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

[paulitician]

Oh boy, Mississippi sure is a stanky shithole. Yeah, it angers me sometimes watching my Republican friends celebrating and boasting about States that treat their Workers like shite. They actually celebrate Workers making less money. Such a twisted greedy mentality. They should be ashamed of themselves.

Mississippi Leads U.S. In Reliance On Food Stamps

Yeah, i cringe everytime i hear some of my Republican friends boasting about a factory closing somewhere, and re-opening in a State that encourages it to pay its Workers less. I'm like, is that really something to celebrate? American Workers making less money? Really? So many have lost their way. They've allowed their hate & greed to consume them. It's very sad.

As long as they keep it in the usa I'm ok

You should never celebrate and boast when an American Worker makes less money. Period, end of story.

You're jumping the gun. They will be paid more per hour, but it remain to be seen if they gonna make more money overall. I think that some will, but most wont, since they're gonna work less hours or be laid off.

It doesn't solve all the problems. But it's a start. These Workers will by no means be rich. $11 - $15 will help most just get by at best. That's certainly not a lot of money these days.

 

[Camp]

The tax payer is the beneficiary to the wage increase.

Well, yeah. That's exactly what's going on. We're hoping to 'draft' employers to help pay for the social safety net. Setting aside the scapegoating aspect of that, it won't work. The value of a given job isn't something that can be changed by decree.

How is the value of a given job determined? All the restaurants in the original story were paying their employees above the minimum wage already. The city with input from business has determined a certain minimum wage should be paid to insure safety and fairness to the general public and employees. If you think there is some scheme to draft employers to help employers help pay for a social safety net in some unfair way, it is up to you to organize others who agree with you and change the law. Finding folks who want to publicly support greedy business people who believe they have a right to abuse and take advantage of oppressed poor folks at the expense of tax payers might be difficult.

 

[Redfish]

My point still stands. Go do business in a shit hole State that doesn't mind treating its workers like shit. If you can live with yourself, go for it. It's your call.

Your point is still bullshit. You said Washington State respect it's workers because they raised minimum wage. That's false, and since Washington state did not raise minimum wage, therefore according to you, Washington State doesn't respect its workers. So what's exactly your point?

Yes we know, you're happy when American Workers make less money. Seriously, you Corporate-Bootlickers have a really warped mentality.

Ok, last chance. You keep talking about a liveable wage for all americans, So tell us what is a liveable wage for each of the following americans

1. single guy 23 years old living with his partents in Atlanta, no college degree
2. married guy 25 years old with 4 kids living in Manhattan, college degree
3. married guy 25 years old with 4 kids living in Monroe La, college degree
4. single mom 35 with 4 kids living in Detroit, 9th grade dropout
5. landscape worker 27 years old, living with 8 others in a rental apartment in Houston

We will await your answers--------------or you couild just admit that there is no such thing as a liveable wage that applies to all americans.

 

[Dragonlady]

How about just forgetting about the CEO .................

What he makes is irrelevant to what nay worker makes ...................

Just the skill set alone sets most CEO's apart from the regular laborer, the fact they have a BRAIN and actually understand how business works and how greedy, skill less workers think they are any way equal or have any right to base their pay expectations with them(CEO) in mind.

Workers aren't asking for riches. They're just asking to be paid a decent livable wage. And i don't think that's too much to ask in the richest nation on earth.

They're not asking "the nation". They're asking their specific, private-sector employer, for whom they are doing a job that could be done equally well by a kid in junior high school. Translated, that means they're demanding that the government reach into their employer's pocket and give them his money for a job which is not valuable enough to warrant it.

My buddy owns a small business in a nice middle class town. Him and all the small business owners all talk and I just left a small business that closed in another very nice middle class town. Taxes aren't what's killing small businesses. No customers is.

My buddy said 75% of americans are barely getting by so they aren't spending any money.

Start your own business? Selling what to who?

I luckily just found a great manufacturing sales job so I never have to start a small business and work for minimum wage.

The rich have all the money go sell something to them. Oh they already have one? Out of business already?

Gargantuan Corporations like Walmart have annihilated the little guy. Greedy fat Americans love their cheap Chinese-made shit. Most have no idea that they're only supporting their own demise. They're funding it.

most of walmart's customers are the poor and middle class. Rich greedy evil people do not shop at walmart. They go to whole foods or fresh market and pay more than walmart charges.

walmart helps the poor by providing low prices and jobs.

