Leaving for Las Vegas: California's minimum wage law leaves businesses no choice

[Independent voter]

LA Times wants me to white list the site to look at the article so I can't cut and paste it. Minimum wage is increasing in California to $10.50 an hour from $7.25. Many business are moving out of state, some to neighboring Nevada where minimum wage is still at $7.25.

Some cities in California went even further raising minimum wage to $15 but I think that wage doesn't kick in until 10 years from now or something.

As a citizen of Nevada I welcome poor working people to my state. Don't go in the casinos even if they promise you free food.





https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/6bcd51a...-vegas%3A.html

California’s minimum wage jumped to $10.50 an hour at the start of the new year. As the founder of a small fashion design house and clothing manufacturer in San Fernando, I’m not a disinterested observer in this change.

After two years in business, my company now has more than 150 clients from all over the world and 18 employees. It’s what’s known as a cut-and-sew house, part of the garment industry that generates about $17 billion in annual economic activity in Los Angeles County, including $6.9 billion in payroll, according to a 2016 industry report by the California Fashion Assn. This is the epicenter of apparel design and manufacturing in the United States; domestically manufactured clothing is more expensive, but retail and wholesale customers who care about quality and working conditions have historically been willing to pay for it. Los Angeles County used to have more than 5,000 apparel factories; today, my company is one of roughly 2,000 — and many (e.g. American Apparel) are looking for a way out.

[Dezerte]

Better workers unions might have been better.

In Sweden there is no minimum wage law, but since almost all workers are unionized the unions have considerable bargaining power. The lowest wages around here are still considerably higher than in the US, so it's really unfortunate that workers unions in the US seem to have so many issues.

[sheggaro]

Good for people in Nevada.

[Daelak]

Good for people in Nevada.

How is it good? Their welfare program budgets will bloat.

[Jakisuaki]

How is it good? Their welfare program budgets will bloat.

Dude, he has Reagan as his profile picture, do you really want to bother?

[Daelak]

Dude, he has Reagan as his profile picture, do you really want to bother?

Oh right, what was I thinking. Adulation over a president that announced his candidacy in a small Mississippi town where 3 civil rights workers were lynched really gets to those PC liberals.

[seventysix]

I'm Con fused by this post...minimum wage here has not been 7.25 for YEARS. Last year it was 10$ where are these facts coming from...anyways it's $11.00 and slowly increasing. By the time it's 15 cost of living will probably be on par with that so boohoo.

[ItachiZaku]

They have 18 employees and are worried about the min wage hike... they must be a very shit business.

[Endus]

This is basically no different from the "the $15 min wage in Seattle is forcing restaurants to close" garbage article from a while back, that turned out to be entirely based on lies and misrepresentation; most of the restaurants named in the article came out after to clearly state that the reasons they closed had NOTHING to do with the higher wage floor.

Also, he's just wrong; he claims he "can't" raise prices to offset the wage increase, because "customers won't pay it", but he can't know that. His competitors are going to have to similarly increase prices. If his shop is just 18 people, it's a small niche business anyway, so I imagine he's going to have a strong enough support from those who like his clothes to absorb a small price increase. This is how inflation translates from products to wages and back to products again; it's a normal part of the economic system. Being unable to adapt to a minimum wage hike means your business model is deeply flawed, and you've essentially been exploiting a too-low wage.

[oxymoronic]

I'm Con fused by this post...minimum wage here has not been 7.25 for YEARS. Last year it was 10$ where are these facts coming from...anyways it's $11.00 and slowly increasing. By the time it's 15 cost of living will probably be on par with that so boohoo.

also NEVADA's min wage is $8.25 and good luck trying to find decent workers at that rate.

we have casinos you can work at with absolutely no job skills/experience/schooling that pay $14hr to start. hell being a maid pays $16/hr at a lot of the places here. i have bartender friends making $18/hr and then TIPS. cocktail waitresses making $12/hr and then tips. hell even mcdonalds pays $9/hr.

