Trump's Labor Secretary, Brought to you by Carl's Jr.

[Wolfheart9]

Backed up by the power of government subsidies I suspect.

If I honestly believed you could just buy your way to prosperity I'd be all for raising the minimum wage.

Well since those wanting it raised have stated the conditions the current minimum wage is putting on people, have shown the raises before have not tanked the economy but in fact made it grow for many years after, and via basic math have shown that products will not skyrocket to compensate, and you have.. A guess? A hunch? Mystical fortune telling powers? Along with apparently no alternative but for the people making absolute crap to continue to depend on government aid (Which you seem to be against their spending which is just.. odd to me) I don't know what your source is, but you believe it will somehow destroy a bunch of jobs across the country. We're just going to have to agree to disagree on this one and go our separate ways.

[alexw]

You don't increase the number of jobs by mandating a pay increase above what those jobs are worth. Why would you even think such a thing?

But you are right about increasing demand among the workforce. Which of course makes it even harder for the low-skilled worker to find employment.

Of course you do. Jobs are a a function of demand. They always have and always will be.

For example assume the demand for new cars is 10 million units a year. The car companies employ 10,000 people to make those cars.

The next year we give the billionaire class a big 20% tax cut. The demand for new cars is still 10 million units per year, it doesn't rise. How many new employees will those companies hire?

Now assume instead the working masses get a pay rise and its paid for by squeezing the incomes of the billionaire class a bit. The demand for new cars in now 10.1 million units per year due to the rise in working man wages. How many new employees will those companies hire?


As for your second comment that makes no sense whatsoever. Rising demand ALWAYS increases demand for workers. Push up demand high enough and companies will be less picky about the workers they take on, meaning that they will take on the unskilled and start training them. Its what happens when the labor market gets really tight.

[cordrann]

Is there any logic behind this or does it just make you feel good?

Why are you talking about "logic" when he is talking about EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE? Do you not understand the meaning of words?

[araine]

Is there any logic behind this or does it just make you feel good?

It is just the facts i dont need them to feel good i just stick to the facts which is what true progressive do since it is all we need to win a debate

[Spectral]

When's the last time we had a Secretary of Labor that wasn't basically a party line hack? Robert Reich? It'd be nice if we could return to putting public policy experts in place instead of picking yes-men (and yes-women).

[Rukh]

“We believe in putting hot models in our commercials, because ugly ones don’t sell burgers,” said the CEO in a 2011 press release. “We target hungry guys, and we get young kids that want to be young hungry guys.” He continued defending the commercials as recently as last year, when he said: “I like our ads. I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis. I think it’s very American.”

I see why Trump picked him.

The fast food CEO that Donald Trump picked to be Labor Secretary was accused of beating his wife in 1980s divorce papers.

They share a lot in common!

[Spectral]

From @Rukh's post above

“We believe in putting hot models in our commercials, because ugly ones don’t sell burgers,” said the CEO in a 2011 press release. “We target hungry guys, and we get young kids that want to be young hungry guys.” He continued defending the commercials as recently as last year, when he said: “I like our ads. I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis. I think it’s very American.”

It strikes me as weird that he has to "defend" the commercials. What's the critique, that they need to provide equal opportunity for fat, unattractive women?

[Rukh]

From @Rukh's post above

It strikes me as weird that he has to "defend" the commercials. What's the critique, that they need to provide equal opportunity for fat, unattractive women?

I believe it was an overall question on using objectification of women to sell fast food or focusing on appealing to male sex drive to sell an unrelated product.

[Spectral]

I believe it was an overall question on using objectification of women to sell fast food or focusing on appealing to male sex drive to sell an unrelated product.

I genuinely do not understand why this bothers people.

[Xires]

In 2014, 77.2 million workers age 16 and older in the United States were paid at hourly rates, representing 58.7 percent of all wage and salary workers. Among those paid by the hour, 1.3 million earned exactly the prevailing federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. About 1.7 million had wages below the federal minimum. Together, these 3.0 million workers with wages at or below the federal minimum made up 3.9 percent of all hourly paid workers.

Granted only about 10% of workers are even able to be paid that low, most state's that aren't republican red have higher minimum wages.

The number of people working at their state's minimum wage, or within 10% of it, is close to about 60% of hourly workers.

Yeah there's lots of people making a nickel or dime above minimum wage.



42% of all workers, or around 80% of all hourly workers would receive a pay increase if the minimum wage went to $15
^ that's the important thing to consider when looking at who benefits from minimum wage increases.

Most red states are cheaper then the expensive snobby states in blue which is why the minimum wage tends to be lower in many.

[Elegiac]

When's the last time we had a Secretary of Labor that wasn't basically a party line hack? Robert Reich? It'd be nice if we could return to putting public policy experts in place instead of picking yes-men (and yes-women).

Please, you almost sound like you're supporting meritocracy. What an -absurd- notion.

[Masark]

Most red states are cheaper then the expensive snobby states in blue which is why the minimum wage tends to be lower in many.

Not cheaper enough for the current minimum wage to be adequate.

[God Save The King]

Most red states are cheaper then the expensive snobby states in blue which is why the minimum wage tends to be lower in many.

Agreed. Minimum wage should differ state to state and city to city within each state.