Seattle passes $15 minimum wage

[dmcowen674]

6-2-2014

http://news.yahoo.com/seattle-council-passes-15-minimum-wage-224406450--finance.html

Seattle council passes $15 minimum wage

The Seattle City Council unanimously passed an ordinance Monday that gradually increases the minimum wage in the city to $15, which would make it the highest in the nation.

Councilmember Tom Rasmussen said "Seattle wants to stop the race to the bottom in wages" and address the "widening gap between the rich and the poor."

 

[dmcowen674]

This will make the rich Republicans in here have a brain hemorrhage.

 

[UberNeuman]

This should be interesting.

Popcorn. check. Lawn chair. check. Beer. check.

\okay, let the fireworks begin.

 

[michal1980]

are you moving OP? you could double your earnings.

 

[dmcowen674]

are you moving OP? you could double your earnings.

Moving is expensive, are you paying for my move?

 

[Zorkorist]

It'll pnly make a hamburger that more expensive.

-John

 

[irishScott]

HAHAHAHAHAHA. Wow. This isn't going to make businesses leave Seattle at all!

 

[michal1980]

Moving is expensive, are you paying for my move?

Answered like a typical lefty- asking for a handout.

 

[QuantumPion]

Answered like a typical lefty- asking for a handout.

roflmao.

 

[Genx87]

I think this is a great example of why the federal govt shouldn't be meddling in local labor issues. Not all areas can sustain x min wage. Seattle probably can get away with it. I'd suspect Omaha not so much.

 

[fskimospy]

HAHAHAHAHAHA. Wow. This isn't going to make businesses leave Seattle at all!

Probably not. Most jobs that involve such low wages are location dependent service jobs. It's not like mcdonalds can relocate their Seattle stores and still sell to people in Seattle. I predict a modest rise in prices in sectors dominated by low wage employees and maybe an uptick in teen unemployment along with massive wage gains for everyone else affected. Considering the phased nature of this, most will likely be able to be confused with statistical noise. This is largely related to outcomes seen in the economics literature.

If you'd like id even venture a guess as to what those changes would be more concretely. What are your predictions and why?

 

[fskimospy]

I think this is a great example of why the federal govt shouldn't be meddling in local labor issues. Not all areas can sustain x min wage. Seattle probably can get away with it. I'd suspect Omaha not so much.

I think having a federal minimum wage is a great idea, but I would agree that it is important for it to be made with the idea of its status as a floor as opposed to a ceiling.

That being said, there is no evidence that I am aware of that any state could not afford a higher minimum wage than the current federal one. Just with adjusting for inflation it has been significantly higher in the recent past.

 

[Northern Lawn]

I was wondering, is it true that you don't have to pay waiters and waitresses in America? They have to work for tips only? or, the owners have that option at least.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

I wonder how many businesses will move out of the Seattle corporate limits.

 

[PokerGuy]

I was wondering, is it true that you don't have to pay waiters and waitresses in America? They have to work for tips only? or, the owners have that option at least.

No, that is false.

 

[Paul98]

Seattle is an expensive place to live, 15 an hour is still decent there, but compared to many places it's like an ~11$ an hour wage.

 

[PokerGuy]

I don't think it's that big of a deal really. I'm sure some businesses will close or move, while others will raise prices and/or cut employees.

Personally, I don't have a problem with it. If the people of Seattle want to mandate wages much higher than what market equilibrium would dictate, that's up to them. Some places can get away with that because of other factors (just as California can get away with a lot because they have certain resources other places don't), while others cannot.

 

[Jaskalas]

Just with adjusting for inflation...

Inflation is a statistical lie, utterly meaningless to the average person. We're not buying homes, our money goes towards food, fuel, clothes, utilities. Those are the real expenses, the real cost of living.

The amount of income required to survive is the sort of thing that should be indexed and policy geared towards.

 

[realibrad]

Inflation is a statistical lie, utterly meaningless to the average person. We're not buying homes, our money goes towards food, fuel, clothes, utilities. Those are the real expenses, the real cost of living.

The amount of income required to survive is the sort of thing that should be indexed and policy geared towards.

I'm not sure I understand how inflation is a lie, if inflation causes you to pay more for those things?

The reason he said the minimum wage should be indexed to inflation, is because minimum wage is supposed to represent the bottom amount you need to live off of, so its inherent. You then peg it to inflation, so you dont have to vote every time you want to raise it.

Inflation is not a lie, its a tax levied by the government, so it does not have to raise taxes explicitly.

 

[Atreus21]

Why not $20?

 

[brandonb]

Why not $30?

It will cause business to only moderately raise prices.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally Posted by dmcowen674
Moving is expensive, are you paying for my move?

Answered like a typical lefty- asking for a handout.

Of course you are the typical righty, didn't answer the question.

 

[Cozarkian]

I was wondering, is it true that you don't have to pay waiters and waitresses in America? They have to work for tips only? or, the owners have that option at least.

It used to be true that an employer could calculate a waiter's or waitresses tips when determining whether that employee made minimum wage. I'm not sure if any states still use that method though.

 

[fskimospy]

Inflation is a statistical lie, utterly meaningless to the average person. We're not buying homes, our money goes towards food, fuel, clothes, utilities. Those are the real expenses, the real cost of living.

The amount of income required to survive is the sort of thing that should be indexed and policy geared towards.

This is based on a fundamental ignorance of statistics and economics. Looks like someone never heard of headline CPI.

 

[Newell Steamer]

And, the usual capitalist dingleberries of these forums climb out of the Koch brother's grundel and scream bloody murder over this.

Here is the kicker; no one cares about your whining,... because you are a nobody.

I mean, it's great you have dreams and goals of being a big swinging wealthy dick, screwing over workers and the poor,... but, you are nothing more than a wannabee big cigar smoker, pretending to be someone important.

Go back to puffing on your swisher sweets and beating off to the Drudge Report.