Breaking News: Restaurants Closing All Over Seattle As $15 Minimum Wage Mandate Starts April 1st.

[thereisnospoon]

Hey look, if you can't or won't pay someone a decent wage, you don't belong in business. Employees are not volunteers. They have bills to pay and children to take care of too. They're not there to do volunteer work so you can become wealthier. They're in it for the same reason you are. It's the $$$. So if you don't wanna pay em, it's time to close up shop.

Everyone in America is in it for themselves. No one's gonna work for shite wages just so you can become wealthy and successful. That's just not gonna happen. The only suggestion would be, to hire family members and hope they do the work for lower wages. Kinda like volunteers helpin a loved one out. Otherwise, you gotta pay. It is what it is.

Very well stated. Thanks. Employers pay what they have to pay, and in most cases, not a penny more. With rare exception, they pay the going rate for location and type of work performed ( job title ).

Yeah, workers are not volunteers. They're in it for the $$$, just as business owners are. They're not gonna settle for shite wages just so a business owner can be wealthy and successful. That's not how it works. They have bills and families to take care of. If a business doesn't wanna pay a decent wage, that business needs to close up shop. It wasn't meant to be.

The business will pay the prevailing market wages.
Businesses are not psychiatrist's offices. They are not Dear Abby or Dr Phil. The employee's issues with bills, kids, etc are not the problem of the business. Employees shall leave their drama at home.
Now, as explained previously. Labor is part of a contract between worker and employer. The employer offers a wage the employee agrees to the wage provided they complete assigned tasks to the best of their ability in accordance with the terms and conditions set by the employer.
Pay tv, cell phones, steak dinners, groceries, etc are the employee's problem.
Define "decent' wage.

 

[DriftingSand]

r

That's already the case.

You tried unionizing at Wal Mart? I look forward to the day they unionize here...

Minimum wage talk is a joke. To small of a demographic to impact the economy

-Geaux

Its not just about min wage workers. EVERYONE should be given a wage they can live off of pay bills,gas,food,child care etc 35K a year a least...

Why? you really give yourself away when you use the word "given" a wage. In your left wing mind you don't understand working for your money, you just want it "given" to you. Because its only "fair" right?

Only in Right to Work States.

No..Every state....Remember, even in the states with the highest percentage of unionized workers( private sector) that is only about 15% of the workforce.
Unions have very little if any influence on the remainder of private sector pay rates

In 2013 there were 14.5 million members in the U.S., compared with 17.7 million in 1983.
In 2013, the percentage of workers belonging to a union in the United States (or total labor union "density") was 11.3%, compared to 20.1% in 1983.
Labor unions in the United States - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

In other words, unions scared most of their blood-hosts out of this country and into places like China and India. So much for unions "helping" the little man. Without blood the vampire grows weak.

 

[Rexx Taylor]

does this mean no more $2.50 all u can eat establishments? where am i gonna go for lunch now?

Taco trucks. They still operate pretty much off the books. Learn to say, "Me gustaria un queso y salsa enchilada sin cilantro por favor"

horse or cow beef?

 

[thereisnospoon]

Hey look, if you can't or won't pay someone a decent wage, you don't belong in business. Employees are not volunteers. They have bills to pay and children to take care of too. They're not there to do volunteer work so you can become wealthier. They're in it for the same reason you are. It's the $$$. So if you don't wanna pay em, it's time to close up shop.

Everyone in America is in it for themselves. No one's gonna work for shite wages just so you can become wealthy and successful. That's just not gonna happen. The only suggestion would be, to hire family members and hope they do the work for lower wages. Kinda like volunteers helpin a loved one out. Otherwise, you gotta pay. It is what it is.

Wrong, no one is forced to work for an employer who is not willing to pay them what their labor is worth. That employer will find himself with no workers and will go out of business.


Employment is a contract--------------I will pay you $x/hr if you will do Y job, be here on time and work 40 hours per week. If you don't like the terms of the contract, go somewhere else.

Don't wanna pay, get outta Dodge. It's America, everyone's in it for themselves. Workers aren't in it to do volunteer work. They're in it for the $$$, just like any business owner is.

Repeating yourself using different words does not make your claim any more factual

 

[thereisnospoon]

Hey look, if you can't or won't pay someone a decent wage, you don't belong in business. Employees are not volunteers. They have bills to pay and children to take care of too. They're not there to do volunteer work so you can
become wealthier. They're in it for the same reason you are. It's the $$$. So if you don't wanna pay em, it's time to close up shop.

