California Democrat calls for $50 minimum wage

[lukethethird]

How much? Were they entry level?

The cost of living is very high already here. Businesses respond to minimum wage hikes by raising prices and hiring fewer people. This is basic economics.

We already have a minimum wage here of $16. It'll be $17 next year. Yet the cost of living is still a huge problem. So as I see it, minimum wage increases are not the magic pill to fix the situation.

Barbara Lee is not a serious lawmaker. She's as wacky on the left as MTG and Boebert on the right. There's a reason she's in 4th place in the Senate race behind even Steve Garvey, who is a buffoon. Don't take your cues from her.

You sound like a multi-billionaire that doesn't want to pay their employees a fair wage, either that or you are a sucker for their propaganda tactics. Spreading the wealth does not cause prices to go up, billionaires cause prices to go up. Antitrust laws are not enforced, and therein lies our problem because the reduction in competition, as in monopolies, causes prices to increase. A working class wherein everyone earns a fair wage could go a long way to stabilize prices, along with an enforcement of antitrust laws. Also, shareholders do well at the expense of wage earners, companies buying back shares is no longer illegal, and as a result wage earners make less. The worker earning a fair wage and having buying power is not the problem here, convincing yourself otherwise is.

 

[We Never Know]

California Democrat calls for $50 minimum wage

California Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee is defending her call for a $50 federal minimum wage.

houstonherald.com

California Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee is defending her call for a $50 federal minimum wage. That’s more than six times the current federal minimum wage in the United States.​

​

Lee is running in a competitive Senate race to fill the seat of late Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein. She argues Californians cannot get by on less than $100,000 a due to the state’s cost-of-living crisis.​

​

Lee was asked during a Senate debate on Monday how her $50 an hour minimum wage proposal would be economically sustainable for small businesses. She claimed she has been a small business owner who “created hundreds of jobs” and argued employees need to be taken care of and have a “living wage.”​

​

“Just do the math, just do the math,” Lee said during the debate.​

​

The current national minimum wage at $7.25 an hour. The California minimum wages is $16 an hour.​

Wonder how many businesses would have to close simply because they could not pay the employees?

Bob says "With the cost of living I can't make it on $15 dollars an hour. I needed $20 an hour.

Ok Bob, here's your $20 an hour..... Result..the cost of living goes up.

Now Bob says "With the cost of living I can't make it on $20 dollars an hour. I needed $25 an hour.

Ok Bob, here's your $25 an hour..... Result..the cost of living goes up.

Now Bob says "With the cost of living I can't make it on $25 dollars an hour. I needed $30 an hour.

Ok Bob, here's your $30 an hour..... Result..the cost of living goes up.

Years go by....

Now Bob says "With the cost of living I cant make it on $100 dollars an hour. I needed $125 an hour.

Ok Bob, here's your $125 an hour..... Result..the cost of living goes up.

Its a repeat cycle.

 

[fantome profane]

Bob says "With the cost of living I can't make it on $15 dollars an hour. I needed $20 an hour.

Ok Bob, here's your $20 an hour..... Result..the cost of living goes up.

Now Bob says "With the cost of living I can't make it on $20 dollars an hour. I needed $25 an hour.

Ok Bob, here's your $25 an hour..... Result..the cost of living goes up.

Now Bob says "With the cost of living I can't make it on $25 dollars an hour. I needed $30 an hour.

Ok Bob, here's your $30 an hour..... Result..the cost of living goes up.

Years go by....

Now Bob says "With the cost of living I cant make it on $100 dollars an hour. I needed $125 an hour.

Ok Bob, here's your $125 an hour..... Result..the cost of living goes up.

Its a repeat cycle.

Utter garbage.

 

[We Never Know]

Utter garbage.

Its common sense.

When companies have to pay more to produce their product, they raise prices to offset the cost.

When restaurants and fast food places have to pay more to produce their product, they raise menu prices to offset the cost.

When owners of property have to pay more to maintain their property(apartments for example), they raise rent to offset the cost.

