• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

District of Columbia approves $15/hour minimum wage

Then why ease it up over a period of years? DC is a tiny geographic area such that folks from DC can easily shop outside of it and workers from surrounding areas can easily commute to those jobs.

Because it's easier for businesses to handle gradual changes.
 
The facts show a correlation. 7 out of the last 9 times min wage has increased (nationally I haven't studied individual locations) unemployment went up.
the other two times it was flat.

Oh and while Washington state is doin ok with unemployment .. it actually had went down a little, the Seattle area where they did this same measure, unemployment has went up.

your use of the word WENT indicates your public school english teachers should be fired....the word you should have used is GONE.
Either that or drop the HAD and HAS....
 
While I am probably one of the few conservatives that support minimum wage however I see this blowing up in DC's face and being nothing more than a empty gesture. DC is a city that is basically a 6 x 10 mile wide city surrounded by other towns and cities within a mile or two of DC.Those businesses that don't want to pay a 15 dollar minimum wage are going to relocate outside of DC.Those surrounding cities and towns are probably laughing their ass off right now at DC and thanking DC for being stupid enough to pass a minimum wage increase. The people of DC should probably look into seeing if any of their councilmen and mayor were bribed by surrounding cities to pass that minimum wage increase.

They'll start penalizing business that move from the City to the surrounding areas. You will obey, or ELSE!
 
your use of the word WENT indicates your public school english teachers should be fired....the word you should have used is GONE.
Either that or drop the HAD and HAS....

I'm at work and busy Bill, so I made a minor grammatical mistake . Besides you recognized and understood what I was trying to say and the point I was trying to make was received either way yes?
 
They'll start penalizing business that move from the City to the surrounding areas. You will obey, or ELSE!

The surrounding areas are all in other states, it would be hard for DC to punish a business for relocating to Maryland or Virginia.
 
Doubling the labor cost for McDonalds, Burger King and other fast food restaurants will mean that they will no longer be affordable for many middle and lower income families. Something I'm sure the left sees as a positive effect... Me, not so much.

.
 
Doubling the labor cost for McDonalds, Burger King and other fast food restaurants will mean that they will no longer be affordable for many middle and lower income families. Something I'm sure the left sees as a positive effect... Me, not so much.

.

If the labor cost is doubled, what percentage increase in their food prices do you expect?
 
The surrounding areas are all in other states, it would be hard for DC to punish a business for relocating to Maryland or Virginia.

Not really, they can levy heavy "Move" taxes on businesses that attempt to close in the city and move to other areas. (You I hope, get that I'm mocking Trump with this right?)
 
If the labor cost is doubled, what percentage increase in their food prices do you expect?

None, the CEO's and big fat cats will see the light and take the pay cut, the investors, will feel good about helping he working man and accept lower rates of return on their investments.
 
I strongly support this. Good on them. I think they should raise it again - to $20, $25, $40 dollars an hour. We shouldn't let people slip into poverty. Since labor is immune to the laws of supply and demand, and economic reality is suspendable when we really super-duper want it to be, we can raise the price of low-value-added labor without reducing demand for it ad nauseum. :)

^ This is called a slippery slope fallacy.
 
None, the CEO's and big fat cats will see the light and take the pay cut, the investors, will feel good about helping he working man and accept lower rates of return on their investments.

They can go out of business and make room for someone else happy to make $4.5 million per year instead of $5 million per year.
 
They can go out of business and make room for someone else happy to make $4.5 million per year instead of $5 million per year.

And they very well could. Where are all those successful low ROI businesses?
 
Seattle passed their $15 minimum wage law in 2014 and has been raising it since.

The Seattle report from the BLS shows the unemployment rate rose over the past year from 4.3% to 4.6%, while the national rate dropped from 5.1% to 4.7% during the same period.


http://www.bls.gov/regions/west/summary/blssummary_seattle.pdf


'Seattle passed its $15 law in June 2014. Starting last April, it raised the minimum from $9.32 (the state minimum wage) to $10 for certain business, $11 for others.

