Impending Minimum Wage hike causing restaurants to close

[Cow Poke]

ah yes,
they have the choice to reopen the factory

or they can start their own business huh.


and they can lose the last shirt they have doing that.

no, they dont have to go to McDonalds or KFC or Service Master, they can sit at home till the bank takes it and they are free to live under the bridge

You're a girl, aren't you?

[jordanriver]

It means "very easily replaced". Not quite the same as "disposable".

Now, IF they were interested in keeping their job, they could BECOME "not very easily replaced" --- for example, if they were more prompt than the others, or more dependable, or were more flexible as to being called in for no-shows....

while you're at it
they can dance to an organ grinder, amuse the boss's kids

...sleep with the boss, do the boss's wife's laundry,

or my personal favorite, humans doing stupid pet tricks.....

[Cow Poke]

while you're at it
they can dance to an organ grinder, amuse the boss's kids

...sleep with the boss, do the boss's wife's laundry,

or my personal favorite, humans doing stupid pet tricks.....

Yup, you're a girl.

[Littlejoe]

"You don't want to flip burgers for minimum wage? Fine. I have two-dozen applications in my hand from people who will. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

Don't kid yourself...that attitude is pretty prevalent everywhere. I know even in my world, that it's true. My boss doesn't think that way, but I know for a fact HIS boss does. Sadly neither one of them could do my job...

[jordanriver]

"Replaceable disposable human beings"? Get that strawman out of here. I never said that they were replaceable as human beings, but as employees in no-skill entry level jobs, you'd better believe they are easily replaced, and that's why those kinds of jobs don't command high salaries.

That means they are DISPOSEABLE.
...all i am doing is saying the same thing you are,
....I just happen to be plainer.

"You don't want to flip burgers for minimum wage? Fine. I have two-dozen applications in my hand from people who will. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

2 dozen plus the "you" being addressed
thats 25 people COMPETING for a job.

I dont blame you for playing laborers against eachother.

I believe that is 'Divide and Conquer', get the labor pool to oppose eachother instead of cooperating to get themselves a better deal.

...and just in case they did wake up and smell the roses, and teamed up, using group power to control their own fate, ...the ruling class (the proprietors) can just outsource , hire outside cheap labor

.....how is this in the interest of American Labor, and why should they support the status quo?

American laborers are disposeable, even skilled laborers can find their jobs outsourced by temp agency contractors, replaced by robotics, or shipped to some other country where starving competition will work for slave wages...

What good is Capitalism to American Laborers?

[Paprika]

And, keep in mind that there are pressures from the government that "full time" kicks in a whole new category of expenses for the employer.

Good ol' Obamacare

[Paprika]

What good is Capitalism to American Laborers?

Free Trade was great for cheap Chinese goods.

[Mountain Man]

That means they are DISPOSEABLE.
...all i am doing is saying the same thing you are,
....I just happen to be plainer.



2 dozen plus the "you" being addressed
thats 25 people COMPETING for a job.

I dont blame you for playing laborers against eachother.

I believe that is 'Divide and Conquer', get the labor pool to oppose eachother instead of cooperating to get themselves a better deal.

...and just in case they did wake up and smell the roses, and teamed up, using group power to control their own fate, ...the ruling class (the proprietors) can just outsource , hire outside cheap labor

.....how is this in the interest of American Labor, and why should they support the status quo?

American laborers are disposeable, even skilled laborers can find their jobs outsourced by temp agency contractors, replaced by robotics, or shipped to some other country where starving competition will work for slave wages...

What good is Capitalism to American Laborers?

"Easily replaced" vs. "disposable", sure, they can mean the same thing if we're using them in their plainest, most literal sense, but you're obviously using the latter as a loaded term. However, the fact remains that when you're working a job where your replacement can be hired and trained in a few hours, you're not going to command top-dollar for your work.

[Sparko]

Understand my point was a counterpoint to Bill's that a study showed that for every 1% rise in prices, there was almost an equal decrease in sales.

that can be a yes OR no. Sometimes, when business is booming and really hot, businesses will raise prices to maximize profit...not saying that's necessarily the norm, but supply and demand usually means a hot item's price tag will go up even if the cost to the supplier doesn't. (or not as much)

Yes, usually. And that's my point, costs going up, still means the prices go up, yet, the sales don't always drop by the same or almost same amount or they would go out of business...every single one!

