Comments on: Case Studies on the Minimum Wage

By: David Nieporent

David Nieporent — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 19:37:03 +0000

Bruce, reading is fundamental. You might want to try it sometime. He explained why they can do it and he can't. Because he hires old people and they don't.

He could do it if he were willing to hire younger people. But that wouldn't exactly help the minimum wage old people, would it?

By: Bruce Hall

Bruce Hall — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 18:30:17 +0000

In a number of locations, we have been forced by rising minimum wages and associated costs (particulalry workers comp.) to switch some of our cleaning and landscaping duties from our live on-site employees to local contractors. These contractors may pay their workers more than minimum wage, but the workers are often twice as productive as ours, yielding a cost savings for us. When minimum wages are $5.15 an hour, these contractors can't compete with our own workers, but when minimum wages rise over $7.00, as they are across the west coast, this option starts to become attractive.

Hmmm. As a small business owner, I would have to say that you are just making excuses for your own business inefficiency. After all, these contractors will have to pay the same minimum wages, so why can they do it and succeed when you do it and fail.

The argument about "affordability" is a red herring.

By: Mike Kozlowski

Mike Kozlowski — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 07:10:01 +0000

It’s terrible that companies pay hard working people only minimum wage. People all over are struggling by living check-to-check. I am a landlord and know serveral ways for people to make at least $20 per hour by just painting and cleaning rentals to get them ready for rent or for sale.

–Mike Kozlowski
http://www.wowBIGmoney.com

By: Andreas

Andreas — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 09:30:35 +0000

All employers are against a minimum wage. In particular them who profits the most from dumping-wages. Did I say “all employers”?
Not all!
Especially in Germany (some of you call it “Old Europe”) you find more and more employers who (please, pay attention now!) demands a minimum wage.
http://blog.mindestlohn.de/3/viewentry/1121

I donÂ´t have any idea which dogma rules former McKinsey-Consultants (like the author of this blog) which leads them to a strictly refusing of any minimum wage.
It might be that McKinsey is specialized in business-management but not in political-economics.

Anyway. Thanks a lot for the insight youÂ´ve given in your kind of watching the economics. IÂ´ll use it for one of my next essays about “employer and how they consider the worth of work” in comparison to the value which they give to their personal gain generating out of the work of their employees.

By: Stephan von Lorraine-Schultz

Stephan von Lorraine-Schultz — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 00:54:06 +0000

I have come across your well-reasoned and reasonable post. Although I am in favour of increased minimum wages, I cannot but say that your post is very thought-provoking. I agree with you on Points 1 and 4. However, outsourcing and automation (Points 2 & 3) are actually what should, SHOULD, happen in an efficient economy, because those methods are evidently EFFICIENT, and thus would be good for the economy. In that sense, by inducing increased automation and outsourcing, which clearly is more efficient and thus economically beneficial than the status quo, the (increased) minimum wage actually is good for the economy. Sure, one could argue that the said senior workers would be unfairly and adversely affected by the increase in minimum wage, but the simple fact of the matter is that if they are as susceptible to outsourcing and automation as they seem to be, then obviously, the economic effiency and thus, economic benefit, of the said employment mode and arrangement would be open to question and debate.

By: Ben

Ben — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 13:47:17 +0000

Thanks for a great post. I can't say that I agree with you on many things and because your experiences are largely anecdotal, they are not applicable to the larger debate on the effects of minimum wage.

Additionally, free perks such as a free campsite amounts to free rent. While this is a great benefit and gesture on your part, I can not imagine many employers, especially urban employers offering a perk like that, and essentially while it is not showing in their pay, their pay is in addition to whatever the cost of the perks are, so they are technically not being paid minimum wage.

But I do enjoy your writing style and will link to a post on the effects of minimum wage that I am doing.

-Ben

By: Robert Nanders

Robert Nanders — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 04:46:13 +0000

Nice post, thanks for bringing the human element in to help people see what the true costs of minimum wage laws can be.

By: PF

PF — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 15:13:30 +0000

All that you state is unique to your business and it's "nice" that you give extra benefits to your senior employees. However, if you remove your unique situation from the equation and get back to reality, most employers find everyway possible to avoid paying the minimum wage. Grouping all seniors into a bucket of receiving extravagant retirement packages and government subsidies isn't fair either. The seniors that HAVE to work and don't have enough money for both food and medicines are vast.

I will propose one solution to the problem: Tie any percentage increase in the minimum wage to the lucrative raises that Congress gives themselves in the dead of night! If we handcuff their need for greed to letting people at the bottom survive, I think we'll have some balance.

By the way, how often do you give yourself a raise? Raises are nice aren't they? Sorry you're so much like Congress in the: "Do as I say, not as I do" camp!

By: TC

TC — Fri, 24 Feb 2006 06:05:10 +0000

Here is another effect of a min wage increase.

Have to scratch head but it seems the last fed increase was in 1986 with a two step jump.

What your congress folks woun't tell you is that the federal coffers were the big winners! Their revenue doubled, yet they did what with it?

Current deficit is what?

Hiring older non dependant workers is GREAT!

It's too bad, but it seems that much of the youth looking for entry level jobs are so unprepared to actually work for a business serving the general public. They are ignorant, arrogant, selfish and all too many adorned with stuff I will not allow to be seen by one of my customers.

BTW in my rural hotel out of 20 or so on staff, you could not find but three or four actually making min wage. My average was much higher, and such was not due to it being an overly busy facility. But out of the care we have for having a dependable workforce.

By: Holly Todak

Holly Todak — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 17:58:21 +0000

Well i just wanted to say that this site was very useful in a study that i was conducting through my university. So thanks angain for all of the stupendous information regarding minumum wage and the affects of it in the current public.