Minimum wage stuff: this could get interesting pretty soon

[East Coast Hustle]

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/vast-majority-of-seattle-voters-support-15-minimum-wage/Content?oid=18870987

If minimum-wage opponents weren't already shitting bricks, they're in for an awfully uncomfortable bowel movement: A new poll finds a stunning 68 percent of Seattle voters support a straight-up hike in the city's minimum wage to $15 an hour. No exemptions, no phase-ins, no strings attached.

The news for opponents only gets worse the further you delve into the details: 35 percent of voters "strongly support" the proposal, compared to only 14 percent who "strongly oppose," while support holds fast throughout the city and in every demographic subgroup except Republicans.

And in case opponents were hoping to console themselves with the thought that this is just some shoddy pro-labor propaganda (the poll was funded by a coalition that includes Working Washington, UFCW 21, Nick Hanauer, SEIU Healthcare 1199NW, the Teamsters, and the MLK County Labor Council), well, no luck there. The survey of 805 likely Seattle voters—an unusually large and robust sample—was conducted January 14 through January 22 by the reputable polling firm EMC Research, with a margin of error of ± 3.5 percentage points.

I hope it passes, and I hope it forces similar legislation either at the county level for Snohomish/King/Pierce counties or at least on a city-by-city basis among the larger cities in the Puget Sound region.

[Telarus]

Interesting...

Yah, I want to see this "keep wages low" domino farm start toppling.

[Pergamos]

Meanwhile Wisconsin Republicans are trying to pass a state law that makes municipal wage laws illegal.

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/02/12/3286321/wisconsin-ban-local-minimum-wage/

[Cainad (dec.)]

I am very into the idea of giving minimum wage a big fat boost.

I am, through the rather extraordinarily fortunate circumstances that make up my life, employed for a little more than double the current federal minimum wage. This affords me some fairly comfortable living, hobbies, and the ability to put money into savings.

But I'm a single guy, in good health, living fairly close to a family support network. The idea of supporting a family, even just one child, on what I make, let a lone half of what I make, is ridiculous. I can tell just from the daily experience of me earning my paycheck that there's no amount of "hard work" that could possibly elevate someone out of poverty on that kind of money, in this economy. The goddamn math doesn't fucking add up, no matter how hard you stick your thumbs in your suspenders or how loudly you squawk about work "ethic."

[Pergamos]

My only quarrel with elevating the minimum wage is that it drives inflation, and people who were already making more than min wage, but not a lot more, end up not getting a raise, and being bitten by inflation so they are now making comparatively less.

That doesn't mean I am not in favor of raising the minimum wage,  I think we need to, but I think we also need more going on to raise the wages of people a little further up the payscale.  Strengthening of unions maybe.

[The Johnny]

Really? How does minimum wage affect inflation? I mean, its an important point, because the least that salaries should grow each year is the 3ish% that is inflation, otherwise everything just turns more expensive and spending becomes more restrictive.

[Pergamos]

Really? How does minimum wage affect inflation? I mean, its an important point, because the least that salaries should grow each year is the 3ish% that is inflation, otherwise everything just turns more expensive and spending becomes more restrictive.

minimum wage paying businesses, which is fast food and affordable retail, raise prices to cover the increased labor costs. 

[Salty]

Really? How does minimum wage affect inflation? I mean, its an important point, because the least that salaries should grow each year is the 3ish% that is inflation, otherwise everything just turns more expensive and spending becomes more restrictive.

minimum wage paying businesses, which is fast food and affordable retail, raise prices to cover the increased labor costs.

Instead of reducing bonuses and CEO salaries.

Randal Stephenson ain't gonna take a cut from his $27 million.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Really? How does minimum wage affect inflation? I mean, its an important point, because the least that salaries should grow each year is the 3ish% that is inflation, otherwise everything just turns more expensive and spending becomes more restrictive.

minimum wage paying businesses, which is fast food and affordable retail, raise prices to cover the increased labor costs.

Yeah, but look at the proportion of the wage increase to the overall cost of product. A 10% wage increase could only translate to a 10% product price increase if retail wages were the only expense contributing to the product, which, unless the product IS the service, is not possible. The vast majority of the cost of product and of delivering that product to market is not coming from the retail employees, but from the price of producing the product, shipping, retail space, storage space, utilities, and other costs of doing business.

So in the end, the actual contribution of the retail employee or server wage to the total retail price might be 5 or 10%. .10x.10=.01, or 1 penny per dollar price increase for every ten-cent per dollar wage increase. That is a far cry from market price inflation overtaking the increase in spending power.

[Cain]

Yes, the retail cost impact of a $15 wage for Wal-Mart workers is quite instructive, in this respect.  I think it's something like an overall increase of less than 50 cents on someone's shopping bill, when averaged out.

IOW, negligible, even if they're looking to maintain their crazy profit baseline (because it's not like they could just absorb that cost, or even consider it).

Interestingly, I saw something the other week which suggested had the Federal minimum wage kept steady with the cost of living and top wage increases, it would be somewhere around the $24 mark.  I'll have to look it up again, because I want to know the actual metrics they used to come to that conclusion.

[Reginald Ret]

Yes, the retail cost impact of a $15 wage for Wal-Mart workers is quite instructive, in this respect.  I think it's something like an overall increase of less than 50 cents on someone's shopping bill, when averaged out.

IOW, negligible, even if they're looking to maintain their crazy profit baseline (because it's not like they could just absorb that cost, or even consider it).

Interestingly, I saw something the other week which suggested had the Federal minimum wage kept steady with the cost of living and top wage increases, it would be somewhere around the $24 mark.  I'll have to look it up again, because I want to know the actual metrics they used to come to that conclusion.

[LMNO]

I think Elizabeth Warren was stressing that point a while back.  Or, at least her Facebook memes were.

Also, during the ACA fight, the Papa Ginos douchebucket said that if he had to give the mandated healthcare to his employees, he'd raise the price of pizzas.  It generated the expected uproar, until someone did the math, and saw it came to about a nickle a pizza.

Not a direct 1:1 comparison, but similar enough to make the point.