Lets assume 15 dollars an hour happens

[Paranoid Android]

http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin.../#39cbe0d258bb

I love this part:

In truth, nearly 90% of McDonald’s locations are independently-owned by franchisees who aren’t making “millions” in profit. Rather, they keep roughly six cents of each sales dollar after paying for food, staff costs, rent and other expenses.

Yeah that "other expense" is McDonald's gouging them for a franchise fee. From a Business Insider article:

In addition to those costs, McDonald's charges a $45,000 franchisee fee and an ongoing monthly service fee equal to 4% of gross sales. Franchisees must also pay rent to the company, which is a percentage of monthly sales.

I also read (I think it was McDonalds) that franchises also will buy the land and make the franchisee build on their land and charge rent. The article gives this sad ideal of the "poor" franchisee barely making it.

The average McDonald's restaurant generates $2.5 million in sales annually, making it the second-highest-grossing chain in the US by sales per unit behind Chick-fil-A, according to QSR magazine.

Article: http://www.businessinsider.com/what-...onalds-2014-11

Forbes. A bastion of giving you the both sides of the argument.

[Malachi256]

"The average McDonald's restaurant generates $2.5 million in sales annually, making it the second-highest-grossing chain in the US by sales per unit behind Chick-fil-A, according to QSR magazine."
Forbes. A bastion of giving you the both sides of the argument.

What side were they leaving out from your quote? This is right from the Forbes article, "Let’s do the math: A typical franchisee sells about $2.6 million worth of burgers, fries, shakes and Happy Meals each year, leaving them with $156,000 in profit. "

Did you actually think that franchise owners were making multiple millions every year?

[wheresmywoft]

What side were they leaving out from your quote? This is right from the Forbes article, "Let’s do the math: A typical franchisee sells about $2.6 million worth of burgers, fries, shakes and Happy Meals each year, leaving them with $156,000 in profit. "

Did you actually think that franchise owners were making multiple millions every year?

I don't know about you, but when I read profit, I am reading that the owner has already been paid his salary and this is gravy on top of it.

[Paranoid Android]

What side were they leaving out from your quote? This is right from the Forbes article, "Let’s do the math: A typical franchisee sells about $2.6 million worth of burgers, fries, shakes and Happy Meals each year, leaving them with $156,000 in profit. "

Did you actually think that franchise owners were making multiple millions every year?

No. The article left out how McDonalds takes a nice cut of 4% gross. Plus the $156k is added to that the franchise owner is paying himself a salary plus business expenses. That profit plus salary is a nice take home from a franchise. Yes. McDonalds is very profitable and safe. I'm sure that is why they ask 4% gross.

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I don't know about you, but when I read profit, I am reading that the owner has already been paid his salary and this is gravy on top of it.

Thank you. Mind what he can write off for business expenses. While employees cannot live for rent and food. Which may lead to them asking for government benefits. You know. Taxpayers subsiding McDonalds.

[breadisfunny]

If you're working minimum wage as adult you really fucked up in life

so does that mean im a fuck up then?

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Sounds logical.

I still think its a dumb idea on a federal level however.

If the ultimate goal is to have it match some form of cost of living it really needs to be calculated on a county by county basis. As I've posted before, if you have a married couple making over $60,000 a year flipping burgers in a low-cost city (like mine in Augusta, GA) or some bo-dunk backwater place, that is retarded.

whats retarded is forcing the government to have to pick up the slack greedy corporations are too greedy to take responsibility for providing a living wage so people don't require food stamps just to survive.

[Invrlose]

If you guys actually believe mcdonalds can't afford to pay their workers a lot of money, then just LOL at you. When I was in high school working at costco 10 years ago the max wage was over $20 an hour, average hourly wage on a normal day with a good mix of senior and junior workers was at $19 an hour. Our labour costs were 4% of total costs. 4%

[hrugner]

If you guys actually believe mcdonalds can't afford to pay their workers a lot of money, then just LOL at you. When I was in high school working at costco 10 years ago the max wage was over $20 an hour, average hourly wage on a normal day with a good mix of senior and junior workers was at $19 an hour. Our labour costs were 4% of total costs. 4%

Costco also has a sales per employee ratio approximately ten times higher than McDonalds. It turns out warehouse style sales venues require fewer hands per sale than people who make individual burgers for each person. That employee is worth more to the company.

[Masark]

Forbes being an economically conservative publication, is their piece on this surprising at all?

It's not actually Forbes. Anything under "forbes.com/sites" is simply a blog hosted by Forbes, not anything approved by the Forbes editorial board.

[WernerCD]

Exactly how much would the price of a McDonald's hamburger cost?

This says prices will raise ~38%... White Castle says they expect to raise their prices by ~50%...

But you go ahead and think "minimum" skilled workers are going to be worth that money... Goodbye high-school kids turned career flippers and hello touch screen kiosks.

[Invrlose]

Costco also has a sales per employee ratio approximately ten times higher than McDonalds. It turns out warehouse style sales venues require fewer hands per sale than people who make individual burgers for each person. That employee is worth more to the company.

Sales to employee ratio is misleading, as markup for most items is only ~6%.

[Alydael]

It doesn't matter, these workers will all soon be replaced by robots. There are already bars using robot bartenders, by asking for 15$/hr for what is typically a kids job, they just insured that the robots will replace them sooner rather than later.

Mc Donald's is already on the ropes, they can't afford to raise prices or to "eat" this increase. Heck, Burger King had to start selling hot dogs to try and compete. Good luck with this.

