Alan C. Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 Seattle sees fallout from $15 minimum wage, as other cities follow suit Evidence is surfacing that some workers are asking their bosses for fewer hours as their wages rise – in a bid to keep overall income down so they don’t lose public subsidies for things like food, child care and rent.. . .“If they cut down their hours to stay on those subsidies because the $15 per hour minimum wage didn’t actually help get them out of poverty, all you’ve done is put a burden on the business and given false hope to a lot of people..."The twist is just one apparent side effect of the controversial -- yet trendsetting -- minimum wage law in Seattle, which is being copied in several other cities despite concerns over prices rising and businesses struggling to keep up.The notion that employees are intentionally working less to preserve their welfare has been a hot topic on talk radio. While the claims are difficult to track, state stats indeed suggest few are moving off welfare programs under the new wage.Despite a booming economy throughout western Washington, the state’s welfare caseload has dropped very little since the higher wage phase began in Seattle in April. In March 130,851 people were enrolled in the Basic Food program. In April, the caseload dropped to 130,376.
Pepin Posted July 23, 2015 Posted July 23, 2015 Interesting. Something I find interesting is that these wage increases tend not to benefit the people in the city as much as the people outside. High wages will attract more outsiders, and since there is a bigger pool outside the city than inside, it is more difficult for the people in the city to compete. Where I live, the wages more towards the big city of Boston two hours are much higher, but the living costs here are much lower. There are many people who drive the two hours a day to get the best of both worlds, though honestly all that driving may not be worth it.
Dylan Lawrence Moore Posted July 23, 2015 Posted July 23, 2015 I'm waiting for this place to Detroit itself to oblivion. There was a scare Boeing was going to move out awhile ago. I wonder how much longer they'll last.
shirgall Posted July 23, 2015 Posted July 23, 2015 I may work in Redmond, but I avoid Seattle and I generally only go east from there. Between the minimum wage, the near 10% sales tax, and the proposed gun taxes, they can rot.
webdever Posted July 23, 2015 Posted July 23, 2015 I'm waiting for this place to Detroit itself to oblivion. There was a scare Boeing was going to move out awhile ago. I wonder how much longer they'll last. No worries about Boeing moving. You see, we still have the workers and the machines. They can easily switch from building planes to building busses for the city, because socialized transportation has worked out so well here..
iBlagg Posted July 23, 2015 Posted July 23, 2015 Scary stuff since UK government has recently announced a new higher 'living wage' (minimum wage has been re-branded 'living' in UK. Must be opposed to slowing dying wage). At least they're trying to cut benefits at the same time. I already know people how limit themselves to 16 hours per week to meet benefit requirements.
AccuTron Posted July 23, 2015 Posted July 23, 2015 $15/hr calculates to about $30K/yr. Plus all the HR issues. I found a link (not sure I still have it) advertising a programmable industrial robot for a one time cost of $25K. I expect maintenance costs to be trivial. One time; no HR; can't be harmed by an armed robber any more than shooting a washing machine. It was the size of a pole lamp, with a screen, a small central body, and two arms with changeable grippers. A machine to simply make burgers, with no sanitation or fatigue issues -- including keeping the ambient working area temperature tailored for food, not humans -- has to be dirt cheap for it's value. Payment and ordering are already moving to kiosks. There really is no procedural reason to need a human at all. So the already starting trend will become so obvious, to automate. There will be laws to require minimal humans, but there will be start up businesses that are basically brick enclosed vending machines, and the capital will move there, starving out the human staffed stores. I don't see a solution.
labmath2 Posted July 23, 2015 Posted July 23, 2015 People won't be replaced by machines because they still need to make money to buy the product.
AccuTron Posted July 24, 2015 Posted July 24, 2015 People won't be replaced by machines because they still need to make money to buy the product. Owners of the food places will count on other people to do the buying, not concerned with who they dispense with. There are many examples of automation replacing people.
LovePrevails Posted September 15, 2015 Posted September 15, 2015 The Living Wage... The Road to Hell is paved with good intentions http://scottishlibertarians.com/living-wage-the-road-to-hell/
Recommended Posts