Paramedic’s Angry Post About "Burger Flippers" Making $15/hr Goes Viral

[OutHouse]

Of course not. It contrasts your agenda.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2441562

What exactly is my agenda? please explain this barb at me.


sorry pal, studies like that do not factor in ALL the dynamics of what a franchise owner will have to increase to meet 15 bucks and hour MW. The Purdue U, study was most likely done by students, even says

The study notes that it doesn’t take into account the costs of turnover or any savings gained from higher wages

so what else did they leave out? did they look at McDonalds at the corporate level or did they drill down and go look at the books of a local franchise owner.

having first hand knowledge on how Quiznos corporate fucks over their franchise owners for every nickel and dime, i can guarantee you that if a quiznos owner was forced to pay 15 for a MW and not raise prices considerably he will be out of business very quickly.

so yea 17 cent increase per big mac is fantasy.

 

[Fern]

Of course not. It contrasts your agenda.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2441562

Sheer common sense suggests that .17 is highly unlikely.

Fast food places general have labor costs around 20-25% (depending upon how efficiently they are run). That works out to about $.80-$1.00 for a $3.99 sandwich. Doubling the wage rate would indicate an increase of more than $.17.

IIRC, that study used financial info from the publicly held McD Corp. That info is useless. The great bulk of restaurants are held by franchisees and their labor model and financial info are drastically different.

Fern

 

[OutHouse]

thank you Fern.

 

[MongGrel]

I guess I should look in my wallet and see if I have a million bucks to buy a few Mickey D franchises.

Nope, it's not there.

I could relate a story about that one actually, but I won't drag it out.

 

[sandorski]

not mcdonalds responsibility.

Maybe, maybe not. However, McDonalds ultimately answers to Society. So it can be made their Responsibility.

 

[michal1980]

I can't recall meeting a single liberal person who believes anything even remotely approaching that what people earn belongs to everyone.

The reason we have such a hard time finding common ground is because we do lack a common understanding of the world. It just so happens that problem stems from you having a fundamentally insane view of what people on the left believe that lacks even a passing relationship with reality. (I'm quite sure if you asked GTB if he believed money belonged to everyone he would say no, for example)

It's baffling to see someone who apparently has enough self awareness to diagnose that he and others are seeing things differently, but has no clue that his own crazy thoughts are the problem. It's just delusions piled on top of delusions.

Really, You've never meet a liberal doesn't don't believe all earnings should be equally divided?

Your just a liar.

 

[etrigan420]

This minimum wage hike will lead to the end of western civilization.

Just like the last minimum wage hike...and the one before that.

 

[Linux23]

This minimum wage hike will lead to the end of western civilization.

Just like the last minimum wage hike...and the one before that.

yep, were dooooooomed.

 

[Mai72]

Even highly skilled workers are having problems these days.

Why is that?

Is it because they are having to compete with H-1B1 workers from India and China? IMO, having more skills at your disposal is still beneficial.

 

[werepossum]

It might be worth your while to look at the incredible price pressure fast food chains are under. Cost of food is up, dollar menu prices force profits down and now wages are going up a lot faster for stores that this applies to

Interestingly enough the article you referenced convienetly left out the second part of the study's finding:

https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2015/Q3/study-raising-wages-to-15-an-hour-for-limited-service-restaurant-employees-would-raise-prices-4.3-percent.html

The cited range for both is quite large so I suspect there is much more involved than just a 4.3% increase. If anyone can find the actual study to read I would be interested in a link

I seriously doubt anyone actually thinks that prices would only climb 4.3% if the minimum wage goes to $15, although probably a lot of people feel that way. If we assume that direct labor costs are 20% of a restaurant's expenses - a low figure in my limited experience, but perhaps accurate for fast food - then doubling that adds only another 10%. But that intentionally ignores that much of McDonald's supply chain will also be affected. Its lettuce for instance isn't picked by bankers bored with their long lunches. When minimum wage goes up, wages for everyone not earning minimum wage tend to also go up, because of perception (I'm only making a dollar more than minimum wage!) but also because their increased cost of living otherwise leaves them worse off. I think the effect decreases with distance above minimum wage IIRC, which makes sense; an increase in the cost of everything is a lot more pressing if you earn near minimum wage than if you're in the top 1%.

 

[MongGrel]

Why is that?

Is it because they are having to compete with H-1B1 workers from India and China? IMO, having more skills at your disposal is still beneficial.

It's too hard to back up an explain these days apparently.

I'm not spending hours on the subject.

 

[Darwin333]

Moot. They still have to Live.

Just not in your neighborhood right...

 

[Blue_Max]

I wonder if many people have even read the whole link? We're doing exactly what he's complaining about - squabbling over the crumbs being tossed to us by the greedy sociopaths at the top of the pyramid.

 

[sandorski]

Just not in your neighborhood right...

Uhh, what?

 

[Ackmed]

So these $15/hr fast food workers will begin to lose government benefits as they earn more.... That is until they are replaced by machines.

I don't recall where, but I recently read a news article last week that said employees are requesting less hours so they don't lose government benefits. So instead of using the $15 per hour to get out of poverty and off benefits, they are once again abusing the system. Working less, getting paid the same overall, and getting their EBT cards. Brilliant idea gong to $15 per hour.

 

[ivwshane]

I don't recall where, but I recently read a news article last week that said employees are requesting less hours so they don't lose government benefits. So instead of using the $15 per hour to get out of poverty and off benefits, they are once again abusing the system. Working less, getting paid the same overall, and getting their EBT cards. Brilliant idea gong to $15 per hour.