Everyone in America is in it for themselves. No one's gonna work for shite wages just so you can become wealthy and successful. That's just not gonna happen. The only suggestion would be, to hire family members and hope they do the work for lower wages. Kinda like volunteers helpin a loved one out. Otherwise, you gotta pay. It is what it is.

Very well stated. Thanks. Employers pay what they have to pay, and in most cases, not a penny more. With rare exception, they pay the going rate for location and type of work performed ( job title ).

its called supply and demand.

Pay, or go belly-up. There's no crying in Business. It's the American Way.

now you are just being ridiculous...

 

[thereisnospoon]

Hey look, if you can't or won't pay someone a decent wage, you don't belong in business. Employees are not volunteers. They have bills to pay and children to take care of too. They're not there to do volunteer work so you can
become wealthier. They're in it for the same reason you are. It's the $$$. So if you don't wanna pay em, it's time to close up shop.

Everyone in America is in it for themselves. No one's gonna work for shite wages just so you can become wealthy and successful. That's just not gonna happen. The only suggestion would be, to hire family members and hope they do the work for lower wages. Kinda like volunteers helpin a loved one out. Otherwise, you gotta pay. It is what it is.

Very well stated. Thanks. Employers pay what they have to pay, and in most cases, not a penny more. With rare exception, they pay the going rate for location and type of work performed ( job title ).

its called supply and demand.

Pay, or go belly-up. There's no crying in Business. It's the American Way.

Yes, businesses must pay what it takes to get employees. Fast food workers here start above minimum wage because thats what the market demands.

The market should set the price of labor, not some beaurocrats in DC.

Like it or not, you need unskilled and skilled workers. Your Business can't survive without them. So if you're not willing to pay, it's time for you to close your Business and go do something else. It wasn't meant to be. It's thinning the herd. It's survival of the fittest.

Hey genius...There is an endless supply of low skilled workers. Every single fast food restaurant, dept store and convenience store employs them. And for every one that thinks like you, there are 10 more willing to roll that asshole across the parking lot to take their job.

 

[Rexx Taylor]

Pretty long Bus ride for all of those who lost and will lose their jobs. hope they have toilets on those buses to the border.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Ok

it's already happening...

If you truly are putting out a great product, you will be successful. And that goes for all businesses. If you're doing it right, you'll be successful and will be able to pay workers well. If you're not doing it right, you're all done. You won't be able to pay workers a decent wage. You'll have to close up shop and get outta Dodge. It's as simple as that.

Every manufacturing plant now operating in the US has at least some technology that replaces the need for people do the work

 

[thereisnospoon]

its called supply and demand.

Pay, or go belly-up. There's no crying in Business. It's the American Way.

Yes, businesses must pay what it takes to get employees. Fast food workers here start above minimum wage because thats what the market demands.

The market should set the price of labor, not some beaurocrats in DC.

Like it or not, you need unskilled and skilled workers. Your Business can't survive without them. So if you're not willing to pay, it's time for you to close your Business and go do something else. It wasn't meant to be. It's thinning the herd. It's survival of the fittest.

now you have become stupidly repetitious.

Hey, unskilled workers wanna get paid too. And you need them. So you'll have to pay, or shut it down. It is what it is.

 

[Ame®icano]

If you can't afford to pay your workers a decent wage you shouldn't be in business.

The wage is reflection of what labor is worth to business.

They don't get to decide that. They have proven themselves unworthy of doing so by paying such low wages.

Who gets to decide?

 

[Cecilie1200]

Yes....the rich democrats are going to get what they want in Seattle....a few really good restaurants, with great waiters and the rest of the poor on food stamps......that is what you get when you hike up minimum wage for no good reason......

Seattle eateries closing as 15 minimum wage approaches Hot Air


Seattle’s $15 minimum wage law goes into effect on April 1, 2015. As that date approaches, restaurants across the city are making the financial decision to close shop. The Washington Policy Center writes that “closings have occurred across the city, from Grub in the upscale Queen Anne Hill neighborhood, to Little Uncle in gritty Pioneer Square, to the Boat Street Cafe on Western Avenue near the waterfront.”

Of course, restaurants close for a variety of reasons. But,according to Seattle Magazine, the “impending minimum wage hike to $15 per hour” is playing a “major factor.” That’s not surprising, considering “about 36% of restaurant earnings go to paying labor costs.” ..,

“Washington Restaurant Association’s Anthony Anton puts it this way: “It’s not a political problem; it’s a math problem.”

