Costco CEO: Raise the federal minimum wage to $10/hr - Polidicks

brb, applying at Costco

[QUOTE=S31-Syntax;39840653]As long as the cost of living stays exactly where it is... then I'm all for an increased minimum wage. Unfortunately thats what seems to accompany an increase, things get more expensive and as a result it completely negates the point of raising the wage in the first place.[/QUOTE] I keep hearing this, but experience shows otherwise. In Ontario cost of living kept climbing while wages were nearly frozen for a few years. Finally the government raised minimum wage by $2 (to $10.25) over just a few years. Cost of living increases didn't spike, nor did the rate of increase change after this. It stayed nearly the same. That's because the vast majority of cost of living is set to tie up as close as possible to the average family income, which in Canada is just a little under $50k a year. The real issue is that while cost of living has been going up 2-10% a year for the past 10 years, the average wage has increased at only 1.8-2% a year (or in some cases has been literally frozen). Increasing minimum wage was the only way the government could ensure they wouldn't suddenly have thousands on welfare (and it's not like the companies couldn't afford it, with Loblaws, Costco, Walmart, etc all posting record profits every year, [I]even during the 2008 crash[/I]).

[QUOTE=S31-Syntax;39840653]As long as the cost of living stays exactly where it is... then I'm all for an increased minimum wage. Unfortunately thats what seems to accompany an increase, things get more expensive and as a result it completely negates the point of raising the wage in the first place.[/QUOTE] labor costs don't make up even close to all of how much you pay for things so uh

[QUOTE=FullStreak12;39838052]What is Costco? Never seen one.[/QUOTE] Massive bulk store. They essentially have anything you'll want, and it's fucking cheap as hell. edit: oh apparently this post was on a different page, oops

[QUOTE=Chocolate.;39836935]Minimum wage in Alberta is about $10, even for part time workers. I can't believe some people in the USA live off of $7 wages[/QUOTE] Yeah, and the cost for bare minimum survival in the US has an income below $24,000

Suppose it would be pointless to bring up that they only advocate higher wages they can afford to drive smaller businesses who can't afford it out of business, huh? I also think it's funny that some people acknowledge a $20 minimum wage would cause unemployment but a $10 one would not, either that or they acknowledge it will cause [i]some[/i] unemployment, but it will be marginal compared to the gains by the already employed -- when our unemployment rate is already huge. I'll just be taking my 16x16 "disagree" images and leaving now.

[QUOTE=s0beit;39856167]Suppose it would be pointless to bring up that they only advocate higher wages they can afford to drive smaller businesses who can't afford it out of business, huh? I also think it's funny that some people acknowledge a $20 minimum wage would cause unemployment but a $10 one would not, either that or they acknowledge it will cause [i]some[/i] unemployment, but it will be marginal compared to the gains by the already employed -- when our unemployment rate is already huge. I'll just be taking my 16x16 "disagree" images and leaving now.[/QUOTE] The only true direct competitor of Costco that I'm aware of are the Wal-Mart family of stores. I'm sure Wal-Mart could afford to pay their employees more than minimum wage without that big of a hit on their bottom line.

I swear that most people's knowledge of waitress tips making up most of their salary comes from Reservoir Dogs.

I'm dying off of my wage. Though I still make $8.50/hr, it's barely enough. DO IT DO IT DO IT. RAISE IT, PLEASE.

Raising the minimum wage would directly lead to a higher unemployment rate among the least skilled people in the country. A business will only hire a person if they are able to generate enough wealth to make their wage worth while. Someone only becomes worth it when they have the skills necessary to create that wealth. If you raise the minimum amount an employer is able to pay you are, at the same time, raising the minimum skills necessary to make you worth it. 3% of people above 25 years old make minimum wage. ([URL]http://www.bls.gov/cps/minwage2011.htm[/URL]) In our society almost no one lives off of the minimum wage. Those that work for that wage tend to be young and also tend to not stay in those wages for long periods of time. Minimum wage is where people gain the skills necessary to make themselves worth more. Interestingly, minimum wage laws started in 1938 with the racist intent of stopping black construction workers in the south from undercutting white workers. "It would be comforting to believe that the government can simply decree higher pay for low-wage workers, without having to worry about unfortunate repercussions, but the preponderance of evidence indicates that labor is not exempt from the basic economic principles that artificially high prices cause surpluses. In the case of surplus human beings, that can be a special tragedy when they are already from low-income, unskilled, or minority backgrounds and urgently need to get on the job ladder, if they are ever to move up the ladder by acquiring experience and skills." - Thomas Sowell

[QUOTE=titopei;39837988]Wal-mart used to be similar to Costco until Sam Walton died and his greedy family took over.[/QUOTE] Well... That and Wal-Mart opened, 'Sam's Club' which is a wholesale as well... It is where I shop instead of Costco. [editline]10th March 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=Heeples;39857493]The only true direct competitor of Costco that I'm aware of are the Wal-Mart family of stores. I'm sure Wal-Mart could afford to pay their employees more than minimum wage without that big of a hit on their bottom line.[/QUOTE] The competitor is Sam's Club in a lot of places. They pay better than minimum wage as well. [url]http://www.glassdoor.com/Hourly-Pay/SAM-S-CLUB-Hourly-Pay-E7811.htm[/url]

