New wage boost puts squeeze on teenage workers across Arizona
Oh, for the days when Arizona's high school students could roll pizza dough, sweep up sticky floors in theaters or scoop ice cream without worrying about ballot initiatives affecting their earning power.
Some Valley employers, especially those in the food industry, say payroll budgets have risen so much that they're cutting hours, instituting hiring freezes and laying off employees.
And teens are among the first workers to go.
Tom Kelly, owner of Mary Coyle Ol' Fashion Ice Cream Parlor in Phoenix, voted for the minimum-wage increase. But he said, "The new law has impacted us quite a bit."
It added about $2,000 per month in expenses. The store, which employs mostly teen workers, has cut back on hours and has not replaced a couple of workers who quit.
Way to go moron, you gave your workers a raise then cut back their hours.
Liliana Hernandez brings home noticeably more under the new law. The 18-year-old, who attends Metro Tech High School in Phoenix and works part time at Central High School, is saving the extra money, maybe to put towards buying a used car.
Hernandez said she deserves the raise just like any other Arizona worker even if she still lives with her parents.
No you don't deserve a raise if bleeding heart voters have to mandate you one. You deserve a raise when you work hard, improve your skills and make yourself more valuable to your employer.
Now why doesn't The Oregonian look at what happens to teenage employment after our annual wage hike? Looks like the crack reporters there won't do the story that doesn't fit with their political agenda.
8 comments:
The big "o" employs "crack" reporters, 'cause that's where their heads are. When economics is taught, socialism loses. No surprise, then, that facts suffer when lefties speak. Why won't the lefties call for a $50.00/hr. minimum wage? HMMMMMM? Their hypocrisy depends on so-called "victims" remaining victims......sheesh.
I saw this one coming. Raise the minimum wage and companies will start cutting back worker hours and raising prices on consumer products and services.
Companies are interested in the bottom line--profits. Unfortunately, cutting back on the workers hours degrades not only the employees (which who then will leave to find another job, wasting the comanies time to hire more people and retrain), but also degrades the quality of the products and services they provide to their customers or clients.
Whoever wrote the part of having the minimum wage increase every year forgot basic economics. In my freshman microeconomics class, we learned about the "wage-price spiral". When wages go artificially go up, prices naturally increase, causing inflation. The inflation causes wages to go up, increasing prices even more, etc., etc.
Minimum wage hikes hurt more than they help.
But your claim, bear, that "economics is taught, socialism loses" isn't entirely correct. Often times in Economics, pure capitalism is seen as a monster (as in the case of monopolies). The solutions to these problems tend to be socialistic in nature.
Regardless, no economic system is perfect.
Having been an employer I have a good idea what it cost to have an employee.
increasing the minimum wage not only increase the costs on the employer, but it also increases the cost of goods.
The only real winner in a minimum-wage increase in my opinion, is the government who stands to gain more from increased tax revenue. However, that gain is short-lived as the cost of living increases.
better solution in my opinion, is to lower taxes, which would put more money in the hands of the people.
Good point, Robin. I didn't think about the math that increasing minimum wage increases the witholdings on your taxes and the income tax revenue. As usual, lower taxes is a must.
Well, lets also not forget that raising the minimum wage also tends to be inflationary. Now if there is one entity that truly loves inflation, it's the government. Talk about win win all the way around. People pay more in taxes and get pushed into higher brackets as inflation rises. The biggest bonus of all? Government dept is now suddenly not such a big deal if its at a fixed or lagging rate.
The bottom line is in fact the bottom line. When labor costs go up, you either have to raise the price of your product or cut costs. Surprise surprise surprise, guess that means a lot of moving to China or laying off workers. Why this simple equation has to be re learned endlessly is beyond me.
That explains that 80 percent of the products that I buy is "made in China."
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