Walmart does not help the poor, it helps itself while selling schmucks like you on the notion that they're helping Americans.

Walmart has actively encouraged its suppliers to move manufacturing offshore so they can lower their prices, at the cost of American jobs.

More jobs are lost because Walmart drives smaller mom and pop stores out of business. In some towns, they've cut the prices until the competition is gone and they're the only store left, then they raise their prices. And people who worked for decent wages in the mom and pop stores have nowhere to work but Walmart.

The loss of retail districts in small towns reduces the available jobs and the tax base.

Walmart's employment practices and low wages to retail workers has had the effect of cutting wages in the retail sector across the board. Other big box stores have had to adopt similar practices and pay scales in order to remain competitive, putting more pressure on social spending to subsidize the low wages.

So don't try to tell me that Walmart helps poor people. Walmart is a big part of the reason why so many are poor in the first place.

 

[Camp]

My point still stands. Go do business in a shit hole State that doesn't mind treating its workers like shit. If you can live with yourself, go for it. It's your call.

Your point is still bullshit. You said Washington State respect it's workers because they raised minimum wage. That's false, and since Washington state did not raise minimum wage, therefore according to you, Washington State doesn't respect its workers. So what's exactly your point?

It is not false. Washington state automatically adjust it's minimum wage every year, since implementing the system in 1998. In addition it raised the base number for minimum wage in Sept. 2014, less than a year ago to 9.47 with a caveat that 14 and 15 year old's can be paid 8.05. The increase in Seattle merely met the states requirements, however, the city placed incremental raises in the base figure that superseded the automatic state adjustments related to inflation.
So, in tune with the original OP, the anti minimum wage proponents still depend on misinformation and fraudulent data to defend their position.

 

[Redfish]

My point still stands. Go do business in a shit hole State that doesn't mind treating its workers like shit. If you can live with yourself, go for it. It's your call.

Your point is still bullshit. You said Washington State respect it's workers because they raised minimum wage. That's false, and since Washington state did not raise minimum wage, therefore according to you, Washington State doesn't respect its workers. So what's exactly your point?

It is not false. Washington state automatically adjust it's minimum wage every year, since implementing the system in 1998. In addition it raised the base number for minimum wage in Sept. 2014, less than a year ago to 9.47 with a caveat that 14 and 15 year old's can be paid 8.05. The increase in Seattle merely met the states requirements, however, the city placed incremental raises in the base figure that superseded the automatic state adjustments related to inflation.
So, in tune with the original OP, the anti minimum wage proponents still depend on misinformation and fraudulent data to defend their position.

then I guess all you libs need to move to Washington state. Can we help you pack?

 

[paulitician]

My point still stands. Go do business in a shit hole State that doesn't mind treating its workers like shit. If you can live with yourself, go for it. It's your call.

Your point is still bullshit. You said Washington State respect it's workers because they raised minimum wage. That's false, and since Washington state did not raise minimum wage, therefore according to you, Washington State doesn't respect its workers. So what's exactly your point?

It is not false. Washington state automatically adjust it's minimum wage every year, since implementing the system in 1998. In addition it raised the base number for minimum wage in Sept. 2014, less than a year ago to 9.47 with a caveat that 14 and 15 year old's can be paid 8.05. The increase in Seattle merely met the states requirements, however, the city placed incremental raises in the base figure that superseded the automatic state adjustments related to inflation.
So, in tune with the original OP, the anti minimum wage proponents still depend on misinformation and fraudulent data to defend their position.

then I guess all you libs need to move to Washington state. Can we help you pack?

That greed and contempt mentality is gonna cost you bigtime in the future. You lost Washington. And i suspect you're gonna lose many more States. That mentality will guarantee you National Election losses for the foreseeable future. Most Americans are sick of your 'It's always the Workers' fault' shtick. It's not a winning platform.

 

[Camp]

My point still stands. Go do business in a shit hole State that doesn't mind treating its workers like shit. If you can live with yourself, go for it. It's your call.

Your point is still bullshit. You said Washington State respect it's workers because they raised minimum wage. That's false, and since Washington state did not raise minimum wage, therefore according to you, Washington State doesn't respect its workers. So what's exactly your point?

