What are your thoughts on the "Fight for $15?"

It's a job killer. The government has no buisness in. First businesses that are doing well and can afford to hike up there wages great. But to make a buisness who does not have the resources, they are going to close or move. Unions like it because it hikes up everyone's wage. And businesses will look for qualified people to fill those jobs.

Someone making $15 an hour working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year will make $31,200, while experts say a two-income family with two kids needs $72,000 a year to be economically secure. However while there are better paying jobs there is the issue of skill sets required for better paying jobs. How labor rates are determined is a very basic economic principle - MRP=MRxMP.

A working example:

If the marginal revenue of the firm’s output is $1 per unit of output (let's say McDonalds make a buck on every meal it sales), and the marginal product of a worker is 12 units of output (this is how many meals they make and sale in an hour), should the firm hire another worker if the wage of the worker would be $8?

In this case, the marginal revenue product of the worker would be MRxMP=$1x12=$12. Since the cost of hiring the worker (the wage) would be $8, the marginal revenue product is greater than the price of the worker, so the additional worker should be hired. However if we change this to a $15 an hour the company would in essence be taking a $3 loss every hour for that employee. Additional an artificial floor for minimum wage is going to create a surplus in labor. This surplus is created by the limited number of people able to be hired at that rate. So people will get laid off pushing those individuals deeper into poverty while at the same time not getting a family completely out of poverty. That wage would need to be around $21 an hour. This is just not economically feasible for many business. There are reason other than greed at work here.

The problem is in conveying this to individuals that may lack educational understanding.

I have never thought of this as a career, unless you are in management. $15.00 is entirely to much. If you want more money go to trade school, college, etc.

If you look at pictures of the protesters, they aren't college aged kids. I started out working at 16 for the minimum wage of $1.80/hr. I worked in hospitals to get gas money and an occasional burger. Between that and going to war for summer vacations, it paid for college (first 2 at a JC, and the last 2 at UCLA). I went to school knowing I couldn't and shouldn't live my life at minimum wage.

Times have changed and there's a higher percentage of the workforce (those who will work) in "service jobs". That covers lower skilled food service, cleaning service, etc. jobs. We knew this pinch was coming. It came sooner primarily due to the "free stuff" mantra of the current Administration which creates a higher percentage of entitlement mentality, hence reliable voters. That mentality essentially says pay me if I don't work but you have to pay me much more if I do. And keep the free stuff coming because I'm entitled.

Bottom line, employers won't pay, hence won't hire, if they can't make a profit. It doesn't matter where you set the number. Is some bump warranted? Yes, because left unconstrained, there's plenty of unscrupulous employers who will take advantage of their workforce. Those that do anyways are the #1 target for unionization. Is $15 the right number? Nobody really knows but have strong opinions on what will or won't happen. That just means they'll be wrong because reality will be different. Sometimes it takes a while to see the unintended consequences occur. Obamacare really whacked my kids. They can't afford insurance so now will get penalized for it when before Obamacare they could afford it.

This makes my head hurt as it has macro-economic implications.

If they start getting my orders right and provide good service sure let them get paid for doing good work. But if they don't bring it down even lower. Fairs fair.

Entry level jobs for unskilled workers should NOT be making a living wage. Want to make a living wage, get a job that supports it, meaning training, schooling, work experience.
Flipping burgers and pushing buttons on a computer screen to get some obese person there Tripple whopper special is not should not be valued at such a high pay rate.

I think they should try applying for a job in Seattle and see if they can find one. They won't. And they will not for the reason that would be the case if this went nationwide: simple economics.
You see, at let's say Wendy's, they sell you a single quarter pound burger for $4. Of that $4, roughly $1 is food cost. Throw in about 15 cents for waste. Depending on the volume of the restaurant, utilities, rent, and equipment maintenance will cost about $1, less if the place is busier, maybe more if it is in a higher rent location like a mall or downtown. Labor cost targets for most fast food places is about 30% of gross sales. (actually 25-30%, but I'll use 30 as it is easy to figure. Wendy's happens to be 28%, bonus tier is 26%). That's another $1.20. That leaves $.80 for profit.
So if you raise wages by 50%, they make only $.20 a burger.
That leaves them with three options:
1. Raise the price per burger by $.60, or 15%. Everyone pays more. What that means in real terms is lower volume of sales, leading to option 2
2. Cut staff. With lower sales volume due to higher prices, the workers literally price themselves out of a job. Expect to see ordering kiosks and the "fast food" being much less fast.
3. Close restaurants in lower performing or higher rent locations. Where? Well, that would be rural and downtown locations, and some of the slower mall stores. Who does that hit? The very folks that the unions would have you believe they are helping. People with fewer options for employment.

Remember what happened when the Feds told fast food joints on military bases they had to pay $10.10 per hour? A bunch of locations closed within weeks. Several more announced plans to close. Not because they weren't busy. Because they could not compete with off-post fast food, due to the requirement that they pay more but charge at least the same as off-post locations. Convenience is overruled, and places close. And dependents can't get a part time job.

Economics isn't hard. It just requires you to think ahead more than one move.

Just say no... The jobs they are fighting for 15 were never meant to be life sustaining. They were way-points on a map to a career. They are fighting for the unemployment line, because McDonald's , et. al. aren't going to pay employees 15 when they can deploy kiosks and robots to service and cook.

Companies have a fiduciary responsibility to their investors to make a profit. What do those that think 15 is a great idea believe will happen to the prices of the goods those companies produce? They will not eat that added expense, it will be passed on to the consumer. Just like taxes, companies do not pay taxes, it's a hidden tax.

The government won't stop it because of sales taxes collected increase during inflationary (short term) periods and then decrease (long term) when those companies seek tax shelters outside of the country. Does anyone think they will deflate those costs when they become profitable?

And what does the government do when the long term short falls hit? They raise taxes hurting the people (consumers) even more because companies pass that overhead back the consumer continuing the vicious cycle.

Raising the minimum wage is a bad idea.

Hell i did not get 15 an hour until i got my degree i know they would like 15 but can we
afforde it at this time. I think it would throw are econemy more out of line.