Little impact in SeaTac from $15 minimum wage

a reply to: CB328

here's a little tid bit from your article.

Paul Guppy, researcher at the Washington Policy Center, said some employers are removing benefits like free meals to make up for the wage increase. "We're not seeing the big benefits that proponents said we would because so few people are affected," said Guppy. "And at the same time, it's not having a ripple effect through the economy. It just affects so few jobs, it's not having much impact."

so here we have removal of benefits that companies gave employees, the wage increase has not been a big boom to the city as far as dollars spent by those who got the 15 bucks a hour. and there are to few jobs for it to matter.

looks as if the employees have to fork out bucks they didn't have to before the wage increase. figure they are gonna spend every bit 5 bucks to eat lunch,unless they brown bag or eat leftovers. then as time goes on more benefits will be cut and more costs to employee.

minimum wage has not kept up with inflation, if it had it would be much higher than $15 an hour.

but for any increase in minimum wage to be worthwhile there needs to be hard rent control or at least sensible landlords, otherwise any increase will be consumed by greedy landlords.

a reply to: hounddoghowlie

People will suffer for those idiotic "feel good commies" own desires to level the playing field. No one should work at McD's if they don't like the pay. Do as i did when i was a high school aged mechanic. I was studying chemistry to change my destiny. I now have the job the decent education gave me the preparation to do. But as a teenage student, working in poor conditions that mechanics face to repair auto's, i realized i needed to want to do better for myself. I was able to see how far a buck went and where it came from. The ease of it was never obvious to me so I went for the science degree I craved. I don't see how one can do it without desire to find something you can actually do and enjoy that people wanted to pay for like being a Scientist. But certainly working for a pittance while people where bringing my shop fancy cars, surely made me see the situation for what it was. It boils down to those that go get it and those that want it on a silver platter. Pink Floyd said it well. "But if you ask for a rise, it's no surprise their givin none away".

originally posted by: Hoosierdaddy71
The article says the increase affected an estimated 1500 workers.
That is in a city of 652,000 people.
How much effect did you expect it to have?


This is out of the article..

"We're not seeing the big benefits that proponents said we would because so few people are affected," said Guppy. "And at the same time, it's not having a ripple effect through the economy. It just affects so few jobs, it's not having much impact."


Nothing has been proven and the article is saying just that.

This topic should have died and closed after the above post (reply #7)... but of course, it will be ignoree and another 'debate' on this subject will be started, ad infinitum.

originally posted by: Justoneman
a reply to: hounddoghowlie

People will suffer for those idiotic "feel good commies" own desires to level the playing field. No one should work at McD's if they don't like the pay. Do as i did when i was a high school aged mechanic. I was studying chemistry to change my destiny. I now have the job the decent education gave me the preparation to do. But as a teenage student, working in poor conditions that mechanics face to repair auto's, i realized i needed to want to do better for myself. I was able to see how far a buck went and where it came from. The ease of it was never obvious to me so I went for the science degree I craved. I don't see how one can do it without desire to find something you can actually do and enjoy that people wanted to pay for like being a Scientist. But certainly working for a pittance while people where bringing my shop fancy cars, surely made me see the situation for what it was. It boils down to those that go get it and those that want it on a silver platter. Pink Floyd said it well. "But if you ask for a rise, it's no surprise their givin none away".

and what year was this? because if it was in the 70's then your purchasing power was much greater than it is for today's minimum wage

I'm doing more research on this but there is an affect:

www.nwasianweekly.com...

BLOG: What SeaTac tells us about $15 minimum wage

Posted on 22 May 2014. Tags: 2014, Publisher Ng's blog, Vol 33 No 22 | May 24 - May 30


By Assunta Ng

While attending an event at a SeaTac hotel last week, I met two women who receive the $15/hour minimum wage. SeaTac has implemented the new law on Jan. 1. I met the women while they were working. One was a waitress and the other was cleaning the hallway.

“Are you happy with the $15 wage?” I asked the full-time cleaning lady.

“It sounds good, but it’s not good,” the woman said.

“Why?” I asked.

“I lost my 401k, health insurance, paid holiday, and vacation,” she responded. “No more free food,” she added.

The hotel used to feed her. Now, she has to bring her own food. Also, no overtime, she said. She used to work extra hours and received overtime pay.

What else? I asked.

“I have to pay for parking,” she said.

I then asked the part-time waitress, who was part of the catering staff.