It is not false. Washington state automatically adjust it's minimum wage every year, since implementing the system in 1998. In addition it raised the base number for minimum wage in Sept. 2014, less than a year ago to 9.47 with a caveat that 14 and 15 year old's can be paid 8.05. The increase in Seattle merely met the states requirements, however, the city placed incremental raises in the base figure that superseded the automatic state adjustments related to inflation.
So, in tune with the original OP, the anti minimum wage proponents still depend on misinformation and fraudulent data to defend their position.

then I guess all you libs need to move to Washington state. Can we help you pack?

This isn't a liberal vs. conservative issue. The views you have been expressing are not conservative and the views your opponents have expressed are not liberal. You don't really comprehend what those terms and ideologies means.

 

[KissMy]

Repubtards want workers to live off government instead of wages paid by their employer. Bush exploded welfare.

 

[Skull Pilot]

What that $600 a week should cover?

If you share apartment with couple of roommates, or living in moms basement, you could live on much less. It's still livable wage.

Now that's irrelevant.

If is irrelevant what $600 should cover, how did you get to $600 magic number?

So just throw a number out there. What do you think is a decent livable wage overall, for an average American Worker? I already put some numbers out there. I said between $11 - $15 an hr. Certainly isn't wealth, but it's a reasonable start. One could get by somewhat.

It shouldn't be up to you, or to me, or to government to decide what someone else's minimum acceptable wage should be.

Well, the State of Washington has decided. So Businesses will pay their workers a little more, and life will go on. It's a small victory for American Workers. That sure doesn't happen very often. American Workers have been getting shafted for many years. It's a damn shame.

And if you're so outraged over Workers getting a little more cash, then don't go to Washington. Only travel to, or do business with Slave Labor States. That's your call i guess. It wouldn't surprise me though. You guys are the ones who supported shipping so many good-paying American jobs out of the country. You guys really should ask yourselves sometime, 'what would Jesus do?' If you call yourself a 'Good Christian', it's time you started acting like one.

A little more?

You call a 67% increase a little more?

And I'm an atheist but from what I know about Jesus is that he asked people to give money to him he didn't give it to them

 

[Skull Pilot]

How about just forgetting about the CEO .................

What he makes is irrelevant to what nay worker makes ...................

Just the skill set alone sets most CEO's apart from the regular laborer, the fact they have a BRAIN and actually understand how business works and how greedy, skill less workers think they are any way equal or have any right to base their pay expectations with them(CEO) in mind.

Workers aren't asking for riches. They're just asking to be paid a decent livable wage. And i don't think that's too much to ask in the richest nation on earth.

They're not asking "the nation". They're asking their specific, private-sector employer, for whom they are doing a job that could be done equally well by a kid in junior high school. Translated, that means they're demanding that the government reach into their employer's pocket and give them his money for a job which is not valuable enough to warrant it.

Wonder how long you would last standing on a concrete kitchen floor in 120 degree heat for 6, 8 hours or more every day.

Cry me a fucking river.

That warped hateful mentality is gonna cost you even more down the road. The more hateful and greedy you become, the more American Workers will fight to kick your ass. It's especially gonna cost you in many future National Elections. Hating and insulting average hard-working Americans, isn't exactly a winning platform on the national level. Your greed will cost you more in the future. Bet on it.

I am not hateful or greedy.

I just don't have much tolerance for fucking whiners like you.

And I've worked my share of shit jobs I just never expected to be given more than the job was worth and I realized unlike you idiots that if I didn't want to get stuck in a shit job that I had to improve myself so I could demand a higher salary.

I expect no less from anyone else.

Your problem is that you do.

You have a mentality that accepts grading on a curve. In fact I bet you benefited from it

 

[sealybobo]

Mississippi Leads U.S. In Reliance On Food Stamps

Yeah, i cringe everytime i hear some of my Republican friends boasting about a factory closing somewhere, and re-opening in a State that encourages it to pay its Workers less. I'm like, is that really something to celebrate? American Workers making less money? Really? So many have lost their way. They've allowed their hate & greed to consume them. It's very sad.

As long as they keep it in the usa I'm ok

You should never celebrate and boast when an American Worker makes less money. Period, end of story.

You're jumping the gun. They will be paid more per hour, but it remain to be seen if they gonna make more money overall. I think that some will, but most wont, since they're gonna work less hours or be laid off.

It doesn't solve all the problems. But it's a start. These Workers will by no means be rich. $11 - $15 will help most just get by at best. That's certainly not a lot of money these days.

