2
0

38 Percent Of Employers Will Lay Off Workers If Minimum Wage Is Hiked


 invite response                
2014 Mar 20, 1:04am   18,288 views  75 comments

by zzyzzx   ➕follow (5)   💰tip   ignore  

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2014/03/19/study-38-percent-of-employers-will-lay-off-workers-if-minimum-wage-is-hiked/

WASHINGTON (CBS DC) – A new study has found that 38 percent of employers will lay workers off if the minimum wage is increased as President Barack Obama has proposed.

Express Employment Professionals, the nation’s largest privately held staffing firm, surveyed 1,213 business owners and human resources professionals nationwide asking them if they would be impacted if the minimum wage was increased.

Roughly 54 percent of the study participants said they would reduce hiring and 65 percent said they would raise prices on their goods and services.

“There’s been a lot of debate and speculation about the impact of a minimum wage increase on job creation,” Bob Funk, CEO of Express, and a former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said in a press release. “At Express, we decided to go directly to the employers who make those decisions to find out what a minimum wage increase to $10.10 would mean for them specifically and for the economy in general.”

Nearly 213 of those surveyed pay their employees the current $7.25 minimum wage.

“As with any such policy change, there are upsides and downsides,” Funk explained in the press release. “But based on this survey, there’s no denying that raising the minimum wage will result in layoffs, reduced hiring, and higher prices at a large chunk of American companies. How severe will those effects be? That remains to be seen, but policymakers will certainly want to be mindful of this reality as they legislate.”

#politics

Comments 1 - 40 of 75       Last »     Search these comments

1   zzyzzx   2014 Mar 20, 1:05am  

Obligatory:

2   New Renter   2014 Mar 20, 1:23am  

What do you expect them to say?

"Sure, we're OK with our expenses going up!"

Remember these are the same people who perpetuate a STEM talent shortage when all the independent evidence screams we have a talent surplus.

3   edvard2   2014 Mar 20, 1:57am  

Let me ask a few questions before I make some contributions to this post.

1: Have you ever worked at a minimum wage job, and if so, for how long?
2: Do you think that the current minimum wage is at an acceptable level and that a family working at such jobs are doing well with those wages?

Now moving on.... I DID work at a number of minimum wage jobs all through high school, and then all through college and afterwards until I landed on my feet. My wages were unacceptably low and I was barely able to do anything other than pay the bills. Keep in mind that not only did I not even have a Girlfriend, but I was also sharing a 2 bedroom apartment with 4 other people. So I have some personal experience with what its actually like to work for those sorts of low wages.

So what is your suggestion? That we continuously and forever keep those wages low? How does that help anyone? Lastly, I could understand if raising wages really and truly hurt the bottom line of companies but at this point the nation's largest employers are all big box stores, and of them, if you look at the list of the world's wealthiest people, there are scores of them who own or operate those big box stores. And so these stores are in no way hurting and if anything have profited heavily partially as a result of paying their workers as little as possible.

The irony here is this: The GOP and conservatives seem so hell-bent on trying to discourage any mention of any raise in the minimum wage while at the same time going on and on about cutting taxes and other stuff they claim " Hurts the working and middle class". And yet the most simple solution of all is to put more money into the pockets of those working and middle class citizens and yet the GOP is basically saying no. To any of it. Its also ironic that the GOP claims to be the party whom understands business and suggests that its a party that would run the government like a business. Anyone with a brain can tell you that a company's most valuable asset is its employees. If you want to retain them you should treat them well, meaning you pay them a reasonable salary for their labor. So by the GOP stomping their feet over a raise in the minimum wage they're only helping to encourage the continuation of bad business practices.

4   bob2356   2014 Mar 20, 2:53am  

zzyzzx says

Roughly 54 percent of the study participants said they would reduce hiring and 65 percent said they would raise prices on their goods and services.

Only 20% surveyed actually pay minimum wage yet 38% will lay people off, 54% would reduce hiring, and 65% would raise prices. WTF? Something is very very wrong with these numbers. Why would anyone not affected by the raise be reducing hiring or raising prices. Do you actually ever think about this stuff or do you believe it's on the web it's true.

5   zzyzzx   2014 Mar 20, 3:07am  

edvard2 says

1: Have you ever worked at a minimum wage job, and if so, for how long?

2: Do you think that the current minimum wage is at an acceptable level and that a family working at such jobs are doing well with those wages?

