Having worked fast food when I was in high school and college I've seen three types of fast food workers. One type are the ones who work there while they strive to improve their situation (finish school, search for better job, etc). The other type are individuals who are working there for supplemental income (normally their spouses or significant others are the main breadwinners of the household). Both of these groups aren't expecting high wages for what they do. They are just working there to get by until things improve. The third type are the ones who settle for being a fast food worker. They don't have the motivation to improve their situation so they settle for a mediocre existance. They get comfortable with their low skilled job, and aren't determined to improve their situation. This group is the most likely to be manipulated into the $15 hour rhetoric from leftist groups. They are the ones claim victim mentality, and believe they deserve more than market value for their low skilled labor. They are also normally the worst fast food employees.
The lady's new shoes argument is bogus. I don't own a car and I walk everywhere and I've worn the same pair of $100 shoes since 2010. Except for during the day in the summertime when I have bought two pair of $20 flip flops since 2010. The woman in was talking about Jordans for her kids which are totally un necessary. If you are an adult making minimum wage, that's your fault. Period. And even if the places these people work for raise wages, they won't get that money. They will be fired and replaced with a machine or a better employee, who will be attracted by the newly raised wages. And if the company can't afford the new wages at all, then the company will close down and everyone loses.
Nearly every political debate can be split into 3 camps : naive people who think everything has to be good at work and doesn't recognize limited resources, people who understand that there needs to be trade offs and the role of unintended consequences, and people who know this and pretend they don't to placate the idiots.
Peter Schiff needs to link the issue of minimum wage to Inflation and the income tax. If people understand the problem is inflation and income tax they will understand the minimum wage.
Agreed, once again how inflation is pretty much a tax on the middle and below class. Either inflation kills you if you are not earning enough with current min wage or simply get put out of employment if it was raised, by raising the price floor in the labor market.
Peter I love you brother and follow your financial advise. I am a supporter of liberty and free markets. But calling some of these people "losers" was harsh man. These are the people that get stuck in an area / economy and are raised in dangerous neighborhoods. A lot of these "losers" could have taken the road of selling drugs and crime but they would rather work at a place like McDonalds to make ends meet. I am not saying they are in the right at all. I think there should be no min wage... These people make be woefully ignorant of economics - but to call them "losers" was harsh. Uneducated sure... but not losers. This was just my 2 cents
I can agree with you here, but at the same time, being one of those people myself. It's important to not remove our responsibility for our situation, most of us (not all of course) wound up "stuck" in minimum wage positions, because we didn't make smart choices. Calling them losers, i agree is a bit harsh. But so many people who talk about these people, depict them as having no fault in their current position, which is not only false, but insulting. We need to find the middle ground, where people like myself retain personal responsibility for our situation and choices, without calling us names.
Sometimes, you have to be cruel to be kind. Peter is a rich man - he is here to help. He doesn't need to be on Radio. He could retire tomorrow. Trust me - he is here to help. to wake the sheeple up.
Life requires initiative if you want to do well. We have trained people to expect life to happen to them instead of making it happen themselves. I lost a job and after failing to get a job in the recession then, I started my own business over 20 years ago. But even then I had always advanced at my job. Anyone with anything on the ball quickly moves up even at a fast food joint. Guy's a loser.
Of course we should blame the employer. Because “FAVORITISM” is “ALIVE” & “WELL” “”today””! Hiring people to management positions who don’t have the qualifications. This “LEARNING THE JOB AS YOU GO” is some BS. AND what about the less ambitious & intelligent THAT get promoted. 95% of the time, that SH!T happens.
Graduate from high school. Work at Min wage job while living with parents. Save up as much money as possible. Purchase reliable/affordable car with cash. Get an entry level job at a big corporation (Or a good business that promotes from within). Show up early/Stay late. Work your ass off. Learn as much as possible about not only your current job but the job you're seeking. Go after any promotional position even if you fail every time, looks good to the boss... Accept promotion. Simple method that works every time... that's if you're able to push past the many failures that WILL come with this journey towards financial success.
Really, people are complaining that Schiff calls other people losers? C'mon people we aren't in kindergarten anymore, if anything positive, those fast food workers just need the drive and initiative to prove Schiff wrong.
Maybe Peter needed to be "politically correct", but he is right. I'm no employer by any stretch of the imagination, but I think we need to understand how a business works on the basic level. Forget about the corruption that exists in a business for a minute and see how a business is suppose to function. From my little understanding, a business is one that provides a service or product at a competitive price that consumers want in order to make a profit. A business can't survive if it can't make a profit meaning you have to consider the costs of everything especially if you are working with a very tight budget. One miss calculation and the business is dead.
