On 2014-11-01, Ed Huntress wrote:
On Sat, 01 Nov 2014 13:51:37 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Sat, 01 Nov 2014 12:31:44 -0400, Tom Gardner
wrote:

someone said:
(because there is no pressure on industry to pay higher wages)



Not every job can pay rocket scientist wages. Entry level jobs teach
people responsibility and skill and other marketable qualities.
Meanwhile, people should have paid attention in school and not gotten a
trophy for "showing up" at a sports game? $15/hr for a burger flipper
is STUPID!

It's brilliant! Just think: How many people would put up with $20
hamburgers and $3ea condiments after that goes into effect? People
would have to eat healthier foods. Win/win, wot?

While you're practicing your arithmetic, you might want some
real-world prices to put into your homework.

Fast-food restaurants' average labor costs -- total, front- and
back-operations -- run around 25% of sales.

McD's workers average around $8.50/hour. Figure one manager for eight
employees (which is about right), at $11.50/hour, you get an average
of $8.83 for all employees. That represents $1.00 of a $3.99 Big Mac.

If you raised them all to $15.00/hour, that would add $0.80 to the
price of that burger: It would sell for $4.79.

That's significant, but before you start thinking "$20 burgers," try
running the numbers and get real.


Ed, what are the other costs? Costs of burgers, costs of electricity,
buns, trash disposal, etc. Right? They are all affected by the wages
of people who work there.

Most low paid people will be out of a job eventually, due to
automation. With high minimum wage, it will happen a little sooner.

i