Originally Posted By TomSawyer Six states voted on increasing the minimum wage, and in each state voters approved overwhelmingly Missouri - passed by 76% Montana - passed by 73% Nevada - passed by 69% Arizona - passed by 66% Ohio - passed by 56% Colorado - passed by 53% The organization that lobbied and worked to place these issues on the ballot is a Christian organization made up of mainstream Protestant churches and other supporters. Raising the minimum wage is one of the issues Congress will address right away. This has also been a key part of the Covenant for a New America promoted by Rev. Jim Wallis. Isn't it nice to see a group of Christians trying to help the poor instead of worrying about whether or not gays can marry? <a href="http://www.letjusticeroll.org/member.html" target="_blank">http://www.letjusticeroll.org/ member.html</a>
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< Isn't it nice to see a group of Christians trying to help the poor instead of worrying about whether or not gays can marry? >>> It's almost as if the Good Book talks about the life of Christ in terms of him helping the poor and downtrodden and imploring others to do the same, rather than a single-minded focus on trying to control what everyone else does.
Originally Posted By mrichmondj And on the national level, with the Christian conservatives in power for the past 12 years we've managed to avoid raising the minimum wage for a decade! Reminds of my favorite bumper sticker: "Annoy a Conservative . . . Live like Jesus!"
Originally Posted By woody >>Isn't it nice to see a group of Christians trying to help the poor instead of worrying about whether or not gays can marry?<< Can't they do both? They have passed anti-gay marriage laws in 4 states except for Arizona. Christian can also proselytize too!!! Except in Canada and gay pride parades, where they will be accused of a hate crime.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer Actually, in Arizona voters approved the minimum wage increase AND voted against the gay marriage ban. So maybe they can do both.
Originally Posted By cmpaley It is not a crime to show up at a gay pride parade and witness to the faith in the United States. Don't be so paranoid.
Originally Posted By mrichmondj Does anyone still eat Big Macs? All those nasty trans fats that are being outlawed everywhere!
Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy It's the special sauce and lettuce and onions that turn me off. I stick with double cheeseburgers and McNuggets.
Originally Posted By cmpaley Ew! McDonalds! :-X Blech! Barf! Eww! In-n-Out or Carls Jr for me, please!
Originally Posted By JohnS1 Whatever you eat - it's still gonna go up in price. That's what raising the minimum wage usually does. Not that I begrudge minimum wagers a higher pay scale. Heck, my part-time job pays close to minimum wage. But clearly most small business owners don't cut their own profits to pay the higher wages. They either cut the number of employees they hire, trim back whatever perks they might offer or - usually - just raise their prices. And, ironically, low wage workers generally make up the bulk of people who patronizes places like McDonald's, Wal Mart, and other places likely to have minimum wage workers on staff. So they make a few extra dollars a week then turn around and spend them on higher prices at the places they go for food and household items. It's a vicious circle, really.
Originally Posted By mrichmondj So, how does that explain all the inflation over the past 10 years without a minimum wage hike?
Originally Posted By JohnS1 What inflation? I was under the impression that inflation has been very low over the past 10 years. Except for gas, what other products have gone significantly higher in price? Also, why are you saying that minimum wages have not changed? That can be a state by state change as well as a federal change, and many states are raising minimum wages all the time...which might account for some of the inflation you claim there has been.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer Don't worry, JohnS1. The price on your burger is much more dependent on raw material costs and transportation costs than they are on wages. Think about how many burgers and other products McDonald's is flinging to the masses every hour and then spread the increase in labor costs over that number. It's a tiny amount when you spread out the costs. It may cost McDonald's an additional fraction of a cent in labor to get that Big Mac into your pie hole, but that employee now has more money to spend elsewhere. And if they decide to spend it at McDonalds - which they might be able to afford more often - then that means more profits for McD's and more purchasing power for the employee. The vicious cycle you referring to is a myth. The economies of scale mean that even though the cost per unit goes up slightly, the number of units sold due to the increase in purchasing power goes up quite a bit.
Originally Posted By TomSawyer >>Except for gas, what other products have gone significantly higher in price?<< Health care Milk and dairy products Produce Energy other than gas (thanks Enron!) Park Hoppers Lumber Utilities
Originally Posted By JohnS1 "The vicious cycle you referring to is a myth" There are at least two schools of economic thought on this. As with most economic matters, two economists can argue for hours on the effect of higher wages on the economy. I still think that raising wages affects small businesses - maybe not corporate giants, but certainly smaller companies, and I think most of us would love to see the smaller mom and pop businesses survive out there, lest we be overwhelmed by the corporate giants like WalMart and McDonalds. (Which, by the way, I never go to)
Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy <WalMart and McDonalds. (Which, by the way, I never go to)> So where do you like to shop and eat fast food? (though if you cook or eat mostly at home that's certainly not a bad thing)
Originally Posted By mrichmondj <a href="http://inflationdata.com/Inflation/images/charts/Annual_Inflation/annual_inflation_chart.htm" target="_blank">http://inflationdata.com/Infla tion/images/charts/Annual_Inflation/annual_inflation_chart.htm</a> The link above shows the inflation rate in the U.S. for the past 15 years. Inflation exists, and contrary to the thought that minimum wage increases directly drive inflation, the price of everything has been on the rise at an accelerating pace during the past 5 years without any change to the minimum wage on a national level.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder I want to know why the price of gas jumped 12 cents overnight yesterday at my local Chevron.