@@emmarose7491 A CEO does whatever he or she wants. It’s not about whether a business can survive when CEO receives less pay. It’s about being happy. I would think that if you put in the work to get your company off the ground that you would want to enjoy what your hands have put together; attain things other than a high profit margin. You would want to unplug and go after childhood dreams and aspirations that wouldn’t be possible with just a meager wage.
Life isn't fair people. If you were born an unintelligent person or a lazy unmotivated person I'm sorry but you aren't entitled to anything. Just because you are here in america where lots of people have pretty good living standards doesn't mean that you should be able to get the lowest entry level job out there and be able to afford a house and cars and everything else. These are entry level jobs they are jobs for kids and shit trying to make some spending cash they aren't meant to raise a family on.
Peter nailed it on the head in the last 2 minutes. If raising the minimum wage is so much better for everyone and the economy, why not raise it to $100/hr. or more?
The problem with starting a company yourself and paying $15/hr is that you put yourself at a competitive disadvantage with companies that don't care about their employees. If the wage floor is set to $15/hr no single company would be killed off for trying to pay their employees more. Demand will decrease but IMO very insignificantly.
The amount you pay your employees has nothing to do with how much you "care" about them. Also, some companies operate on very thin margins. A 15$ floor might destroy their prfitability. Its a mistake to assume otherwise. Unless expenditures come down significantly, the amount you pay your employees plays a huge role in a companies viability.
joseph zamudio To offset the loss in increased wages they would raise prices. This would be possible because every other company has to raise their prices as well, which would never happened if a minimum wage wasn't enacted and enforced. A minimum wage simply allows companies to compete while paying their employees more than a few pennies an hour. As far as companies caring... virtually no company cares about its employees. I'm bringing up the company that cares as being a magical Christmasland company that wants to pay its employees enough so that they don't live in poverty.
Erik Barmon When you raise prices, your volume decreases and your revenues goes down. If companies could raise prices right now and make more money, they would do it. A lot of people would just get fired in the end, there is no dodging it. Price controls doesn't work.
Erik Barmon You don't know what you are talking about. 1) You post assumes that an increase in wages will have a uniform impact on the margins of all companies within a given sector such that they will all raise their prices (and by about the same amount). This is false. Take farming for example; different farms operate with different levels of automation vs. manual labour. If you force an increase in min wage you will certainly impact the margins of those farms which rely on heavily on manual labour, but not so much on those that are automated. The effect will be that the former will have to raise prices, the latter won't, the former will go bankrupt. 2) Even if you saw uniform increases in prices, it still means a decrease in volume. Volume of sales is not only driven by the price a certain company charges relative to its peers, it is also driven by the overall price for the product within the industry. Take an extreme example; if tomorrow shoe prices tripled because of min wage laws you would see a drop off in the total number of shoe sales, not just sales at one individual shoe company. 3) Even if you saw uniform increase in prices and no decrease in volume, what it still means is that the consumer is now paying more for a given product and thus is effectively poorer. The real crime with min wage laws, alongside people being fired as a result (or never being hired in the first place), is the fact that it targets industries that cater to the poor. The rich don't frequent McDonalds. The rich don't buy mass-produced cars. The rich don't go to Walmart. It is exactly those industries who will have to raise prices as a result of min wage that also are mostly catering to the poor. When they raise prices those poor people are the ones who suffer as they now can buy less.
Peter it's good you have raised a very important but simple point that many people seem to find difficult to understand. If you don't work hard, you don't get success. It's simple. If you think you are plateauing, then go out and get more skills !
I usually like Peter, but wtf? There simply aren't that many high level jobs. Most jobs are always going to be lousy, bad paying jobs. It doesn't matter how hard you work, not everybody can have a great job. You know, the average income isn't that high, and that's because there just aren't that many jobs that pay that well.
I have a relative who constantly complains about his low pay (actually double the min wage) but who refuses to look for other jobs, attend night school to learn a trade, or do anything outside of his comfort zone. He does, however, have plenty of free time and money for hours and hours of sports on TV and to travel to games.
I worked at McDonalds for 2 years in high school. I learned a lot about the job market and what it takes to succeed. If they offered me the same money as i make now to do fast food work i would switch in a second.
