Posted on 01/31/2019 7:08:03 AM PST by lowbridge
The result of the Fight for 15 movement in New York City has finally gone into effect. The minimum wage jumped by 15% in many cases, to $15 per hour this month. This mostly affects employers of lower skill level workers, particularly in the food service and beverage industries. And now that labor costs have risen, restaurants from fast food joints to upper-end fine dining establishments have raised their prices. As a result, some people have had to make adjustments in their budgets and lifestyles, going out to eat less often and bringing their own lunches to work.
As you might imagine, that’s not only been annoying for the customers. It’s impacting the restaurant business as well. (NY Post)
New York City’s hotly contested minimum wage increase to $15 — up from $13 or $13.50, depending on employer size — rolled out citywide at the start of the year. And although that’s good news for NYC restaurant servers, patrons are grumbling about its impact on menu prices at their favorite eateries.
Ahead of the wage hike, the NYC Hospitality Alliance conducted a survey of 574 local food establishments in late 2018. They found that 87 percent of respondents planned to increase menu prices this year to offset the minimum wage bump. True to their promise, the cost of food has risen at various spots around the city.
(Excerpt) Read more at hotair.com ...
Exactly. And that ‘analysis’ assumes that the wage hike only affects the labor side of his ledger...ignoring the effect the hike would have on food costs, etc.
In the trades? 15 years ago. Out of the trades and on my own... I still do jobs for 20 and hour if im desperate enough! point being there are skilled, Non Union factory jobs all over that pay 13 to 16 an hour!! $15 is TOO much for a greenhorn who never worked before and walks thru the friggin door looking for a job!
I see you know absolutely nothing about business or the people that operate them.
Congratulations - you have won the idiot of the day award.
You can now join my blocked list.
Well good for you. That makes you a real life expert doesn't it? That's what our employees assumed as well. One day they confronted my dad and I and said they all wanted to a pay raise or they were going to quit.
My dad had already lost nearly every dime he had. We were already paying them twice what the minimum wage was at that time, none of them were particularly bright or had any special skills beyond what you could find waiting around a Home Depot parking lot. So we told them to gather their things and go away, because they were fired. A couple of them came back the next day and said they were sorry and got their jobs back. The rest of them were replaced with better workers within a couple days.
Easy to fix. Just pass the Affordable Food Act requiring all tax payers to buy lunch and dinner or pay a fine.
Assuming your numbers are correct, which I doubt, you imagine this in a static world. The workers at other food suppliers now also get $15. So does everyone in the supply chain that is minimum wage. The Union people, often have contracts that include wages relative to the minimum so everything they touch goes up too. Everything gets more expensive and it leads to more increases than the simple numbers you throw around.
You use that word loosely. You don't seem to understand it.
If you made $20.00/hr 15 years age and adjusted for inflation it works out to $27.00/hr today.
Now you're throwing a smokescreen. You had said "...all labor costs, from top to bottom, are included in the price of products."
I challenged you on your assertion that ALL labor costs - from top to bottom, are included in the price of products. That's a ludicrous statement. So now you want to change the subject and throw in taxes, inventory, interest, insurance, real estate, etc.
Do some of these factor in to the price of a product? Of course. But does "all labor costs, from top to bottom, are included in the price of products"? Of course not. Maybe, maybe not. But to say "ALL" is a gross oversimplification.
Let's try a simple example, which maybe even you can figure out:
Jane owns a business that resells machines. At the start of 2009, she has no machines or parts on hand. She buys machines A and B for 10 each, and later buys machines C and D for 12 each. All the machines are the same, but they have serial numbers. Jane sells machines A and C for 20 each. Her cost of goods sold depends on her inventory method. Under specific identification, the cost of goods sold is 10 + 12, the particular costs of machines A and C. If she uses FIFO, her costs are 20 (10+10). If she uses average cost, her costs are 22 ( (10+10+12+12)/4 x 2). If she uses LIFO, her costs are 24 (12+12). Thus, her profit for accounting and tax purposes may be 20, 18, or 16, depending on her inventory method. After the sales, her inventory values are either 20, 22 or 24.So...if we were to go by your original assertion, "...all labor costs, from top to bottom, are included in the price of products."After year end, Jane decides she can make more money by improving machines B and D. She buys and uses 10 of parts and supplies, and it takes 6 hours at 2 per hour to make the improvements to each machine. Jane has overhead, including rent and electricity. She calculates that the overhead adds 0.5 per hour to her costs. Thus, Jane has spent 20 to improve each machine (10/2 + 12 + (6 x 0.5) ). She sells machine D for 45. Her cost for that machine depends on her inventory method. If she used FIFO, the cost of machine D is 12 plus 20 she spent improving it, for a profit of 13. Remember, she used up the two 10 cost items already under FIFO. If she uses average cost, it is 11 plus 20, for a profit of 14. If she used LIFO, the cost would be 10 plus 20 for a profit of 15.
In year 3, Jane sells the last machine for 38 and quits the business. She recovers the last of her costs. Her total profits for the three years are the same under all inventory methods. Only the timing of income and the balance of inventory differ.
How does Jane's labor factor in to the price she charges for her products?
I skip these middle men and cook from scratch at home. No gas wasted driving to a restaurant. No wasted time to dress and waiting around at the place from a seat to a glass of water to the meal to the check. No money wasted on their overhead and required tip. I’d rather curl up on the couch in my bathrobe and enjoy a quiet meal at my leisure without screaming kids running around or worried it’s going to be held up by thugs or wondering about who knows who’s turd world germy hands have touched it or stored it inappropriately.
I’d love to audit your books.
Well kind of.
Exactly so. Egg McMuffin meal $1 higher inside Seattle city limits, and newly remodeled stores offer 3-4 order kiosks.
thats fine... if you own a company you go right ahead and pay entry level $15 an hour!! but, my gut tells me you dont, nor ever did own a company. probably one of them guys who always wants more money for less work. They’re the type who are for this wage increase the most!
It is interesting that people who have never tried starting up their own business who make the assumption that it is easy and people are making lots of money. How do they know? Are they sneaking in and looking over the books at night?
When I was working in our family business turning rough wood into finished products like paneling and siding, I had to work for 24 hours straight to get orders out on time on many occasions. I once was up for 36 hours straight trying to get a big order out. I was having a hard time staying awake while feeding wood through heavy machinery. Do you think that I got paid extra for doing that? No, the business eventually failed despite my best efforts, thanks largely to the economic miracle created by the Carter administration.
Well If I live in NYC then I’d have no choice, would I?
Agree or not, that remark crosses the line.
“What is shocking is to find out the owner has two lake houses, a 40 foot Sea Ray and a Ferrari. Then blame the increase of 30 cents on your veal parmesan on the stoop labor.”
What an interestingly envious statement.
Most resturant owners I know, and three is a small sample, work about 60 to 80 hours a week. They have terrible hours and have to have many skills beyond just cooking, management, doing payroll, maintenance and on and on. If their reward for all the hard work and effort to bring you a reasonably priced veal is your contempt, then why should they bother at all. You should celebrate when people’s hard work and effort are rewarded. Who cares if they get a boat, or anything else with the money they made from their hard work and effort?
There is a reason that envy is one of the seven deadly sins.
I’m opposed to minimum wage laws.
The free market works.
Just this morning, I passed a drive through taco stand that is hiring at $14-$16 an hour.
It’s just a taco stand, they have good service and make great tacos.
lol... and your first comment to me was better?? sorry if I hurt your feelings...
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