Fast-food strikes set for cities nationwide

[CourierDriver]

First: I do not care.
Second: See first.
Third: I grew up in a time where folks took a lunch, some folks still do. Hey, some may lose weight not eating that junk..................PS imagine that.

 

[Maximus1966]

Heard this morning some of the folks want the food joints to pay at least $16.00/hr so they will be on par with the handout programs.

I don't understand why so many folks complain that you can't support a family on minimum wage. Those are ENTRY-LEVEL jobs. If you work at McDonald's for over a year and don't make manager, you aren't doing a very good job.

 

[needsducktape]

I am happy we live in a country that one has the right to protest !

By the way, people should get paid a *living* wage weather or not its $16 and hour depends on where you live. In New York city $16 an hour won't get you far.

I know the stereotype of everyone working in fast food is lazy,stupid or a welfare rat But that is not the case. Decent, honest and hard working people are in that industry too.

I wish someone would protest CEOs getting over paid by millions and getting a "golden parachute" AFTER they run a company into the ground.

 

[exranger06]

Minimum wage jobs are for kids in high school saving for college, college kids on summer break, and retired people who like to occupy their free time working and making some extra cash. They're not designed to support families. If you need to support a family or even yourself, get a better job.

 

[IndyIan]

I think the issue is that there are not enough living wage jobs for the working population. Obviously not everyone can be a supervisor, or have enough responsiblity to make $30/hour. Some folks have to do the grunt work. Why shouldn't they make some reasonable wage that they can put a roof over their head without 2 people working 60 hours a week?
If fast food costs 10-20% more to cover a wage increase I don't see any downsides at all. Also money earned by the lowest wage earners goes almost 100% into the economy, with actual taxes paid on it. A big plus to local economies,

 

[rshaw125]

When you have a large pool of labor that fast food places can draw from there is no need to pay more. As many economists have pointed out large numbers of low skill illegal and legal immigrants drives wages down.
If Washington would make being in the US illegally a felony low skilled jobs would maybe pay more as the supply of labor decreases.

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: needsducktape
I wish someone would protest CEOs getting over paid by millions and getting a "golden parachute" AFTER they run a company into the ground.


Amen brother! There should be no golden parachute for execs that run companies into the ground...they should go down with the ship!

 

[Maximus1966]

Originally Posted By: needsducktape
By the way, people should get paid a *living* wage...


Well, of course....because they are "entitled," right? Those silly little factors like market forces, job description, employee proficiency, etc. shouldn't get in the way of everyone living the American Dream on someone else's dime.

 

[JHZR2]

I have voiced my issues about companies using Government entitlement programs as part of their business model to offset cost. But that is primarily because someone is pulling in millions of dollars salary for this "great job" that Im subsidizing with my tax dollars.

I rarely eat fast food, but once in a while I will get a $1 McD iced tea or coffee. The stores seem to be getting cleaner, nicer, and the people more with it. Other places may vary. Even in the fast food world, Im not sure that wages shuld be consistent between chains.

But if they were protesting to get health benefits with their minimum wage, Id agree totally. But to get more money for who knows what, Im not very sympathetic.

 

[Boomer]

If people developed some marketable job skills in high school (computer skills, money skills, good language skills) they could probably find a better paying job. I rarely eat at these places now so if and when the cost goes up, that will be the end.

And what will happen is that now they have 30 or so people making minimum. After it goes to $16, they will have 14-15 people and work them like slaves.

 

[Maximus1966]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I think the issue is that there are not enough living wage jobs for the working population. Obviously not everyone can be a supervisor, or have enough responsiblity to make $30/hour. Some folks have to do the grunt work. Why shouldn't they make some reasonable wage that they can put a roof over their head without 2 people working 60 hours a week?
If fast food costs 10-20% more to cover a wage increase I don't see any downsides at all. Also money earned by the lowest wage earners goes almost 100% into the economy, with actual taxes paid on it. A big plus to local economies,


The market should determine all of that, not government bureaucrats.

BTW, all money goes "100% into the economy," otherwise it would be worthless.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Boomer
If people developed some marketable job skills in high school (computer skills, money skills, good language skills) they could probably find a better paying job. I rarely eat at these places now so if and when the cost goes up, that will be the end.

And what will happen is that now they have 30 or so people making minimum. After it goes to $16, they will have 14-15 people and work them like slaves.