Absolutely correct! People who have worked at these jobs for 5 or 10 years complaining about the fact that they haven't received a raise is both an indictment against themselves for lacking the ambition to improve themselves and against the present Administration for fostering and presiding over such a horribly stagnant economy. BTW McDonald's food is about 30% overpriced as it is. If the minimum wage is increased to 10 plus an hour then their products will be priced out of existence.
I'm curious what these career McDonald's employees have done to increase their skills and employee value since they have been working there. I don't believe that is all they are humanly capable of.
Peter, you are contradicting yourself. You are the one (and I totally support it) saying that this economy has problems creating jobs. Now you are blaming these fast foods workers why they are not improving their skills to get better job. How can you get better jobs in this part-time economy, or even no real jobs economy?
I got a job at a grocery store at 15 working part time through high school and I was grateful to get my $8.00/hour because it helped me buy my first car. I also got Christmas bonuses and a 25 cent raise every 6 months. I loved the business Market Basket and when I turned 18 and graduated high school I quit that job and moved on...
Roland W I literally wear out a $20 pair of sneakers in about 5 months, so I don't know what shoes Schiff-bot is buying, and I mean WEAR OUT, like half inch holes in the soles and all the stitching coming undone
Peter, I agreed with everything you said except the tennis shoes thing (going for the big picture, I know). I worked in restaurants for 10 years, and I've worn holes in nice shoes in under 3 months quite a few times. Lots of restaurants will pay for half your shoes though. Just pointing out a discrepancy.
Technoguy3 must be nice shoes, the cheap ones I buy don't make it more than 5 months before there are holes in the soles and the stitching comes undone
I agree with you, Peter, on most things. The rant about shoes at fast food joints is wrong however. When I was a kid, my first job was in fast food and the oil that is all over the floor in the back destroys rubber soles very quickly. So she needs to replace shoes quite often because of her job, not because of running around and having fun.
The law comes in, wages raise, burger (consumer) prices will raise immediately, then rent and bills will raise proportionally. The balance will settle at the same relative proportion as it was, the minimal skill workers will still have the same spending capability as before even if they get more zimbabwe dollars plus many of them will be fired in the transition period.
Cronyism, the Tax Code, excessive regulations, the national debt and the Federal Reserve are the major causes of the widening income inequality gap. Solutions: Abolish Tax Code and IRS. Enact Fair Tax (national sales tax). Minimize regulations to only what is absolutely necessary. Balance the budget. Start decreasing the national debt. Abolish the Federal Reserve as we know it. Replace with automated system as Milton Friedman suggested until better solution is discovered. Treat gold and silver as legal tender, not as an asset. The income inequality problem is counterintuitive. Big government equals more income inequality. Smaller government equals less income inequality. The middle class is the byproduct of a free market economy; it is not manufactured by a politician's tax gimmicks, minimum wage laws, or government redistribution of wealth. There is no such thing as a living wage; there is only a wage that someone can afford to pay. You have to tailor your living around your wage, not have government tailor your wage around your living. It is about supply and demand. If you have an easy time filling your employee needs, you offer lower wages, if you have a hard time filling your employee needs, you offer higher wages; because if you do not your competition will and you will be out of business. It is not about what people deserve or what is fair or what is just; it is about what the market will bear. Blame the consumer for shopping for the lowest price and blame the voter for voting for government to fix their problems.
When I was a kid and I thought something was unfair my mom told me LIFE ISN'T FAIR. She was right. Some people are born with everything given to them but tgat doesn't mean shit should be easy for you. If you want anything in life no matter what it is you have to work for it sacrifice for it even. Man up and stop crying its unfair and go get yours
Ya, attack the poor working class, great job Mr. Schiff. I don't care if you are a "dead beat" or "loser". you work somewhere 10 years, you deserve a raise, at least enough of one to counteract inflation, and keep your standard of living from steadily decreasing until your homeless. though, in fairness, you still have a full comprehension and valuable knowledge of the economic system, and the troubles impacting it, if not enough compassion to see people who work for a decade with a company deserve to get treated better, then being called losers.
***** oh, just leave your job huh? forget about your rent, and food, just leave. oh you lost your car because you can't make car payments without the job you left? and now you can't make it to interviews?