1. Yes, for years as a teenager.
2. If you are trying to support a family on minimum wage, you are an irresponsible loser for having kids when you can't afford them. Not my problem.

6   Dan8267   2014 Mar 20, 3:08am  

zzyzzx says

38 Percent Of Employers Will Lay Off Workers If Minimum Wage Is Hiked

Then the products or services those employers produce are not worth producing according to the free market. It makes no sense to work at producing something that worth less than what it takes to live day-to-day. People are better off growing their own yams.

7   zzyzzx   2014 Mar 20, 3:08am  

edvard2 says

My wages were unacceptably low and I was barely able to do anything other than pay the bills.

I was able to save a bunch of money when I was working for the minimum wage. It was $3.35/hr then. I lived at home. That's why. Did it through college and when I graduated in 1988, I owned a new car that I paid for and had $30K in the bank. Anyone can do this.

8   Robber Baron Elite Scum   2014 Mar 20, 3:08am  

If you slaves demand even 1 more penny, I will cut your jobs, pensions and benefits.

Now go back to work and make me rich while I do nothing but watch my bank account and bark orders.

9   zzyzzx   2014 Mar 20, 3:10am  

edvard2 says

So what is your suggestion? That we continuously and forever keep those wages low?

Ban on immigration. Throw out illegal aliens. Import duties. Then the free market will raise domestic wages, most likely by quite a bit.

10   donjumpsuit   2014 Mar 20, 3:11am  

CALL EVERY BLUFF

11   donjumpsuit   2014 Mar 20, 3:11am  

While we are at it.

RAISE REAL ESTATE TAXES TO 10%

12   Vicente   2014 Mar 20, 3:14am  

This is horeshit, toddler grade IF YOU DON'T GIVE ME COOKIES FOR DINNER I'M HOLDING MY BREATH UNTIL I DIE!

Hiring tracks demands. If you lay off, it's because you either didn't need those people or you just want to shoot yourself in the foot.

13   Heraclitusstudent   2014 Mar 20, 3:23am  

Republicans argument is obvious and simplistic: raising wages = raising cost = discouraging employment.

What they never see is the other side of this:
Raising wages = increasing demand for their products.

Individually employers cannot account for this, because raising wages individually wouldn't impact demand substantially.
But if they all do it, then it's a large effect.

Therefore the poll is stupid.

14   HydroCabron   2014 Mar 20, 3:24am  

Not good.

Sounds as if 38% of employers are planning to cut staff anyway, and will blame either BenghaziCare or minimum wage hikes, even if neither applies to the workers in question.

15   edvard2   2014 Mar 20, 3:25am  

zzyzzx says

2. If you are trying to support a family on minimum wage, you are an irresponsible loser for having kids when you can't afford them. Not my problem.

That has nothing to do with this issue. That response is typical: "Its because EVERYONE is lazy." Such a lazy answer seeing as how there are plenty of people making 100k+ incomes who go bankrupt. Just because you make a minimum wage and have kids does not automatically mean you are irresponsible.

I suppose you failed to read the part of my response where the largest employers in the country are big box stores. So that being the case this is about economics that affects a HUGE swath of the country.zzyzzx says

I was able to save a bunch of money when I was working for the minimum wage. It was $3.35/hr then. I lived at home.

Oh... so you lived at home huh? That thought never crossed my mind... probably because I didn't want to be a burden on my parents. Oh- and I too managed to save money as well, even though I rented and had a car payment. Guess I win that pissing contest.zzyzzx says

Ban on immigration. Throw out illegal aliens. Import duties. Then the free market will raise domestic wages, most likely by quite a bit.

Its a good thing you're not in charge because if such a decision was made the US economy would nosedive instantly and we would be in a deep depression. You do realize that the US economy depends heavily on immigrants not just for the lower paying jobs but high tech and research type jobs... right? Either way, an answer like that informs me of a general lack of knowledge when it comes to the economy or financial affairs and hence why the rest of your responses were equally null and void of any meaningful facts.

16   zzyzzx   2014 Mar 20, 3:26am  

Heraclitusstudent says

Therefore the poll is stupid.

Not really. Previous minimum wage hikes have also caused job losses. It's a proven fact. The 38% part seems questionable, but it might be that the poll was skewed towards business that employ people in industries that don't pay much.

17   zzyzzx   2014 Mar 20, 3:27am  

edvard2 says

Its a good thing you're not in charge because if such a decision was made the US economy would nosedive instantly and we would be in a deep depression. You do realize that the US economy depends heavily on immigrants not just for the lower paying jobs but high tech and research type jobs... right

The STEM shortage is a myth used to depress wages for tech workers and nurses. That and there is no job that an American won't do. Everybody knows this.

