The NYT backs President Obama's call to increase the minimum wage, although it wants the figure...

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Mike Maher Comments (1779)
 
Leave it to the New York Times to argue that raising the cost of something will not lead to less consumption of it.
18 Feb, 08:04 AM Reply Like

Tony Petroski Comments (6373)
 
I usually disagree with the "news" reported by the Times which is nothing more than extremist left-wing agitprop, but this time they are onto something. I've always thought that the law should require the minimum wage to be the average hourly billing rate of attorneys in a city. Probably in New York that would come to $200 an hour.

Why should attorneys like our current president and all our lawmakers live high off the hog while others suffer low wages? It's simple social justice.

If $200 an hour is too big a leap in one year, make it $100 this year and phase in the $200 next year.
18 Feb, 08:07 AM Reply Like

Duude Comments (3274)
 
Even liberal economists concluded a while back that raising the minimum wage will cost jobs. NYT is repeating the same old lie hoping that repeating it will somehow change reality. The fact is Obama is counting on the minimum wage not rising simply because small businesses will already be dealing with a major change to their cost structure with the enactment of Obamacare. Obamacare is written with small business incentives to cut hours, and lay off workers to avoid the higher cost structure. But plenty others will take the hit of higher healthcare insurance premiums or pay an annual fine per employee. Adding a new higher minimum wage to that is economic insanity. Obama wanted to make a feeble appearance of supporting a higher minimum while happily accepting it won't budge in either the Senate or the House.
18 Feb, 08:08 AM Reply Like

bgold1955 Comments (948)
 
Duude..... More than 50% of small businesses in the U.S. have less than 50 employees and therefore the Affordable Health Care Act adds zero cost to its structure. With health care costs approaching 19% of current GDP, which is already unsustainable, what is your suggestion? Status quo? Where the top 25% will be the ones that increasingly pay more than current costs through taxation to fund county hospitals. Requiring everyone to have health insurance is a personal responsibility issue. Should we have a full blown National Health Care Program? What are your thoughts?
18 Feb, 08:43 AM Reply Like

DaLatin Comments (1529)
 
NYT is a news source ?? Or is it part of the Democrat National group ?

Add the higher minimum wage to the new HCA an it's 30 hour work week and killing jobs will be huge.

Minimum wage jobs are not supposed to be living wage head of household jobs. There supposed to be starter jobs for the young. Do to the horrific destruction of wealth millions of seniors compete for these jobs.. A mushrooming effect has happened and bumping the rate higher or worse..tying it to an index... Wow.......

This shows that the great US Republic has become a run of the mill democracy.. The Founders knew that a democracy was as bad as a monarchy,but, in 2013 I'm not sure which we have. I'm leaning towards a monarchy under Obama.....
18 Feb, 08:29 AM Reply Like

youngman442002 Comments (4982)
 
How many people did the NYT´s lay off this year....you would think if they just paid them more they would get more production...right....
18 Feb, 11:23 AM Reply Like

JJA1594 Comments (68)
 
Let's just make it a $1000. per hour so we can all get rich and end poverty forevah!!!!
18 Feb, 12:33 PM Reply Like

anonymous#12 Comments (553)
 
Uh...so we are now in exaggerating mode....

Let's just eliminate pay at all!!! Can you imagine the profits of corporations if they didn't have to pay salaries or wages!!!!!!!!!!!

Capitalistic Utopia!!!
18 Feb, 04:24 PM Reply Like

Drew Robertson Comments (233)
 
I don't know what you right-wing cranks are complaining about. How much does Walmart pay you now to be a door greeter/receipt checker? You shouldn't whine.
18 Feb, 12:53 PM Reply Like

Mike Maher Comments (1779)
 
Walmart has 3-3.5% profit margins, and most grocery stores are also in the low single digits for profit margins. Raising their costs by increasing wages will do one of two things, either raise prices of other goods in the store to compensate, or lead to a faster adoption of self service checkout, eliminating the jobs entirely.
18 Feb, 03:28 PM Reply Like

berbno1 Comments (280)
 
Bill Johnson, Heinz CEO, $100M in buyout??? That's enough to raise 50,000 workers $1/hr for a year...is anyone worried about the cost of Ketchup going up? HPQ has spent that amount on the last several CEOs and their stock has gone from $60 - $15??? Let's get a reign on the CEO / BofD musical chairs.
18 Feb, 04:11 PM Reply Like

berbno1 Comments (280)
 
now up to $212M ...of which how much gets spent?
minimum wage should at least be inflation adjusted from 1960, and low income wage earners spend ALL of their money...which is good for economy.
8 Mar, 04:57 PM Reply Like

Herr Hansa Comments (2922)
 
Many businesses want as low a labor cost as possible, because they see workers as an expense, and not as an asset. There is an idea of competitiveness, in that the lower the labor cost, then the greater the competitiveness. Taken to an extreme, a zero labor cost should be the most competitive structure. Unfortunately when you take worker spending out of an economy, then an economy does not expand.

Many middle income jobs disappeared due to globalization of workforces, and due to changes in technology that led to greater efficiency. Most of those lost jobs are not coming back. The attempt to create a longer term housing boom put 16 million people to work in construction, but when the boom went bust the majority of those jobs disappeared.

Elevating the lowest level of incomes is about as effective as elevating the highest levels of income. Neither will bring back middle income jobs that use to exist. A change in trade balance, or a change in technology that creates new demand, might change this path. So far real long lasting solutions are missing from the discussion, as the same tired push of self-interest take the lead in all discussions.
18 Feb, 07:35 PM Reply Like

6228371 Comments (329)
 
Raising the national minimum wage is a very bad idea. The minimum wage should be set locally, as the cost of living varies so much in the US from place to place. For example, the cost of living in the NYC metro area is around double the national average, while the cost of living in low cost of living areas might be 2/3 of the national average or less. Should the minimum wage in NYC be the same as in Memphis or Fayetteville, Ark.????? Perhaps in some economically depressed low cost of living places the minimum wage is already too high, while in NYC or LA it is much too low.
8 Mar, 08:08 AM Reply Like