Ontario passes $15 minimum wage

[JLM]

All the intelligent people have no problem understanding that. The real issue is trying to explain that to a two by four

Well, we've been watching the process for over 60 years while the minimum wage went from about 50 cents to $11, not only are the poor people poorer to day but they are also deeper in debt! But then I guess, to a "2 X 4" 60 years may as well be 500!

 

[JamesBondo]

if we had to pay them 100k per yr, then there would be no reason not to admit their superior intelect and skills. clearly it would be time to make them the boss.

 

[Hoid]

Tofino is an interesting case study. They are a tourist mecca whose biggest constraint is labor. They can't get enough people to work there because nobody cab afford to live there on $15 a hour. Growth is absolutely stalled until this problem gets fixed - and there's no way to fix it.

They are ****ed by their own success.

 

[Curious Cdn]

Tofino is an interesting case study. They are a tourist mecca whose biggest constraint is labor. They can't get enough people to work there because nobody cab afford to live there on $15 a hour. Growth is absolutely stalled until this problem gets fixed - and there's no way to fix it.

They are ****ed by their own success.

If the free market were truly at work, supply/demand would increase wages there until the demand for labour is met. Someone is messing with nature and this time, the workers get screwed by the lack of laissez faire.

 

[Hoid]

the problem with Tofino is that there is nowhere for the hamburger flippers and bathrooms washer outers to live.


They literally have to be bussed in and out because anything under a roof rents for big bucks. Lots of tourist places have similar problems but less acute because they have more nearby ghettos. The closest thing to a ghetto in Tofino would be Port Alberni.

 

[JamesBondo]

you have a problem with buses?

 

[pgs]

the problem with Tofino is that there is nowhere for the hamburger flippers and bathrooms washer outers to live.


They literally have to be bussed in and out because anything under a roof rents for big bucks. Lots of tourist places have similar problems but less acute because they have more nearby ghettos. The closest thing to a ghetto in Tofino would be Port Alberni.

Uclulet .

 

[Curious Cdn]

Uclulet .

Gesundheit.

 

[Twin_Moose]

Small businesses brace for Ontario wage hike

TORONTO - Ontario's new $14 per hour minimum wage does not take effect until Jan. 1, but Chris Stevens has already taken steps to ensure his restaurant can afford the added expense.

The co-owner of Kaboom Chicken in Toronto's Leslieville neighbourhood has raised menu prices in anticipation of the wage hike. He and his business partner also plan to reduce their staff's hours in the new year and take on more of the work themselves in order to save money.
New Year's Day marks the first of two scheduled hikes, with the second to take place on Jan. 1, 2019, when the minimum wage will go up to $15. After that, it will be adjusted to keep pace with inflation.
The Ontario government says the change will bring greater purchasing power for working families and a stronger economy overall, but many small business owners across the province are wondering how they will maintain profits in the face of increasing payroll costs.
"It's hard to see a way that you can lose that much of your revenue in a short period of time without having to revamp a lot of things — either letting staff go, doing a lot of the work yourself, raising prices," Stevens said.
"We believe the minimum wage should go up and people should make a living wage, however I think (the hike) puts the onus on small businesses," he added.
Dan Rishworth's Toronto bicycle shop, Enduro Sport, employs seven permanent, full-time staff members and hires several young people as seasonal workers each summer when business picks up. The minimum wage increase could result in the store hiring fewer summer workers from now on, Rishworth said.