Beef prices have soared...as has the cost of everything else. Thank you for making my point, even though the cost of a Big Mac is what...$3.50(?) vs $1, McDonalds did not go out of business because they raised their prices. In fact, I submit, they are still doing ok...

Exactly, Not just because beef prices went up. Because everything has gone up. Fuel costs, transportation, processing, utilities. It is called inflation. And salaries have gone up. And that is my point. Is a $4 big mac a better value than a $1 big mac in the 1970's? No. It is about the same. Just upping wages by 200% is not a solution. All that does is create more inflation as it moves throughout the economy. As the lower end wage earners make more, the employers will have to also raise the pay of skilled workers to keep up. That increases the cost of goods. That increases the price of goods. So pretty soon, when everything has gone up and things settle back down to an equilibrium, earning $15 an hour then will be the same as earning $7.50 now. They will be no better off in the long run. Just like those earning $7.50 today are no better off than someone earning $2 an hour was in the 1970's.

Instead of paying $100 a week for groceries, it will cost $400 a week. Instead of paying $30K for a car, it will cost $50K, instead of paying $800 month for a simple apartment, it will cost $2000. and so on.

[Sparko]

can every worker in America be the manager.

Can every worker in America , doing their absolute 100% best effort , be promoted to manager.


is it possible for everybody (doing their best) to be the boss, and nobody to be the, well , to be the bossed

Of course not. But this is America, not Russia. You work where you want at what you can do. I am not a "boss" but I learned various skills and now have a decent paying job that is better than flipping burgers and asking "do you want fries with that?"

There will always be people who cannot or will not move beyond an entry level job. Whether they are mentally incapable, disabled, or lazy or some other reason. But that is a very small minority and they (other than just the lazy ones) have other avenues open to help them make a living. But entry level jobs are meant for people ENTERING the workforce. They are not meant to be a long term career. You get an unskilled job while you are a teenager or young adult to move out on your own, gain some skills, maybe earn some money to help with school. Then if you work hard, you get promoted, or you find a better job somewhere else.

It seems you are only interested in socialism. If so, I urge you to go visit eastern Germany sometime and ask around how that worked out for them before the reunification. Germany is still struggling to reintegrate those people into a real workforce. They were all handed jobs by the government, sometimes two or three people to do the same job. Then when Germany reintegrated, the west was swamped with half a country that was used to not having to earn a living, but having the government give them pay for basically nothing. They had no real skills and no incentive to even try. They just went on welfare and expected to be handed money.

So if you like socialism, I think there are a few countries left that haven't given it up. You should go there and be happy. enjoy yourself.

[Sparko]

DONT YOU SEE THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE

Yeah. Obama ran the economy into the ground. And you want to help dig the hole deeper.

[Littlejoe]

Yeah. Obama ran the economy into the ground. And you want to help dig the hole deeper.

I'm no Obama fan boi...far from it, but he had PLENTY of help! (See my signature). If we're being honest, the economy was sputtering when "W" left office. I know because it's when I lost my job due to the economy.

[Sparko]

that was the reply to jordanriver who wants to be in charge of "fixing it"



that was Cow Poke's reply to Sam,

but I would like to walk into the shareholders meeting , while in charge of "fixing it"

...with arrest warrants for the shareholders and executives for treason, exporting American jobs in order to enrich themselves.

But it's fine for you to want to "enrich" unskilled workers and pick my pockets and the pockets of the business owners to do it, right?

How daft are you man? Do you understand what capitalism even is? It is trying to earn more money, not give it away. If the business owners are making money off of their own business, then they are doing what this country is all about. If shareholders are making a profit, then that is good too. In fact, if you ever get a real job and get a retirement fund (which today is usually a 401K and some profit sharing) you would want these stocks to earn more, and the company to earn more profit. That way you might earn enough money by the time you are 64 to actually retire and no have to live in a cardboard box under an overpass. When you take away profits from companies and stocks, you are taking away retirement money from every worker in the country. You are hurting the people you claim to want to help. I hope these businesses earn outrageous profits and their stocks shoot to the moon. That is more money for my retirement and savings.

Enjoy your life under the overpass.

[Cow Poke]

But it's fine for you to want to "enrich" unskilled workers and pick my pockets and the pockets of the business owners to do it, right?

Of course - liberals are hopelessly addicted to OPM.

[Cow Poke]

Good ol' Obamacare

That certainly is a huge part of it.