"We Don’t Have A Wage Problem; We Have A Money Problem"
By Tyler Durden
Submitted by Samuel Bryan via SchiffGold.com,
On June 7, the Washington DC Council voted to raise the city’s minimum wage to $15 per hour. DC joins New York and California, along with a number of major US cities that have made the move to boost the minimum wage over the last year.
The DC Council’s vote was a major symbolic victory for supporters of the well-organized “Fight for $15” campaign.
According to the Washington Post, the effort resonates with Americans:
Polls find strong support for a $15 wage floor as many Americans have become frustrated by the loss of well-paying manufacturing jobs and the growth of low-paying retail and service jobs.”
Last spring, ReasonTV asked residents of the “trendy, hipster enclave” of Silver Lake in Los Angeles, “What is the ‘right’ minimum wage?” Unsurprisingly, most assumed a higher minimum wage is a no-brainer – a win-win for society and workers.
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has made a federal $15 minimum wage part of his campaign platform. Hillary Clinton has indicated she would support a gradually phased in federal $15 minimum.
As the Post reports the movement is clearly gaining significant steam:
The District’s move is the latest in a series of unexpected and rapid-fire victories for the $15-minimum-wage movement. What began as an audacious push by fast-food workers just a few years ago is evolving into a new labor standard, with state lawmakers in California and New York agreeing to implement a $15 minimum wage by 2022, and legislatures in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey weighing similar measures.”
The current economic climate makes the push for $15 understandable. DC Mayor Muriel E. Bowser described the situation faced by DC residents, and it reflects realities across the US:
When I see how much it costs to live in Washington, D.C. — and that cost is only going up — we know that it takes more money for every household to be able to afford to live. There are families working day in and day out, sometimes two or three jobs but barely making ends meet.”
But is a $15 minimum wage really the solution to what is a very real problem?
Some ominous signs indicate it may actually make things worse. A recent New York Post article highlighted how New York City car washes tend to be less automated than in other parts of the country because the city has a labor pool willing to do that kind of work with relatively low pay.
But these workers will likely find themselves without a job as the New York minimum wage takes effect:
How does taking away their jobs make them better off? The $15 minimum will push New York car-wash operators to automate like the rest of the country, denying workers the right to undercut the machines on cost. It’s already starting to happen. Amir Malki, a leading car-wash equipment installer in the region, says over a dozen car-wash operators in New York City have inquired about putting in equipment to eliminate workers.”
All we have to do to …read more
Source: "We Don’t Have A Wage Problem; We Have A Money Problem"
