So Andy Puzder, CEO of Carl's Jr and Hardee's, threatens to go fully automatic.* What he forgets is that things like the Automat** have existed in America since 1902. There is no wait staff or people behind a counter. Why haven't they caught on before now? Yes, you find vending machines in various places that may serve some sandwiches and even broths, but in a limited variety. When I was 9 yrs old, we visited New York and I went to an Automat that had several tiers of food along a wall with a great variety of choices. They are huge vending machines.
Well, people like to be waited on, I think, so there will always be a need for full service restaurants. And if some drop out? All the better for those remaining.
Of course there will always be cafeterias also that have a few helpers dishing out food which reduce the number of employees and then there are the fast-food places that have just a few people at the counters taking and passing out orders.
Also although the Automat cut out the waiters and waitresses and servers behind the counter, somebody had to prepare all that food and stuff the containers so they are not totally labor free.
What Puzder and others complaining about an increase in minimum wage don't seem to take into effect is that the other restaurant down the street is in the same boat as are the mom and pop places so it is a level playing field. I guess there is a worry that prices will go up so much because of increased labor charges that people won't be able to afford to eat out. Well, maybe, but wages are not the only expense of restaurants. There is rent and facilities (gas, water, and electric among others). I think the estimate for a $15 minimum wage at McDonald's is 5%.
* http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/3/17/1502801/-Fast-Food-CEO-threatens-to-go-fully-automated-because-of-Bernie-and-Hillary?detail=email&can_id=af3794f2758d0c72ac0763afb2350d28&source=email-gop-congressman-elizabeth-warren-needs-to-be-neuteredher-response-is-epic-2&email_referrer=gop-congressman-elizabeth-warren-needs-to-be-neuteredher-response-is-epic-2&email_subject=gop-congressman-elizabeth-warren-needs-to-be-neutered-her-response-is-epic&link_id=3
** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automat
Showing posts with label minimum wage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label minimum wage. Show all posts
Monday, March 21, 2016
Monday, February 2, 2015
UNEMPLOYED POOR AND WORKING POOR
Recent comments by various Republicans (e.g. Mitt Romney) expressing concern about the poor and some of the middle class would be heartening if true. But of course this is just talk with no intention of doing anything about it. What next? Perhaps they will suddenly discover the merits of raising taxes on the wealthy? But Republicans in general feel the poor are poor because they are lazy and that working Americans are overpaid. Their solution for the poor is to cut benefits (like food stamps) so that they will be induced to find work. And do you really think the Republicans will do something about off-shoring and automation of industry and other businesses that are holding back the wages of the American workers? And then there are jobs that cannot be automated or off-shored which are simply passed on to the consumer to do (e.g pumping gas and washing windshields, etc.).* If you think the Republicans really will do something to help the working Americans, I've got the "proverbial bridge" to sell you. It is also true that Democrats do not know how to overcome the loss of jobs from off-shoring and automation though some jobs are becoming re-shored, though at an average of 23% lower pay.
The construction industry was decimated in the Great Recession, and it would have been a good time to do infrastructure improvements at minimum cost, as Democrats wanted to do, that would have benefited the entire nation and also provide construction workers with income. Now the construction industry has recovered and infrastructure projects will be more expensive. Republicans even refused to vote on the Senate illegal immigrant bill which would not only have provided thousands of construction jobs during the recovery to finish the double fence but also would have added 19,000 new Civil Service positions as well to shore up security at the border. In contrast, Republicans countered with the Keystone XL pipeline as a jobs issue. I am for the Keystone XL pipeline, but for environmental reasons, and it would have provided only a few 10s of permanent jobs though it would have provided perhaps an equivalent number of construction jobs as the Senate border security bill.
