All well and good. Except that the media (that's right, I am a wingnut railing about the media. yip. yip.) can't report on the goddamn minimum wage without digging up some business owner that is willing to advance, yet again, the thoroughly discredited idea that an increase in the minimum wage leads to a loss of jobs.
Of course a small increase to the minimum wage can just destroy a small business. I believe this is why they are called "small" businesses. What really gets my goat is that Ms. Reader goes on to say that actually an increase to the minimum would have no effect at Pegasus, as all their workers are paid above the minimum because they are such valued employees. My God, if you think the minimum wage is crap, why are you decrying its potential increase? You run a small business, you have to know what crap this argument is.Tara Reader, a manager at Pegasus Pizza, near the University of Oregon campus, said she was glad that the minimum wage wouldn’t change next year, and she wishes it would stay put beyond that.
“The minimum wage increases should come to an end, and given Lane County’s unemployment rate, I think it’s even more important now,” she said.
“For companies like Wal-Mart, a yearly minimum wage increase doesn’t affect them,” Reader said. “But when you’re a small business, and the only costs you can control are labor costs, it ends up being significant. It can be a devastating blow to small business.”
Let's look at the numbers here.
Oregon's minimum wage is $8.40 an hour. Let's say the economy recovers and a pizza joint like Pegasus (well not Pegasus) is facing a 4% increase to the minimum wage. This means your dough slinger would be pulling down $8.74 an hour, or $.34 more than he's making now. Will Poor Man's Pie go under? Well, let's assume that PMP is open 12 hours a day and needs an average of 5 employees to keep the masses fed. That's 60 person hours a day. With that body-blow 4% increase to the minimum wage, that's $20.40 a day out of the till in labor costs. My God, PMP would have to sell one more large pepperoni with extra cheese per day just to cover that! Let's hope that newly recovered economy can cause such an increase in business.
But wait Dave3544, you're thinking, it's not just increased labor costs. What if PMP was thinking about adding crew, increasing employment in Lane County and providing a solid job for
Well, in the first place, pizza joints just don't add crew for the hell of it. It's not like the owner of PMP was sitting in his mansion surrounded by luxury goods thinking, "Well I've got everything I need, why don't I share the wealth by hiring a minimum wage employee I don't really need, this way everyone can slack off." No, he either has the business to necessitate hiring another employee or he's thinking about expanding. Either way, he's thinking that he can make more money than it costs by hiring a minimum wage worker - it's called capitalism (oh, and exploitation!)
If PMP pizza owner is thinking about adding an employee, one has to wonder if the increase in the minimum wage by $.34 an hour is really going to be what compels him to hold off on that decision. Is his margin really so narrow that $.34 an hour is the make-or-breaker here?
Now, I will acknowledge that there are probably businesses out there that can't readily expand to the equivalent of one pizza a day. They may have hundreds of person hours to worry about. Maybe they need to exploit their workers down to every last penny in order to just stay alive. Fine. But if that is the case, then the Register-Guard needs to go find one of those business owners and Tara Reader of the Pegasus Pizza should stop babbling bullshit talking points that have nothing to do with her business.
15 comments:
My favorite part was when you started talking to yourself. Also, when you implied PP's owner was a moron.
You obviously don't work or own a business. In fact you're the moron. Maybe take a Econ course and get your facts straight
Anon:
You are correct, I have never held a job, owned a business or taken an Econ course at my local college.
Your refutation of my argument is so complete and devastating I feel compelled to both get a job and take an Econ course.
Thank you for setting me on the straight and narrow. See you at the next tea party!
Hey there Mr. 3544,
Tara Reader here. I don't know you, so I'm not going to verbally assault you on the internet to make myself look like some smarty-pants uber-liberal. I'm neither smart, nor a liberal. I guess that's why I manage a pizza place in my late twenties, and you work at that there fancy school helpin' other uber-libs get ler-ned!
I've worked at Pegasus since I was fifteen years old. I started at minimum wage (like everyone does). Back then, minimum wage was...GASP!!!...$6.50! Since starting I have been given several promotions, and this year became manager. Since 1998, not only has mimimum wage increased two bucks, but all our costs have increased! Everything costs so much more than it used to, and everyone has less money than they used to. I'm not good with numbers, or math, again, that's why I work in pizza. But it seems like businesses are making less money, and having to pay much much more for everything. Now there are some numbers I can get behind. You can talk about inflation, deflation, I'm not even sure what all that means! But I do know small business. I know what it takes to make one successful, and I have a pretty good idea about why they often fail! It's a difficult thing to just be a girl who works at a pizza place, and to find that some stranger is berating me on the internet. You hurt my feelings, Mr. 3544. I'll never look at PerezHilton or TMZ the same now that I know what it feels like to be torn-apart by people who know nothing about who I really am. I am sure that run-on sentence just drove you mad! Such a moron I am.
Tara,
I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. I really am, although I can understand why you might not believe that. My point was not to berate you, in fact I am not sure I did, but to counter the argument you were making. If anything you can feel pretty good that tens of thousands of people read your quote in the paper advocating a wage freeze for tens of thousands of the working poor, while my pathetic blog is read by about 30 people.
I worked in fast food for many years myself, but back when minimum wage was more like $5.35. It sucks to work for minimum wage. It's not enough to live on. This why I support an increase to the minimum wage. I also happen to believe that its the very policies that say we should pay workers just as little as possible that have led us to the effed up economy we have today.
Again, sorry you feel you were attacked. I certainly wouldn't have brought you up if you weren't quoted in the paper.
Wow. Kanye West is better at apologies than you.
I must agree with Tara in the comments: she is indeed not smart. Sarcastic, yes; smart, no. Lots of "I know this, because I work in a small business". Good for you, but that doesn't mean you're right. Perhaps if you "ler-ned" about inflation and deflation, you'd have an easier time managing.
Dave you're my hero, coffee at wandering goat, then pri? Don't forget to ride your bike:)
Just kidding I'd rather drink starbucks while driving my 4x4
I'd rather be sarcastic anyday, you can't learn sarcasm.
-blog follower
Good one, blog follower! Almost didn't catch that!
Yo Tara, I'm really happy for you and Imma gonna let you finish, but Bill Sizemore had the greatest factually incorrect economic talking points of all time!
"I have a pretty good idea about why they often fail!"
Could it be because they hire managers that don't know inflation from deflation and don't really care to learn?
I WILL HAUNT YOUR DREAMS
I'm quite enjoying this thread.
Post a Comment