Comments on: The unintended effects of hikes in the minimum wage

By: Big Maq

Big Maq — Thu, 20 Apr 2017 14:09:46 +0000

@Neo – understood, and wasn’t referring to your comment directly.

Where’s Brian E when you need him… he’s usually the one here replying to my comments about how wrong that thinking (“free markets”) is, and how government needs to be involved in “fixing the problem”. 😉
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@huxley – ugh… right… everything is going the way of the airlines, cell companies, and medicine – the “price” is not “the (final) price”.

By: Ray

Ray — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 18:35:06 +0000

Keep in mind that these are the same people that say increasing the cost of cigarettes reduces the consumption of cigarettes, but increasing the cost of employment has no effect on employment.

By: Richard Aubrey

Richard Aubrey — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 18:29:08 +0000

More low-skill people on government benefits have to vote for those providing the benefits.

By: huxley

huxley — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 22:41:44 +0000

One of the last straws for me in San Francisco was discovering that some restaurants tacked on an extra 4% fee to the bill for employee healthcare mentioned only in a small print disclaimer at the bottom of the menu.

http://abc7news.com/archive/6109192/

By: Yancey Ward

Yancey Ward — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 21:48:07 +0000

Darth Aggie has already made the comment I always put on minimum wage essays- the real minimum wage is always zero.

By: Yankee

Yankee — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 21:19:34 +0000

In general, we should expect some prices to start going up for many retail and service businesses, including hotels, restaurants, convenience stores, and all other places that depend on fairly large numbers of low-paid employees.

Many states have raised their minimum wage (like to $11 for MA), and the overall rate for unemployment is low as well. That means higher costs and fewer people around to hire. So some employees can be a little more selective about where they work, and employers have to offer people a little more to retain them. Guess who pays for it all (and then still complains, even when they support higher wages).

By: I R A Darth Aggie

I R A Darth Aggie — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 21:13:56 +0000

Alternative pull quote: While the de jure minimum wage can be set arbitrarily, the de facto minimum wage is always zero. Of course, people at that wage level for the most part don't actually live in San Fran. But that's a different can of worms.

By: The Other Gary

The Other Gary — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 20:18:51 +0000

Now, you might say that this is market forces at work, with the bad restaurants being winnowed out. The artificially high minimum wage "winnows out" restaurants with smaller profit margins, some of which are really good. Like those great small joints that offer large portions of tasty food for a low price. I love those places. But the Great Planners have decreed that these low-price cafes, sandwich shops, burrito stands, Vietnamese pho eateries, burger joints, cheap Chinese places, inexpensive pizza/Italian food, etc shall be no more. Thanks, big-government lefties.

By: neo-neocon

neo-neocon — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 19:51:14 +0000

Big Maq:

I wasn’t talking about the entire pie—i.e. the economy.

I was just talking about the market for restaurant-going in a particular city at a particular time—say, San Francisco this year. If government makes it more expensive for restaurateurs to operate, something’s gotta give.

By: J.J.

J.J. — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 19:50:01 +0000

The minimum wage in Australia is $15 Australian dollars an hour. When we were there, four years ago, the cost of restaurant meals was quite high compared to the U.S. A burger with chips (fries) and a drink was usually $25 or more in the typical fast food place. Many Aussies accept it as fairness in wages, but I talked to a few who hate it because it drives restaurants out of business or creates inflation. We found Oz to be a generally high priced place and the high minimum wage may well have been a big part.