The lack of interest in modern-day Republicans to raising the minimum wage (many want to do away with the minimum wage all together), is telling. If you can't do away with the minimum wage, at least let it be eroded through inflation, they feel. And of course, they are for doing away with unions, the only recourse American workers have to facing the monopolies. President Reagan's breaking of the air traffic controllers union was one of his main claims to fame. His major liberal act was to make hospitals with emergency rooms take all comers regardless of their ability to pay, but, of course, he left it up to hospitals to find a way to pay for this. The main attraction in Gov. Walker of Wisconsin, as a Republican presidential nominee, was his breaking of the state government workers unions, and he broke the unions to pay for the deficit he caused by lowering taxes on industry. (excerpt from a Wikipedia item follows):**
In January 2011, the state legislature passed a series of bills providing additional tax cuts and deductions for businesses at “a two-year cost of $67 million.”[30] In early February, the Walker administration projected a budget shortfall in 2013 (Wisconsin functions on two-year budgets) of $3.6 billion[31] and a $137 million shortfall for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011.[32][33] The Walker-backed bill proposed to alleviate the budget shortfall included taking away the ability of public sector unions to bargain collectively over pensions and health care and limiting pay raises of public employees to the rate of inflation, as well as ending automatic union dues collection by the state and requiring public unions to recertify annually.[34][35] The bargaining changes exempted the unions of public safety officers, including police, firefighters, and state troopers.[36] Walker stated that without the cuts thousands of state workers would have to be laid off.[37]
It would be nice to think that there are some Republicans concerned about the poor; however, when push comes to shove, they vote the party line, and, if it looks like they won't, then the bill is not brought up in the House (e.g., the Senate Immigration Bill). I really don't understand the position of the Evangelical Christians concerning the poor as Jesus spoke about helping the poor all the time according to the scriptures.
The construction industry was decimated in the Great Recession, and it would have been a good time to do infrastructure improvements at minimum cost, as Democrats wanted to do, that would have benefited the entire nation and also provide construction workers with income. Now the construction industry has recovered and infrastructure projects will be more expensive. Republicans even refused to vote on the Senate illegal immigrant bill which would not only have provided thousands of construction jobs during the recovery to finish the double fence but also would have added 19,000 new Civil Service positions as well to shore up security at the border. In contrast, Republicans countered with the Keystone XL pipeline as a jobs issue. I am for the Keystone XL pipeline, but for environmental reasons, and it would have provided only a few 10s of permanent jobs though it would have provided perhaps an equivalent number of construction jobs as the Senate border security bill.
The lack of interest in modern-day Republicans to raising the minimum wage (many want to do away with the minimum wage all together), is telling. If you can't do away with the minimum wage, at least let it be eroded through inflation, they feel. And of course, they are for doing away with unions, the only recourse American workers have to facing the monopolies. President Reagan's breaking of the air traffic controllers union was one of his main claims to fame. His major liberal act was to make hospitals with emergency rooms take all comers regardless of their ability to pay, but, of course, he left it up to hospitals to find a way to pay for this. The main attraction in Gov. Walker of Wisconsin, as a Republican presidential nominee, was his breaking of the state government workers unions, and he broke the unions to pay for the deficit he caused by lowering taxes on industry. (excerpt from a Wikipedia item follows):**
In January 2011, the state legislature passed a series of bills providing additional tax cuts and deductions for businesses at “a two-year cost of $67 million.”[30] In early February, the Walker administration projected a budget shortfall in 2013 (Wisconsin functions on two-year budgets) of $3.6 billion[31] and a $137 million shortfall for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011.[32][33] The Walker-backed bill proposed to alleviate the budget shortfall included taking away the ability of public sector unions to bargain collectively over pensions and health care and limiting pay raises of public employees to the rate of inflation, as well as ending automatic union dues collection by the state and requiring public unions to recertify annually.[34][35] The bargaining changes exempted the unions of public safety officers, including police, firefighters, and state troopers.[36] Walker stated that without the cuts thousands of state workers would have to be laid off.[37]
The protests and demonstrations began following Walker's introduction of Assembly Bill 11[38][39] to the Wisconsin State Assembly on February 14, 2011.
It would be nice to think that there are some Republicans concerned about the poor; however, when push comes to shove, they vote the party line, and, if it looks like they won't, then the bill is not brought up in the House (e.g., the Senate Immigration Bill). I really don't understand the position of the Evangelical Christians concerning the poor as Jesus spoke about helping the poor all the time according to the scriptures.