"I think at this point we're not going to hire six summer people any longer, we're going to hire only three or four," he said.
The increase in payroll will also result in upper-level staff receiving fewer or smaller raises, Rishworth added.
"And I'm anticipating that (more senior) staff who are already getting $15 an hour are going to expect to get $17 or $18 or more because minimum wage is approaching $15," he said.
The Financial Accountability Office of Ontario — an independent watchdog agency that reports to the provincial legislature — has estimated that the minimum wage hikes could result in a loss of 50,000 jobs as employers struggle to keep up with staffing costs.
"Some businesses will attempt to reduce expenses by substituting minimum wage employees for higher paid, more productive workers or by increasing automation," the agency said in a report released in September. "This would lead to some job losses for minimum-wage workers.
But the higher minimum wage would also increase consumer spending, "stimulate economic activity and lead to job creation (that could) offset some of the loss in employment," it said.
Ontario Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn said last week that he doesn't believe the "doom and gloom" predictions about rising minimum wage hurting businesses or leading to unemployment.
"We've raised minimum wage 70 per cent since 2003 and we've seen increased employment right through that period," Flynn said at a news conference.
"I think we've proven we can work with small business. We are lowering the tax rate, we're lowering the burden on small business so we're asking them to play a part here," he added, referencing the Liberal government's elimination of the capital tax for businesses, and reduced income tax rates for small businesses.
"This money is going to go right back into Main Street, it's going to go right back into the mom and pop businesses that … are concerned," the minister added. "(But) it's going to take an adjustment...It's going to take a change."
In June, over 50 economists at universities across Canada co-wrote an open letter supporting Ontario's $15 minimum wage plan, in part, they said, because higher wages make for a stronger economy.
"As those with lower incomes spend more of what they earn than do those with higher incomes, raising the minimum wage could play a role in economic revival," the economists wrote.
"For years, we have heard that raising the minimum wage will kill jobs, raise prices and cause businesses to flee Ontario. This is fear-mongering that is out of line with the latest economic research."
But some small-business owners are skeptical they'll see a financial benefit.
Stevens said there is no guarantee the higher minimum wage will lead to more money being spent, particularly at restaurants and bars.
"What are you giving them more money for? Is it so that they can go to restaurants and spend money and have a nightlife, or to put food on the table and pay the rent?" he said.

Quote within Quote

"For years, we have heard that raising the minimum wage will kill jobs, raise prices and cause businesses to flee Ontario. This is fear-mongering that is out of line with the latest economic research."
But some small-business owners are skeptical they'll see a financial benefit.
Stevens said there is no guarantee the higher minimum wage will lead to more money being spent, particularly at restaurants and bars.
"What are you giving them more money for? Is it so that they can go to restaurants and spend money and have a nightlife, or to put food on the table and pay the rent?" he said.

 

[Hoid]

18 US states to raise min wage this year.


http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/366698-minimum-wage-hikes-set-for-new-year-in-18-states

The minimum wage in Washington state will rise to $11.50 an hour, up 50 cents and the highest statewide minimum in the nation. Over the next three years, the wage will rise to $13.50 an hour, thanks to a ballot measure approved by voters in 2016.

Mainers will see their minimum wages rise the most, from $9 an hour to $10 an hour, an 11 percent increase. Voters approved a ballot measure in 2016 that will eventually raise the wage to $12 an hour by 2020.

Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont will see their minimum wages increase by at least 50 cents an hour. Smaller increases take effect in Alaska, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Ohio and South Dakota.

 

[JLM]

Not yet, I just heard on the radio minutes ago...........$14, $15 in another year or so. What the idjuts don't understand is it won't help any workers!

 

[Walter]

Not yet, I just heard on the radio minutes ago...........$14, $15 in another year or so. What the idjuts don't understand is it won't help any workers!

It only helps those with jobs. It doesn't increase employment and probably increases unemployment.

 

[JLM]

It only helps those with jobs. It doesn't increase employment and probably increases unemployment.

It helps those with low paying jobs least of all - the cost of anything they produce goes up, their rents, utilities etc. all go up. I've watched this shit for 60 years, the working poor are still poor, the only difference is they are deeper in debt. If it helps anyone it would be the C.E.O. who can weasel a $5 raise when the wage slave gets $1.

 

[Hoid]

I guess that means if we cut min wage in half it would help poor people.

I never tire of the wisdom of the internet.

 

[DaSleeper]

Trudeau's wage and price control in '75 didn't work....
Why do the Liberals think that it will work now?

 

[Hoid]

Wage control is where you place a ceiling on wages. Likewise price control.

Minimum wage is where you establish a lowest allowable wage.

Does this help you out at all?

 

[JLM]

I guess that means if we cut min wage in half it would help poor people.

I never tire of the wisdom of the internet.

Probably not but it might slow down their destruction!

 

[Hoid]

Probably not but it might slow down their destruction!

And pigs might fly

 

[JLM]

Trudeau's wage and price control in '75 didn't work....
Why do the Liberals think that it will work now?

It's what invariably happens, Sleepy when Gov't tries to f**k with the economy.

wage control is where you place a ceiling on wages.

Minimum wage is where you establish a lowest allowable wage, which is also wage control

does this help you out at all?

 

[Danbones]

Someone appears to has trouble with the definition of the word "control".