Wally World Comments

This is in response to the Wally World Comments:

Living Wage for me is a touchy subject as my economist brain kicks in and I immediatly think of the dreaded death spiral of inflation. Wages are the largest contributor to inflationary pressures. Higher than energy costs or raw material costs and so even the tiniest percent of increase causes amazingly powerful ripples througout the economy. Yes Whole Foods ROCKS b/c they have a livable wage (and buy wind energy), but I almost never shop there as I realized I was paying 30% more for the same EXACT vegies from Trader Joes and not receiving any added personal benefit (actually a net loss b/c of spending more $$) Also unlike by buying Wind Energy, paying someone a living wage doesn't create a net benefit at all (other than for the person working). The thing in a capitalistic society, there's market forces which determine what a wage should be.

Back after graduating college I was planning on entering the Peace Corps and so I started working at the local EMS store(Eastern Mountain Sports) making $7 an hour. It was above minimum wage, though way below what one would consider a liveable wage, yet at that time, I was able to get by fine. I could live at my dad's house, put gas in my car, buy a few sets of wheels for my road bikes and go out to eat once and a while with my girl at the time. Life was fine for me, I got by and had fun doing it. The $7 an hour wasn't great, I wish I was making more, but realisitically I was working a retail job which required not much skill compared to what I'm doing now for my living. Paying more for someone didn't equate to a much greater return when high school kids would easily jump at the chance to make $7 an hour and they would do just as good of a job.

Paying more for great employees is WORTH it in a lot of industries, but when it comes to low skilled people who wake up every day just thinking of how they can make money to pay for their cable TV bill, then something is wrong. I don't know about most of my peers, but living in South Philly I've met a lot of people my age who don't work and just hang out all day and night. They aren't druggies, or crazy people, they are just the unmotivated America. High School drop outs who still think living a life is playing playstation, listening to rap music, and living with their parents in a row house, even though they are 25 and don't contribute to society. I hate to say it, but I have little respect for these people and I don't feel bad when the only job they can get is mopping the floor at Wally World.

They Shouldn't get a livable wage as by paying more for unskilled labor, skilled labor would go up more than 100% as a dollar rise at the lowest level always ends up at the final end of production as more than a dollar rise in the final product. So it would in effect be a death spiral. I can find some publications to back up my tired rambling, but really, if you understood the liveable wage, it's more a feel good thing for companies to sell themselves to the mass public, than one that makes economic sense. As any rise at the bottom raises it for everyone else. SHIT, just look at the basic inflation measures of Milk, Eggs and Cheese and see how they've gone up the last 2 years. My gallon of Organic Skim milk is up 60 cents since I started buying it in 2004. That's an extra 60 cents a week, times say 50 (gotta include vacation). That's $30 a year on just Milk, do that on every thing you buy and eventually you will be priced out from buying things and that's JUST from ENERGY COSTS alone, which are a very small input compared to wages.

The minimum wage is a joke to, but don't get me started on that.

Comments? I'd love to hear them.

Danke!

-BC