* http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2015/01/more-on-plight-of-american-workers.html
** http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Wisconsin_protests
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
SENSIBLE TALK ABOUT THE MINIMUM WAGE
Subway CEO Fred DeLuca interview with CNBC (http://www.cnbc.com/id/101647378) :
(Snip)"When I started in the business, the minimum wage was $1.25. I've seen an enormous number of wage increases. Basically it applies evenly to everyone in the business.* [bolding added] This increase would impact Subway plus every other competitor so it would not put any brand at a particular disadvantage. It might have a slight impact on consumers because what's going to happen is a wage increase will happen and all the restaurant owners will have to recoup that somehow, usually through a price increase. It might make eating out at restaurants have a little bit less competitive advantage compared to supermarkets.
Over the years, I've seen so many of these wage increases. I think it's normal. It won't have a negative impact hopefully, and that's what I tell my workers. I always have whenever we come across these things. I personally think that if I were in charge of the government, I would index the minimum wage to inflation so that way everybody knows what they can count on. The employees know they're going to get increases on a regular basis. The management knows that they're going to have to pay a little bit more with inflation. It just seems much more sensible and fair to me. I don't know why it hasn't been done like that. I would do it that way because in the long, long run it's going to approximate the change in inflation."
* That is, it is a level playing field.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
THE POOR IN THE BIBLE
About 14.9% of the U.S. population are classified as living in poverty (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html).
There are 16.4 million American children living in poverty. That's nearly one quarter (22.6 percent) of all of our children. More alarming is that the percentage of poor children has climbed by 4.5 percent since the start of the Great Recession in 2007. And poor means poor. For a family of three with one child under 18, the poverty line is $18,400.
(https://www.huffpost.com/entry/americas-greatest-shame-c_b_4238566
"Poor" and "poverty" appear 446 times in 384 separate verses in the Bible
(http://sojo.net/blogs/2011/11/01/hole-y-bible-gets-digital-makeover; http://www.zompist.com/meetthepoor.html) It is amazing how a political party that is dominated by so-called Evangelicals feel that the poor are poor because they apparently want to be and are treated too well. The latest is that providing the poor with health care will just encourage them not to work, as if health care is the only reason to have money. After all there is rent or mortgages, food needs, and clothes, all of which require money.
Then there are those who feel that the poor are paid too much to work and want to do away with the minimum wage to provide more "jobs." I wonder how these Evangelicals can read the bible and come to the conclusion that the poor shouldn't be supported. They even want to decrease money for food stamps (SNAP): http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/05/23/2053081/congressmans-misuse-of-bible-verse-belies-bad-theology-and-ideology-on-food-stamps/#
Much emphasis by those who feel the poor should starve if they cannot find work paying a living wage is placed upon the phrase of St. Paul that "If you do not work, you should not eat." http://biblehub.com/2_thessalonians/3-10.htm
It is harder to get out of poverty now than before the economic crash, even with some college or even with a degree. http://www.cnbc.com/id/101498261
There are 16.4 million American children living in poverty. That's nearly one quarter (22.6 percent) of all of our children. More alarming is that the percentage of poor children has climbed by 4.5 percent since the start of the Great Recession in 2007. And poor means poor. For a family of three with one child under 18, the poverty line is $18,400. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/les-leopold/americas-greatest-shame-c_b_4238566.html)
There are 16.4 million American children living in poverty. That's nearly one quarter (22.6 percent) of all of our children. More alarming is that the percentage of poor children has climbed by 4.5 percent since the start of the Great Recession in 2007. And poor means poor. For a family of three with one child under 18, the poverty line is $18,400.
(https://www.huffpost.com/entry/americas-greatest-shame-c_b_4238566
"Poor" and "poverty" appear 446 times in 384 separate verses in the Bible
(http://sojo.net/blogs/2011/11/01/hole-y-bible-gets-digital-makeover; http://www.zompist.com/meetthepoor.html) It is amazing how a political party that is dominated by so-called Evangelicals feel that the poor are poor because they apparently want to be and are treated too well. The latest is that providing the poor with health care will just encourage them not to work, as if health care is the only reason to have money. After all there is rent or mortgages, food needs, and clothes, all of which require money.
