By Robert Janicki
Well, it looks like McDonald's has caved in to the pressures of the
liberal mob of labor activists. If you didn't think much of McDonald's
before, I can't imagine this will improve your outlook for Mickey D's.
"McDonald's will raise the wages it pays to its lowest-earning workers to $1 above
the local minimum wage, in the latest sign of wage pressures increasing
in the U.S.
The move, which Wall Street Journal reported first
Wednesday, will not apply to the fast-food chain's franchises, which
make up the vast majority of its business. Instead it will affect 90,000
workers at the 1,500 restaurants it owns in the U.S.
By lifting
the minimum wage it pays on July 1 and raising wages throughout the
payscale up to restaurant managers, McDonald's will raise the average
wage for its hourly employees to above $10 by the end of 2015, the
company said...."
Wages are determined by local labor wage markets. That's the
free market concept of capitalism. Minimum wage jobs were never
intended to support families and the vast majority of those working in
minimum wage jobs are single and living at home with a family income
above the average $50K per year. Meanwhile, liberal activists would
have everyone, mostly the economic illiterate that walk among us, to
believe that greedy business owners are using these minimum wage
earners as slaves, when in fact employers are paying what is necessary
to attract unskilled labor in their labor market area.
Minimum
wage jobs are entry level learning experience opportunities for
teenagers, college students and others under 25 years of age,
requiring virtually no experience and
minimum skills involving basic math and the ability to verbally
communicate with co-workers and customers beyond crude sign language
attempts like a chimp might make.
The
liberal line always brings in imaginary families of four with the
minimum wage earner over 40, as examples of the absolute necessity of
raising the minimum wage. This is the liberal's method to emotionally
shame opponents of artificially instituted minimum wage levels in order
to dominate the debate among low information types oblivious to the
economics labor wage markets.
What will
happen over time is predictable. Employers will hire less workers to
accomplish the same work product as before any minimum wage increase.
And, in an age of technology, employers will most certainly turn to
technology to replace workers. So, in the end, minimum wage increases
will result in a decrease in the numbers of those employed in these
unskilled jobs and an increase in automation technology to accomplish
the same work product.
Of course, those
engaged in automation technology innovation and development will be
handsomely rewarded for their years of education and experience in their
technical fields of endeavor, unlike hamburger flippers at McDonald's,
who are more interested in agitating and striking for higher minimum
wages in a shrinking labor market of their entry level jobs. So much
for developing experience in the wonderful world of work.
Perhaps they
can seek jobs as community activists in Occupy This or That movements.
Wait! Those jobs traditionally pay less than the prevailing labor wage
rate. Never mind.
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Rob Janicki is a retired educator, strong supporter of the 2nd amendment and all around good guy, as well as owner/operator of the website Wired Right and owes me 20 bucks.