You read that somewhere? Lol! I'm sure you did, probably on a site with an ironic name.

 

[Vic]

Who gives a fuck? If he's upset that his government job saving people's lives pays so shittily, then he might want to consider a new career. See how that shit works both ways?

 

[Ackmed]

You read that somewhere? Lol! I'm sure you did, probably on a site with an ironic name.

http://www.breitbart.com/big-govern...unexpected-fallout-from-15-per-hour-min-wage/

Yes, I did read it somewhere.

Who gives a fuck? If he's upset that his government job saving people's lives pays so shittily, then he might want to consider a new career. See how that shit works both ways?

Are you talking about me? Who said I was upset about what I am getting paid? Not I. I'm upset that people wanted a raise, with the guise to get out of poverty. Then given the chance, they abused the system more. You don't know what I do for a living. Good job adding nothing of interest, and just trolling.

It's fun having a fan base that does nothing but troll after me. You two are so cute.

 

[ivwshane]

http://www.breitbart.com/big-govern...unexpected-fallout-from-15-per-hour-min-wage/

Yes, I did read it somewhere.



Are you talking about me? Who said I was upset about what I am getting paid? Not I. I'm upset that people wanted a raise, with the guise to get out of poverty. Then given the chance, they abused the system more. You don't know what I do for a living. Good job adding nothing of interest, and just trolling.

It's fun having a fan base that does nothing but troll after me. You two are so cute.

Lol! You got me, the website's name wasn't ironic at all but it was certainly what I expected

 

[WhipperSnapper]

.The reality is many many Americans today are college educated, but they are unskilled. They are unskilled in the subjects that matter today: math, science and technology. This in-turn has created a gluttony of both college and high school unskilled workers who are all vying for the same low paying jobs. The reason why we are seeing such a stink about minimum wage is because many of the adults working these jobs are college educated people. These are bright people, but they are unskilled.

So, are you saying that if everyone had college degrees in STEM fields, the number of jobs in STEM fields at currently prevailing wages would magically increase?

So if the number of engineers increased by 4x, the number of jobs for engineers at currently prevailing wages would increase by 4x?

If the number of science PhD's increased by 4x, the number of jobs for scientists at currently prevailing wages would double by 4x?

...Or would we just end up having excess STEM graduates ending up underemployed involuntarily-out-of-field working those same unskilled jobs? This article might be of interest to you:

The Real Science Gap

 

[WhipperSnapper]

What happens when artificially increased wages lead to the inevitable increases in food prices and all the sudden shitty combo meals reach the critical tipping price point and the business isn't sustainable any longer?

IMHO, we've already reached that point. It's like $6 for a mediocre burger, fries, and a drink. I don't understand why more people aren't just going to Five Guys or Smashburger at that point for higher quality burgers.

Margins are thin and McDonalds has tightened the belt and made them sell items at or even below cost like when the McDouble was $0.99.

My local McD's wants $1.59 for it now. The $1 menu is long since deceased.

 

[fskimospy]

Sheer common sense suggests that .17 is highly unlikely.

Fast food places general have labor costs around 20-25% (depending upon how efficiently they are run). That works out to about $.80-$1.00 for a $3.99 sandwich. Doubling the wage rate would indicate an increase of more than $.17.

IIRC, that study used financial info from the publicly held McD Corp. That info is useless. The great bulk of restaurants are held by franchisees and their labor model and financial info are drastically different.

Fern

You aren't doubling all wage costs, because everyone isnt making minimum wage. There are other dynamic factors like retention, etc, to account for too.

Do you care to explain how the labor model between company and franchise stores is so drastically different? Please be specific.

It seems odd to complain about someone else's analysis while making elementary errors in your own.

 

[shortylickens]

Top Down/Trickle Down is proven fail. Trickle Up by boostiing minimum wage lines as a start sounds good to me.

You really need to stop bringing up Trickle Down. No one has ever used that as a serious argument and even as a half-assed argument it hasnt been used for about 10 years. At this point mentioning it is basically a straw-man argument.

 

[ivwshane]

You really need to stop bringing up Trickle Down. No one has ever used that as a serious argument and even as a half-assed argument it hasnt been used for about 10 years. At this point mentioning it is basically a straw-man argument.

The whole republican economic plan is a form of trickle down! Of course they don't call it that but that's so that people like you think they've come up with something new! If you don't think trickle down is relevant then tell that to Sam brownback who used it in Kansas, tell it to scot walker, bobby kindle, Chris Christie, all of which have not only implemented it in their state, they are still pushing that as a viable economic plan in the republican primaries.

 

[waggy]

IMHO, we've already reached that point. It's like $6 for a mediocre burger, fries, and a drink. I don't understand why more people aren't just going to Five Guys or Smashburger at that point for higher quality burgers.



My local McD's wants $1.59 for it now. The $1 menu is long since deceased.

yeah. Only time we hit mcdonalds anymore is if i am in the mood for fries (still think they have some of the best fries around) or i just want coffee.

why pay $6 for a crappy burger? it's not even fast anymore. Also I swear about %50 of the time they mess up the order.

It's funny. across the street from the mcdonalds near me is a guy with a grill. He charges $4 for a 1/3 lb burger $4.50 for a cheeseburger. you put on what toppings you want. it's great.

It usually has 4-5 people at it. I don't get it. the burgers are far better and cheaper. bah.