***** oh you mean stay at a job while you look for another one.. oh i see... except the only time I can interview for other jobs is during work hours at my current job. Since I can't miss work, I can't go and do other interviews. Besides even if I could miss work, without getting fired, I can't afford it because I work for joke wages that keep me exactly where I am and unable to maneuver to a better place. I make just enough to get by, never enough to save and never enough to get an education for a better job. (is a hypothetical and reasonable argument)
***** "Well those losers should be tightening their belts and going with less then!" you say. "those pathetic losers, just tighten your belt and you'd be out in a jiffy! I understand the world perfectly and know exactly what to do! I would never be trapped by a job that spent millions on research on how to precisely keep me working but never moving up!! I'm smart!" Except there is one more little important factor here, inflation. one factor that Schiff is so fond of pointing out, is actually much higher then is being reported. according to the bureau of labor statistics $1 dollar in 2004 would now be worth $1.26. and that's what the bureau of labor statistics is reporting. thats a 25% decrease in buying power and those are bullshi* numbers put up by the fed, the reality is probably much worse. Meaning those people HAVE been tightening their belts, because what their getting paid is worth less and less and less. "well just tighten even more!" you can only give up so much until your destitute and living off the street. I'm guessing those people have given plenty
***** what car? you make 7.50 an hour. move somewhere cheaper? you're right the one bedroom shi*-hole is too spacious, and ya I guess someone could get rid of their refrigerator to make room for that extra bed and move in the the possible drug addict co worker that steals things, but he's the only other person that I could get to want to live here..
Nobody deserves a raise. You have to show increased productivity. You have to earn it. And as long as you work for someone else your opportunities are limited.
There is a third option besides giving them a waver or watching them close down. Not a good one, but one that could save the president´s face and keep the business running without a waver, and with the higher minimum wage. The government could (secretly?) subsidize the difference between the "old" and "new" minimum wage.
Schiff is a smart man, but honestly he always defends the rich because he is rich. He really has no idea what is it like to be poor and struggle month to month making ends meet. Also calling these people losers is pretty mean, just because somebody hasn't found a job/career that's high paying or has been some place making the same wage for awhile does not make them a loser. When he says go out and get skills he doesn't realize not all people have the ability to be doctors, electricians, lawyers, engineers, teachers, ect, and also the manufacturing jobs have been absolutely gutted in America which were good jobs for average people that they could live off of. In the end the same thing will happen: The rich will say I can't raise wages, the working poor will turn to the government for welfare,food stamps, medicare, housing assistance, ect and the middle class will pay for most of this. I don't think you should get 15 bucks an hour to flip burgers, but also, people who can't even afford the basics after working some place for almost an entire decade seems wrong also, just giving my two cents here.
That is not smart at all.......that is completely stupid there is no second tier jobs , there is no ladder......This myth that somehow its down to effort or talent is stunning 100 entry level jobs are not matched by 100 better positions or even 5 I suspect
perhaps we are just being conspiracy theorists......This could actually work if the people with these decent positions just die quickly and repeatedly ...selfish bastards are just living to long. Mind you even these "middle" class are 2 income families that need to work into their 70s to survive.....Greedy fucks don't need meat every week do they?
If this assumption that the richest ones provide more value was true, it would be awesome, but it is not the case in virtually any scenario. The richest ones are not the ones that do good for society, but the ones that own means of production, for example, factories, hotels and other assets. Putin is rich because he has his paws on Russian oil, which is actually damaging to society. Yes, he (well, the workers in oil wells) is providing society with a good asset, but it wasn't his to begin with. Even Bill Gates that ''came up'' (bought for cheap or even stole CP/M concept for MS DOS, as some sources say, but let's assume that this was purely his brainchild) a wonderful idea, didn't produce everything himself. The actual producers got a small share, but that's it. When it comes to competing for jobs, well, do you know any worker that is a billionaire and does loads of good for society (proportional to their income, of course)?
Heck. I am 6-6 and 230lb and run for 4-6 months in a pair of sneakers. Then they get relegated to every day walking shoes for 4-6 months. Then they get washed and sent to the local running store for someone that can't afford new shoes. They are still viable to use after a year. Maybe tennis shoes don't last as long. But 4 months?
I agree with peter, but have to comment on the shoes. I work at kfc as a cook, and working there you need to wear "non-slip" shoes. And the Shoes for Crews, which is what we order through them, are the best at not slipping, which is Great when working with hot grease. But after a little over a year, i am on my third pair. The sides are water proof, leather i believe, but they wear out when you bend down and go on the ball of your feet. So that argument i understand. Peter Schiff
Why cant they just raise prices? Fast food joints don't have uniform prices. Prices at McDess are higher in high cost places like center city, turnpike rest stops etc.. Why can't they just raise the prices on the military bases?
