Quote:
Originally Posted by Yume-sama
Higher minimum wages do tend to be nothing more than a political ploy. For one, very few people (I'd like to know one) in Vancouver actually earn minimum wage (though, Vancouver is not BC, and I'm sure plenty of people in BC, do). And, when wages are raised, it is always (over)compensated for in higher prices to the consumer. Everywhere. So, you may get an extra little bit, but everything you buy will go up in price, and you'll be absolutely no better off. I don't believe in the layoff argument, that tends to not happen... it's also not practical. But, I do 100% guarantee that businesses will compensate with higher prices all around.
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A friend was offered $6/hour. Training wage. He's on a work visa here... but his English was excellent. Easy job, but still... he didn't take it. Someone else took the job, however.
Personally, I have no problem with prices going up. In general, the ones that suffer most from rising prices are the ones doing the spending. That's not minimum wage earners.
Supermarkets can raise the minimum price of cheap goods, or they can raise the price of expensive goods to compensate. Whichever they choose, generally, higher income earners are affected more. They spend more, they buy more, and generally, they waste more.
Is a store going to raise the price of their $3.99 cheap bag of coffee grinds and risk a price-conscious consumer going elsewhere, or are they going to rise the price of their premium blend that the wealthy consumer will buy anyway, because it's convenient. Of course prices will go up... however, it's middle class people like myself who will shoulder most of this increase. I have no problem with that.
So, McDonald's has to pay its workers $10/hour. Are they going to raise the price of their $1.39 value menu or charge more for their double big mac? I'd argue the latter. I'd also argue that people who are earning $8/hr are eating less at McDonald's than people think.
$10/hour is a 25% increase over $8. I seriously doubt we'll see a 25% increase in the prices of basic commodities which is solely due to wage increase. Note: Food prices are increasing sharply, however, this is mostly due to external forces, not minimum wage. Wages are only a portion of the cost of keeping food on shelves. There is electricity, loss, spoilage, transport and other overheads that aren't that affected by a minimum wage hike.
Who will be affected the most is the restaurant industry. And those who are under the poverty line aren't eating out every night.
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