Then there are those who feel that the poor are paid too much to work and want to do away with the minimum wage to provide more "jobs." I wonder how these Evangelicals can read the bible and come to the conclusion that the poor shouldn't be supported. They even want to decrease money for food stamps (SNAP): http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/05/23/2053081/congressmans-misuse-of-bible-verse-belies-bad-theology-and-ideology-on-food-stamps/#
Much emphasis by those who feel the poor should starve if they cannot find work paying a living wage is placed upon the phrase of St. Paul that "If you do not work, you should not eat." http://biblehub.com/2_thessalonians/3-10.htm
It is harder to get out of poverty now than before the economic crash, even with some college or even with a degree. http://www.cnbc.com/id/101498261
There are 16.4 million American children living in poverty. That's nearly one quarter (22.6 percent) of all of our children. More alarming is that the percentage of poor children has climbed by 4.5 percent since the start of the Great Recession in 2007. And poor means poor. For a family of three with one child under 18, the poverty line is $18,400. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/les-leopold/americas-greatest-shame-c_b_4238566.html)
Friday, February 28, 2014
MINIMUM WAGE
The President has proposed that the minimum wage should be raised to $10.10 over a period of three years. Of course this has raised a big hue and cry. What doesn't seem to get mentioned is that the minimum wage is a "level playing field," something that business used to wish for during most of my life. Yes, you have to raise the wages of your employees for your restaurant, but so does the restaurant down the street. Yes, I presume that places like restaurants will have to increase their prices by a bit to accomodate the increase. but it shouldn't be enough to discourage people from using restaurants.
All sorts of misinformation goes on in the news media. I heard one person in an interview say that a jump from $7.25/hr to $10.10/hr is too big of a schock. Yes, that is why it is stretched over three years. But the interviewee was not corrected.
Some have proposed that this increase will goad small business owners to pursue automation, e.g. ordering your meal from your iPhone, but isn't there an incentive to do this now? And of course, there are many restaurants that are highly automated already, consider the fast food restaurants. And then are cafeterias where you grab a tray and select items to eat from a server. Then there are automated machines where you select an item, put your money in a slot and out comes your selection. some of these even serve sandwiches. There are things like coffee machines where you have many choices about how you want your coffee or hot chocolate or even soup in some cases. But resturants still exist that use table service and people go there even to just get a cup of coffee.
There is an area of unfortunate concern. Caregivers of the elderly and infirm that work for caregiving companies earn close to minimu wage, even if they have worked for the organization for many years, and the cost the patient pays is much higher, perhaps close to $20/hr. So to raise the minimum wage for them by $1/hr increases the expense of caregiving by $365/yr so raising their wage from $7.25/hr to $10.10/hr is an increae of $1040.25/hr of the person being cared for. If the need is for round-the-clock service, you are talking about an increase of over $24,966/yr. Many people in need of caregiving will not be able to afford this increase. And there may be others in the organization earning minimum or near minimum wage too, increasing the price even more.
It turns out that bank tellers earn minimum wage or clse thereto. I'm uncertain what bank will do. Perhaps they will cut back on tellers even more than they have done. But I once used a bank where you paid $0.50 cents to use their autotelle outside the building, even though the cost of a person using it rather than a teller was miniscule.
All sorts of misinformation goes on in the news media. I heard one person in an interview say that a jump from $7.25/hr to $10.10/hr is too big of a schock. Yes, that is why it is stretched over three years. But the interviewee was not corrected.
Some have proposed that this increase will goad small business owners to pursue automation, e.g. ordering your meal from your iPhone, but isn't there an incentive to do this now? And of course, there are many restaurants that are highly automated already, consider the fast food restaurants. And then are cafeterias where you grab a tray and select items to eat from a server. Then there are automated machines where you select an item, put your money in a slot and out comes your selection. some of these even serve sandwiches. There are things like coffee machines where you have many choices about how you want your coffee or hot chocolate or even soup in some cases. But resturants still exist that use table service and people go there even to just get a cup of coffee.