Increases to $12, $12.50 and $13 an hour began taking effect for most employers this Jan. 1. The jumps will continue until the minimum hits the full $15 an hour in 2017 for some before it’s universal in 2019.

Yet even the early impact is harsh.

The AEI study, worked up from Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly surveys, shows that, between April and December last year, Seattle saw the biggest employment drop in any nine-month period since 2009 — a full year into the Great Recession.

The city unemployment rate rose a full percentage point.

Before the minimum-wage hikes begin, Seattle employment tracked the rest of the nation — slowly rising from the 2008-09 bottom. But it started to plunge last spring, as the new law began to kick in.'


How the $15 wage is already killing Seattle jobs | New York Post


People...you cannot raise wages with no increase in productivity and not end up costing jobs (all other things being equal).

I know it, business knows it and the CBO knows it.

http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/44995-MinimumWage.pdf
 
Last edited:
Seattle passed their $15 minimum wage law in 2014 and has been raising it since.

The Seattle report from the BLS shows the unemployment rate rose over the past year from 4.3% to 4.6%, while the national rate dropped from 5.0% to 4.7% during the same period.


http://www.bls.gov/regions/west/summary/blssummary_seattle.pdf


'Seattle passed its $15 law in June 2014. Starting last April, it raised the minimum from $9.32 (the state minimum wage) to $10 for certain business, $11 for others.

Increases to $12, $12.50 and $13 an hour began taking effect for most employers this Jan. 1. The jumps will continue until the minimum hits the full $15 an hour in 2017 for some before it’s universal in 2019.

Yet even the early impact is harsh.

The AEI study, worked up from Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly surveys, shows that, between April and December last year, Seattle saw the biggest employment drop in any nine-month period since 2009 — a full year into the Great Recession.

The city unemployment rate rose a full percentage point.

Before the minimum-wage hikes begin, Seattle employment tracked the rest of the nation — slowly rising from the 2008-09 bottom. But it started to plunge last spring, as the new law began to kick in.'


How the $15 wage is already killing Seattle jobs | New York Post


People...you cannot raise wages with no increase in productivity and not end up costing jobs (all other things being equal).

I know it, business knows it and the CBO knows it.

http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/44995-MinimumWage.pdf

Considering that MW has been increased lots of times in the past I don't think we need to worry all that much. Has there been unemployment that happened due to a MW increase? Of course, and then people figure out how to deal with it and unemployment drops back down again.

Personally I think that the Federal MW should be raised to $15 an hour. The reason being is that not everyone can go to college and advance themselves no matter how hard they try to do so. And even if by some miracle every single person in this country COULD go to college that still wouldn't guarantee them a job that is above minimum wage. Even if they don't take all those classes that so many consider useless. Fact of the matter is this country is turning into a service oriented country. And service oriented includes McD jobs. It's what happens when you start getting rid of manufacturing jobs due to over regulation and make free trade agreements with other countries where it benefits them more than it benefits us.

PS: I'll also admit to some bias here. When I worked at a casino as a technician fixing the machines when they broke down I often saw our cashiers treated like crap by people that came in to gamble because those people had degrees. One woman even had the audacity to outright state such. I also see how our janitors and the like are treated and frankly it disgusts me. If it wasn't for all those people that do those jobs that elitists look down upon this country would fall apart. Its about time they were treated with the respect that they are due.
 
Last edited:
Considering that MW has been increased lots of times in the past I don't think we need to worry all that much. Has there been unemployment that happened due to a MW increase? Of course, and then people figure out how to deal with it and unemployment drops back down again.

Personally I think that the Federal MW should be raised to $15 an hour. The reason being is that not everyone can go to college and advance themselves no matter how hard they try to do so. And even if by some miracle every single person in this country COULD go to college that still wouldn't guarantee them a job that is above minimum wage. Even if they don't take all those classes that so many consider useless. Fact of the matter is this country is turning into a service oriented country. And service oriented includes McD jobs. It's what happens when you start getting rid of manufacturing jobs due to over regulation and make free trade agreements with other countries where it benefits them more than it benefits us.

