minimum wage increase?

[hackpro]

Re: minimum wage increase?

At a wage of $0, you will be 100% employed.

But I will be a strain on the social services potentially depending on when I eventually go on Pat leave... I feel like a criminal now as I won't be contributing to someone else's bottom line.

[shankuverymuch]

Re: minimum wage increase?

But I will be a strain on the social services potentially depending on when I eventually go on Pat leave... I feel like a criminal now as I won't be contributing to someone else's bottom line.

In that case, cut your salary by 20% while your playing Mr. Mom.

[hackpro]

Re: minimum wage increase?

In that case, cut your salary by 20% while your playing Mr. Mom.

At least 20% as again, I'll only be looking after 1 person...

[Chambokl]

Re: minimum wage increase?

She also only makes a little more than 5 times what I do, so something is clearly wrong with this picture. Can't wait to be a stay at home in a few years, please explain how she'll be working harder than me then, and I'll have that vaunted $0 wage!

So let me see.... your wife will work and you will play golf all day... How much does that job pays?

[hackpro]

Re: minimum wage increase?

So let me see.... your wife will work and you will play golf all day... How much does that job pays?

As long as I don't bytch how bad I have it, it's pretty good, but for some reason I don't get any sympathy as I'm better at bytching than golf.

[TourIQ]

Re: minimum wage increase?

Minimum wage isn't supposed to be a living wage.

Give the people some solutions. Higher education at an affordable rate. Have a national policy on good jobs creation + a program to really help start-ups.

I work 80+ hours a week (1 as employee and 1 as employer), and I am not complaining as this is my reality. A lot of people feel entitled today. I hired a young adult of 21 who has a hard time forcing himself to work past 15 hours a week (as his only job) when he could work a full 40 for me, and he didn't even have enough money to buy his mom a Xmas gift. All he had to do is work more hours

Once you raise the MW by 40%, are the ones making $15/hour today content making $1 over MW, or do they want their 40% increase too?

I can visualize the local factory settling their next union contract offering a 50% wage concession or the equipment is sent offshore to motherland and the doors closed for good. Now its hard labour for $13 an hour instead of $26 / hour. Ok so maybe they go from $25 / hour to $14. How many more jobs will be transferred to across the pond?

People who thought they could retire are now having to work several more years to survive. You either get stuck in the low wage system or figure a way out and create your own opportunities or work more hours. Not easy but few free rides, as the govt is of little assistance, to even help small business to hire.

[mpare]

Re: minimum wage increase?

This thread whetted my appetite to know more about the correlation between minimum wage laws and increased unemployment. What I have found is that the debate began in the US, at least, more than 100 years ago. It still rages on. The most recent paper on the issue appeared in 2013. It is entitled "Revisiting the Minimum Wage-Employment Debate: Throwing Out the Baby with the Bathwater." That paper is available online for free: http://www.econ.ucsb.edu/~pjkuhn/Ec2..._Bathwater.pdf. One blogger has nicely summarized its conclusions: http://antidismal.blogspot.com/2013/...nt-debate.html. Suffice it to say that the issue is more complex than I thought.

[shankuverymuch]

Re: minimum wage increase?

This thread whetted my appetite to know more about the correlation between minimum wage laws and increased unemployment. What I have found is that the debate began in the US, at least, more than 100 years ago. It still rages on. The most recent paper on the issue appeared in 2013. It is entitled "Revisiting the Minimum Wage-Employment Debate: Throwing Out the Baby with the Bathwater." That paper is available online for free: http://www.econ.ucsb.edu/~pjkuhn/Ec2..._Bathwater.pdf. One blogger has nicely summarized its conclusions: http://antidismal.blogspot.com/2013/...nt-debate.html. Suffice it to say that the issue is more complex than I thought.

As somebody quickly took me to task when I referenced a study by someone who may have some very partisan views, I guess it would be only fair to pass that on.

Mr. Neumark has never made any secret about his views on minimum wage.

Of interest, in his rebuttals to ADR & DLR, along with his retort to Card & Kreuger in an earlier paper, he criticizes some of the data used in those studies from the US BLS, and stated it did not reflect actual payroll data.

What Mr. Neumark did not disclose however, was the source of his data was in fact the much heralded non-partisan "Think Tank" , The American Enterprise Institute for a Public Policy Research.

After all, Mr. Neumark is the AEI's go to guy.

My semi-snarky comment aside, it is a complex issue, with "economists" lining up on both sides of the issue.

Hopefully, we don't get too embroiled in a debate over Laissez Faire vs Keynesian Economics to forget about the values that are important in our society.

[GFlynn]

Re: minimum wage increase?

This is getting ridiculous

This is what you said

So... some people work harder than 10 minimum wage workers.... but they spend their days on TGN arguing about minimum wages...

