 17 percent. That aint peanuts.
Second, the 17 percent number is just incorrect. Its too low. Heres the latest McDonalds 10-K, which gives us a glimpse at the companys labor costs:
(Excerpt) Read more at cjr.org ...
“Why robots could soon replace fast food workers demanding higher minimum wage”
I have a handle on how businesses “think.” The unintended consequence of this protest is that every fast food restaurant headquarters immediately started its labor reduction plan. They put out feelers with suppliers for automated equipment. They started figuring on outsourcing; having outside suppliers come in and stock the robot’s feeder bins, etc. So, whether wages rise or not, the impact of this protest will eventually be fewer employees and more machines.
Fast-food restaurants begin outsourcing drive-through order-taking
http://www.twincities.com/ci_11555148
because the people might be able to build a simple burger but the complex task of taking the order is too hard.
right.
and the few employees left MIGHT actually get paid a bit better but how many of these protesting fools would you hire at a higher wage?
Do you know how cheaply an English-speaking (possibly better English than many US residents) call center worker in India or the Philippines is? And a good chance they’ll have a college education. I’ve seen sites where one can get a virtual assistant for about $200 per month, and those are some of the better ones.
I think the Huff Post should double the salaries of all its employees.
Huff Post employees get paid?
The name of the book is “What’s the Matter With Kansas” by Thomas Frank. I read it last year. Chocked full of typical Marxist lies and disinformation. For example, Frank regards capitalism as a criminal enterprise. His contention is that since one corporation that did business in Kansas might have done some illegal things, ALL!!! corporations are criminals enterprises. And Frank thinks Kansas Republicans vote for Pubbies strictly because of social issues like abortion when the facts are they mostly vote Republican for economic issues.
Exactly right.
I actually have an extremely cool business idea that I need to keep to myself though, so I’ll shut up.
Welcome to the Huffington Post Cafe
we have beans and rice
we have bean soup with rice
we have rice with beans
we have sweet rice and peppered beans
we have rice porridge if your sick
we have fried rice with a side of beans
I apologize for the delay, we can’t afford a wait staff so there’s just me, my name is Arianna. I am also the cook and dishwasher.
Ooh! I didn't think of that.
But its in the Korean label
Perfect!
It is cheaper to ask for a McDouble with mac sauce and lettuce, even if it costs you 60 cents more...
Yepper - some of these "experts" see a raw-material markup and forget about all the overhead....
I do soup at my office too.
I stopped going out for lunch when I realized that a minimum of $7 (but easily up to $12) PLUS a gallon of gas ($4) meant I was spending $11 a day, or $55 a week, or $220 a month ON LUNCH (probably more)
I bought a case of rice noodle soups from an Asian market so now lunch costs me 65 cents a day. ($13 a month)
When she realize that I was making about a buck an hour she shut up about my prices.
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