Phil Hands for February 04, 2014

So, then minimum wage gets increased to say $10.10 an hour. A worker that worked hard for years to get to $10.10 an hour is suddenly back to minimum wage. This worker then demands a raise because they’ve proved themselves over the years.Costs go up. People get fired to sustain higher wages. Poverty increases.Moral of the story: Libs hurt those they “intend” to help most!

Your grasp of economics is a tad woeful PianoGuy. Here in Australia the minimum wage is over $16 per hour. Australia is the only Western economy to ride the GFC successfully. And we have universal health care (which you call socialism) … gun control and where taxes are paid with an understanding of something called the ‘greater common good’… also known as ‘common wealth’. Check out the index of the ‘best cities/best countries’ and compare USA with Australia, NZ, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, FInland etc etc etc.

Government forcing wage and price controls on the private market is not a market driven solution.

So, you missed the basic scenario of the main problem with ANY Gov’t mandated wage increase? Fine, why not go with Micky D’s desire of $15/hr. Why not $20….$50!!!!! All scenarios play out the same Mikey!

If raising the minimum wage would increase unemployment, would lowering it increase employment? Okay, everyone has a job, but everyone gets starvation wages!!! It worked in the mid-nineteenth century, it can work again!!! And get rid of industrial safety regulations — they just make it harder for companies to offer jobs. And bring back child labor, too. Kids should have the freedom to be chimney sweeps again.

Yes, Obama was only able to raise the minimum wage for government contracts, but he did ask congress twice to do it. It’s in the best interests of the country, so the GOP is blocking it. Let’s hope minimum wage voters get out and vote the interests of America this fall. (And yes, we’ve raised the minimum wage in the past and it has been studied, and it doesn’t result in fewer jobs. It results in fewer poor people.)

I was torn on this issue until I examined by basic belief in economics. Demand drives everything. Giving the lower income earners a SHOT at reaching the middle class will create a greater demand for goods/services and increase demand, thus improving our economy.

As for those crying,“INFLATION!!!”, we’ve been waiting on inflation ever since the stimulus and TARP, and it really hasn’t been a problem. I"ll risk a little inflation rather than our current state of affairs.

Now, somebody say, “Oh, we need a tax cut for the rich”. PLEASE.

I don’t think that raising the minimum wage will affect inflation much at all. What percentage of the price of our goods go to the minimum wage worker? The designers of our goods get more than Minimum wage. The transportation of our goods to market is done by well paid truckers. The assembly line workers make more. This may affect cashiers but was their wages a significant portion of the overall price?

In the Electronics Age we are now in all higher wages do is add impetus to employers automating processes and eliminating workers. Look at the decline in manufacturing jobs. How many stores now have self-check out?To make that even quicker electronic tags on goods are coming to eliminate the need for people to even do the check out or workers to take inventory...DrCanuck, fine with me since my monthly oil profit check comes from Texas…

Could be the guy that takes ’em apart when they be tuned properly.

If we truly believe that increasing the minimum wage will eliminate poverty, then the minimum wage should vary from state to state and reflect different costs for rural versus urban life. Raising a family on an Iowa farm entails different costs than raising one in NYC or LA. And of course, it must be indexed to the number of dependents you support. Think of the CHILDREN!.And while we’re at it, an extra 50¢ an hour will cover annual pet care costs, because who doesn’t love a dog or a cat?

The self check out will spread faster once goods are marked electronically and automatically register as you leave the store. That is coming.As for self check out I see more and more of it. In 2008, there were 92,600 self-checkout units worldwide. The number is estimated to reach 430,000 units in 2014. That certainly doesn’t argue for it being abandoned anytime soon..As for manufacturing declining it has nothing to do with Walmart or Bain. It has everything to do with computers. CNC machinery and computer controlled manufacturing is spreading rapidly. The process itself is being automated. There are already peopleless factories in operation making all sorts of things. For example, 20 years ago through hole circuit boards and hand assembly was the norm for electronics. Now surface mount and automated pick and place is the norm.This has nothing to do with Walmart or Bain. It has everything to do with electronics, computers, and miniaturization of devices.

Please try to understand and not take such offense, the average American is NOT like the ultra conservatives on this site. The average American is far more moderate (this is true of even the Republicans and conservatives in general) as proven by the fact that the tea party types in Congress do not control even the Congress, let alone the federal government itself. It is somewhat amazing, but the ultra conservative types seem to gravitate to such internet sites as this one. And once there become steadily so nasty to moderates, independents and anybody more liberal than the likes of Rush Limbaugh, that they eventually even force the moderators into banning them from the very sites that allow them to exist in the first place. And in the absolute extreme case, even force the actual closing of the sites like FOX NEWS had to do. This is also why you find so few moderate, reasonable , and cool headed posters (such as RT) anymore on sites such as this one.

But, be assured such posters do still exist, they are just not as nasty or loud as the more extreme posters (and yes, occasionally there is someone who is the same, but from the opposite extreme of the political spectrum). Personally, I believe it is the greatest of patriotism to be able to study the better methodologies of other responsible governments such as Canada’s, Australia’s and the Scandinavian countries!!

Successful piano tuning and repair business for 15 years running. Thank you, very much.

Dude, it’s just supposed to be a funny political statement. This ain’t LA Class.