Oh so trickle down doesn’t work but paying employees does?? Wow. Who woulda thunk it.
So all we had to do to stimulate the economy was to give money to people that would spend it?
Instead of padding C-suite bonuses?
This is amazing. I hope the word gets out.
The problem is it’s too complex a concept to communicate to the masses. “Giving people money to spend helps stimulate spending” is basically rocket science.
/s
The only thing about it I consider a failure is the fact it was limited to a very specific industry, instead of simply being the new state minimum wage for all forms of employment. I heard a while back this is supposedly trying to be remedied, but I haven’t seen shit about it in months to know what’s up with that.
There was a California bill this election to raise minimum wage, but it failed.
Oh, same with opening up more possibilities for rent control.
AND, the anti slave labor / indentured servitude bill was killed.
Yay
Another sad case of progressives winning in policy but failing in messaging.
The right ONLY focuses on messaging (what’s the last real policy win for them?) which makes them incredibly difficult to keep up with.
It’s not just about failing at messaging.
The problem is that the capitalists, through their for profit media and bribed government official bully pulpit, simply drown out rational economic discussion in favor of “WE MUST STOP TAXING JOB CREATORS, REGULATION HINDERS GROWTH, FAST FOOD JOBS ARE FOR TEENAGERS TO BUY LOLIPOPS THEY DON’T NEED LIVING WAGES” etc.
I don’t think there’s a solution to this short of revolution, they control the signal, kill most truthful messages like trickle down was a self-serving lie by them to rob the nation blind, and if something happens like Luigi and they can’t directly kill the signal, they start creating divisive messaging about it to scatter and create anymous between those listening. I’m seeing a lot from mainstream media trying to divide Luigi supporters as somehow a racial issue on the grounds the public is “falling into the white savior complex trap” Divide and conquer. Stoke every culture war but the one that informs all others: the class war. Profit.
You can have the most profound messaging possible with truth on your side, but unfortunately, the ones with the most volume win. It’s why strength of argument has nothing to do with effecting policy in our dystopic nation of greed worship, as the last 50 years demonstrate.
Can you imagine if this nightmare scenario played out nationwide?
Yes, Federal Minimum Wage raised to $20 an hour. No exceptions for training, farm work, under 18. Then go for Medicare for All. Level the playing field for all the States and companies.
Let’s also try the aberrant idea of giving food stamps and basic cash aid to everyone who has it, but in perpetuity. Later just expand it to everyone no matter what.
No job? You get it. Job? You get it. You don’t get it only if you opt out. And you can always opt back in.
That would be horrendous for people, ugh!
How dare you make people’s lives better? Brown and poor people might benefit too!
The horrors of working class people being paid a slightly less unlivable wage would be unimaginable
The only issue I have with this article is saying employment drops during fall and winter. That was when we had our highest employment at a pizza place because more people ordered delivery. Now in the prime parts of California, winter is barely a thing so I get it. But I’m posting this from beneath multiple layers so our gas bill isn’t outrageous. I fucking hate the cold and have poor circulation. If I’m not in bed or in the shower, my toes are numb for about 4 months a year.
I have questions about this.
For one, the food business has notoriously thin margins. For two, wages are almost always the most expensive part of running a business. What the employer pays can easily be double what the employee receives.
So were California workers not already significantly above minimum? I live in a shit town in Florida and the lowest pay I’ve heard of lately was $12. Reminds me of visiting Manhattan in the early 90s. I was marveling at the prices of everything and asked my friend how somebody like a bellhop survives on minimum wage. He laughed, “Dude! Nobody makes minimum wage!”
The article makes a great point about employee retention driving down costs, and maybe that’s my answer, or a large part of it. In Florida an employer has to pay something like $7,000 to the state unemployment fund. If their turnover sucks, they have to pay that over and over again. When I worked at a payroll company, turnover was considered when we figured the employer’s rate.
While I’m at it, worker’s comp insurance is a thing. Every job has an associated code. The code for a roofer is “fuck you, uninsurable” or “fuck you, astronomical”. A clerical code carries super low rates and I’d imagine rates for fast food worker aren’t way higher. That’s part of the reason we would look at retention. More seasoned employees aren’t nearly as likely to get hurt on the job. (I think our calculations were partially figured on, “Treat your damned employees better.”)
And keep in mind, this new wage only applies to large companies who have the benefit of scale. $20/hr. could easily tank smaller outfits.
Labor is the largest cost to pretty much any company. Food margins are notoriously low that’s true but in theory with slightly raised prices and volume (because of the increase people have more money) it can equal or beat the profit beforehand.
When the wealthy get money they hoard it. When the poor get money they spend it on all the things they’d been cutting back on to stay afloat such as going out to eat.
There would be some point where this stops holding true and inflation just screws everything but we’re a ways off that point.