When stores have to pay more for a product and pay more to have their shelves stocked, they raise their prices to offset the cost.

 

[fantome profane]

Its common sense.

When companies have to pay more to produce their product, they raise prices to offset the cost.

When restaurants and fast food places have to pay more to produce their product, they raise menu prices to offset the cost.

When owners of property have to pay more to maintain their property(apartments for example), they raise rent to offset the cost.

When stores have to pay more for a product and pay more to have their shelves stocked, they raise their prices to offset the cost.

So me evidence that a 5 dollar increase in the minimum wage will create a 5 dollar increase in the cost of living?

This is pure fantasy on your part.

 

[We Never Know]

So me evidence that a 5 dollar increase in the minimum wage will create a 5 dollar increase in the cost of living?

This is pure fantasy on your part.

When the cost goes up to produce things, prices go up to offset costs and everything you need to buy(food, gas, clothes, rent, etc) will take a little part of that $5 raise and before you know it, that $5 raise doesn't make much, if any difference on what you have to spend to live.
That's not fantasy, its reality.

 

[Twilight Hue]

---

Bob says "With the cost of living I can't make it on $15 dollars an hour. I needed $20 an hour.

Ok Bob, here's your $20 an hour..... Result..the cost of living goes up.

Now Bob says "With the cost of living I can't make it on $20 dollars an hour. I needed $25 an hour.

Ok Bob, here's your $25 an hour..... Result..the cost of living goes up.

Now Bob says "With the cost of living I can't make it on $25 dollars an hour. I needed $30 an hour.

Ok Bob, here's your $30 an hour..... Result..the cost of living goes up.

Years go by....

Now Bob says "With the cost of living I cant make it on $100 dollars an hour. I needed $125 an hour.

Ok Bob, here's your $125 an hour..... Result..the cost of living goes up.

Its a repeat cycle.

Meanwhile people like Jeff Bezos makes 7.9 million every hour.

Jeff Bezos Made Over $7.9 Million An Hour Every Hour In 2023 — In Under 13 Minutes, He Brought In The Equivalent Of What The Typical Person Earns In A Lifetime

Amazon.com Inc. Founder Jeff Bezos, a key figure in modern business, saw a massive increase in his net worth from $107 billion in early 2023 to $177 billion a year later, marking a $70 billion gain, according to Fortune. This equates to an increase of $191,780,822 per day or about $7,990,868 per...

finance.yahoo.com

 

[fantome profane]

When the cost goes up to produce things, prices go up to offset costs and everything you need to buy(food, gas, clothes, rent, etc) will take a little part of that $5 raise and before you know it, that $5 raise doesn't make much, if any difference on what you have to spend to live.
That's not fantasy, its reality.

A little part? That is very different than the nonsense you were originally claiming. You were originally claiming that a 5 dollar increase in the minimum wage would result in a 5 dollar increase in the cost of living. That is not "a little part", that is 100%, the entire part.

So if you are revising your original claim, fine. I agree that an increase in the minimum wage could result in a small increase (a little part) in some consumer products (not rent). I am ok with that. It would still mean that those making a minimum wage would be better off.

 

[We Never Know]

---

Meanwhile people like Jeff Bezos makes 7.9 million every hour.

Jeff Bezos Made Over $7.9 Million An Hour Every Hour In 2023 — In Under 13 Minutes, He Brought In The Equivalent Of What The Typical Person Earns In A Lifetime

Amazon.com Inc. Founder Jeff Bezos, a key figure in modern business, saw a massive increase in his net worth from $107 billion in early 2023 to $177 billion a year later, marking a $70 billion gain, according to Fortune. This equates to an increase of $191,780,822 per day or about $7,990,868 per...

finance.yahoo.com

When I was a teen fast food joints were places teens in high school that lived with their parents worked to have a little money to go to the movies, skating rink, etc.

They weren't places people worked to make a living. Now days people try to/have to try to make a living at fast food joints. Working at fast food joints isn't considered skilled labor but workers there want skilled labor wages.