“Yes, I’ve got $15 an hour, but all my tips are now much less,” she said. Before the new wage law was implemented, her hourly wage was $7. But her tips added to more than $15 an hour. Yes, she used to receive free food and parking. Now, she has to bring her own food and pay for parking.

Another staffer did not want to say anything, but he did say the $15 has a huge impact on the hotel.

The wait staff said the hotel across the street is unionized. Therefore, management is not required to pay the $15 wage.

I realize this is only a few people's opinion but there is an affect. Also, why the unions get to evade the minimum wage law increase (when they were such backers of it) is beyond me. There's yin and yang in everything, NOTHING is exempt.

Not only will it kill the companies who can't afford it, but it hasn't even started yet. Not at all. Living here I know plenty of people with jobs. Sawant and her ideas are as much of a joke out here as the police, and the super hero who helps them. Their complaint is government compliance with evil corporations. Their solution? Corporate cooperation with government.



Fools.

originally posted by: bigx001

originally posted by: Justoneman
a reply to: hounddoghowlie

People will suffer for those idiotic "feel good commies" own desires to level the playing field. No one should work at McD's if they don't like the pay. Do as i did when i was a high school aged mechanic. I was studying chemistry to change my destiny. I now have the job the decent education gave me the preparation to do. But as a teenage student, working in poor conditions that mechanics face to repair auto's, i realized i needed to want to do better for myself. I was able to see how far a buck went and where it came from. The ease of it was never obvious to me so I went for the science degree I craved. I don't see how one can do it without desire to find something you can actually do and enjoy that people wanted to pay for like being a Scientist. But certainly working for a pittance while people where bringing my shop fancy cars, surely made me see the situation for what it was. It boils down to those that go get it and those that want it on a silver platter. Pink Floyd said it well. "But if you ask for a rise, it's no surprise their givin none away".

and what year was this? because if it was in the 70's then your purchasing power was much greater than it is for today's minimum wage

This isn't necessarily true. What people often forget is that productivity gains have also made a lot of other items much cheaper. The poor live better than the middle and upper classes did 30 or 40 years ago. Air conditioning. Cars. Clothing. Technology - phones, computers, ipads, televisions. Even travel is a lot cheaper.

The amount of money in your pocket/bank account is not what makes your rich or poor. Its what you have vs everyone else. If one person is making 8 dollars and another is making 16 dollars an hour. the person making the 16 buy everything the 8 dollar an hour person can but then can buy more. So the 16 dollar an hour is richer then the 8. if everyone starts making 15 an hour. then the 15 an hour is the new poor and the person who makes 16 an hour really doesn't have much more purchasing power then all the people now making 15. So now the 16 dollar an hour person went from well off to almost as poor as the 15.

If you were making 14 an hour in a 7 an hour area, you are doing well, when everyone makes 15, oh snap, your one dollar raise just got you up to the minimal wage as everyone else who just got bumped up

If the goal is to make everyone equally poor, except for a few, then this is the way to go.

The logic behind raising the minimal wage which will make people richer is brought to you by the same group of people that said Obamacare will lower health care costs while providing better serves

originally posted by: thinline
The amount of money in your pocket/bank account is not what makes your rich or poor. Its what you have vs everyone else. If one person is making 8 dollars and another is making 16 dollars an hour. the person making the 16 buy everything the 8 dollar an hour person can but then can buy more. So the 16 dollar an hour is richer then the 8. if everyone starts making 15 an hour. then the 15 an hour is the new poor and the person who makes 16 an hour really doesn't have much more purchasing power then all the people now making 15. So now the 16 dollar an hour person went from well off to almost as poor as the 15.

If you were making 14 an hour in a 7 an hour area, you are doing well, when everyone makes 15, oh snap, your one dollar raise just got you up to the minimal wage as everyone else who just got bumped up

If the goal is to make everyone equally poor, except for a few, then this is the way to go.

The logic behind raising the minimal wage which will make people richer is brought to you by the same group of people that said Obamacare will lower health care costs while providing better serves

You bring up a good point. What I also left out is that all the people who were making $15/hr will now demand say $20/hr. If someone with zero skill set can get $15/hr the person who was making $15/hr before the change in the law will expect a commensurate raise. Prices will go up or some jobs will be eliminated. We will be having this same conversation 10 or 15 years from now with the same people complaining that they can't get ahead or that $15/hr isn't enough. Making $15/hr isn't going to help anyone if cost of living increases with it as noted in the article.