Problem is there is no where to go. In the 50s and 60s you would take an entry level job and learn what it takes to hold a job -- show up on time every day, get some work experience then the factory would call your boss, check you out and if you were dependable you would get your next job and so on. Raise minimum wage or not. This whole debate is like arguing over how to set the engine speed on the Titanic.
The minimum wage is a bad idea. It doesn't address the government created inflation which makes it harder for people to make ends meet on their wages. Jobs are harder to find because they are being destroyed by government monetary policy. 2008 was the culmination of bad policy and it is shrinking jobs. If the bottom end workers seek relief, they should demand it in the form of lower taxes. Their wages are taxed on both sides, the employee and the employer. The minimum wage is morally wrong because the entity which is ordering the people involved in a voluntary transaction to amend their contract, is the party who is feeding off of them the most. So I repeat, maybe if we really cared about these workers we could lower their taxes?
These people pay low are under stress. The issue is not with minimum wage, it is the high real inflation, cheap money that causes low wage workers to ask for higher wage.
I remember when this class 1 railroad was hiring. They called about 60 people that might be possible employees. The railroad used a large meeting room to explain to these people what would be expected of them, before they would be hired. Ok. All 60 people are sitting there in folding chairs. The speaker came in. The first thing he asked was, if anyone there had been arrested for a drug violation. He said, if they had they might as well leave now. About half got up and left. Then he said if anyone had ever had a DUI that they might as well leave also. Again, about half go up and left. Last question was if anyone had ever been convicted of a felony. As it turned out, of those 60 people, there were 11 left. All those people that left, had to do to get a better paying job, was keep their nose clean, and they couldn't even do that. So, whose fault was it that they couldn't get a better job? The employer? The company only wanted the best people, that they could get. Who wouldn't?
Another thing. This was before any interviews were given. What is wrong with people in this country? What has happened to us? At one time, I believe we had the most productive people in the world. What happened? It seems like a good work ethic is not to be found anymore. What happened to drive and ambition and a good work ethic? There is so little of it now. People feel that they deserve and are entitled to a high paying job, or a government handout, as soon as they drop out of High School, or they get out of jail.
Jim Sherlock Poverty mysteriously turns people to crime and then think hey I should get a job. maybe they'd tried to get a job first but the hunger pains got to em. Look once you have been to Jail paid for your crimes you should be able to come back to the community if not just kick em out. I thought America was supposed to better than everyone.
Cut 6, arround 12:47. "I've never done this before." "It's just too important." "We wont' stop. Not until we win." In my opinion, it seems way easier to gain a new skill, improve existing skills, or seek out higher paying work than fighting for a $15/hour fast food employee minimum wage. If it really is that important, I think many of the folks in the video would have figured out a way to make this happen on an individual basis after so many years in fast food.
I agree, in theory, with a lot of what Schiff is saying, but I also think that we as a society need to look at (and Schiff has covered in other shows) why so many people are stuck at these kinds of jobs to begin with. Our economy simply isn't generating good-paying jobs. Forty years ago, an unskilled worker could raise a family by working in manufacturing. Now, thanks to the massive trade deficit, most of those jobs are in China and people are stuck at McDonald's. And it's not about education, either. There are plenty of educated people wasting away at Starbucks or working at the mall.
Peter, Shoes wear out every 2 to 4 months if one is standing on them for 8 hr shifts - the shoe becomes "dead" if you will. Especially the crap that is made today. A high quality Shoe/Boot maybe you can get away with six to eight months before they become "dead" sure the treads are still good but it looses "something" the shoe become "Flat" and those shoe Inserts cost a good twenty bucks a piece so this is the first time since I started listening to you that you are wrong on this one. Sure the shoe, sneaker, tennis shoe is still useable but standing on a hard surface they do not do a foot justice. Keep up the good work!
I completely agree with Schiff, BUT, he has obviousley never wore the same shoes every day while working 40 hrs a week, especially in a resturant... Stick with the economics Pete. Love your work, just correcting a friend with some mundane knowledge.
The only thing I disagree with is the shoe thing. I worked as a car rental agent and wore cheap dress shoes as I was on my feet all day. Never had a pair last more than 6 months. Cheap shoes are like 20-30 bucks anyway so it's really not a concern anyway. I am sure the people who make the shoes make much less per hour than they do. lol
Well, none of this would be an issue, if the Federal Reserve and the government, would just stop trying to inflate the dollar, taking away its purchasing power. If these minimum wage workers had more purchasing power, none of this would really be an issue. You would still have career burger flippers, but if the dollar was just allowed to gain value, they'd find life a lot easier.