They need to adjust these things with inflation automatically. That will put the inflators in check because otherwise if wages go up so does the cost of living.

Auto cola.

 

[sealybobo]

Workers aren't asking for riches. They're just asking to be paid a decent livable wage. And i don't think that's too much to ask in the richest nation on earth.

They're not asking "the nation". They're asking their specific, private-sector employer, for whom they are doing a job that could be done equally well by a kid in junior high school. Translated, that means they're demanding that the government reach into their employer's pocket and give them his money for a job which is not valuable enough to warrant it.

Wonder how long you would last standing on a concrete kitchen floor in 120 degree heat for 6, 8 hours or more every day.

Cry me a fucking river.

That warped hateful mentality is gonna cost you even more down the road. The more hateful and greedy you become, the more American Workers will fight to kick your ass. It's especially gonna cost you in many future National Elections. Hating and insulting average hard-working Americans, isn't exactly a winning platform on the national level. Your greed will cost you more in the future. Bet on it.

I am not hateful or greedy.

I just don't have much tolerance for fucking whiners like you.

And I've worked my share of shit jobs I just never expected to be given more than the job was worth and I realized unlike you idiots that if I didn't want to get stuck in a shit job that I had to improve myself so I could demand a higher salary.

I expect no less from anyone else.

Your problem is that you do.

You have a mentality that accepts grading on a curve. In fact I bet you benefited from it

Bet you did too. In fact unions increased everyones wages even yours.

And as unions went from 35% of the workforce to 12% wages dropped. Glad it didn't happen to you but it did 75% of americans you greedy jerk.

 

[Iceweasel]

then I guess all you libs need to move to Washington state. Can we help you pack?

We don't need more smelly asses clogging the sidewalks thankyouverymuch.

Washington State Unemployment Rate and Total Unemployed Department of Numbers
From a recent trough of 213,669 in June 2014, the number of unemployed has now grown by 11,176.

 

[initforme]

If the businesses don't like it, then MOVE to another state. It is THAT easy. But I don't think raising the min wage was the answer as I would never lower myself to apply for a job that pays those types of awful wages or work for an employer that thinks that low of their employees to begins with. All the more reason to go to college.

 

[Iceweasel]

If the businesses don't like it, then MOVE to another state. It is THAT easy. But I don't think raising the min wage was the answer as I would never lower myself to apply for a job that pays those types of awful wages or work for an employer that thinks that low of their employees to begins with. All the more reason to go to college.

We're talking about Seattle, not the state. You wouldn't lower yourself for a starting minimum wage job but would you accept public assistance? I'll bet you would! And no, there's nothing easy about moving a business Cupcake. It took me weeks to move next door.

 

[dblack]

The tax payer is the beneficiary to the wage increase.

Well, yeah. That's exactly what's going on. We're hoping to 'draft' employers to help pay for the social safety net. Setting aside the scapegoating aspect of that, it won't work. The value of a given job isn't something that can be changed by decree.

How is the value of a given job determined?

Ahh... well, that's the question, isn't it? And I don't think most MW supporters have given it much thought. Because when you do, you realize it's not something you can change by waving a wand - or passing a law. Value is, of course, subjective. Everyone values different things in different amounts. But in a market environment, value resolves to an aggregate of the values all the participants in the market. In other words, we all decide what the value of the jobs and services we utilize are worth, by our daily economic decisions.

The fact that so many of you don't want to acknowledge is that, as a society, we - in the purest aggregate expression of our values - have decided that some jobs aren't worth a "living wage". We might be willing to pay a little for them, but they really aren't worth very much to us. If they cost much more, we can do without. If fast food costs much more, many of us will choose to flip our own burgers.

If we try to fight society's verdict with legal mandates, the market will simply adjust to "flow" around whatever obstacles the law injects. We'll either raise other wages and prices around the new artificial minimum (the manager is still going to make more than the dishwasher) or choose to do without the low value jobs. Probably some combination of the two. But in the end, we still won't value the jobs any more. And people still won't be able to make a living on them.

The city with input from business has determined a certain minimum wage should be paid to insure safety and fairness to the general public and employees. If you think there is some scheme to draft employers to help employers help pay for a social safety net in some unfair way, it is up to you to organize others who agree with you and change the law.

