This has been studied over and over and always with the same results. The economy isn’t hampered, jobs aren’t replaced by machines and overseas workers, the cost of goods doesn’t go up, and factories don’t close. The main impact is that quality of life increases, health spending increases (now that people can afford to take their kids to the doctor), and corporate profits decrease very slightly.
Especially in this economy of runaway corporate greed, we need a meaningful increase in wages
corporate profits decrease very slightly
This is the thing that people will reflexively point to, but this:
quality of life increases
This is the real issue. If quality of life increases, workers are less desperate, and are less willing to put up with their employers BS. Moreover, if other jobs are also paying a living wage, it’s much easier to quit.
We have seen, over and over, that businesses are willing to spend money to exert control over workers. They’ll do it even if it means a decline in profits, or even in revenue. Because at the end of the day, if you have your needs met, any money left over is just power, and power is meant to be used to control others.
Increasing minimum wage puts more money in the economy which people will spend which puts more money in businesses so they can pay their people more putting more money in the economy.
The only reason the wealthy don’t like this is because their money passes through the hands of the unclean masses instead of going directly into their offshore tax haven accounts.
Fast food realized humans could be replaced by screens so the worker reduction trend was there long ago.
We’ve been having fewer and fewer cashiers at McD in my country for the past 5-10 years. Minimum wage HAS been increasing, but McD costs about the same as a real meal at a real restaurant anyway, and they’re constantly full.
Ff is down because they got greedy and raised prices so that their food wasn’t exceptionally cheaper than the other options anymore which is the main reason people eat there. If people can’t afford the food anymore, that’s not the employee compensation, that’s bad business decisions. There was plenty of profit to cover the wage increases and still have huge profits if sales had stayed the same.
The study is talking about overall numbers of jobs, not specific companies. Get fired from McDonalds closing a location, get a job with higher pay somewhere else that’s paying the new minimum wage, is a net zero result.
McDonalds is gutted that their 2024 earnings are on track for only a 5% increase over 2023, which saw a 10% gross profit increase for the year.
Remember when there was a “shoplifting crime wave” that it turned out was just profits were down so they had to blame something?
Have we not known this for years?
I’ve always used it as an example of when oversimplified chalkboard economics don’t match experimental reality.
Are the “oversimplified chalkboard economics” basically the businesses winging about having to pay people more?
What follows is incorrect
It’s a price floor, which creates a deadweight loss.
Since we’re also consumers, it’s a net loss.
Should it not just be integrated in to the supply cost?
Yes, but how exactly that distorts the market is counterintuitive.
How so?
Intuitive chalkboard economics lead to the net loss conclusion above. Experimental reality as described in the study says otherwise.
Corporations were bragging about record profits not that long ago, and then basically admitted to price gouging. Folks are extremely underpaid in most areas. Not shocked at all.
Where I live, Washington, the minimum wage is $16.28 p/hour. Across the border in Idaho, the federal minimum applies — $7.25.
Businesses on the higher-wage side of the border are doing fine, and Spokaners do not drive across the border into Coeur d’Alene for cheaper groceries or a half-price Big Mac.
Spokaners do not drive across the border into Coeur d’Alene for cheaper groceries or a half-price Big Mac.
I actively boycott any and all ID businesses, because of the state’s shitty labor and reproductive-rights laws and its nurture of Christofascism. They can Gilead all they want but it won’t be with my financial support.
They just come into WA for the medical center and clog up the system. ID residents should be banned from receiving medical care in WA.
ID residents should be banned from receiving medical care in WA.
But I think accelerationist policies often hurt vulnerable people…
They can go to their own hospitals instead of placing the burden on Washington
Sure. But this is kinda just accelerationism/xenophobia, no? For example, replace “Idaho” with “Mexico” in your argument, and it gets pretty ugly pretty fast IMHO.
Does it? I think Canadians have hospitals and they can use those. Not seeing the ugly.
I’m seeing you being slapped in the face with their point and just refusing to acknowledge it. Cringe AF.
And what, die? I think keeping people alive and preventing unnecessary deaths should be the priority first and foremost. Idaho should be made to improve their healthcare infrastructure, and then we can force them to stay in their state.
But as of right now, the idea of turning someone down at the hospital because their ID says a different state does not sit well with me.
Idaho needs to help Idahoans, and not push them onto another state.
So… Nobody should work across state lines… In the “United” states… Doesn’t sound very United.