18   zzyzzx   2014 Mar 20, 3:30am  

edvard2 says

Either way, an answer like that informs me of a general lack of knowledge when it comes to the economy or financial affairs and hence why the rest of your responses were equally null and void of any meaningful facts.

Your answers informs me of a general lack of knowledge when it comes to the economy or financial affairs and hence why the rest of your responses were equally null and void of any meaningful facts.

The STEM Crisis Is a Myth
http://spectrum.ieee.org/at-work/education/the-stem-crisis-is-a-myth

Report: There Are No Jobs Americans Won't Do
Native-born dominate virtually all occupations

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/report-there-are-no-jobs-americans-wont-do-205731341.html

19   Heraclitusstudent   2014 Mar 20, 3:33am  

We live in the world where the largest economic problem is the lack of end-demand.

And end-demand is low, because most people just don't have enough revenues.

There are more poor people while the rich have more money they don't spend. And corporations have record profits whiles wages are down in real terms.

Republicans traditional solutions: supply side economics, are obviously wrong headed in this situation.

20   zzyzzx   2014 Mar 20, 3:34am  

Heraclitusstudent says

And end-demand is low, because most people just don't have enough revenues.

There is plenty of demand in the US. It's just that this demand is being met with imported goods and immigrant labor instead of made in USA products and American born labor. I offer the normally long lines at WalMart as a fine example of this. The only time I can get in and out of a WalMart in a reasonable amount of time is when the Ravens are in a playoff game.

21   zzyzzx   2014 Mar 20, 3:36am  

Call it Crazy says

But, as this thread shows, it always reverts to a liberal vs. conservative fight, instead of looking at the overall big picture in the country..

It's because liberals can't possibly defend their job killing minimum wage hikes, so they attack the messenger or deny the truth.

22   edvard2   2014 Mar 20, 3:36am  

zzyzzx says

As opposed to liberals who will pretend that raising the minimum wage won't cause job losses?

No liberal I know has made such a claim. But putting pithy ideology aside for a moment, imagine that you suddenly got a decent raise. The choice of what to do with the money would include things like putting more into retirement, maybe buying more stuff, like a car, or going out to eat more, or whatnot. But with any of those outcomes the end result is an increase in money being cycled into the economy. With more spending on a whole comes more overall sales and with those increases comes the need to either hire more/produce more/invest more.

This is a simple concept that seldom gets discussed. If everyone makes a lower wage then the opposite happens: Consumers will spend less and thus less money goes into the economy in which to hire more, invest more, and so on. The current situation that we are now in is that the model used by many big box stores is actually economically destructive:

1: Workers are paid less and thus can afford less

2: In order to price items those workers can afford on less income cuts are made, meaning product is cheapened or production and manufacturing is offshored ( Big box stores are infamous for doing this)

3: The result is that US factories are shut, those workers will likely end up at lower income jobs.

4: Over time the overall working and middle class's total spending power diminishes and to compensate goods must be made cheaper still, which means more outsourcing and less jobs that pay decent incomes.

This model isn't sustainable. Furthermore, the result is that the overall country has less and less financial flexibility since the total amount of income the government can use to fund infrastructure falls over time.

This definitely goes back to a spending issue. Not government spending, but consumer spending. 75% of the US economy is based on consumer spending. By suggesting that wages should be kept forever low ensures a future of less and less spending power and therefor a greater reduction of funds in which to keep the country running as whole.

23   Heraclitusstudent   2014 Mar 20, 3:37am  

zzyzzx says

Previous minimum wage hikes have also caused job losses

When? What was the economic situation then?

How much lower is the minimum wage now than it was when you were working for $3.35/hr?

24   edvard2   2014 Mar 20, 3:37am  

zzyzzx says

Your answers informs me of a general lack of knowledge when it comes to the economy or financial affairs and hence why the rest of your responses were equally null and void of any meaningful facts.

oooohhh ohhhh! you just repeated what I said. Good for you. Still doesn't compensate for the obvious though. Learn a bit more about general economics and then get back to us.

