California’s $20 per hour fast food wage. First semester grades are in . . .

Photo above - cleaning red snapper, dockside in Florida. This writer once held this job, at below minimum wage. And I have the knife skills to prove it.

Before assessing the accuracy of the link below, let’s assess the sources involved. TND (The National Desk) is a conservative outlet owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group. In some markets TND programming gets legitimate time slots, in others it’s simply replaced televangelism and paid programming (half hour infomercials for ProActive skin care and the George Foreman Grill). TND reports originate at Sinclair’s Washington DC headquarters and are syndicated to stations willing to make space for it.

That said, TND's $20 minimum wage analysis doesn’t appear to be bogus. TND engaged the University of California at Santa Cruz to study what happened after the new wage law went into effect. University researchers found evidence of more people going getting hired by some fast food jobs, but lower hours per worker – because overtime all but disappeared. Many restaurant locations responded by cutting shifts, reducing hours, and installing automation. (see link below)

I personally could live on $20 an hour, but only if it was 2,000 hours per year, plus tips. But not here in Tampa Florida, and certainly not in California. That’s trailer park wages. Been there and done that, but not recently. (Plant City, Florida).

California’s governor and legislature recognize that $20 an hour is not a living wage. That’s why they're pondering a new minimum of $30 an hour. Which would mean $60,000 a year if you actually got 2,000 hours. And If no more bots and kiosks are installed. If no more shifts are cut. If there are no more early closures of fast food locations on weeknights. Lot’s of ifs . . .

Fast food used to be an entry level job for teens. A training wage for someone with no employment history, while learning important life skills like showing up on time, not stealing food from the walk-in, or spitting on the a burger for a customer suspected of being a cop, a jew, a muslim, or an Asian. Mickey D’s was NEVER a career.

Other entry level teen jobs were things like lawn mowing. (A truck and trailer hauling 3 zero turn mowers from “Martinez Landscaping” are seen weekly on my block now, instead). Cleaning tagged deer after being checked through by game warden (Pennsylvania). Cleaning redfish and Mahi-mahi for party boat boat customers. Picking strawberries and tomatoes. Crab picking. Oyster shucking. These are all now adult jobs pretending to offer a living wage and long-term security.

Automation cannot be stopped. It’s decimating the “want fries with that?” workers. Uber drivers are watching self-driving cars edge into most lucrative routes. AI is expected to displace thousands of accountants, supply chain workers, data analysts, and other clerical workers.

I doubt if raising everyone’s minimum wage to $30 an hour is going to halt this trend. My mother was a secretary. A job that disappeared about 2 weeks after PCs became ubiquitous in the office.

I don’t know what the future holds for dropouts, GED holders, parolees, art history majors, stoners, and people chronically unable to show up to work on time. But their problems won’t be fixed by hiking the minimum wage another $10 bucks every election year. That only keeps career politicians in office.

I’m just saying . . .

California raised fast food pay to $20 an hour to help struggling employees, but now a new study claims workers are worse off

The National News Desk - Wikipedia

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/california-raised-fast-food-pay-to-20-an-hour-to-help-struggling-employees-but-now-a-new-study-claims-workers-are-worse-off/ar-AA1ZtTHF?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=69c6657778674f6ebc683dab3a85c61e&ei=16

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_National_News_Desk

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exchrist · 36-40

Raising minimum wage is not a solution. Cost of living increases proportionally with minimum wage. It’s an effort by government to have enough income tax revenue coming in in order to pay its bills. Those bills are increasing I trust you see the infinite loop! Regardless minimizing cost and inclusion of those costs in basic day to day routines is the best solutions. Also more public services public transportation public recreation facilities public parks public restrooms. Sharecropping(community gardens). These types of cost reduction and time filing strategies minimize cost to the individual while get an output that makes life have purpose. Minimum wage should be lowered so cost of good doesn’t go up. But the government needs the revenue. It’s a struggle!

PicturesOfABetterTomorrow · 41-45, M

@exchrist Claiming that minimum wage increases cost of living is something right wingers have claimed for decades but we literally have zero evidence to support that over decades of data collection.