 

[We Never Know]

A little part? That is very different than the nonsense you were originally claiming. You were originally claiming that a 5 dollar increase in the minimum wage would result in a 5 dollar increase in the cost of living. That is not "a little part", that is 100%, the entire part.

So if you are revising your original claim, fine. I agree that an increase in the minimum wage could result in a small increase (a little part) in some consumer products (not rent). I am ok with that. It would still mean that those making a minimum wage would be better off.

"You were originally claiming that a 5 dollar increase in the minimum wage would result in a 5 dollar increase in the cost of living."

No you claimed that. IOW you claimed I said that.
Not my fault that you didn't understand.

I used an example as how higher wages will lead to a higher cost of living which in turn will require higher wages.

 

[fantome profane]

"You were originally claiming that a 5 dollar increase in the minimum wage would result in a 5 dollar increase in the cost of living."

No you claimed that. IOW you claimed I said that.
Not my fault that you didn't understand.

Bob says "With the cost of living I can't make it on $15 dollars an hour. I needed $20 an hour.

Ok Bob, here's your $20 an hour..... Result..the cost of living goes up.

Now Bob says "With the cost of living I can't make it on $20 dollars an hour. I needed $25 an hour.

Ok Bob, here's your $25 an hour..... Result..the cost of living goes up.

Now Bob says "With the cost of living I can't make it on $25 dollars an hour. I needed $30 an hour.

Ok Bob, here's your $30 an hour..... Result..the cost of living goes up.

Years go by....

Now Bob says "With the cost of living I cant make it on $100 dollars an hour. I needed $125 an hour.

Ok Bob, here's your $125 an hour..... Result..the cost of living goes up.

Its a repeat cycle.

Alright. I guess I misunderstood.


I just hope that you understand that the minimum wage worker is better off with the increase.

 

[The Hammer]

I think a $50 an hour minimum is stupid. But.

 

[lukethethird]

Bob says "With the cost of living I can't make it on $15 dollars an hour. I needed $20 an hour.

Ok Bob, here's your $20 an hour..... Result..the cost of living goes up.

Now Bob says "With the cost of living I can't make it on $20 dollars an hour. I needed $25 an hour.

Ok Bob, here's your $25 an hour..... Result..the cost of living goes up.

Now Bob says "With the cost of living I can't make it on $25 dollars an hour. I needed $30 an hour.

Ok Bob, here's your $30 an hour..... Result..the cost of living goes up.

Years go by....

Now Bob says "With the cost of living I cant make it on $100 dollars an hour. I needed $125 an hour.

Ok Bob, here's your $125 an hour..... Result..the cost of living goes up.

Its a repeat cycle.

On what planet has this scenario taken place? Last time I checked prices have done nothing but go up while wages remain low and unchanged.

 

[lukethethird]

When I was a teen fast food joints were places teens in high school that lived with their parents worked to have a little money to go to the movies, skating rink, etc.

They weren't places people worked to make a living. Now days people try to/have to try to make a living at fast food joints. Working at fast food joints isn't considered skilled labor but workers there want skilled labor wages.

There is no such thing as unskilled labour, that is just a ploy used to keep wages down while prices continue to rise, to increase profits.

 

[Left Coast]

You sound like a multi-billionaire that doesn't want to pay their employees a fair wage, either that or you are a sucker for their propaganda tactics. Spreading the wealth does not cause prices to go up, billionaires cause prices to go up. Antitrust laws are not enforced, and therein lies our problem because the reduction in competition, as in monopolies, causes prices to increase. A working class wherein everyone earns a fair wage could go a long way to stabilize prices, along with an enforcement of antitrust laws. Also, shareholders do well at the expense of wage earners, companies buying back shares is no longer illegal, and as a result wage earners make less. The worker earning a fair wage and having buying power is not the problem here, convincing yourself otherwise is.