There is a really good reason the 15 minimum is not affecting business in Seattle...

Beginning April 1, 2015, the legislation will phase-in a $15 per hour minimum wage annually over 3 to 7 years, depending on employer size.

So I say so far so good...lol...geez

originally posted by: bigx001
minimum wage has not kept up with inflation, if it had it would be much higher than $15 an hour.

but for any increase in minimum wage to be worthwhile there needs to be hard rent control or at least sensible landlords, otherwise any increase will be consumed by greedy landlords.

How could it ever keep up with inflation since raising it will cause inflation?

Cost of wages go up. Prices go up.

Want to think this through and try to explain how it would work?

A Credit Union did an extensive study of what the true cost of living was in it's trading area, it discovered that it needed to start all it's employee's at $19.67 an hour, which it now does. I think if more business did that all economies would prosper. Obviously in some area's that wage would be less, as the cost of housing and rent was very high in it's area.
Maybe in some States out of the cities the cost of living might only be $12.50/hr.

I should mention that Washington state has done many studies on the minimum wage over the years, and they never find the doom and gloom conservatives scream about, in fact, they have found that it helps the economy, which is one of the reasons why Washington has such a strong economy. Super red Idaho, next door, has a low minimum wage and not nearly as good as an economy.

No, they destroy small business

Um, aren't small businesses exempt from minimum wage like they are from Obamacare?

a reply to: CB328

No, it won't make the world end. All it does is close the cycle of inflation.

But the community level change you reference is not indicative of anything, as you are still buying goods at prices that are set in markets where labor costs are lower. The cost of goods has not increased along with the cost of labor. Once that loop closes, then you have a better idea of the impact.

And the impact is simple: higher wages equate to increases in costs of goods. More taxes are paid as more cash is paid out in labor. The government sees a windfall in tax revenue, and uses that money to repay debt that was incurred when the dollar had a higher value. Essentially: they create $$$ out of thin air to pay off debt.

But none of it works if folks understand that a higher wage only shifts the cost of goods up.

On a side note: only a fool would argue that if a minimum wage is to be enforced, then it needs to be adjusted to account for inflation/loss of purchasing power of the dollar (or it is a useless concept). Where that number actually lies...i don't know.

originally posted by: CB328
I should mention that Washington state has done many studies on the minimum wage over the years, and they never find the doom and gloom conservatives scream about, in fact, they have found that it helps the economy, which is one of the reasons why Washington has such a strong economy. Super red Idaho, next door, has a low minimum wage and not nearly as good as an economy.

No, they destroy small business

Um, aren't small businesses exempt from minimum wage like they are from Obamacare?

If raising the minimum wage helps the economy so much, why stop at $15/hr? Why not $20/hr? $30/hr. Hell, let just start everyone at $100/hr so we can all be 1%ers and get this economy booming.

If low wages are so great for creating jobs why not pay everyone 2 cents an hour like Republicans want?!

You all ignore the reality that when workers get raises they spend more money which grows the economy, hence why Washington has a strong economy.

originally posted by: CB328
If low wages are so great for creating jobs why not pay everyone 2 cents an hour like Republicans want?!

You all ignore the reality that when workers get raises they spend more money which grows the economy, hence why Washington has a strong economy.

Thanks for demonstrating your complete and utter economic ignorance. Even if there were no minimum wage, it doesn't mean people would work for zero. There is something called supply and demand that sets wages in the real world.

originally posted by: CB328
If low wages are so great for creating jobs why not pay everyone 2 cents an hour like Republicans want?!

You all ignore the reality that when workers get raises they spend more money which grows the economy, hence why Washington has a strong economy.

Correct.

There is a recent TV series on C4 called 'The Mill', an historical drama about the lives of 19th Century cotton-mill workers, I would highly recommend watching it.
www.channel4.com...

In one episode, the mill owners announce to workers that they have no choice but to cut wages in order to stay competitive and keep the mill open.

One worker then says to another, "if everyone's wages are cut, less shirts will be bought".

It would make sense to me that if workers have more money to spend, businesses would be the ones to benefit from them spending it. The money paid out to workers in higher wages will flow right back to businesses when they spend it.

How could it ever keep up with inflation

It definitely won't if you never raise it, obviously. What you really mean is you don't care if they make enough money to live or not.