25   zzyzzx   2014 Mar 20, 3:38am  

http://www.npr.org/2014/02/18/279216349/cbo-predicts-job-losses-from-minimum-wage-hike

CBO Predicts Job Losses From Minimum Wage Hike

The Congressional Budget Office is projecting job losses as a result of a proposed federal minimum wage increase. The raise to the hourly wage has been a cornerstone of President Obama's recent policy speeches. According to predictions by the non-partisan CBO, approximately 500,000 jobs would be lost by late 2016 due to such a law's implementation.

26   edvard2   2014 Mar 20, 3:41am  

zzyzzx says

There is plenty of demand in the US. It's just that this demand is being met with imported goods and immigrant labor instead of made in USA products and American born labor.

See my above comments. The reason that goods are so heavily imported is NOT because of immigrants in the US. In fact, exactly WHO do you think were making all of those shirts, clocks, radios, cars, typewriters, and so on back in the 1900's-1920's in the US? Almost ALL of them were immigrants. Hence again why the idea of banning immigration would be an outright disastrous idea.

27   zzyzzx   2014 Mar 20, 3:41am  

Article includes results of a study

http://www.epionline.org/minimum-wage/

5 Things You Didn’t Know About the Minimum Wage

For every 10 percent increase in the minimum wage, teen employment at small businesses is estimated to decrease by 4.6 to 9.0 percent.1
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, teen unemployment averaged a record high 24.3 percent in 2009.
For every 10 percent increase in the minimum wage, estimates show employment may fall as much as 6.6 percent for young black and Hispanic teens ages 16 to 19.2
African American teen unemployment averaged 39.5 percent in 2009, which is more than four times the national unemployment average and 26 percent higher than last year.
According to recent U.S. Census data, only 16.5 percent of minimum wage recipients are raising a family on the minimum wage. The remaining 83.5 percent are teenagers living with working parents, adults living alone, or dual-earner married couples.3
Raising the minimum wage is an ineffective tool to fight poverty. Programs like the Earned Income Tax Credit are far better at helping low-income Americans.4
The average annual family income of those earning the minimum wage in 2009 is over $48,000.2
One study found that only 10.5 percent of the beneficiaries of then-candidate Obama’s proposal to raise the minimum wage to $9.50 would come from poor families.4
Economists at the University of California-Irvine and the Federal Reserve reviewed the economic evidence and found a majority in support of “the view that minimum wages reduce the employment of low-wage workers.”5
27 million Americans lack even the basic skills needed to fill out a job application.6 Minimum wage increases make it more difficult to hire and train less-skilled individuals like this.

Between July 2007 and July 2009, the federal minimum wage increased by 40 percent. A new study from Ball State University found there were 550,000 fewer part-time jobs as a result of this increase.

Federal policy makers allowed the wage hike to go through despite decades of research showing that minimum wage hikes take a sledgehammer to the entry-level job market. As employers are faced with higher labor costs, they hire workers who have more work experience or higher skill levels. This leaves unskilled applicants without a job, and without the invisible curriculum that comes with a first job experience.

28   edvard2   2014 Mar 20, 3:41am  

zzyzzx says

Total Liberal Bullshit

Most people would probably quietly back out of a conversation once they've realized they have lost that debate...

29   zzyzzx   2014 Mar 20, 3:42am  

edvard2 says

See my above comments. The reason that goods are so heavily imported is NOT because of immigrants in the US. In fact, exactly WHO do you think were making all of those shirts, clocks, radios, cars, typewriters, and so on back in the 1900's-1920's in the US? Almost ALL of them were immigrants. Hence again why the idea of banning immigration would be an outright disastrous idea.

Excuse me for pointing out the obvious, but when you don't have enough jobs for your own people, the last thing you need to be doing in importing more people. It's called common sense!

30   edvard2   2014 Mar 20, 3:44am  

Here's reason why most of us should have read where the source of this information came from. Had we done so we wouldn't have wasted our time. Its a bunch of conservative nonsense.

"The Employment Policies Institute (EPI) is a fiscally conservative non-profit American think tank that conducts research on employment issues like minimum wage and health care. EPI was established in 1991[1] and has been described as "a nonprofit research group that studies issues of entry-level employment."[2]

According to Source Watch, EPI is one of several front groups created by Richard Berman of Berman and Company, a Washington, D.C. public relations organization that lobbies for the restaurant, hotel, alcoholic beverage and tobacco industries."

31   zzyzzx   2014 Mar 20, 3:45am  

http://www.epionline.org/study/r98/

The Effect of Minimum Wage Increases on Retail and Small Business Employment

32   edvard2   2014 Mar 20, 3:45am  

zzyzzx says

Excuse me for pointing out the obvious, but when you don't have enough jobs for your own people, the last thing you need to be doing in importing more people. It's called common sense!

