BC Minimum Wage Increase Offcially Announced This Morning

You can’t pay everyone that way, obviously. That’s why there are “minimum” wage laws.

Matt.

Not really though.  There are minimum wage laws to make politicians look good.  

When 94% of the workers make more than minimum, there is no good reason to pay the least productive workers an inflated wage.

My neighbour's special needs kid will never be employed if I have to pay $15/hour for his limited productivity.  At $9 I could have paid it for 20 hours a week.

The minimum wage laws are to ensure everyone (who isn’t exempt) gets the minimum wage, which is why you can’t pay your dishwasher per rack washed is what I meant.

Matt

You certainly can though.  You can pay 100% commission, per rack, as long as the wage never falls below the minimum hourly wage in that pay period.  In that case, you pay the higher of the two.

I say get rid of the "Minimum Wage" and replace it with a government regulated "Living Wage" that goes up or down depending on the economy. That way even people who have entry level jobs can have a quality of life with an income that allows them to feel "Normal" and not poor. Last I checked the professional people came up with a figure of $21 dollars an hour as the "Living Wage" in Victoria that people need to make to not have to financially struggle.

I wonder how many of the 85K people who lost their jobs last month are still thinking that the minimum wage hike in Ontario was a good idea?

http://business.fina...line-since-2009

Look, every single economist agrees that the hike creates layoffs.  That science is settled.  Nobody should be surprised.

 

• Ontario recorded the biggest decline last month, down 51,000 — all part-time. It was the largest monthly drop for the province since 2009.

 

Edited by VicHockeyFan, 09 February 2018 - 07:37 AM.

Look, every single economist agrees that the hike creates layoffs.  That science is settled.  Nobody should be surprised.

Well it should help take the pressure off of employers finding staff in Victoria when we see the same thing here.

I guess the spin the NDP can use is that all of these people can now use their free time to get full time jobs.

Edited by spanky123, 09 February 2018 - 07:40 AM.

Look, every single economist agrees that the hike creates layoffs.  That science is settled.  Nobody should be surprised.

What should be even more worrisome is that the number of jobs lost in Ontario in January alone is almost equal what economists were forecasting for the full year until the next hike kicks in. This could wind up being far worse then anyone expected.

^ I think you'll find most employers are fine with paying more for entry level jobs as long as the increases are stepped at a reasonable pace. 

What I fear is the timing of the BC announcement as it coincides with the summer season when lots of young kids should be looking for work and now employers are having to come up with 10% more not including payroll taxes etc.

We may find this summer more focus on less part time and more full time employee hiring as its less costly to train 1 person than the revolving door of part timers.

Can anyone point to any country where these increases have netted in less unemployment, less welfare, less homelessness and an improved economy etc?  

I'm concerned that they are looking at eliminating the liquor server wage.  As it is, males are tremendously underrepresented in the serving-of-food industry.  The wage gap in restaurants is real.  Front-end female servers often make $10 or $15 per hour more than their male counterparts in the back end.  Where is the outrage?  Where is the program to address the gender differential?  We need way more women back in the kitchen and more guys serving up the fancy drinks.

Edited by VicHockeyFan, 09 February 2018 - 08:47 AM.

the reality is everyone will be getting a raise.  The person making 16/hr is not going to work for minimum wage so they will want $3-4/hr more.  The person making $25 will want another $4/hr, the person at $35 will want another..............................

And that subway sandwich is going to increase in price, the groceries at the store, the person painting your house, your accountant............

In the end it will change nothing every body will make more money and everything will cost more.  Soon the person making the new minimum wage will complain is not enough and the cycle will start all over again

 We need way more women back in the kitchen and more guys serving up the fancy drinks.

Because women look better in short skirts and heels.  Men are usually the ones spending money and they tip more seeing a pretty lady serve those drinks

Sorry, not trying to be sexist, but it is reality

Out of our 30 or so staff, only a few make minimum wage and they are people who choose to be part time or students, so their priorities are elsewhere anyways.

But how many are making more than $15.20?

the reality is everyone will be getting a raise.  The person making 16/hr is not going to work for minimum wage so they will want $3-4/hr more.  The person making $25 will want another $4/hr, the person at $35 will want another..............................

 

And that subway sandwich is going to increase in price, the groceries at the store, the person painting your house, your accountant............

 

In the end it will change nothing every body will make more money and everything will cost more.  Soon the person making the new minimum wage will complain is not enough and the cycle will start all over again

Minimum wage hikes, always:

1) Are inflationary

2) Result in higher unemployment 

These are established, well documented, economic facts. 

the reality is everyone will be getting a raise.  The person making 16/hr is not going to work for minimum wage so they will want $3-4/hr more.  The person making $25 will want another $4/hr, the person at $35 will want another..............................

 

And that subway sandwich is going to increase in price, the groceries at the store, the person painting your house, your accountant............

 

In the end it will change nothing every body will make more money and everything will cost more.  Soon the person making the new minimum wage will complain is not enough and the cycle will start all over again

I wouldn't count on anyone currently being paid more than $15.20 an hour automatically getting a big raise.

They might if the increase in minimum wage was due to market factors but it is not. What may in fact happen is that higher wage earners have to subsidize the lower wage ones such that the business doesn't incur higher overall costs. I am not suggesting that people will take a pay cut, just that their own wage increases may now be lower than expected. Of course if the business decides to cut benefits or hours to compensate then everyone will lose.

The really stupid thing is that all BC had to do was wait 1 day for the employment report before they made their own final decision. On the other hand perhaps they knew what was coming and decided to rush out knowing that there would be blowback otherwise.

Edited by spanky123, 09 February 2018 - 09:08 AM.

I wonder how many of the 85K people who lost their jobs last month are still thinking that the minimum wage hike in Ontario was a good idea?

 

http://business.fina...line-since-2009

I wonder how many of those 55,000 part timers were a simple result of it being after the Christmas buying season. January is notoriously slow for lots of small businesses....lets see if it holds true for the next cycle

Edited by VicHockeyFan, 09 February 2018 - 10:01 AM.

If a business can't afford to pay a living wage, it's everybody else's fault. But if a person can't afford to live, it's their own fault, right?

It's true that the CYCLE will just continue to repeat itself, as long as the "Minimum Wage"  exists instead of a "Living Wage"

In 1975 the minimum wage in BC was $1.50/per hour. Today it's $11.35. So it's only  gone up $9.85 cents in 43 years!.......I mean that is horrible.

Point is, it doesn't matter how much they raise the M.W.  our society will always be the same. Poor, middle class, upper class, as long as the M.W. exists.