That's not the way civil rights are supposed to work. We're not at the mercy of pure majority rule. If we think minority groups are being singled out for unequal treatment under the law, we have an obligation to strike down such laws - regardless of how much organized support they may have.

 

[Dragonlady]

I am not hateful or greedy.

I just don't have much tolerance for fucking whiners like you.

And I've worked my share of shit jobs I just never expected to be given more than the job was worth and I realized unlike you idiots that if I didn't want to get stuck in a shit job that I had to improve myself so I could demand a higher salary.

I expect no less from anyone else.

Your problem is that you do.

You have a mentality that accepts grading on a curve. In fact I bet you benefited from it

Ok you're not hateful or greedy but you are completely out of touch with the current economic reality.

The average age of minimum wage workers is 25. These are adults, not teenagers looking for pocket money. They're the blue collar guys who lost their good union jobs because right wing economic policies encouraged US companies, looking for dazzling results, scored higher profits with cheap off-shore manufacturing that gives us short-use crappy stuff that falls apart quickly.

Good, North American made clothing used quality fabrics and workmanship so you could get several seasons out of them, pass ing kids' clothes on to siblings or church bazaars.

The clothing coming from China, and Bangladesh, are made of badly cut, paper thin fabrics. The outfits are never in need of repair because the buttons and seams last longer than the fabric.

From a manufacturer's point of view, it's win/win, they get their goods at a fraction of the cost and maintain their pricing structure and show a big increase in profits, and with such a short wearable lifespan, customers will buy more frequently and thus increase sales.

This has happened in all manufacturing. Bottom line management has killed American manufacturing. The people who used to make things and made a decent living for doing so are now a huge pool of people who want to work but whose skills aren't much in demand, so they take anything they can get, and employers have seen opportunities to save money by offering less and less for the same work.

They gave no raises for four or five years citing poor sales. Workers who ask for more money are soon gone and easily replaced.

Retail used to pay more than minimum wage. Then came Walmart.

 

[Ame®icano]

It doesn't solve all the problems. But it's a start. These Workers will by no means be rich. $11 - $15 will help most just get by at best. That's certainly not a lot of money these days.

It create more problems then it solve. As I said, people may "feel" good that they're getting paid more per hour, but I think that feeling wont last long. If I am franchise owner and forced to pay fry boy more then his work is worth, I would have to adjust. How?

Giving fry boy more responsibilities, promote him to fry boy/floor sweeper. Then I don't need floor sweeper, so I lay him off. If fry boy doesn't like his promotion, I could lay him off and promote floor sweeper into fry boy/floor sweeper. More money, more responsibilities, right?

Or I could stop paying fry boy per hour. Hire him on contract. In fact, put everyone on contract. You get paid lump sum for the job done. Also, hire cleaning company to sweep floors. Contract workers become "self employed", no need to pay their taxes, unemployment benefits, health care, it's all on them from their paycheck.

I mentioned this before, but I'm just curious what happens in this situation: Fast food manager makes $14.75 an hour already, and fry boy makes minimum wage. With new law, they both get bumped to new minimum wage of $15 an hour. It would suck to be manager, extra responsibilities, the same pay... OK, it's still lot better being the boss at a shitty place than a peon at a shitty place.

 

[Ame®icano]

We're talking about Seattle, not the state. You wouldn't lower yourself for a starting minimum wage job but would you accept public assistance? I'll bet you would! And no, there's nothing easy about moving a business Cupcake. It took me weeks to move next door.

Public assistance makes big part in this. Liberals are saying that minimum wage increase will lower public assistance. Partially agree, since there will be initial effect. So, lets talk numbers.

So if someone earning $7.25/hour goes to $15/hour, for every $1/hour raise they would get is about $0.30/hour less in subsidies from food stamps. If that someone is on Obamacare, for every $1 raise will get $0.15 less in healthcare subsidies. The actual increase in wage would initially result in a lessening of tax spending, and also in increased taxes, turning takers into makers. However, the service industries prices may go up coupled with decreasing profits. To make up for losses, or to keep existing profits, employers will be forced to make cuts, and some workers will lose jobs. Yes, employer potentially create one less taker and at the same time one more unemployed. Is that justified?

But what worker actually gets? His purchasing power will actually go down, while his taxes will go up and on a long run, we'll be in the same situation as we are now. Proponents of increase will cry for another increase.

And you're right. Once MW earner feels threatened with losing public assistance, they would just intentionally work less or find another way in order to keep it.