No answers to my questions, I see. Your misunderstanding of basic concepts will continue hindering the conversation. Prices are not set arbitrarily by "billionaires." They're a function of the value of a good or service - supply and demand, mediated by regulatory requirements. When you increase costs to businesses, they increase prices to compensate.

 

[lukethethird]

No answers to my questions, I see. Your misunderstanding of basic concepts will continue hindering the conversation. Prices are not set arbitrarily by "billionaires." They're a function of the value of a good or service - supply and demand, mediated by regulatory requirements. When you increase costs to businesses, they increase prices to compensate.

True, in a dream world. In reality antitrust laws are not enforced, companies merge to form monopolies allowing prices to increase at the whim of multi millionaires and billionaires, while wages remain stagnant. It's called neo liberalism.

 

[We Never Know]

True, in a dream world. In reality antitrust laws are not enforced, . It's called neo liberalism.

"companies merge to form monopolies allowing prices to increase at the whim of multi millionaires and billionaires, while wages remain stagnant"

Do you mean like this one that is currently going on?...

The Federal Trade Commission is suing to block a merger between Kroger and Albertsons grocery stores.

The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday opposing Kroger’s (KR) acquisition of Albertsons, a $24.6 billion deal.

The FTC said the merger would eliminate existing competition between Kroger and Albertsons, leading to lower wages for store workers as well as higher prices.

FTC Sues To Block $24.6B Kroger-Albertsons Merger

The government is suing to block a grocery store merger that regulators say would put upward pressure on already elevated food prices.

www.investopedia.com

 

[Left Coast]

True, in a dream world. In reality antitrust laws are not enforced, companies merge to form monopolies allowing prices to increase at the whim of multi millionaires and billionaires, while wages remain stagnant. It's called neo liberalism.

Two things can be true at once. Antitrust laws are enforced - perhaps you'd like then to be stronger, and that's fine as far as it goes. That doesn't change the basic mechanism of what happens when you increase costs on businesses. This isn't some "ideal," that's what actually happens. It's been observed, many times. Serious legislators know this, which is why anticipated price increases and employment losses are weighed against other factors when considering the minimum wage and why we don't just increase minimum wages infinitely.

 

[Stevicus]

California Democrat calls for $50 minimum wage

California Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee is defending her call for a $50 federal minimum wage.

houstonherald.com

California Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee is defending her call for a $50 federal minimum wage. That’s more than six times the current federal minimum wage in the United States.​

​

Lee is running in a competitive Senate race to fill the seat of late Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein. She argues Californians cannot get by on less than $100,000 a due to the state’s cost-of-living crisis.​

​

Lee was asked during a Senate debate on Monday how her $50 an hour minimum wage proposal would be economically sustainable for small businesses. She claimed she has been a small business owner who “created hundreds of jobs” and argued employees need to be taken care of and have a “living wage.”​

​

“Just do the math, just do the math,” Lee said during the debate.​

​

The current national minimum wage at $7.25 an hour. The California minimum wages is $16 an hour.​

Wonder how many businesses would have to close simply because they could not pay the employees?

I think many people put too much stock in the idea of raising the minimum wage. Perhaps a balance can be struck by a judicious use of wage/price/rent controls. For example, many businesses use gas and utilities, so if the prices on goods and services like that could be reduced or limited, then they'd have more money to pay their employees. Healthcare and employee insurance is also another major expense for businesses, and that can be reduced overnight with significant price controls on those industries.

So, if they have to cut somewhere, they can cut in those areas, while still paying their employees a living wage.

 

[ImmortalFlame]

Bob says "With the cost of living I can't make it on $15 dollars an hour. I needed $20 an hour.

Ok Bob, here's your $20 an hour..... Result..the cost of living goes up.

Actually, studies suggest that the cost of living only tends to go up a fraction as much as wages do (SOURCES: Does increasing the minimum wage lead to higher prices? | Research Highlights | Upjohn Institute, Does Raising the Minimum Wage Increase Inflation?). Conversely, it's not as if decreasing wages reduces the cost of living.