My response to Rob Smith's $15 minimum wage video

      This is my response to Rob Smith's $15 minimum wage video.  The video can be found on YouTube, or you can watch it here:

 

 

 

Point one:  So the first point he makes is that jobs that only pay minimum wage, or any wage less then $15 a hour, are not jobs intended to be full time jobs that one could make a living doing.  This is so far beyond wrong that you wonder what country he even lives in and how he got that idea.  Once you count the doctors, lawyers and highly skilled workers, everyone else nationwide falls into this category.  The idea that every low paying job is just temporary is just silly.  Thousands of jobs pay less then $15 a hour and are not what anyone would call temporary.  The idea that you work a low paying job for a couple years and then somehow get a magic reward of a high paying job is just silly: it does not work that way.  

     Any job that pays less then $15 a hour does not allow for a person to have much of a living.  So how are they to work that job for years and live off that tiny amount of pay?  The answer is that they can't.  And how are they to even afford going to school, not to mention things like transportation and healthcare and even just basic food?  Yes some people have done it, but few do it without some sort of help from the government, groups, friends or family.  Not everyone, for example, has a place to live rent free for years.  And even if you do get a good education, there is nothing saying you will be able to even find a good job.  And it's not like there are enough jobs in any one area for everyone: if 50,000 people when to school to become electricians, there simply are not that many electrician jobs nationwide. 

 

Point Two: Automation.  For his second point he rolls out the really over said threat that companies will replace workers with automation.  Of course, this is a silly threat as companies have been doing this from the start of the industrial revolution.   Any big company that can will replace workers with automation, more so if they think it will line their own pockets with more money.  In that past fifty years we have seen lots of workplace automation, and it won't stop any time soon.  Even if the minimum wage never goes up again, companies will still get rid of workers in favor of automation.

     Though there is a 800 pound gorilla here that does not get mentioned often:automation can only do so much.  A kiosk computer robot can take your order and payment, but can't prepare your order.  Worker robots, that have even basic human skills, do not exist.    So that leaves thousands of jobs that automation can not do.  Sure, someday, maybe: but not now or with in the next couple years.  A lot of stores have self checkouts, and they work something like half the time.  The other half of the time the computer has a problem and a human worker has to come over and fix it. Miss scanned items at self checkouts is a huge problem, and that is just by accident.  When you add in outright theft the loss to a store is huge.  The final big problem is automated self checkouts can't handle things like alcoholic beverages.  No store would be foolish enough to trust the self check out to make sure minors were not buying alcohol .  

 

Point Three: The 'poor' small business owners  will automatically give all their employees less working hours and hire less people.  I mean, I guess some small businesses might try this out of spite?  Though it really has no chance of working.  If a business is open, it will need employees to do the work: that is very basic.   A business that is open from 9AM to 9PM needs employees there for all of those 12 hours.  So how can a can a business really cut back?  A business can cut back it's open hours, but not too much: they have to be open to make any money.  The local pizza shop that 'cuts' the hours for delivery drivers won't make any money on Friday  if they have no delivery drivers.  

     Also, just about every company has already reduced their employees down to even less then the bare minimum right now.   When was the last time you saw a business with more then enough employees to meet their needs?   It's not to common and has not been common for decades.  Go to any large store and you will be lucky to find even just two checkout lanes open.  The store has twelve checkout, and at best, maybe two will be open at any given time.  Even when you think the store would hire some more people, like a typical busy Saturday, you will likely see only two checkout lanes open.  

 

Point Four: Giving employees a minimum wage of $15 a hour is a "slippery slope".   That will lead to what exactly?  The only thing he mentions is maybe a law to mandate that employees get a 40 hour work week.  That does not sound like such a bad law, it fact it might already exist in one form or another.  Working full time is 40 hours a week.  So what might come after that?  More laws to aid workers?  Maybe a federal law mandating time off for ALL employees?  Maybe a federal law giving workers and everyone else total control over their credit score?  Any other of dozens of laws to stop employers from exploiting and abusing their employees?   

 

 

 

Point Five: A $15 a hour minimum wage would hurt small business more then big corporations.  I'm not so sure.  I think this will be the other way around.  The greedy, old big corporation types that are sitting way up in their ivory towers  are far less likely to have a positive reaction.  Full of hate and bile they will refuse to pay workers the $15 a hour minimum wage the only way they can: by closing locations or even going out of business.  The greedy big corporation types will pop open their golden parachute and take all their toys and go home.  This gives small, local run business a real opening to shine.  they can alter and change their whole business to make things happen in the right way.  Now, sure, the greedy small business owners might have to sell a yacht or take a pay cut.  As these greedy small business owners used, exploited and abused workers for years, few will cry any tears for them.  Many, however, will be able to tap into that great American spirit and figure out a way to have a small business that both pays a near living wage and also makes a profit.