[breadisfunny]

It doesn't matter, these workers will all soon be replaced by robots. There are already bars using robot bartenders, by asking for 15$/hr for what is typically a kids job, they just insured that the robots will replace them sooner rather than later.

Mc Donald's is already on the ropes, they can't afford to raise prices or to "eat" this increase. Heck, Burger King had to start selling hot dogs to try and compete. Good luck with this.

which brings up another problem. sooner or later society will be forced via automation to change it's economic model or face possible economic collapse. the way the u.s. is doing it right now isn't going to cut it in 50 years.

[Masark]

This says prices will raise ~38%... White Castle says they expect to raise their prices by ~50%...

So even right-wing sources agree with the fact that the increase in prices will be less than the increase in wages, just as me, Endus, etc. have been telling you lot.

[Alydael]

which brings up another problem. sooner or later society will be forced via automation to change it's economic model or face possible economic collapse. the way the u.s. is doing it right now isn't going to cut it in 50 years.

Well the problem is that the transition to automation has to be "managed" in such a way so that the people replaced by robots transition to a new career and not just transitioned to welfare. Usually, the government would help manage this transition. Since all our government knows how to do is stuff its pockets with lobbyists money, the transition wont be managed at all. The government will be "surprised" that this happened (who could have seen this comming?) The government will "need" to increase taxes to cover this "new and unpredictable" crisis. And it will certainly be the fault of the "other party" (whichever party is not currently in power). Then the sheeple will drink the kool aid and we will continue as we have for the last 100 years or so.

[Smauldy]

Prices would not have to go up for businesses to survive. However, businesses would want prices to go up so they can continue to make a bloody killing instead of a decent profit. America bends over backwards so businesses can thrive at the expense of the worker.

[breadisfunny]

Well the problem is that the transition to automation has to be "managed" in such a way so that the people replaced by robots transition to a new career and not just transitioned to welfare. Usually, the government would help manage this transition. Since all our government knows how to do is stuff its pockets with lobbyists money, the transition wont be managed at all. The government will be "surprised" that this happened (who could have seen this comming?) The government will "need" to increase taxes to cover this "new and unpredictable" crisis. And it will certainly be the fault of the "other party" (whichever party is not currently in power). Then the sheeple will drink the kool aid and we will continue as we have for the last 100 years or so.

no after automation the u.s. would slowly fade away into obscurity then. if you have nobody to tax because most of your nation is in poverty than your gonna run out of funds.

[Alydael]

no after automation the u.s. would slowly fade away into obscurity then. if you have nobody to tax because most of your nation is in poverty than your gonna run out of funds.

They ran out of funds a long time ago, why do you think we owe China trillions?

[Gryphoon]

That 15$ comes pretty close to the minimum wage we have over here.

It's way over minimum wage. It's more than nurses gets payed, even teachers.

[Deleted]

If you guys actually believe mcdonalds can't afford to pay their workers a lot of money, then just LOL at you. When I was in high school working at costco 10 years ago the max wage was over $20 an hour, average hourly wage on a normal day with a good mix of senior and junior workers was at $19 an hour. Our labour costs were 4% of total costs. 4%

15 dollars is below the minimum you get from mcdonalds in my country as an adult above 20ish..... And unless something has drastically changed in the last years in the US then our rent, food, internet etc is all way cheaper by as much as 30-40% even. Yet McDonalds is doing fine, well not really, other food chains with better food for the same money is making them lose popularity lately :P

Regardless, U.S wages compared to living expenses have always made me very confused and sad for your workforce, not a single person from my country except the truly desperate would accept the wages you guys have :P

So yeah, I really agree with you, U.S wages has not kept up with living expenses what so ever.

I mean, if you work 30-38 hours a week here, on one job, no matter the job, you will make enough money to live of and own a decent apartment and be able to go on vacation at least twice a year :P We also have a full week of paid vacation and 25 days total of vacation every year as a bare minimum...

So yeah, when it comes to minimum wage, the U.S are on third world levels atm, sadly.

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It's way over minimum wage. It's more than nurses gets payed, even teachers.

Well not every european country is well off, but 15$ is equivalent or less than minimum here as well depending on the job :P

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Well the problem is that the transition to automation has to be "managed" in such a way so that the people replaced by robots transition to a new career and not just transitioned to welfare. Usually, the government would help manage this transition. Since all our government knows how to do is stuff its pockets with lobbyists money, the transition wont be managed at all. The government will be "surprised" that this happened (who could have seen this comming?) The government will "need" to increase taxes to cover this "new and unpredictable" crisis. And it will certainly be the fault of the "other party" (whichever party is not currently in power). Then the sheeple will drink the kool aid and we will continue as we have for the last 100 years or so.

If we automate everything, then no they dont need to transfer... Literally software engineering and actual robotic engineers will be all that is needed, besides possibly teachers and healthcare officals depending on how far down the rabbithole we go with that stuff.

At some point it's time to realise that there are less jobs than there is people in need of them :P

[Captain N]

It's way over minimum wage. It's more than nurses gets payed, even teachers.

Nurses get paid based on specialization and by location. An Oncology Nurse in the city of Chicago in one of the university hospitals is going to break six figures while an ordinary RN is lucky to break $45,000 in the suburbs. Medical almost is always about locaton -- if your hospital is leading cutting age research into new treatments you're going to see higher wages for those working in that hospital.

I suppose the same could be said of teachers.

That being said -- The bottom rung of educators and medical personal are vastly being underpaid to begin with. Considering the education and skills required to become a nurse or a teacher it sort of makes the whole "education = better pay" argument redundant.