'Figure out' Figure out what? How a company keeps the same number of employees when their productivity stays the same yet their wages more then double? Which means either two things...raise the cost of the good/service you offer and hope the public purchases them at the same rate they did before (unlikely); start laying people off.

Myself and the CBO are going with the latter.

There is no other way around it (all things being equal).

It is virtually impossible to double your wages without ANY increase in productivity and not end up laying off people...the math just does not work any other realistic way.
 
'Figure out' Figure out what? How a company keeps the same number of employees when their productivity stays the same yet their wages more then double? Which means either two things...raise the cost of the good/service you offer and hope the public purchases them at the same rate they did before (unlikely); start laying people off.

Myself and the CBO are going with the latter.

There is no other way around it (all things being equal).

It is virtually impossible to double your wages without ANY increase in productivity and not end up laying off people...the math just does not work any other realistic way.

Figure out how to deal with the increased expenditure of course. And if a company can't then they end up going bust. And then some other company takes their place because they CAN figure out how to deal with the increased expenditure and hires people to meet their needs.

What you're essentially saying is that due to a MW increase unemployment goes up, and that's true. What you're refusing to acknowledge is that while unemployment may go up, it also eventually goes back down despite the MW increase still being in effect.
 
Figure out how to deal with the increased expenditure of course. And if a company can't then they end up going bust. And then some other company takes their place because they CAN figure out how to deal with the increased expenditure and hires people to meet their needs.
Figure out what? If a product costs more to make, then you HAVE to either pass on the added cost to the consumer or eat the added cost....there are no other options.
And why would the exact same number of people buy the exact same number or products if that product is no better but yet noticeably more expensive?
The answer is obvious - they would not.

What you're essentially saying is that due to a MW increase unemployment goes up, and that's true. What you're refusing to acknowledge is that while unemployment may go up, it also eventually goes back down despite the MW increase still being in effect.

I will acknowledge it when it happens. You keep assuming it will happen, but offer no proof.

Where has it happened that the MW has increased by over 100% over a short period and after the unemployment rose that it dropped back to where it was before the MW rise?


We know it has happened in Seattle and still the unemployment rate continues to rise....and they have not even risen the MW to $15 yet.
 
Seattle passed their $15 minimum wage law in 2014 and has been raising it since.

The Seattle report from the BLS shows the unemployment rate rose over the past year from 4.3% to 4.6%, while the national rate dropped from 5.1% to 4.7% during the same period.

Since the implication is that the minimum wage increase is responsible, one would expect a disproportionate impact on the leisure and hospitality sector since that's the sector with by far the largest proportion of minimum wage workers.

Your BLS link shows 5.1% growth in that sector over this time period. What are you suggesting that growth rate should've been (or would've been in the absence of the minimum wage hike)?
 
Since the implication is that the minimum wage increase is responsible, one would expect a disproportionate impact on the leisure and hospitality sector since that's the sector with by far the largest proportion of minimum wage workers.

Your BLS link shows 5.1% growth in that sector over this time period. What are you suggesting that growth rate should've been (or would've been in the absence of the minimum wage hike)?

I suggested nothing - other then what I said.

The fact remains that the $15 MW law in Seattle was implemented in 2014 and that over the last year, the Seattle UR (unemployment rate) has risen while the national UR has fallen.

The fact that the UR's are going in opposite directions says it all, imo.
 
They'll start penalizing business that move from the City to the surrounding areas. You will obey, or ELSE!
How can they penalize companies that move into neighboring cities that are in different states? I doubt those other cities would go along with DC in punishing businesses that move since businesses flooding to their states benefit them. I don't see DC will setting up check points to inspect vehicles for fast food wrappers in order to slap them with a huge tax.
 
If the labor cost is doubled, what percentage increase in their food prices do you expect?

None. Fire two members of the shift, install kiosks for ordering, and tell the other five to work more hours.
 
Back
Top Bottom