Walmart employees to get raises

angelatc said:
"If we let.....?" Of course they aren't making more money. We have a glut of workers. Rising wages isn't a function of profit. It is a function of labor demand. Every time we get to peak employment, the immigrants flood in and drive wages back down.
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Exactly, it amazes me how few people understand how labor supply/demand affects wages.

I was arguing with a liberal one day who pulled out graphs that showed mostly flat wages going back to the 1970's. Of course since that time period, we have seen a sharp rise in not only immigrant workers, but of course also female workers entering the job force. IIRC the population is also outpacing number of jobs too. That is in no way conducive to rising wages (though of course more speicalized and in-demand fields have most definitely seen higher wages, but on a macro level, these factors contribute to driving them down).

That is not to blame employers, immigrants or women of course, but to realize that more competition for less available jobs means that you will get great applicants without having to pay more for them, and businesses must to do so to mitigate risk and survive.
 
TheGrinch said:
Exactly, it amazes me how few people understand how labor supply/demand affects wages.

I was arguing with a liberal one day who pulled out graphs that showed mostly flat wages going back to the 1970's. Of course since that time period, we have seen a sharp rise in not only immigrant workers, but of course also female workers entering the job force. IIRC the population is also outpacing number of jobs too. That is in no way conducive to rising wages (though of course more speicalized and in-demand fields have most definitely seen higher wages, but on a macro level, these factors contribute to driving them down).

That is not to blame employers, immigrants or women of course, but to realize that more competition for less available jobs means that you will get great applicants without having to pay more for them, and businesses must to do so to mitigate risk and survive.
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And you can't really compare wages without also comparing prices. Back then it would take a month's salary (or more) to buy a color TV. Today you can literally pick a working set up off the curb for free.

I am a big fan of import taxes. If we want jobs to come back, that is what would have to happen.
 
Why Is Walmart Raising Wages?


by Benn Steil and Dinah Walker

On February 19, Walmart announced that it was raising its minimum starting wage to $9 an hour. Since Walmart is famous for its ruthless cost management, this appeared to be a significant sign of a tightening labor market.

New York Times columnist and Nobel economist Paul Krugman certainly thought it was significant: “there will be spillovers,” he wrote. “Walmart is so big that its action will probably lead to raises for millions of workers employed by other companies.” But he rejected the idea that it said anything about the state of the labor market. Walmart, he said, was raising wages in spite of wage pressures that were insufficient to justify it.

So why are they doing it?

“Walmart’s move tells us,” he writes elliptically, “that low wages are a political choice, and we can and should choose differently.” Many paragraphs later he states that “Walmart is under political pressure.” The implication is that the company has bowed to it.

Curiously, Krugman offers no evidence against economics as an explanation, and no evidence in favor of politics. Yet his policy conclusions are sweeping: the government “engineering a significant pay raise for tens of millions of workers,” through “substantial” increases in minimum wages and increased collective bargaining rights, is “much easier than conventional wisdom suggests.”

We prefer to look at the data.

Retail-sector wages have risen significantly over the past year, and, as today’s Geo-Graphic shows, far faster than wages in the private sector as a whole: 2.8% vs. 1.6%.

In short, Walmart is just being Walmart: making a rational decision to attract and retain workers in a tightening retail labor market through greater compensation. Period.

​
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http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2015/03/why-is-walmart-raising-wages.html
 
angelatc said:
And you can't really compare wages without also comparing prices. Back then it would take a month's salary (or more) to buy a color TV. Today you can literally pick a working set up off the curb for free.
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And the TVs are better than the past too. This is why I call BS every time people cry about "inflation" and quality of life declining.
 
So because TVs and electronic toys, untouched by government meddling, are much cheaper, people are better off? The median income has increased by about 530% since 1971. The CPI by around 490%. So if their toys are much cheaper, food has roughly kept pace with income, and overall they aren't any better off, how could that be? Obviously other things they buy are much more expensive. Housing has increased almost twice as much as income. So has college tuition. Health care has increased by over 1,100%.

So you are really prospering. The government allows your toys to be cheaper to keep you entertained so you don't realize that you are fucked if your kid wants to go to college or if you need to go to the hospital. And don't even worry about "owning" a house unless you can survive 30 years of booms and busts to make your ever increasing payments.
 
The Gold Standard said:
So because TVs and electronic toys, untouched by government meddling, are much cheaper, people are better off? The median income has increased by about 530% since 1971. The CPI by around 490%. So if their toys are much cheaper, food has roughly kept pace with income, and overall they aren't any better off, how could that be? Obviously other things they buy are much more expensive. Housing has increased almost twice as much as income. So has college tuition. Health care has increased by over 1,100%.

So you are really prospering. The government allows your toys to be cheaper to keep you entertained so you don't realize that you are fucked if your kid wants to go to college or if you need to go to the hospital. And don't even worry about "owning" a house unless you can survive 30 years of booms and busts to make your ever increasing payments.
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Hey man, I don't think you get it. You not only have neat gadgets, but you can pick up these items for free right in the street.

You're in the land of the free, and the home of really cool stuff.
 
NorthCarolinaLiberty said:
Hey man, I don't think you get it. You not only have neat gadgets, but you can pick up these items for free right in the street.

You're in the land of the free, and the home of really cool stuff.
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Where do you find a better country? Do tell.
 
NorthCarolinaLiberty said:
Hunh. A big government advocate invoking the conservative mantra of America is the greatest country.

On the other hand, liberals are often quite indistinguishable from the neo-con.
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This makes no sense if you keep saying I'm a big government advocate, if you were open minded to believe I am not one, you might see something.

I agree liberals share views with neocons, and I'm against both. Again, I asked you a question. Can you answer?
 
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