Shortbus,
Start your own Corp and give yourself all the raises you want. Train your people so you become the least valuable to the operation and then work your 1 hour or so a week.
Yup. average consumer has to decide if he keeps eating a combo#1 at McDonalds at $5.50 vs the new price of $6 or his likely alternative of making his own sandwich from $1.25 worth of ingredients in the morning and carries it to work. Over a full year of work, 250 days, that makes $125.00 difference if he eats fast food every day. How many consumers are going to get out of bed 5 minutes earlier to pack their own lunch? Oh, and they have to make sure they have cold cuts and bread the night before - I don't think mcdonald's will notice a drop in customers. And, I think it is the perfect opportunity to raise prices $0.50/meal while the higher per-meal costs increases due to higher minimum wage will not be close to $0.50/meal - bonus time for the CEO!Is the business actually lost? Or is it merely displaced? A minimum wage law update would affect all participants equally, thereby disincentivizing displacement. Innovative companies may shift the displacement in their favor, but it is the consumer who will have the final vote.
The problem is you have five employees on the shift that has the increased minimum wage. You have peak two hours where productivity is close to 100 percent followed by three hours of 25 percent productivity, followed by three hours of 50 percent productivity. Minimum wage increased to 15 per hour or an increase of $7.50. Along with that increase you have increased costs of social security and medicare for each employee. Assume 15% for both SSA and medicare for each employee. Assume a peak sales of 10 meals per minute.I don't think mcdonald's will notice a drop in customers. And, I think it is the perfect opportunity to raise prices $0.50/meal while the higher minimum wage will not be close to $0.50/meal - bonus time for the CEO!
Very true. The article goes on to say the entry level jobs will be a thing of the past. McDs also said replacing one in four employees with a kiosk or data terminal where the customer can do their own ordering, can mean a million more people out of work if the whole fast food industry goes that route.Although the article rules out price increases, an across-the-board price increase at all competitors makes a price increase feasible and, with many customers getting raises in their minimum wage, feasible.
The kiosks are coming to all industries. In out area, Sheets convenience/gas stores have developed a massive fast food market share with kiosks. I cannot figure out why mcDonalds has waited so long. It works great at Sheets and the biggest disappointment I have at Fast food places is interfacing with the minimum wage labor willing to work fast food. The better kids are working for minimum wage (or near minimum wage) at sit-down restaurants and other retail.Very true. The article goes on to say the entry level jobs will be a thing of the past. McDs also said replacing one in four employees with a kiosk or data terminal where the customer can do their own ordering, can mean a million more people out of work if the whole fast food industry goes that route.
Even the banks today have the self service kiosks. I had asked at my bank if they displaced any employees. The manager said the customer base was growing so none were lost. A nearby bank was closed ... two robberies in three years was probably enough for the bank.
You will find that, just like Walmart to Tiffany's, value varies. Who are they? They are members of the reputed "oldest profession."
Close.Hunter-Gatherers?
More like stress-relief therapists for the Hunters.Hunter-Gatherers?
getting closer ....screw that.
Please quote the paragraph in the US Constitution that declares minimum wage unconstitutional.Such discussions of kiosks and alternative technologies have nothing to do with laws regarding minimum wages. Minimum wage laws are a violation of the US Constitution and of international laws governing human rights.
There should be no minimum wage.
John
The minimum wage would have prevented me from getting my first job, if it had applied to my employer. I scooped ice cream at a Baskin Robbins. My first wage was 55¢/hour. Minimum wage at the time was $2.10. I forget the exact rule that exempted ice cream scoopers, but I know I would have never been hired if my wage had to be so much higher.
Some useful reading on the topic.
Milton Friedman responds to President Obama's proposal to raise the minimum wage, the most 'anti-black law in the land' - AEI
Renegotiating the numerous international trade treaties and protecting US businesses from the effects of cheap labor overseas would allow the minimum wage to increase without destroying jobs.
Minimum Wage's Discriminatory Effects
More recent research: The Minimum Wage and the Great Recession: Evidence of Effects on the Employment and Income Trajectories of Low-Skilled Workers
by Jake Hertz
by Aaron Carman
by Jake Hertz