Living wage

[polar bear]

Ikea recently implemented a higher minimum wage.  After just six month's it is so successful they are raising it again.  What they use as their floor minimum wage is the report from MIT of what a living wage is for each city Ikea is in.

In the face of conservatives saying raising minimum wages would put business' out of business or cause inflation, Ikea is proving the exact opposite.  The last time I checked, Ikea is a corporation and it's main interest is to make as much profit as possible.  If raising the minimum wage didn't help accomplish this my guess is they would not have done it.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/24...48804.html

previously I said wages should be tied to CPI but this seems to be more equitable.  I know NYC is more expensive to live in compared to Charlotte, NC

[Metis]

Guess I'll be buying more of my plastic crap from Ikea from now on. Proves Republicunt scaremongering is just a load of shit.

[abaris]

In the face of conservatives saying raising minimum wages would put business' out of business or cause inflation, Ikea is proving the exact opposite.  The last time I checked, Ikea is a corporation and it's main interest is to make as much profit as possible.  If raising the minimum wage didn't help accomplish this my guess is they would not have done it.

Yeah, the conservative argument is total bull. These international companies also have to abide by the rules of the states they are operating in. So, McDonalds for example has to respect food safety regulations as well as working conditions and wages being in accordance with the law of the land. That means, you don't get a crappy meal for 98 cents in my country, but you can also be sure that the workers aren't outright exploited and the burger isn't made out of some waste products of the meat industry.

Walmart for example withdrew from Germany after a very short period of time because they didn't make enough of a profit for their liking.

[Whateverist]

The minimum wage SHOULD be a living wage. Employers who go under that impose on all of us by way of social services. They also contribute to the kinds of crime that stem from poverty and desperation. Think I'll have to go shopping at IKEA again soon.

[FatAndFaithless]

I know almost nothing about economics besides some extremely basic themes, but isn't the conservative argument not that some companies can pay higher wages, but that if every company was mandated to pay the same wages as Ikea (a massive corporation) then it would/might hurt smaller businesses and those employees?

[polar bear]

I know almost nothing about economics besides some extremely basic themes, but isn't the conservative argument not that some companies can pay higher wages, but that if every company was mandated to pay the same wages as Ikea (a massive corporation) then it would/might hurt smaller businesses and those employees?

On the surface this seems like a valid point.

Depending on the company, you will have different results.  However in general, we are talking about companies both large and small that have kept wages below the Consumer Price Index.  Meaning that they are in no way sharing their profits proportionate to wages.

Labor cost's do not cause inflation as one would think.  Supply and demand drive inflation.  Inflation is measured by CPI so as profits rise so should wages proportionately.  Nobody is asking these companies to go out of business, rather we are saying they need to catch up to reality and if that means restructuring their business model so be it, it has been long overdue if this is the case.

[Dystopia]

C'mon - It isn't about companies and economic stability - It's because people at the top are not interested in allowing workers to rise and become smarter - A minimum wage that sucks is a decent way to keep people in check - You need to work 8h a week and can barely pay the rent - Why should you spend time wondering how much the system sucks and why 1% of the population who mostly inherits wealth from family members are right now laughing ?

[FatAndFaithless]

On the surface this seems like a valid point.

Depending on the company, you will have different results. However in general, we are talking about companies both large and small that have kept wages below the Consumer Price Index. Meaning that they are in no way sharing their profits proportionate to wages.

Labor cost's do not cause inflation as one would think. Supply and demand drive inflation. Inflation is measured by CPI so as profits rise so should wages proportionately. Nobody is asking these companies to go out of business, rather we are saying they need to catch up to reality and if that means restructuring their business model so be it, it has been long overdue if this is the case.

Like I said, I have very little economic knowledge so I can't reply specifically to anything you've brought up, I just thought the conservative position was a teeeeny bit more complex than 'all wage increases are bad for every company' (though I'm aware the rhetoric of the Right's more popular 'leaders' might make it seem that way). From what you're saying though, it depends on the business, so some smaller businesses might indeed experience trouble with a minimum wage that is raised to match something that a company like Ikea could survive?

[polar bear]

C'mon - It isn't about companies and economic stability - It's because people at the top are not interested in allowing workers to rise and become smarter - A minimum wage that sucks is a decent way to keep people in check - You need to work 8h a week and can barely pay the rent - Why should you spend time wondering how much the system sucks and why 1% of the population who mostly inherits wealth from family members are right now laughing ?

In part I agree with you, greed drives many of the top 1%

Why then do the the some of the other 99% vote republican?

[Metis]

C'mon - It isn't about companies and economic stability - It's because people at the top are not interested in allowing workers to rise and become smarter - A minimum wage that sucks is a decent way to keep people in check - You need to work 8h a week and can barely pay the rent - Why should you spend time wondering how much the system sucks and why 1% of the population who mostly inherits wealth from family members are right now laughing ?

In part I agree with you, greed drives many of the top 1%

Why then do the the some of the other 99% vote republican?

1. A sense of superiority. I know many university students who came from low income backgrounds (especially those in the fields of medicine and education) vote conservative as a means of stating their new perceived higher class. Which is total bull.

2. "Der laaaawd asks that we stand against this Caaaamunist abomination!" (a.k.a: Rich people tell me who to vote for).

3. Stupidity.