Question of the Day, May 23

I was having a discussion about the $15 minimum wage the other day with someone I know. She said that this professor from Berkeley is her favorite economist. What do you think of his logic? Do you agree with his 7 points? The video is only 2 1/2 minutes. http://robertreich.org/post/82134788482

Courtesy of RobertReich.org Transcript below.

WHY THE MINIMUM WAGE SHOULD REALLY BE RAISED TO $15 AN HOUR

Momentum is building to raise the minimum wage. Several states have already taken action – Connecticut has boosted it to $10.10 by 2017, the Maryland legislature just approved a similar measure, Minnesota lawmakers just reached a deal to hike it to $9.50. A few cities have been more ambitious – Washington, D.C. and its surrounding counties raised it to $11.50, Seattle is considering $15.00

Senate Democrats will soon introduce legislation raising it nationally to $10.10, from the current $7.25 an hour.

All this is fine as far as it goes. But we need to be more ambitious. We should be raising the federal minimum to $15 an hour.

Here are seven reasons why:

1. Had the minimum wage of 1968 simply stayed even with inflation, it would be more than $10 an hour today. But the typical worker is also about twice as productive as then. Some of those productivity gains should go to workers at the bottom.

2. $10.10 isn’t enough to lift all workers and their families out of poverty. Most low-wage workers aren’t young teenagers; they’re major breadwinners for their families, and many are women. And they and their families need a higher minimum.

3. For this reason, a $10.10 minimum would also still require the rest of us to pay Medicaid, food-stamps, and other programs necessary to get poor families out of poverty – thereby indirectly subsidizing employers who refuse to pay more. Bloomberg View describes McDonalds and Walmart as “America’s biggest welfare queens” because their employees receive so much public assistance. (Some, like McDonalds, even advise their employees to use public programs because their pay is so low.)

4. A $15/hour minimum won’t result in major job losses because it would put money in the pockets of millions of low-wage workers who will spend it – thereby giving working families and the overall economy a boost, and creating jobs. (When I was Labor Secretary in 1996 and we raised the minimum wage, business predicted millions of job losses; in fact, we had more job gains over the next four years than in any comparable period in American history.)

5. A $15/hour minimum is unlikely to result in higher prices because most businesses directly affected by it are in intense competition for consumers, and will take the raise out of profits rather than raise their prices. But because the higher minimum will also attract more workers into the job market, employers will have more choice of whom to hire, and thereby have more reliable employees – resulting in lower turnover costs and higher productivity.

6. Since Republicans will push Democrats to go even lower than $10.10, it’s doubly important to be clear about what’s right in the first place. Democrats should be going for a higher minimum rather than listening to Republican demands for a smaller one.

7. At a time in our history when 95 percent of all economic gains are going to the top 1 percent, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour isn’t just smart economics and good politics. It’s also the morally right thing to do.

Call your senators and members of congress today to tell them $15 an hour is the least American workers deserve. You can reach them at 202-224-3121.

Author: Back in PA Mike

Crotchety middle aged man with a hot younger wife dead set on saving this Country.

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Smoke Jensen
Smoke Jensen

I say give it to them. Good and hard. When half of them find themselves out of a job and their replacements are automated ordering machines, they just might figure it out.
I say quit being a cheap mofo and make it an hundred per hour.

Scooby
Scooby

What a skinflint! If $15 will be so wonderfully beneficial,imagine what $30 or $40 would do.

Typical class warfare head fake.

Iconoclast421
Iconoclast421

Venezuela is what you get with wage and price controls. Of course, this is what they want.

JIMSKI
JIMSKI

I for one will welcome our new computer kiosks at Wendys…………

Anonymous
Anonymous

Higher minimum wage means lower employment for bottom end workers.

We need more decent jobs that people can work themselves into, not higher wages for those with no option to advance to a better job because there aren’t any.

Dutchman
Dutchman

A lot of these people aren’t worth $7.75 / hr.

Flying Monkey
Flying Monkey

The FED is the minium wage earners biggest enemy, but few seem to see it.

1. The FED promotes and causes the inflation which erodes their purchasing power.

2. The FED helps incentivize the replacement of their jobs with automation by manipulating interests below the market clearing price.

Rise Up

As some of the commenters wisely point out–but Robert Reich doesn’t seem to comprehend–is the job losses that will result. Why can’t these so-called economists understand that?

YODA_bite me (you know who)
YODA_bite me (you know who)

The min. wage is not the problem. It is a tool the politicians use to Deflect from the real issue (Dem’s are skilled at this), which Anon posted above at 9:25.

Deflection by sound bite and the media ingrains this into the tube watchers with the constant and inordinate amount of time dedicated to cementing your opinion on an emotionally charged issue.

Annie
Annie

Raising the minimum wage is a good way to squeeze out the small business owners and give even more power and money to the mega-corps, which will either outsource all of their low paying jobs or buy robots to do them.

BUCKHED
BUCKHED

In 1964 the minimum wage was $1.25 an hour . If we had sound money like we had in 1964 ( you could exchange a dollar for 4 90% silver quarters back then ) then the minimum wage would be $16.45 according to the spot price of silver today .

I agree with the comments..why not 25 bucks an hour ? If you’re going to do something stupid make it a really stupid act .

I love it when a “Well Respected Economist ” makes a stupid statement. Like when Krugman says the stimulus from the gooberment wasn’t big enough . Krugman likes to give money to Wallstreet. Even though the stimulus created a few hundred jobs at best . If you asked Krugman ” How about we give that money to “Main Street ” ” he’d balk faster than a Little League pitcher on the mound for the 1st time .

