The OP does not factor in the cost of living. Can you make a case that the quality of life for workers in Los Angeles has improved?
Automation will happen when it's cheaper and easier to replace people with automation. It has nothing to do with anything else other than maybe more consistent and better quality.
Logistics, my friend, logistics. You have to make sure the lower rungs of the economy, the roots or inputs if you will, are fully staffed and functioning before building on top of that. And, like a pyramid, there will be a few at the top and many on the bottom. Plus, I fear that many people will end up working in the field, heavy farm labor!
If it was, you could make a case showing the quality of life improved for workers in Los Angeles when min wage was raised to $15 over a year ago. Basic human behavior is to choose the path of least resistance. Pay people to sit at home and they will make themselves comfortable. Min wage jobs are for entry level workers to gain experience and prove themselves. Of course, politicians want you to demonize that employer for having entry level positions so that you will support higher min wage. The tax man is the only one getting a raise. If politicians had a genuine concern for the worker, they could cut their taxes. This is not about helping workers;its about power. BTW, Min wage was $3.35 when I started working. ( I never worked for min wage) I worked in a bike shop and learned to repair bicycles. I learned to weld, braze, and deal with customers. I was paid half of the labor charge and made less than min wage some days. How dare this business owner take a kid under his wing and teach me skills that will benefit me for the rest of my life and not pay me enough to move out of moms house.
Still nonsense. The money made by high earners goes back into the economy just like lower earners; they don't bury it their backyards or fill their swimming poops with it. Huh? I have no idea what you're talking about.
It should be cheered on that millions of skilled Health Care Professionals that saved lives daily have natural immunity are being fired. Who needs those people that won't follow "Science". Natural Immunity does not count anymore. These people are against our Establishment leadership! They really should have to be re-educated. If only we could do something so we know who they are in public? Perhaps a tattoo on their forearms?
Biden and those that are insane within the Left actually used our tax dollars to fund a strike against hard hit employers struggling to exit government mandated shutdowns. You are trying to take credit for this, but Biden announced it long ago in his creepy whisper voice. The result is falling wages, depreciating currency and widespread shortages. And how is your "great" idea working? Always with the vicious attacks on your fellow Americans, covered with a line of crap about a promised utopia that never arrives as conditions deteriorate into a jack-booted authoritarian dystopian hell. VOTE! As bad as the GOP is, this current crop of fossilized Dems are way worse. Now there are sensible Dems, like Sinema, Manchin, Tulsi Gabbard and this new young rising stare from ME's CD2, but, they aren't in leadership, once they are give the Dems another look, but for now, vote GOP, straight ticket until we reassert normalancy.
Nothing you said is wrong….but please go back to what i said. NO company should be able to use the federal government to subsidize their wages. YES, increase the minimum wage to a living wage, and then increase all wages at the same rate. The problem with wages is that they dont keep pace with inflation, and overall COL. Their have been multiple studies that show that wages could, and should, keep pace with the COL index. The current minimum wage has not increased in 12 years. So if your salary, when compared to Minium wage hasn’t changed, YOU haven’t gotten a raise in 12 years right ? Did the prices of goods and services raise in those 12 years ? The answer is yes….So where did all of that extra profit go ?
So if minimum wages hasn’t changed in 12 years, why have prices ? Yes, minimum wage is a “starting wage”, but not only for those entering the workforce, but also as a “starting point” for all wages. Keep the starting wage low, and it artificially lower all wages. I started working at $2.90 in 1979. I learned a lot of skills, and at the end of the day those skills did help me better my position, but they also helped the owners of those business I worked for. That wage grew by skill, but the bas starting point never changed. THATS the problem. If your starting point stays the same for 12 years, the mean wage also stays the same for 12 years
Nope, they invest it in markets…..and guess where that money goes ? If that has to be explained to you, then we’re done here….
Because so few people actually earn the minimum wage; around 2% nonsense. Wages are determined by what the worker can offer the employer and the labor market. If only a few workers with particular skills are available they can demand a higher wage. Has nothing to do with what the MW is. I think your suggesting a linkage that isn't there. A worker's salary is based on what his employer feels he can afford and what the labor market demands.
Are you suggesting Deer should pay higher than the market rate for labor because they are doing well? What kind of idiocy leads people to these conclusions?
Exactly right. I think it's safe to assume that the cost of automating is still higher than the cost of labor. But as the cost of labor increases...
Obviously; it costs money since you have to pay for the electric to run it and upkeep, but to answer the OP's statement my point being that they'll employ people until they can switch over to automation whether they are paying wages of $1.25 or $15.00 per hour regardless of what they are paying the employees. Why aren't they doing it already? Most likely because the automation isn't developed enough or is too expensive at this point, but rest assured once it's ready, they'll implement it quicker than a heartbeat.
The great resignation is a good thing in a good economy, but a bad thing in a troubled economy. A reduced workforce will lead to supply shortages which leads to inflation. Giving employees big raises to will result in companies raising their prices on the consumer, or inflation. We should never have given people so much free money that they could afford to not work.
Your last statement argues against your first statement. Yes, they will implement automation when it is cheaper than paying someone. That's what I said. It's not "regardless of what they are paying someone". It's all about how much they are paying. If people are cheaper, that's who they'll pay. That's a silly question. Depends on too many factors to answer. You probably don't know too much about automation and I'll try to answer any questions that you might have. Let me start by saying that it depends on how many axis you want to manipulate, what kind of tracking you want to use, how many other machines you want to interact with, among a thousand other things. It may cost many times more than $15/hr. The cost may change over time. Do you need a full time automation person or someone just on call?
All I'm going to say about your response is I think I know more about automation then you'll ever know since it decimated my industry.
You state a civil argument, thank you, but unfortunately it is rather flawed. Let's see if I can phrase this so it's clear. If you increase minimum wage, it is STILL minimum wage, bottom of the ladder. There is nothing that guarantees that it will support someone, nor was it intended to. It is the person's responsibility to increase their value so they move up from the MW. No one can force them to do so. They have to make a choice. This term 'living wage' is full of holes. Not only is a 'living wage' a creation of those who do not understand what wages actually are (in this country) but feel it is the employer's responsibility to satisfy an individuals wants without consideration of what the actual value of their production is, but to believe that people will magically no longer need public assistance regardless of what the MW is pushes past common sense. If the poverty line now causes people to require assistance, and MW goes up, so will the poverty line, because people will not be able to afford the rising costs that go with the increase in wages but no additional production.