Originally posted by SoulReaver
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Originally posted by SoulReaver
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If something like min. wage requirements push the cost of labor too high, business will just find a way to do without that particular task, or find another way to do it.
There is currently a push to make fast food workers min. wage 15 / hour.
Right now, where I live, the min. wage level is not the floor even for entry level fast food workers. competition in the labor market has pushed wage rates to slightly above minimum.
Right now, a Whopper costs roughly $4.50 around here. I won't buy them at that price. They aren't worth it. The only time I buy them is if I have a coupon, 2 for the price of 1 or similar. Double the wages of everyone in the store, and what do you think is going to happen to the price of that whopper? It's going to double. Or do you think the business operator is going to eat the labor cost increase? While possible, and no doubt it will happen in a very few cases, on the whole that isn't going to happen. So the price of the whopper goes to $9 bucks. I will give you an ironclad guarantee right now that I will never pay 9 bucks for a whopper. They aren't worth it to me. Neither will most people. So, guess what happens to half the people who make whoppers? They lose their jobs. Maybe the restaurant owner decides to just close up. Everyone loses their jobs.
Or do now want a law that says I have to buy X dollars worth of whoppers per week? Or do you want a law that says he must continue to operate his restaurant at a loss? Suppose you own that restaurant. Are you going to keep it open if you're losing money with every whopper you sell?
You can't simply adjust the value of things by legislative fiat. The money has to come from somewhere.
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