This is how I responded and I stand by it

Not work harder, contribute more.

Then this crap

Oh sorry... he is paid more so he contributes more (according to?)...

Nope it was said works 10 times harder.

That's what Chambokl said, I'm quoting this because then he says thanks

Thanks Hack... I really don't know what to say to these guys... I feel for Shark, I understand his reasons...

Then you agree with Hackpro's correction of your question?

Thank goodness for emoticons or I might not know how confused you are.

When I say contributes more, find me a person making minimum wage who is doing something another person can't do just as well with some quick training. I'm tired of this argument, their work is a dime a dozen. I make more because I do something that others cannot. If and when that skill becomes commonplace, I will have to either move onto something else, or accept lower pay. Right now I get paid a lot because my time is valuable and I have other companies who want my services.
You find some proof that people can't put food on the table and live in a simple apartment for $10/h outside of Toronto, we can talk about raising minimum wage. But I am not willing to make sure they have enough to be comfortable. There is plenty of government skills training out there, I'm teaching some next month for this exact reason, to get people a real wage, but they have to put in the time and want it.

[mpare]

Re: minimum wage increase?

Thanks for your post. Don't confuse my views with the paper to which I referred. It was offered up simply as a recent paper, which it is. For my part, I believe that minimum wage legislation as a policy choice is essential, because without it employers with no sense of social responsibility would fix ridiculously low rates of pay. The trick is fixing a rate that makes economic sense. If it's too low, then it fails to achieve its objective. If it's too high, it does a disservice to employers and, ultimately, society at large. Do I know what the perfect wage rate should be? No. At the same time, if my premises are correct, then they would appear to argue in favour of different regional pay rates, reflecting regional economic variations.

As somebody quickly took me to task when I referenced a study by someone who may have some very partisan views, I guess it would be only fair to pass that on.

Mr. Neumark has never made any secret about his views on minimum wage.

...

[shankuverymuch]

Re: minimum wage increase?

Thanks for your post. Don't confuse my views with the paper to which I referred. It was offered up simply as a recent paper, which it is. For my part, I believe that minimum wage legislation as a policy choice is essential, because without it employers with no sense of social responsibility would fix ridiculously low rates of pay. The trick is fixing a rate that makes economic sense. If it's too low, then it fails to achieve its objective. If it's too high, it does a disservice to employers and, ultimately, society at large. Do I know what the perfect wage rate should be? No. At the same time, if my premises are correct, then they would appear to argue in favour of different regional pay rates, reflecting regional economic variations.

I had no intention of suggesting your views were aligned with Mr. Neumark's paper.

If they had been, I'm sure you would have been quite clear about that.

My belief is that Mr. Neumark brings a level of author bias that is quite unparalleled in the field of economics.

His papers and views on farm subsidies, employment insurance, and social and support programs in general all make for some interesting reading.

[spazzdla]

Re: minimum wage increase?

If I was born into $100 million, I would be able to buy busniess's up and start earning 10x more than any minimum wage worker. Clearly I am a valuable member of society because I was born into wealth............................................ ..................... I completely deserve to earn several mill a year for being born into wealth with zero chance of failure.

No monetary reform, nothing will change, raising minimum fixes nothing. If you're born in the north end of Hamilton you're never becoming rich, if you're born from a rothschild you're never going to be less than the .01%.

[Bellyhungry]

Re: minimum wage increase?

Looks like it is going up to $11 from $10.25 here in Ontario:

http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2014/01/27/kathleen_wynne_objects_to_14_minimum_wage.html

[spazzdla]

Re: minimum wage increase?

Unless money creation changes.. 90%+ of the population will be earning minimum wage with in 40 years..

CPI vs wages(real wages not burger flipping wages).. The tread can not be debated.

[storm]

Re: minimum wage increase?

Am I the only one who thinks the whole "we will have all workers above the poverty line" but consequently I think you may see prices increase but for the rest of us our wage is going to stay the same. Ultimately its going just shift the poverty line higher? Minimum wage should be low for the sole reason it should be motivation to go to school and work hard to get a well paying job. Minimum wage shouldnt be a living wage and unfortunately thats what it is turning to be. The local paper did an article on it and im going to quote a section here

Dallas Sutton, also a student who works part time for a grocer, agreed.
“I see good and bad,” he said. “People might make more but businesses will raise prices. But it would help young people save for school and college. I could pay off my bills,” he added, saying that his course in electricity cost him $4,000, not including books, tools and safety equipment.

Minimum wage shouldnt be enough money to support a college student and their bills. The government better hope this doesnt backfire and cause business' closing and hours being cut back because it's sure going to be hard to drop minimum wage once they hike it and business' cant afford to cut their operating costs either

http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2014/01/27/province-to-raise-minimum-wage/