Washington's minimum wage, $15 per hour

[Truenorth]

The company I've been with for the past 15 years announced they are shutting down our factory in Seattle and moving to Reno Nevada. Been in Seattle since 1972.
Over 200 layoffs all at once, likely more to come. Most of them employed here for over 20 years.

It's not the rising cost of rent either, we own the building the factory is housed in.

The reason, quite simply is the $15 minimum wage in Seattle. The slim margin we maintain to be competitive against Asian produced products will disappear. The additional 2 million in wages and taxes needed to stay in Seattle would put the company out of business in approximately 2 years. It's a strategic move to save the business. Very solemn and sad state were all in.

It's not just our company either.
Many local manufacturing companies are already planning their move out of state to save their business.
We all know the current situation with restaurant's in King County, closing daily all over the city.
By mid summer, thousands of local jobs will leave the Seattle area for good. Never to return.

Thanks Kshama Sawant.
You've succeeded in destroying the lives of families all across King County just to push your political agenda.

 

[RicInOR]

re: post #20
http://www.alternet.org/robert-reic...-very-few-people-will-have-work-or-make-money

 

[Just Jim]

Ever think it might be a way to run population out of the state? No jobs will make people move out and that will be seen as a positive to those who have jobs... until their taxes go up to cover all the revenue lost from people leaving. It's called unintended consequences, it's going to be interesting how this all plays out.

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

I think they have a training wage for kids under age 18.

 

[Caveman Jim]

Yep, in my professional field of the telephone industry , we used to splice copper wire cables up to 3,000 pair. Yep, 6,000 wires per cable.
Fiber optics technology had made it possible for ONE SINGLE FIBER to handle the capacity of ONE 3,000 pair CABLE.

Yep, all you hipsters are rejoicing that you have the world at your fingertips, go ahead, but eventually YOU will be replaced by robots and your world will end....

 

[U201491]

Ever think it might be a way to run population out of the state? No jobs will make people move out and that will be seen as a positive to those who have jobs... until their taxes go up to cover all the revenue lost from people leaving. It's called unintended consequences, it's going to be interesting how this all plays out.

Oh my Lord, help us, they will all move to Oregon and screw this state up even more than it is already.
We must develop a plan to bring as many conservatives as possible here from all over the nation.
The lefties already have enough ot the Pacific Coast. Oregon needs to be made a buffer zone of just conservative minded people that actually "Like the USA"

 

[RicInOR]

Is it Vermont or New Hampshire in which they are trying to be a Libertarian state?
We should turn Oregon into the same.

Governor McCall's spirit
a "well known for a comment he made in a Jan. 12, 1971, interview with CBS News' Terry Drinkwater, in which he said:
" Come visit us again and again. This is a state of excitement. But for heaven's sake, don't come here to live.[11] "

 

[decklin]

Is it Vermont or New Hampshire in which they are trying to be a Libertarian state?
We should turn Oregon into the same.

Governor McCall's spirit
a "well known for a comment he made in a Jan. 12, 1971, interview with CBS News' Terry Drinkwater, in which he said:
" Come visit us again and again. This is a state of excitement. But for heaven's sake, don't come here to live.[11] "

View attachment 220199

NH.

 

[RicInOR]

http://theawesomer.com/net-cafe-refugees/312918/

 

[Liberty97045]

The law of supply and demand according to Anthony:

With commodities, it is generally accepted that that price controls do not work. Price floors (minimums) however well-intentioned, create surpluses while price ceilings (you can only charge so much) create shortages.

http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/PriceControls.html

If you look at workers as a commodity it seems that the principle holds true. A price floor (minimum wage) creates a surplus (more workers) who are on the market. Unlike corn, oil and other physical commodities, the supply side is not so easy to regulate. Instead of distorting the allocation or production of resources, real people are impacted.

A price floor for labor (minimum wage) reduces the number of jobs available. I think everyone would agree that if the minimum wage was eliminated or set back to $2/hr as is was when I started working that entry level jobs would be plentiful.

What is the real motivation behind this push for higher minimums?

Union contracts are often tied to the minimum wage so do we "follow the money"? http://www.wsj.com/…/SB100014241278873240489045783185410004…

Is it innocent and borne out of a genuine desire to help people?

Or is the motivation something more cynical like creating a class of people dependent on big government?

 

[shootnscoot]

I'd add my 2 cents, but this is "non-firearm political" so it will most likely be deleted to protect us from ourselves.

 

[Slobray]

Saw this on my news amalgamate site. I didn't read it mostly because its the Seattle Times and nothing in it is worth reading...

http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle...ge-dooming-seattle-restaurants-owners-say-no/

here is another one that just popped up. I didn't read it either


http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-no-the-minimum-wage-isnt-20150316-column.html

Why are you trying to subject us to this crap, especially if you won't even read it?

By the way, I didn't read them either.


Ray