Minimum wages anyone?

[BlackWolfDS]

Today on the news, I heard that Arnold is raising the minimum wage from $6.75 to $7.50 in California. That is supposed to take place January 1, 2007. Then they also claimed that Arnold was going to raise the minimum wage to $8.00 in 2008. Maybe the trend will continue and other states will raise their minimum wages too. Does anyone have any hypothesises(SP) on how this could affect the country?

[Kaebora]

A bill was voted on here in New Mexico last year to raise the minimum wage to $7.50 an hour. It failed to pass with a majority vote of 58%. At the time I was being paid minimum wage at a temporary job. My boss voted no. I just know it.

[PariahPoet]

Ugh...our min wage in Tx is 5.15
When I was working during the schoolyear, my check couldn't even cover the cost of groceries, let alone rent. (still bumming off parents)
It sucks so bad. I was so excited a couple years ago to get 7/hr for skilled work as a pharmacy tech trainee.

This place just blows.

[Figarou]

Today on the news, I heard that Arnold is raising the minimum wage from $6.75 to $7.50 in California.

Daaaaam! When I 1st started working, minimum wage was $2.90


Makes me wonder what minimum wage will be like 20 years from now.

[MoonKit]

Last year in new jersey, minimum wage went up a dollar and its going up a dollar this October too. It'll be $7 something now. I make more then minimum wage but not much...I need a raise.

[Terastas]

Daaaaam! When I 1st started working, minimum wage was $2.90

Makes me wonder what minimum wage will be like 20 years from now.

But you could buy a candy bar for a nickle back then too, right?

That's the real hell of it. We're not really making more than we used to because the wages and prices are just as complementary as they used to be.

That's what'll happen in 20 years -- we'll still be as rich/poor as we used to be, but we'll be talking about dollars the same way the Turks talk about their money. Like Jay Leno said, we used to call a hundred dollars a sea note, but now we just call it gas money.

I wouldn't take Arnold's promise too seriously though. It took a while for MA to raise our minimum from 6.50 to 6.75. A 1.25 increase over a course of two years sounds more like a shallow re-election campaign if you ask me.

[Figarou]

Daaaaam! When I 1st started working, minimum wage was $2.90

Makes me wonder what minimum wage will be like 20 years from now.

But you could buy a candy bar for a nickle back then too, right?

I'm old. But not THAT old.

I think candy bars was a little over a quarter. (I can't remember.) And sodas was still in recyclable glass bottles.

[Kisota]

DUDE. I've heard about this. I personally like it. It's about time.

At my summer job, I actually made LESS than minimum wage. I was making 4.25 an hour as a busser at a crappy restaraunt. They didn't even split the tips with the bussers. That was my wage no matter what. Stupid cheapskates. Apparently, it was a "training wage." Has anyone else heard of such things? I had this weird feeling they were tricking me into thinking it was legal.
Scumbags. I'm never working in food service again.

The minimum wage here is 5.15 as well. I would like to see an increase.

[Vilkacis]

Consider if you were the employer and minimum wage were artificially raised over a very short period of time. That money has to come from somewhere. The employer is now in a position where he has to cover the loss in some other way.

What would you do?

a) Raise prices? Customers don't like that--not one bit. And besides, supply and demand pretty much dictate what the prices have to be anyway.

b) Sell more stuff? But... how? If we knew how to consistently do this and make a profit out of it, there would be a lot more millionaires in the world.

c) Set higher standards for new hires? In order to be worth the money, employees must be more skilled than previously. Unskilled labor is no longer worth the new wage. That seems reasonable.

b) Make employees work harder to make up for it? They're being paid more, so shouldn't we get more out of them? Is it unreasonable to expect them to do tasks they wouldn't have before?

c) It's illegal, but who's going to know if employees don't get breaks?

d) Less benefits? ...Employee meals? No more. ...Commissions? Gone. Really, employees are just getting those benefits in a different form now (i.e. higher wages).



The way I see it, the employer will be extremely reluctant to change the interface between his store and the customer; he will already have optimized the heck out of his product line. What remains but his relationship with his employees?

I'm no expert, but I believe such an artificial measure will result in a lower quality environment for employees in many cases. Less perks. Higher expectations.

In the long run it will probably balance out, but in the short term things will probably get worse.

Does that make sense?

-- Vilkacis

[BlackWolfDS]

Yes it does and I can see your point. But over time, the benifits of the employees would have probably decreased. The only reason I think this is because both my parents work at Ralphs and in the past year (when ever the strike was) they have lost most of their health care benifits. It's still there, just reduced...a lot. Now, I know I can't compare Ralphs to other companies, but that's the way I see it. I also think that this minimum wage increase was directed more towards the companies that make their employees work really hard, for a low pay.

[Terastas]

Daaaaam! When I 1st started working, minimum wage was $2.90

Makes me wonder what minimum wage will be like 20 years from now.

But you could buy a candy bar for a nickle back then too, right?

I'm old. But not THAT old.

I think candy bars was a little over a quarter. (I can't remember.) And sodas was still in recyclable glass bottles.

Hmm. . . Okay, lets do the math.

Minimum Wage: 2.90.
Average Candy Bar: .25

Buy nothing but candy bars with an hour's pay: 11.5 candy bars.

Minimum Wage: 6.50
Average Candy Bar: 1.10

Buy noting but candy bars with an hour's pay: 5.9 candy bars.

So in comparrison to the prices we're paying, we're actually making less than we used to.

[Shadow Wulf]

I hate to say it but the average candy bar does not cost 1.10

At the most they cost .88. On average they are .60.

[White Paw]

unless you buy those king size bars ... or you buy that generic brand that some stores have...

[Fang]

then the vending machines are ripping us off

[White Paw]

the vending machines arnt ripping you off......the producer of the product is...

[Fang]

Bastards