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Oh right, what was I thinking. Adulation over a president that announced his candidacy in a small Mississippi town where 3 civil rights workers were lynched really gets to those PC liberals.

you're a funny guy

non stop laughs from your posts

[Holofernes]

if someone really runs a business with 18 people, he wont have time for 20k posts on a gaming online forum, guys.... lol.

[Theodarzna]

What can be expected? There are few things more disloyal than business people.

[oxymoronic]

if someone really runs a business with 18 people, he wont have time for 20k posts on a gaming online forum, guys.... lol.

depends if he hires a full time manager. most cant afford that, especially with only 18 workers.

[Annoying]

They have 18 employees and are worried about the min wage hike... they must be a very shit business.

Yeah, any business who can't handle a $1.00/hr raise in employment costs must be running real slim on funds.

This is basically no different from the "the $15 min wage in Seattle is forcing restaurants to close" garbage article from a while back, that turned out to be entirely based on lies and misrepresentation; most of the restaurants named in the article came out after to clearly state that the reasons they closed had NOTHING to do with the higher wage floor.

Also, he's just wrong; he claims he "can't" raise prices to offset the wage increase, because "customers won't pay it", but he can't know that. His competitors are going to have to similarly increase prices. If his shop is just 18 people, it's a small niche business anyway, so I imagine he's going to have a strong enough support from those who like his clothes to absorb a small price increase. This is how inflation translates from products to wages and back to products again; it's a normal part of the economic system. Being unable to adapt to a minimum wage hike means your business model is deeply flawed, and you've essentially been exploiting a too-low wage.

I immediately thought of the same article. One business doesn't make "many businesses", much less the inaccurate report of "Minimum wage is increasing in California to $10.50 an hour from $7.25."

[Phookah]

if someone really runs a business with 18 people, he wont have time for 20k posts on a gaming online forum, guys.... lol.

Yeah, as we all know posting 3-4 comments a day on various articles literally takes all your time. It's so hard, you know?

[Wyrt]

I'm not sure what your source is, but the minimum wage in California has been higher than $7.25 for almost 10 years. Smells like bullshit.

[oxymoronic]

Yeah, any business who can't handle a $1.00/hr raise in employment costs must be running real slim on funds.

1/hr is roughly equal to 2000 a year (actually a little more but 1/hr makes the math easier), x18 = 36k straight out of the owners pocket. let me tell you a little secret, people with 18 employees are NOT rich or even fucking close unless its a tech company. definitely not a low end no name fashion company.

while i consider you smart you obviously have a lot to learn about life, get to it boy!

[ControlWarrior]

This is basically no different from the "the $15 min wage in Seattle is forcing restaurants to close" garbage article from a while back, that turned out to be entirely based on lies and misrepresentation; most of the restaurants named in the article came out after to clearly state that the reasons they closed had NOTHING to do with the higher wage floor.

Also, he's just wrong; he claims he "can't" raise prices to offset the wage increase, because "customers won't pay it", but he can't know that. His competitors are going to have to similarly increase prices. If his shop is just 18 people, it's a small niche business anyway, so I imagine he's going to have a strong enough support from those who like his clothes to absorb a small price increase. This is how inflation translates from products to wages and back to products again; it's a normal part of the economic system. Being unable to adapt to a minimum wage hike means your business model is deeply flawed, and you've essentially been exploiting a too-low wage.

Can you economic geniuses at least acknowledge that increased labor costs negatively affect a business's bottom line?

[unfilteredJW]

while i consider you smart you obviously have a lot to learn about life, get to it boy!

Appreciate the chuckle.

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Can you economic geniuses at least acknowledge that increased labor costs negatively affect a business's bottom line?

It won't if said business is actually producing success rather than being propped up by stagnant wages.

[Torgent]

1/hr is roughly equal to 2000 a year, x18 = 36k straight out of the owners pocket. let me tell you a little secret, people with 18 employees are NOT rich or even fucking close unless its a tech company. definitely not a low end no name fashion company.

while i consider you smart you obviously have a lot to learn about life, get to it boy!

Any business owner that cannot raise prices slightly in order to absorb that small increase is not fit for business. You want capitalism, but suddenly throw a fit when capitalism puts a small business out in effort to pay workers decent wages.