In reference to that last quote, it’s certainly a math problem for the restaurant owners, but that doesn’t eliminate the fact that it’s a political problem for the social justice warriors who shoved this initiative through. Of course, the problems in question are all too real for the workers who are now “benefiting” from having their wages bumped up by more than 50% in some cases, and it involves some calculating as well. Our friend Bruce McQuain asks the question which puts this whole math issue in focus. What’s $15 times zero again?

Are there alternatives to closing? Sure. But they’re the same ones we’ve talked about for years:

Restaurant owners, expecting to operate on thinner margins, have tried to adapt in several ways including “higher menu prices, cheaper, lower-quality ingredients, reduced opening times, and cutting work hours and firing workers,” according to The Seattle Times and Seattle Eater magazine. As the Washington Policy Center points out, when these strategies are not enough, businesses close, “workers lose their jobs and the neighborhood loses a prized amenity.”

Welcome to the land of $17 dollar cheeseburgers. And, as you can figure out fairly quickly, everything else will be more expensive too … which, of course, erodes the purchasing power of that $15 wage. More importantly, if you work for one of those establishments that is closing, your wage is $15 times zero hours, isn’t it?

Think of it this way: when rich elites had eevrything and laborers labored for little to nothing, the laborers eventually came for the elites sticking their heads on pikes and lopping them off in guilotines. Thus began the French Revolution.

If you don't think it can happen again here, guess again. The working poor wont take abuse indefinitely. Eventually the rich get richer, poor get poorer thing is gonna boil over and the streets will run red with the blood of the rich. Again.

and putting them out of work is going to help how? a few will make the new 15 dollars an hour, the rest will be out of work.....or will have their hours cut...and they will now have to work 2 or more jobs to earn less than what they were earning before...that is what will really piss them off....

but again...the rich, elite democrats benefit, short sightedly, from this.....they get more people on government hand outs...which the democrats control, and they can use these angry, poor, uneducated, unemployed workers to target their political enemies to gain more power for themselves...an endless destructive cycle.....

And because they championed 15 dollars an hour....the poor won't blame the democrats,for their poverty.......

Business wont be cutting back positions because they have to pay a fair wage. Their owners just wont be making the absurd profits they do now paying less than is fair.

Why do I strongly suspect that you are not an accountant, or anyone with any sort of real-life connection to business finances?

 

[Ame®icano]

People need to understand that just because you leave something to market forces, doesn't mean it will produce a good outcome.

Market forces are amoral at best, immoral at worst.

 

[Cecilie1200]

If you can't afford to pay your workers a decent wage you shouldn't be in business.

The wage is reflection of what labor is worth to business.

They don't get to decide that. They have proven themselves unworthy of doing so by paying such low wages.

Who gets to decide?

I love this leftist reasoning. "You don't get to decide how much of your money gets paid out. WE get to decide that, because you're not generous enough with YOUR money to be worthy of controlling it."

 

[Cecilie1200]

Living Wage is coming either way...do it voluntarily or you can be forced to do it.

Not unless you're planning on forcing people to operate and fund businesses in the red.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Again...since none of you social justice warriors have responded......

should the 16 year old scooping ice cream at the ice cream shop get 15 dollars an hour?

should the donut shop with one employee be forced to pay a Living Wage the same as Walmart? I mean, the guy handing out donuts is no different from the Walmart stocker or cashier....right?

Yes. If you try splitting hairs like say only those who live on their own should get it and those that live at home shouldn't. Nope don't work that way. You might be able to attach it to age...so at 16 get min wage but at 18 when you are expected to move out pay your own bills etc it goes up.

You just cannot think past micromanaging to give people fairy-tale endings they haven't earned, can you?

It's not for the government to set wages at all, either across the board or attached to people's ages.

Wages are decided by value of labor, and decided by the people who pay them. Pass all the laws you like, but unless you're planning to make all businesses government-run and -funded, that's still going to be the case, and your little nanny laws are just going to be the obstacles that fundamental economic laws continue to work around.

Low-skilled, low-wage jobs are expected to be filled by young people who are entering the workforce, and have the time, ability, and freedom from financial responsibility to deal with them. If one is older and more burdened with obligations and yet chooses to continue being employed like a teenager, that's on THEM, not anyone else. It is THEIR responsibility to make provisions for meeting their obligations, not sit back and whine that someone else needs to make that possible for them without them putting forth any effort to change and improve their lives.