But it does make justifying the rich paying poverty wages sound like it is just economics and nothing we can do about it.

The reality is if the take home of American workers was the same as it was in the 70s based on purchasing power each American would get another $1100 a month just to balance the scales.

The C suite executives and owners have been pocketing more and more of their workers wages for decades and now the same people are claiming increasing a poverty wage will somehow break them. Sure.

And of course there is the "reducing costs" AKA austerity bit where the people at the bottom have to behave more poor so the people at the top can present a prettier balance sheet.

And reducing costs and more public transport, recreation etc is directly contradictory.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@PicturesOfABetterTomorrow

so you believe inflation does not result from increased labor expense? is there a particular economist or textbook you can cite for this?

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@exchrist the solution to rising increase standards has always been improved education, skills and innovation.

America's standing in the world for educational attainment continues to fall. our substance abuse rates continue to rise. the odds aren't in our favor.

HoeBag · 51-55, F

@PicturesOfABetterTomorrow @SusanInFlorida

Basically a case where those on top claiming the reason for a screwed up economy is because of those on the bottom.

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@HoeBag top 10 reasons for a screwed up economy

1 - the expense to operate 800+ military bases around the world
2 - continuous inflation
3 - clever tax deductions only known by accountants for the rich
4 - a growing number of workers without diplomas, and who are unhireable for many jobs due to prison records
5 - a mismatch between public school curriculums and the needs of the job market
6 - our $38 trillion national debt
7 - zoning laws designed to keep affordable housing out of nice communities
8 - career politicians who are easily lobbied (bribed) to write laws for special interests
9 - too much substance abuse
10 - doordash and uber eats. just cook what's in your fridge, dammit!

HoeBag · 51-55, F

@SusanInFlorida Oh yeah, all true.

With inflation, that is mostly because the upper class wants to make sure the rest of us do not have much savings, or at least cheapen our money.

The problem with affordable housing - if they COULD be put in nice communities, the residents would lower the value. Understandably if someone is paying a mint to live in a nicer, low crime area, they don't riff raff stinking up the neighborhood. I do not live in a "nice" community myself but still understand why people would want out.

Doordash - oh yeah just one example, but goes to show how people waste money on completely stup*d cr4p.

Public schools - unfortunately, any sort of institutional learning place is not going to prepare students for what happens in the real world. Even in colleges, most of the classes have little or nothing to do with what the student's major is.

PicturesOfABetterTomorrow · 41-45, M

@HoeBag A very aristocratic attitude. Yikes.

The peasants demand more so just remove them from view instead of dealing with systemic issues.

I seem to remember that ended with guillotines last time.

HoeBag · 51-55, F

@PicturesOfABetterTomorrow People who are poor (I happen to be in that category) are one thing, but it is another when people ACT poor.

It is kind of like when there is talk about converting abandon buildings into apartments for the homeless. It SOUNDS like a good idea until you consider that a lot of druggies and what not would soon destroy it anyways.

If someone got themselves hooked on drugs and/or doesn't know how to function in society, we cannot blame that on systemic issues.

PicturesOfABetterTomorrow · 41-45, M

@HoeBag That doesn't even make sense. But both of you seem determined to blame the poor as if they have any power to impact anything. They don't.

And wow. Pull your head out of the 19th century. It is a good idea because it works.

What doesn't work is living in the 1800s and treating poverty and addiction like religious moral failing and ignoring science, data, and evidence for feelings based assumptions.

It does work when it is properly supported.

And again you love victim blaming. People who have zero power to influence anything. And yes addiction is absolutely the direct result of systemic issues. Again we have facts and evidence to prove that, not right wing conservative vibes and feelings based on 200 year old religious philosophy that has been debunked 100 years ago.

And it turns out it is kind of hard to get clean when you live under a bridge.

And fun fact most of the addicts from the opiate crisis were upper middle class from the burbs but like the Wall St coke heads they have the money to keep up the facade.