Posted on 11/20/2012 9:52:05 PM PST by mykroar
With more than 15 million workers in in the sector, and leverage over workplace standards across the supply chain, retail wields enormous influence on Americans’ standard of living and the nation’s economic outlook. It connects producers and consumers, workers and jobs, and local social and economic development to the larger US economy. And over the next decade, retail will be the second largest source of new jobs in the United States.
Given the vital role retail plays in our economy, the question of whether employees in the sector are compensated at a level that promotes American prosperity is of national importance. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the typical retail sales person earns just $21,000 per year. Cashiers earn even less, bringing home an annual income of just $18,500.
(Excerpt) Read more at demos.org ...
Someone should explain to this guy that all future money that could have been used for raises is now going to go to Obamacare and the millions of bureaucrats that will have to administer it.
http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2011/08/obamas-chief-economic-advisor-made.html
See above link by economist Mark J. Perry for a classic debunking of a 1994 study claiming that minimum wage hikes result in GREATER employment. That study was conducted by two lefty economists, David Card and Alan Krueger, and is still often cited today by those unaware that it has already been refuted. Alan Krueger, by the way, now chairs Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors, having replaced Christina Romer.
Oh dear gawd. Please FO and die.
These retail workers better count themselves darned lucky they have a job running a cash register.
It takes no skill to punch some buttons on a register, scan a product for sale or wait for the buzzer to go off telling you it’s time to flip the burgers .
All jobs I held early in my life. one because my family owned a string of convenience spires and others I had in college and when I was trying tofsure out what to do before I found sales and eventually running companies.
Increasingly retail operations are adding self checkout and you know what? I use that before I go to a clerk. I’m way faster and not chatting with everyone as they pass by.
Self checkout will replace 75% of checkers in the next 7 years.
When I worked as a checker/burger flipper the job paid what it paid. I didn’t pretend it was worth more than what it was. I knew better, I knewte cost for operations and what the total cost of an order was(parts and pieces) I also knew the burdened cost. That is the cost of everything and labor + keeping the lights on.
If people running registers want better pay “Yo! Babes! Hub gotz to get sumb skills”
If I have to pay the burdened cost of $15 per hour for a hamburger you better believe I’ll be eating them at Smith and Wollensky since the cost will essentially be the same but I’ll get something that is fatter and juicier than your McD or InandOut.
Get a life people and get a better having job.
As it is because you voted for your vaunted and hailed master you are going to lose hours. Which means you are now going to waste hours and hours as you travel for two jobs.
Jack wagons....
Does this writer have any idea at all of how a market economy works?
I doubt it.
She seems to have overlooked the fact that an increase in wages without an increase in productivity will force prices up.
Once the repercussion of the unearned wage increase works its way through the economy, workers will just be paying more for the same quantity of goods.
The only entity to benefit will be the government:
- Higher wages mean higher income taxes.
- Higher wages means higher FICA and Medicare taxes paid by employer and employee.
- Higher prices means higher sales taxes paid on the same item.
I agree. The minimum wage workforce will be cut drastically in the next few years due primarily to Obamacare, but any other regulation will just add to the pile.
Cutting work hours to part time is just a stop gap until companies can implement technological solutions which will eliminate whole classes of jobs.
McDonald's has already worked out outsourcing their drive through operators to India. JC Penny has already announced plans to go with self check out. All retail that competes with Amazon has just been hobbled, and so they will have to adopt Amazon's business model to compete, which will close many mall and big box stores. There are already vending machines which can make pretty sophisticated items like pizzas, just scale it up and you can eliminate many fast food jobs.
The Internet revolution changed the workforce, and got rid of many jobs, like travel agents. It accomplished this using one trick, by outsourcing the work to the customer. People adopted it because they see it as more convenient, but they are unpaid travel agents or insurance agents when they go online and do their own work. This will speed up to include more functions in the near future. For instance, many fast food places have the coke machine out in the eating area, and the paid employee just hands the customer a cup. The customer is the one who does the work getting themselves a drink. Expect more to be moved into the customer domain as self service, sold to the customer as more convenience.
It is still amazing to me that the obvious seems to elude the commies
“...the question of whether employees in the sector are compensated at a level that promotes American prosperity is of national importance.”
And the author, being so wise, knows exactly what that level is. He can justify it such that no reasonable person would disagree with him.
Alternatively, “my WAG is better than the market.”
Workers should be paid according to value produced!
How do you determine what that value is?
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