Except that the hours open wont change so these fewer people makingmore money will be closer to full time and may actually qualify for benefits, which isnt a bad thing as I dont want to pay for them.

Of course Im offended to be subsidizing a $94k earner's healthcare too, but thats a discussion for another day.

The other side of the reality is that jobs are finite, we offshore jobs like crazy and dont create a lot of new ones. Plus people have to work longer for a number of reasons. We have enabled three billion people to compete for our jobs, and there arent that many jobs around, outside of retail and fast food wage slave.

I was recently on a flight with a bunch of folks from IBM, and they implied that IBM is about 400k people, wth only around 100k in the USA, the rest in India.

So what good are those skills when these are the patterns that WE are enabling?

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Maximus1966


BTW, all money goes "100% into the economy," otherwise it would be worthless.


If that were the case, Shannow wouldnt have the other thread on what they are trying to do in Australia...

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I think the issue is that there are not enough living wage jobs for the working population. Obviously not everyone can be a supervisor, or have enough responsiblity to make $30/hour. Some folks have to do the grunt work. Why shouldn't they make some reasonable wage that they can put a roof over their head without 2 people working 60 hours a week?
If fast food costs 10-20% more to cover a wage increase I don't see any downsides at all. Also money earned by the lowest wage earners goes almost 100% into the economy, with actual taxes paid on it. A big plus to local economies,




The problem is, their customers are also not able to afford paying for more. The concept of everyone being in the middle class must be supported by either everyone take a standard of living drop (inflation, currency devaluation, etc) or some of them take a SIGNIFICANT LOSS so the others can live a middle class live unaffected (huge taxes, or unemployment due to out sourcing, or real slavery like 200 years ago, or war to occupy new resources).

And you can be sure that the top of the pyramid will always make the lion share of the money due to compounding of resources investment (whether it is money invested the honest way, corruption, or flat out military dictatorship).

 

[Maximus1966]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: Maximus1966


BTW, all money goes "100% into the economy," otherwise it would be worthless.


If that were the case, Shannow wouldnt have the other thread on what they are trying to do in Australia...


Okay...where else can it go? Unless you strike a match to it or launch it into outer space, it is going to be "in the economy" one way or another.

 

[rjundi]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2

But if they were protesting to get health benefits with their minimum wage, Id agree totally. But to get more money for who knows what, Im not very sympathetic.


+1 agreed.

I always hear I cannot afford healthcare and compete from employers. IMHO they will go out of business as something is not sustainable in business model and others with better business models will rise to the occasion.

 

[morepwr]

Well it wont effect me much if they strike. I eat fast food maybe once a month. I shouldn't I know, but I like a big 'ol cheeseburger once in a while!

 

[Maximus1966]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
But if they were protesting to get health benefits with their minimum wage, Id agree totally....


So there is now an obligation for others to pay for someone else's healthcare? What the country needs is health INSURANCE, not a third party to pay for every little medical expense. Healthcare costs have gone ballistic because everyone is trying to shift the cost to someone else. I've heard it a thousand times, particularly in the hospital setting: "Don't worry about the cost, they have "insurance."

 

[kschachn]

If they strike they should be fired. I own a restaurant and there is a line of people that want jobs. They could be replaced the same day with people happy to accept the current pay rate.

If I had to raise my wages even a buck an hour that would spell doom for my business. All you people that think $16 is acceptable for a minimum-wage job are either grossly ignorant of the real world, delusional or have never owned or operated a business. Or you work for the government.

The thing I just can't understand is why someone thinks a mythical job paying $16 is better than an actual job paying $8. Raise the minimum wage to $16 and there will be a lot of mythical jobs for everybody.

 

[kschachn]

This is an infuriatingly stupid statement. Prices will not rise 10-20% (and it would be a lot more than that to more than double the minimum wage), what will happen is that restaurants will close and lay off everyone. The ones that remain will either automate or scale back services to reduce wage costs to an acceptable level.

Your utopian thinking is laughable. Seriously. You think a 10-20% price increase is all that is required to cover a 100%+ wage increase? Besides, the wage increase is only half the story. Add on top of that all the taxes a business pays on wages and it is a lot more.

Payroll costs for businesses are insane as it is.

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
If fast food costs 10-20% more to cover a wage increase I don't see any downsides at all. Also money earned by the lowest wage earners goes almost 100% into the economy, with actual taxes paid on it. A big plus to local economies,