Glad to see the topic get this kind of attention here. I think a rise in the minimum wage could act as re-balancing force between the dirt cheap minimum-wage, big-box-minimum-wage and college-minimum wage.
Yes, just as the ACA was phased in, so should increases in the minimum wage as they have been every time they have changed in the past.
No, I provided a more realistic option, one in line with the way the minimum wage has been raised in the past, what exactly do you find "absurd" about that?
Raising the minimum wage to $20 over the next ten years is absurd. That's over a 10% increase per year.
I did say a decade "or more," I wasn't trying to give exact figures, merely observing that the minimum wage should continue to rise gradually over time, not remain stagnant as it has at several times in our history.
Why don't you go into a fastfood establishment, say McDonald's. See that the Dollar Menu still exists. Watch folks work during the rush hour at a busy McDonald's. Note that all the workers are not suburban teenagers who are working for an i-phone or the latest DVD. My question to you and other opponents of paying these Americans more. Do you actually feel that your own world would come crashing down and you would be meaningfully poorer if these folks had more? The facts and economists don't back you up, so I think your opposition must be due to some sort of fear.
Technically, you said "or a little more". In any case, you asked me what I found absurd about your statement, I answered, and you agreed with my answer. So there's no sense in rehashing it.
And, technically, my statement was FAR less absurd than what Commodore was suggesting. FWIW, after doing some calculations, a 5% per year increase in the minimum wage would result in a doubling after 14 years, so it wasn't as if I was off by some massive figure, I would definitely call 14 years "a little more" than 10. Go pick nits elsewhere.
So... what's your opinion on the fact that there is a group of people that wants to double the minimum wage today?
Whatever. I hate posters who can't admit when they're wrong. Instead, they just move their goalposts. I could've sworn that in your original quote, you wanted the minimum wage to nearly triple: But now, your argument is about doubling the minimum wage. So clearly, one of us has made a mistake. And since you're incapable of making mistakes, it must have been me. Shame on me. I must have misread your post. Three must be the new two.
They are a fringe group and if they want to double the minimum wage overnight instead of in a series of measured steps, they know nothing about economics a don't deserve to be considered seriously. However, I believe that the people you refer to are nothing more than a straw man which you an prop up and attack because the premise is simply absurd. Perhaps you can give a link to an article where this "group of people" talk about doubling the minimum wage.
Not wrong, IMO, just didn't really think that the nits would be picked like you have chosen to do. Again, you are the one who has chosen to pick nits instead of engage in a reasoned debate. Just so that your nits can be picked completely, I will be very specific abut what I meant... When thinking about the minimum wage, I considered going to $20 (which was Commodore's argument, not mine) a rough doubling of the current minimum wage, which would have been my "mistake" in this discussion. I really didn't think I needed to be exact since the discussion of this point at that point consisted of Commodore throwing out numbers and making assumptions. So, in order to make sure that you are completely clear about my opinion, even though I pretty clearly stated it earlier, I would be perfectly OK with the minimum wage going up over time to keep up with inflation. The ideal scenario, IMO, would be indexing the minimum to inflation in order to keep politicians from using it as a political football. However, given that the ideal is impractical given the current environment, my suggestion would be to write the next 15-21 years' worth of increases into law right now, which would result in a (still rough, but approximately) doubling of the minimum wage after 15 years or an increase to just above $20 after 21 years.
nobody has every argued this. ever. the contention is that they wouldn't get paid more. They would be replaced by a machine, they would be fired, staff sizes would be reduced, or even more likely a business would move elsewhere (with a smaller minimum wage). The contention is that minimum wages hurt the poor. Nobody is against helping the poor. Again you argue with nobody. the contention is also that higher minimum wages equals higher cost of goods. That obviously hurts the poor too.
Except of course that the data show that raising the minimum wage doesn't increase unemployment and raises prices only a very small amount. I guess that's what I get for looking at the data instead of just believing right wing pundits.
Looking at the data isn't enough. You have to understand it's context. Sure, as minimum wage rose from $5 to $6 to $7, unemployment didn't really increase b/c there weren't any cheaper alternatives. However, if we double the minimum wage over the next 10 years, it'll end up being $14.50. If minimum wage is $14.50, don't you think that companies will be able to find cheaper alternatives (machines)?
Not if the minimum wage is merely keeping up with inflation. If this is the case, the relative cost of automating those people out of jobs will be just as expensive as it is today.
OK, so just an image of protestors asking for a higher wage, eh? It would be one thing if these pictures were in Hearne, Texas or some other podunk town, but I would guess that these pictures came from the recent protests in the northwest, where the minimum wage is already about $10. Even so, I don't see evidence that these people were seriously asking to increase to $15 overnight, maybe you would like some context to go with your images.
How much is inflation? According to usinflationcalculator.com (first result on google), inflation in 2013 was around 1.2%. Are you ok with minimum wage going up that little? In your earlier posts, it seemed like you wanted around a 5% increase per year. Also, you should consider that as technology improves, automation becomes cheaper.
http://q13fox.com/2014/01/01/seatacs-15-minimum-wage-goes-into-effect/#axzz2pMyysj00 SEATAC — It’s the day many people have been waiting for. The minimum wage in the city of SeaTac was raised to 15 dollars an hour today. But not everyone is getting a pay hike. The New Year is off to a good start for employees at the Holiday Inn Seattle Airport. Those making minimum wage are now getting a raise to 15 dollars an hour.
