Because forcing a mandate is alot easier than to actually find out why wages are stagnant and do something about that. It’s a cheap way to get the vote of the ignorant.
My folks sold burgers for $0.35 and paid fair wages (in 1953 standards). When the $0.20 hamburger came in, the “fast food” guys paid lousy wages and my dad complained. When we opened a donut shop together, we paid fair wages, by 1963 standards, and got, usually, better help. When we had one gal who started dipping the till and hiding the readout to the customer so they couldn’t see what she was doing, I fired her.
You “generally” get what you pay for, and that includes employees as well as products. There are exceptions, but common sense, and fairness need to rule.
In some areas, going to $15 an hour IS too much for small businesses with low traffic volumes, and a local economy with low cost of living. In New York, and other very high COL areas, with a lot of product movement across the counters, and high profit margins, it’s not.
<Minimum wage should be regulated nationally if interstate commerce is involved (as franchises across the country like Mickey D’s ARE) but “locality pay”, similar to what the Federal pay scale does, makes perfect sense to balance needs of both workers and employers.
Wages do not live in a vacuum. An increase in wages, especially at the basic needs level, will eventually dictate an increase in the prices of basic needs.
echoraven over 10 years ago
Because forcing a mandate is alot easier than to actually find out why wages are stagnant and do something about that. It’s a cheap way to get the vote of the ignorant.
Dtroutma over 10 years ago
My folks sold burgers for $0.35 and paid fair wages (in 1953 standards). When the $0.20 hamburger came in, the “fast food” guys paid lousy wages and my dad complained. When we opened a donut shop together, we paid fair wages, by 1963 standards, and got, usually, better help. When we had one gal who started dipping the till and hiding the readout to the customer so they couldn’t see what she was doing, I fired her.
You “generally” get what you pay for, and that includes employees as well as products. There are exceptions, but common sense, and fairness need to rule.
In some areas, going to $15 an hour IS too much for small businesses with low traffic volumes, and a local economy with low cost of living. In New York, and other very high COL areas, with a lot of product movement across the counters, and high profit margins, it’s not.
<Minimum wage should be regulated nationally if interstate commerce is involved (as franchises across the country like Mickey D’s ARE) but “locality pay”, similar to what the Federal pay scale does, makes perfect sense to balance needs of both workers and employers.
kcycrs over 10 years ago
Wages do not live in a vacuum. An increase in wages, especially at the basic needs level, will eventually dictate an increase in the prices of basic needs.