ThePessimisticChemist

You can’t assail this drivel with a point-by-point refutation. Pick one of their stupidities out and hit it hard.

“But the typical worker is also about twice as productive as then.”

Because employers invested in new technology that made the job more efficient. Technology that was developed by scientists and engineers, not the guy pressing the button or pulling the lever.

The minimum wage earner had zero skin in that game, put forth no effort in contributing to that efficiency. If they want to/are capable of it, they can go to school for an engineering degree, OR buy a lot of books and equipment and invent some things of their own to make life better for us all, but they don’t get to sit back and watch the rest of us labor to make this world a better place so that they can lark about chasing butterflies.

The increase in productivity made the job safer and easier for the minimum wage earner, do not pretend that they did not get a benefit from those improvements.

NickelthroweR
NickelthroweR

Greetings,

I see this as a money grab. If you raise the minimum wage then you also raise the taxes collected on that income. Also, $15/hr is just enough to put these people outside of the range of all the government give-a-ways. It is a win win for government at all levels because they save buckets of money while doubling the taxes they take from the working poor.

This is no different than the major urban centers wanting housing to be un-affordable because those property taxes pay for their worthless and parasitic employees.

Yeah, government wants this badly.

Peaknic
Peaknic

I think his Point #3 is the most important. If you allow companies to externalize costs (via forcing their employees to tap into gov’t welfare because they can’t live on what they are paid) then we are all paying for cheap McD’s burgers, whether we eat there or not. WalMart is only able to provide cheaper prices because they force us all to subsidize their payroll costs and they force manufacturers to ship jobs to China through their command of the retail market.

No one working a full-time job should make so little that they still need welfare to meet basic needs. I’m fine with a lower minimum wage for teenagers, but there needs to be a baseline for working adults that will allow them to function in our economy. We know from much experience that corporations will rape and pillage for profit as much as we allow them to.

Ed
Ed

“What do you think of his logic?”

What logic?

” Do you agree with his 7 points”

Fuck, no. His only real point is the one on top of his empty head.

It’s a waste of time discussing anything with fools like the woman you were talking to. People like her will believe whatever the fuck they want to, and there’s no way to penetrate their ignorance with facts or logic.

Llpoh
Llpoh

Peaknic is a dumbass. Companies do not force employees to tap into welfare. Welfare is a product of the loony left, and has done a lot to destroy black culture and families in the Uas.

Forcing employers to pay more than the market rate is lunacy. It is a tax on business. Racing business to employ has to be the single stupidest idea ever, so based n hat, I am sure it will happen.

It will drive costs up, jobs down, and will kill off part time and summer work for kids. That will be a disaster in he long run.

Marco
Marco

Stop immigration and stop H2B visas.
Break up the monopolies and wages will increase on their own.
I have been an engineer for 30 years, have not had a wage increase in 15 years. H1B visas.
Stop immigration and the welfare rolls will decrease.

harry p.

give them what they want

https://youtu.be/PDzhKPdNow4

David
David

I am sure peaknic pays his lawn guy, plumber, and the local store more than the other options and more than he needs to as well.

Tots

I was working when the minimum wage went from $3.35 to $3.80. I and worked there for a few months and as gotten a couple of small raises but my pay was still under $3.80. When the hike went in, I immediately got a pay increase, but the raises I had made for the work and growth in skill were wiped out. While I was happy to have more money, the fact I was making exactly the same as the biggest dumbass we had working for us pissed me off.

I looked up the rates. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0774473.html

In 1991 the minimum wage was $4.25. in 1996 it went up to $4.75. in 1997 it went to $5.15 and stayed there until 2007. So they raised minimum wage less than a dollar and say that drove up employment. (Bullcrap) He thinks more than DOUBLING minimum wage will now do the same? (Double Bullcrap)

As has been stated, small business owners will be driven out of business with this. Big companies will outsource.

starfcker
starfcker

Of all the people who should be swinging from a lamppost, it should be reich. He was secretary of labor during the clinton administration’s backstab of the american worker. Talk about forgetting who pays your salary.

WTF
WTF

Started work at 12 years of age ! Learned everything for the business I was in (and still am)

Worked thru the ranks with promotions based on skill level and job knowledge.

In 30 years , every minimum wage increase resulted in lower hours for employee’s and higher prices to customers.

Every Fucking time.

This is a cascading failure .
If you hire the entry level person at 15 an hour and the person (basic key carrier ) above that entry level does not get a corresponding wage increase,and moving on to supervisor level ,with same increase in wages , the basic management staffing goes to absolute crap .
With Every business facing a profitability issue due to POCB’s , it becomes a strictly survival mode of operations.
Make a profit every month , your Gold.
Be in a negative profit environment , Your fired !

Although , that’s Wendy’s shit and other restaurant’s with kiosks would improve service it you don’t have to deal with sheneka or some other low IQ POS.
whatever

llpoh
llpoh

Wonder how they are going to teach those kiosks to spit in your burger?

Overthecliff
Overthecliff

Smoke has way to much faith in the people who work at minimum wage jobs. Most Americans for that matter.

RHS Jr
RHS Jr

These Minimum Wage Libtards think just like the spoiled Union Jerks did when I was young. Ya’ll think some Indian working for $1 per hour can’t figure out a way to do all the manual work somewhere else to make the burger’s ingredients and then freeze, box and ship them here just in time. The patties from Argentina, the buns from Ukraine, the tomatoes from Mexico, the lettuce from Florida etc. Then a machine opens the boxes, puts the stuff in burger preparation and assembly machines, wraps it and sticks it in a “ready” window. Sure, all the mom and pop places will disappear because they will be competing with Berger Marts. Maybe you can get a job as Door Greater for $15 per hour. .

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