There is an area of unfortunate concern. Caregivers of the elderly and infirm that work for caregiving companies earn close to minimu wage, even if they have worked for the organization for many years, and the cost the patient pays is much higher, perhaps close to $20/hr. So to raise the minimum wage for them by $1/hr increases the expense of caregiving by $365/yr so raising their wage from $7.25/hr to $10.10/hr is an increae of $1040.25/hr of the person being cared for. If the need is for round-the-clock service, you are talking about an increase of over $24,966/yr. Many people in need of caregiving will not be able to afford this increase. And there may be others in the organization earning minimum or near minimum wage too, increasing the price even more.
It turns out that bank tellers earn minimum wage or clse thereto. I'm uncertain what bank will do. Perhaps they will cut back on tellers even more than they have done. But I once used a bank where you paid $0.50 cents to use their autotelle outside the building, even though the cost of a person using it rather than a teller was miniscule.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
WAGES
One hears Republicans like John Boehner talk about jobs being the most important thing. I am unaware, however, of any real effort by Republican's to produce more jobs except for the fraudulent argument that the wealthy are the job creators so allowing them to have more money will create more jobs.* In fact, the powers that be in the Republican party will do everything they can to eliminate jobs through automation and off shoring. In addition they feel that workers are overpaid and the way to increase jobs is to lower or eliminate the minimum wage, thus increasing poverty level employment if indeed there is any increase in employment at all.**
Because the upper 1% of incomes have done exceedingly well in recent years, the jobs picture should be flourishing if increasing the wealth of the wealthy argument were true, but, though there has been a steady increase in employment, everyone seems to agree it is not rapid enough.
You would think that workers are a natural constituency of the Democrats; however, there is a group of white male workers who feel that the Democrats have done too much for minorities, women, and homosexuals and are thus taking away their jobs. This group is an important constituency of the Republicans who pay them some lip service now and then, particularly in election years (e.g. The Real Americans), but do nothing for them of a substantial nature. I suspect that a significant percentage of the white males workers are also members of the despised 47% (now 43%) of households who pay no Federal income tax.
I'm not sure what Democrats could do to woo these workers back to the Democratic Party except maybe to keep plumping for public infrastructure projects. I have supported the completion of the double fence along our southern border and hiring more guards as a jobs program,*** even if it is ineffective in preventing illegal entry into the U.S. As it is, the Republican party has to do nothing to keep them so the Republicans do nothing for them.
* http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2010/05/effectiveness-of-taxes.html
** http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2013/10/a-race-to-bottom.html
*** http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2013/07/complete-danged-fence.html
Because the upper 1% of incomes have done exceedingly well in recent years, the jobs picture should be flourishing if increasing the wealth of the wealthy argument were true, but, though there has been a steady increase in employment, everyone seems to agree it is not rapid enough.
You would think that workers are a natural constituency of the Democrats; however, there is a group of white male workers who feel that the Democrats have done too much for minorities, women, and homosexuals and are thus taking away their jobs. This group is an important constituency of the Republicans who pay them some lip service now and then, particularly in election years (e.g. The Real Americans), but do nothing for them of a substantial nature. I suspect that a significant percentage of the white males workers are also members of the despised 47% (now 43%) of households who pay no Federal income tax.
I'm not sure what Democrats could do to woo these workers back to the Democratic Party except maybe to keep plumping for public infrastructure projects. I have supported the completion of the double fence along our southern border and hiring more guards as a jobs program,*** even if it is ineffective in preventing illegal entry into the U.S. As it is, the Republican party has to do nothing to keep them so the Republicans do nothing for them.
* http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2010/05/effectiveness-of-taxes.html
** http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2013/10/a-race-to-bottom.html
*** http://stopcontinentaldrift.blogspot.com/2013/07/complete-danged-fence.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