 

[Cecilie1200]

It will be a national law. You will not treat workers like your personal slaves to make you richer when they are getting paid less than the product they are making sells for!

Then they can starve to death when they no longer have ANY income. They get fired. The business closes. Who is going to pay them?

See not all business owners are scumbag republicans and they know that people need jobs and won't close but will pay the correct wage as they should. To those that are scumbags and close their doors because they are greedy assholes OK then they lose money and the employees will get unemployment.

really. did your Dem/liberal scumbag crystal ball tell you that?

you've really come out showing your true colors. all for Government to come in and SQUASH our freedoms as long as you think you benefit from it

Thought you republicans were all about freedom? Where is the freedom in paying such little wage that they can't pay bills,buy food,diapers etc? Your freedom ends when it starts affecting me.

Only a leftist would think that "freedom" is defined by the ability to make other people your slaves.

I guess they're still consistent with their history, though.

 

[Cecilie1200]

It's just not a concept liberals seem to be able to wrap their head around.

As it is, McDonalds is struggling, badly. Double the wages of employees and you double expenses. Now that 4 dollar Big Mac is 8 bucks. Who is willing to pay 8 bucks for a Big Mac? Nobody. So if you want to see hundreds of thousands lose their jobs, make burger flippers minimum wage be 15 bucks an hour. It guarantees they'll become good little democrats, on welfare and food stamps, because they won't have a job.

Very true. Something low information'ers can't accept - that businesses do not have a bottomless source of money laying around.
McDonald’s, the nations 2nd largest employer (how embarrassing is that), makes enormous revenues....but paltry margins. Many McD's are only keeping 2%-3% of the money they earn.

You got enough to pay the CEO millions in salary and bonuses you got enough to pay all workers a livable wage.

Ah, yes. We forgot. You believe that someone should be willing to take on management of a multimillion-dollar worldwide franchise corporation for the same amount of money that gets paid to the guy who runs the fry station in just one of those franchises. Because, as we all know, CEOs don't actually DO anything to earn their salaries; they just strut around in suits, read reports, and go out for three-martini lunches, right?

 

[Cecilie1200]

What if I offered you the same position, but only at $10,000 a year? Would you accept the position?

Nope.

If you won't accept the job, then nobody else has to accept the job either. Nobody is forced to accept a job with low pay.

Yawn. Nice try. Not gonna work. All you proved is people shouldn't have to work for such low pay

Actually, I demonstrated that people don't have to work for such low pay. All people receive the pay they agreed to. All people.

Oh give me a fucking break. Agreed to under duress. 99.9% of people take any job they can find because they have bills and food and gas and diapers to pay for or buy.Take that horseshit response somewhere else find some gullible kid to swallow that shit.

Maybe 99.9% of the people YOU know, because I wouldn't be surprised if everyone you know is as big a pathetic, whining loser as you are. I can't imagine that anyone with anything on the ball would waste time on you.

Even by the facts cited by your own puling "living wage" activists, only 26% or so of Americans work for $10.55 an hour or less, which means that about 3/4 of the workers in this country will NOT "take any job they can find". They can and do hold out for something better-paying. The only people who don't are the ones who don't have the skills to qualify for anything better.

 

[Cecilie1200]

and remember when we were watching the news/on scene. and one of the burger flippers complained to the reporter: Yo, Mann! iz like, how iz wee supposed to support a family on tin dollas an hour? and who didn't scream back at their TV and said, Well Maybe You Shouldn't Be Getting Pregnant at 16 !!!!

If that's really how he talks, I'd prefer he didn't EVER procreate.

 

[Cecilie1200]

and to think there was once a time when us middle-agers would have to work in a restaurant when we were teens/early 20's for anywhere between 2.50 and 4.50 hr. and we didnt complain!

$2.50 in 1960 taking into account inflation would be worth $19.96 today.

i can still remember my first job, and probably like many of us in our 50's now, we were working at a local diner, washing dishes for 2.00, 2.30 or so an hour, and we felt kinda rich !!

And coffee was 10 cents a cup. I worked in a service station washing cars at minimum wage, 75 cent/hr. Yesterday, I paid $2 for a cut of coffee. If the cost of coffee is any guide, minimum wage should be $30/hr.

Depends on where you buy it. If you're dumb enough to buy coffee every day at Starbucks or some other fancy-pants overpriced shop, you deserve to be broke.

Personally, I make my own freaking coffee at home, and like the taste better. Bonus: I can get a month's worth of coffee for what one "grande" at Starbucks would cost.