Contrary to most merchants, Costco is siding with Obama in his call to increase the federal [url=http://personalmoneynetwork.com/moneyblog/2013/03/12/costco-minimum-wage/]minimum wage[/url] to $9 an hour. In fact, it would do the President one better, supporting a minimum hourly wage of $10.10. [highlight](User was permabanned for this post ("Gimmick/spammer" - verynicelady))[/highlight]

That's the minimum wage here in Washington state. :v: [editline]22nd August 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=Pat4ever;39838105]walmart is basically the poor man's Costco, if that makes any sense[/QUOTE] Winco is more like Costco, except they mostly sell Food. [url]http://facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1299065[/url]

[QUOTE=3noneTwo;39838273][B]$20 is not insane.[/B] It is only a few dollars more than what the minimum wage [I]would[/I] be, if it hadn't stopped to a *relative standstill in the late 1960s: [URL="http://thecontributor.com/40-americans-now-make-less-1968-minimum-wage"]$16.50 per hour[/URL] *edit: To clarify - $16.50 would adjust for both inflation (from 1968's $1.60/hour to present-day's $10.59) and the cost of living. To contrast: Australia has a minimum wage of $15.96 per hour (though the grand majority of Australian workers are paid $1+ higher than the bare minimum), and the Australian dollar is virtually on par with the American dollar. USA has [URL="http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/5601"]a lot to learn about fair work and pay[/URL]. Seriously, minimum wage in USA is absolutely bewildering. I don't understand why people aren't already protesting it.[/QUOTE] alright listen, i agree that the minimum wage needs to go up but in your math, you're forgetting a key problem that proves without a shadow of a doubt we can't do $20/hr the economy shit the bed a few years ago

[QUOTE=s0beit;39856167]Suppose it would be pointless to bring up that they only advocate higher wages they can afford to drive smaller businesses who can't afford it out of business, huh? I also think it's funny that some people acknowledge a $20 minimum wage would cause unemployment but a $10 one would not, either that or they acknowledge it will cause [i]some[/i] unemployment, but it will be marginal compared to the gains by the already employed -- when our unemployment rate is already huge. I'll just be taking my 16x16 "disagree" images and leaving now.[/QUOTE] I'm probably at risk of being laughed at here because this definitely isn't my area but I'd have thought small businesses would be able to adjust to this a lot easier than larger companies? If you're only employing 1-5 people(which is pretty much the norm for small businesses) then your adjusted expenses shouldn't be huge. If you're no longer making a profit off your product/service then you're severely under-charging. Larger companies would find it a huge expense if they're paying 1,00's of employees a few extra dollars. Would a higher minimum wage help to fix the wealth gap in any way though? Because let's be honest that gap is already ridiculous.

[QUOTE=Chocolate.;39836935]Minimum wage in Alberta is about $10, even for part time workers. I can't believe some people in the USA live off of $7 wages[/QUOTE] They don't. There is literally no where in the US where you could live off a single $7/hr wage.

[QUOTE=Banned?;41936982]They don't. There is literally no where in the US where you could live off a single $7/hr wage.[/QUOTE] It's awful where I live in CA. Minimum wage is like, 8 bucks but the cost of living is incredibly high.

Honestly makes me want to get a costco membership.

does no one realize this is a horribly bumped thread? anyone? guys [editline]23rd August 2013[/editline] 7th March 2013

[QUOTE=milkandcooki;41936986]It's awful where I live in CA. Minimum wage is like, 8 bucks but the cost of living is incredibly high.[/QUOTE] I remember a year ago I was working for a little over $8/hr as a pizza guy and they raised the wage to $8.50 and I though "Well...that changes [I]nothing[/I]."

[QUOTE=J!NX;41937002]does no one realize this is a horribly bumped thread? anyone? guys [editline]23rd August 2013[/editline] 7th March 2013[/QUOTE] i didn't until i saw the scout1 post and in any case nobody addressed the fact that the economy tanked in that $20 minimum bit, so I went ahead and took care of it

[QUOTE=J!NX;41937002]does no one realize this is a horribly bumped thread? anyone? guys [editline]23rd August 2013[/editline] 7th March 2013[/QUOTE] God fucking damn it. [editline]23rd August 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=Banned?;41937017]I remember a year ago I was working for a little over $8/hr as a pizza guy and they raised the wage to $8.50 and I though "Well...that changes [I]nothing[/I]."[/QUOTE] I got a .50 raise starting September 1st to $13.25

I thought i'd seen this thread before, goddamnit. Anyways, duh they wanna raise minimum wage to their level, it forces their competitors to spend more money.

[QUOTE=Chocolate.;39836935]Minimum wage in Alberta is about $10, even for part time workers. I can't believe some people in the USA live off of $7 wages[/QUOTE] Can barely do shit with $7 wages thank god I was able to get outta that but that took me like 2-3 years till I was able to get a raise.

Jesus Christ, I make less money working my full time job. :suicide:

[QUOTE=Meller Yeller;39836973]Unfortunately not every company is as profitable or as generous as this one. The minimum wage will have to get up to that point eventually, but we're not quite there yet. [/QUOTE] It should have been there 10 or 15 years ago.

Comments like this make me want to shop at Costco. That and cheap shit..

Because of Costco, I can now buy liquor at gas stations and Drug stores.

[QUOTE=Mac2468;39837028]We're miles behind most of the world when it comes to labor regulations.[/QUOTE] Miles behind the first-world, maybe.

[QUOTE=Chocolate.;39836935]Minimum wage in Alberta is about $10, even for part time workers. I can't believe some people in the USA live off of $7 wages[/QUOTE] I've worked for 7.25 since 2011