I like common sense, but only when its applied to something that actually makes sense. Such as the fact that the US was founded by, populated by, and is still being run by and populated by immigrants. Had there been a policy to stop immigration then the US wouldn't exist.

33   zzyzzx   2014 Mar 20, 3:46am  

edvard2 says

Here's reason why most of us should have read where the source of this information came from. Had we done so we wouldn't have wasted our time. Its a bunch of conservative nonsense.

Like what I said above, when you can't handle the truth, you deny the results. Obama did the same thing when the CBO also claimed job losses. Of course now you will claim that the Congressional Budget Office is a conservative news source.

34   Heraclitusstudent   2014 Mar 20, 3:47am  

zzyzzx says

There is plenty of demand in the US. It's just that this demand is being met with imported goods and immigrant labor instead of made in USA products and American born labor.

Unemployment shows there is not enough demand in the US to create near full employment.

Economic activity is created when money circulates in the economy. Accumulation points like we have today with the rich, is what keeps the economy below its potential.

The trade deficit is a reflection of low demand in other countries and in the end the difference is paid with printed money.

35   edvard2   2014 Mar 20, 3:49am  

zzyzzx says

The Effect of Minimum Wage Increases on Retail and Small Business Employment

As mentioned before all of your sources are from a conservative leaning lobby whom works on behalf of the very businesses who don't want to have any raises in wages because it affects their bottom line. Hence its nothing more than a shill piece. You need to realize that lobbys are simply in existence to not help you, but instead help the special interests they serve and in the end that special interest is none other than the boards of the respective companies. So it has nothing to do with you, me, or anyone else except for them and only them. As such, by taking their bait and running with it under a flag of ideaology is merely doing precisely what lobby groups are made to do: Get people to really believe that what they say is for their benefit. Think again.

36   edvard2   2014 Mar 20, 3:50am  

zzyzzx says

Like what I said above, when you can't handle the truth, you deny the results. Obama did the same thing when the CBO also claimed job losses. Of course now you will claim that the Congressional Budget Office is a conservative news source.

I'm not the one taking the words of a lobby and claiming that they are the truth. As such, there isn't any truth to the assertions you've made and hence I feel fairly confident in my opinions here.

37   zzyzzx   2014 Mar 20, 3:52am  

edvard2 says

I'm not the one taking the words of a lobby and claiming that they are the truth. As such, there isn't any truth to the assertions you've made and hence I feel fairly confident in my opinions here.

I am not taking the words of Obama, and claiming that they are the truth, like you are.

38   zzyzzx   2014 Mar 20, 3:55am  

Why should I believe a "left-leading Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research"??? They are just another mouthpiece for Obama.

39   edvard2   2014 Mar 20, 3:58am  

zzyzzx says

Here is a third one, done in Maryland:

"A study commissioned by a pro-business group in Maryland warns that raising the state’s minimum wage could lead to thousands of job losses, increase the price of consumer goods and weaken the state’s competitive position."

So yup- same thing. Its a pro-business group. No need to read furtherzzyzzx says

I am not taking the words of Obama, and claiming that they are the truth, like you are.

This is getting to be hilarious. Guess when you can't win a debate, time to get goin' with comments like that?

But you know what? Let's take this a step further. So correct me if I am wrong, but you seem to be suggesting that minimum wages should not be raised, right? Ok, well if we're going to go with that logic, then it would be exactly no different than saying that NOBODY else should have their wages raised... ever. I can only assume that you would wholeheartedly agree with that logic since it matches the logic being applied to not raising minimum wages. As such, with inflation in fuel, food, consumer goods and housing prices, if nobody gets anymore wage increases or better yet- wages stay the same for years and years on end then that sure makes a whole hell of a lot of sense, don't it? Surely you must agree. If you don't then reckon you're gonna' have to change your stance on minimum wages too because its the same damned thing.

40   zzyzzx   2014 Mar 20, 4:00am  

edvard2 says

So correct me if I am wrong, but you seem to be suggesting that minimum wages should not be raised, right?

I am saying that if we had an immigration ban, and throw out illegals, and had import duties, there would be so many jobs in the US that wages would go up more than any minimum wage hike would provide.

Lookup something called "supply and demand".

Comments 1 - 40 of 75       Last »     Search these comments

Please register to comment:

api   best comments   contact   latest images   memes   one year ago   random   suggestions