Yes, Barack Obama, who has never even run a lemonade stand, wants all businesses to have a minimum wage of $10.10.
Several months ago, heaping praise on the CEO of Costco, Obama said: “It’s a company that’s looking out for workers.” (Costco now offers new employees $11.50 an hour.)
And, when he visited the famous Michigan deli, Zingerman’s, (where he acted like a big jackass called Paul Ryan’s budget plan a “stinkburger”) Obama also praised the co-owner, who is a proponent of the minimum wage hike.
However, Michael Saltsman, in his Wall Street Journal article, Why Subway Doesn’t Serve a $14 Reuben Sandwich, writes:
….In reality, these business are case studies in why the president’s plan to raise the minimum wage…is such a bad idea….First, Costco charges its customers as much as $110 a year for the privilege of shopping at the store. That’s a $2 billion-per-year luxury no grocer or restaurant enjoys.
As a result, the warehouse retailer rakes in what amounts to a more than $10,000 profit per employee….A casual dining restaurant, on the other hand, earns a roughly $2,000 profit per employee, which explains why most businesses aren’t following the president’s “just be more like Costco” advice….
And, with regard to Zingerman’s, Saltsman points out that Obama neglected to mention the cost of a Reuben sandwich at Zingerman’s: $14.
If every deli could charge $14 a sandwich, then perhaps an $11 or $12 minimum wage would be feasible….Expecting restaurants everywhere to do so is a recipe for business failure.
Is that exactly Obama’s goal?
Related:
Byron York: Washington Examiner — Obama’s work edicts could kill businesses on military bases
Obama’s mandated minimum wage hike for federal contractors is having an effect now, though it doesn’t go into effect unil 1/1/15. Fast food contractors are leaving military bases. Coincidence that the min. wage increase combined with the mandated health and welfare payment increase, totals $6.66. Only Beelzefletcher.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/obamas-work-edicts-could-kill-businesses-on-military-bases/article/2547812
Here is the Dept. of Labor’s official website, illegally spending our money to promote this political agenda.
http://www.dol.gov/minwage/
For some historical perspective on the “change” that Obama wants more of, see my earlier post, “Minimum Wage: Doing Good vs. Feeling Good”.
Maybe the world would be better if sandwiches cost $14 and the sandwich-makers were paid more. But then there would be far fewer employed sandwich-makers, and we’d all re-learn how to visit the market and buy bread and sandwich components. That’s the sort of real-world tradeoff that our legislators must keep in mind if they care about evading destructive unintended consequences.
A troubling aspect of the Obama/Romney contest was that Romney’s business experience was actually regarded as a negative by large portions of the electorate. That Romney had made executive decisions, some of which may have involved downsizing, made him a bad guy. Mr. Obama never got his hands dirty making the tough choices needed to keep a business alive. Good old Obama is always ready to print some more food stamps. As the nation becomes more child-like, what chance does a real man have against a fantasy prince?
Off topic, but interesting: The FedEx shooting is baffling, in that it occurred in a gun-free zone. The no-guns policy is clearly posted; see here and here. How could this have happened??
Where it says “no guns allowed,” no guns exist. DERP!
I’m kind of noticing that every time one of these things happens, the news (except for Fox) never reports about these gun-free zones, much less that they are “misinterpreted” as free-fire zones by these killers. Hmmm. Maybe it’s time for some reverse-psychology on this reverse-psychology. I mean, ever notice how people will put a “car protected by security system” sticker on their window even if there’s no security system in the car, and/or they install a blinking LED that makes it look like there’s an active security system, just to fake thieves out? People can say, “Yeah, but a car alarm isn’t going to kill anybody.” Okay, but the idea is the same. It’s to make criminals think twice before busting into your car. We can’t just use an alarm system to prevent people from bringing weapons someplace. We need an armed populace.
We have two choices–and only two. We can either have a situation where we have more good people with guns than bad people, or we can have it the other way around. I prefer the former. Liberals like to say there’s a third choice, where they can completely disarm the populace, and like they’re trying to do with taxes and bans on smoking, if we just keep making it more difficult to legally obtain and use guns, eventually guns will be eliminated, because they will be socially unacceptable. This is delusional, as the evidence shows.
I’ve heard one analysis that sounds plausible re. the politics of the minimum wage. It will reduce employment, and prospects for the unemployed to gain employment, but for those who don’t lose their jobs, they’ll get a raise, and they will thank whichever party “gave” it to them with their vote. Some of the unemployed may bolt to the other party, if they associate their unemployment with the rise in the wage, but they can go on unemployment and welfare as well, which may assuage their angst. If they do, they’re going to think twice about voting for someone who will be motivated to take those benefits away. Overall, it creates a political environment that pits workers against business owners. The only way businesses can keep these interests at bay is to “play ball” in this game, making shrewd political donations to protect themselves. While they’re at it, they can make some sweet deals for themselves on the side. I’ve learned that some large businesses will be motivated to support an increase in the minimum wage, because that makes it more difficult for their small competitors to compete against them. It’s a kind of crony capitalism.
The tragedy is it keeps youth unemployment high, raising that lower rung of the upward mobility ladder, so that fewer people can reach it.
In sum: Leftism is the disease for which it claims to be the cure.
I guess BHO needs a math lesson. Company’s run on a budget for the year. Most companies have what they call a payroll budget.(All except the US Government). For example: If you have a monthly payroll budget of $1000 and your average hourly wage is $7 you can afford 142 hours or approximately 4-35 hour employees. If you are required to raise your rate to $10 you now have 100 hours to work with and now you have 2.85 -35 hour employees or you cut your 4 employees to 25 hours.
Also when the minimum wage goes up it not only effects entry level employees it effects the pay scale for all employees in the organization. The largest expense a business has is payroll and benefits. The quickest place to cut expenses is payroll.
Not surprised BHO is in love with Costco. Their CEO spoke at the Dem convention and is a supporter. I enjoy shopping at Costco and since they are a BHO supporter i have cut back.
And those employees at Costco work hard. Most new employees start in the Food Court; that’s how they get their foot in the door. Then you have to perform to be considered for another position when it opens up and compete for it with your co-workers. You have to punch a time clock. You have to pass a drug test. Some begin work at around 4 a.m. and workers are there until 10 p.m.
Maybe leave a note in the Member Comment Box regarding the CEO’s relationship with Dems . . .