I'm still young. My job consists of cleaning commercial businesses after they close. all things considered, for a physical labor job, it's quite good. Flexible hours, and what I love is it's not on the clock. I go in, do the job, and as long as it's done, I leave. Great! It doesn't pay that well, but it's stress-free, and it's what I can get for now. If I go through my life without improving my skills or education, I don't expect to get much better. In the end, it'd be my choice though. The great thing about my position is even now, I save a lot of money. I just live frugally. Within my means is too easy. Live under your means, no matter your income. If you can do that, you'll go far. There are people out there who have better genetics, better lineage, better luck in general. And vice versa. I won't blame luck for my situation. In the end, it's down to my choice and it's my responsibility. Life isn't fair and never will be.
I agree with schiff much of the time in concept but not always the way he frames things. In a free market, wages would likely go up naturally because there'd be tons of great jobs out there and it'd be tough to keep people employed. Minimum wage workers aren't always "lazy" many bust their but and never see promotion due to discrimination in the work place. In case he didn't know just because your great at your job doesn't always mean the job market isn't going to try to suppress your upward growth. That said the solution is more jobs, because more jobs means more chances you can take to improve your situation... but to just flat out call min wage workers "lazy" is just wrong. Physically speaking those are usually the hardest jobs.
I just think that people that actually do the physical labor should financially compensated better than they often are. There's no downside. It incentives more productivity and would maintain long term employment. I'm amazed that some of the hardest working people are paid the most pitiful wages. And some of the time they can't improve their situation because they're stuck working 3 jobs at once. I don't think government is the answer but a bit more fucking respect for the people that do the jobs that allow us to live a more comfortable lifestyle. Physical labor isn't often valued by CEO's and I think it's because many CEO's have no clue what they're talking about. They've never done these sorts of jobs, and never learned to do them with any sort of proficiency. And if the market wasn't so closed off we'd see people starting as a burger flipper and working up to CEO and they could rework the company. But that's a damn rare occurence. Whether or not these people could have gotten another job, it's a crime that they weren't given better wages. That's piss poor business practice and maybe the consumer should boycott places like that.
Jesse Riley Jesse, as someone who has worked fast food for the last 2 years while paying my way though college. I can promise you, the majority of employees ARE lazy. 95% of fast food workers are not punctual, they are never on task for their entire shift, and for that reason, they have to be babysat. A lot of them do not do anything unless they are told to, and they do not think for themselves. They do not think about how they could better the company, or help other employees out, or go the extra mile. They simply clock in, do what they are told, and clock out. Why is that deserving of a raise? If that is all someone is doing, they are not valuable to the company. You can train anyone (yes anyone) to do that. You also talk about the physical demand of working fast food. Seriously? Yes, I understand that the job requires you to be on your feet for up to 8-10 hours at a time, but if you are claiming that as "labor intensive" you need to research some diets and exercise programs. Physically demanding jobs would be construction, landscaping, movers, fire fighters, etc. and yes, the job market does compensate for actual physical labor-intensive jobs ;) And to your point about CEO's never having these starting jobs, umm.. Where do you think they started out? Many of them have worked the grunt work jobs, including Peter. You should probably do your research before popping off on them and making accusations. My guess is that you have never owned your own business, and certainly you have never hired anyone. So please.. keep your comments to yourself :)
If it is pitiful business practice, and it is in the best interest of the business to pay workers a higher wage and/or provide benefits, wouldn't business owners be doing that already? Why do we need the government to tell a business owner what is best for his bottom line? If someone has "pitiful business practice", why not let the free market eat them alive and let their ass lose money? Also, the reason why it we keep using fast food is because that is what this whole video is about... it is in response and a rebuttal to a video posted that interviewed several McDonalds workers.... which happens to be a fast food joint. To the shoes comment.. you have a point, but is that really going to be the premise of your argument against Schiff - that he doesn't know how quickly shoes wear out? Man.. I wish that was the biggest of my concerns with all of our elected officials. Look, he cherry picked the shoes comment, made a rather dumb statement about it, but it took up what, 15 seconds of a 16 min video? It doesn't invalidate his argument. Listen, being in a minimum wage job, I see and hear a lot of things about peoples' personal lives and spending habits. "fuck yeah, just got paid, drinks are on me!" turns to "Damn man.. can i get a ride to work? I'm a little short on cash until payday." It is fucking absurd how people prioritize their money, and yes, it goes across the board, but between cigarettes and alcohol, most people spend a good $200 per month or more on those things, and then wonder why they have no money at the end of the month. I support my 3 person family solely off of my paycheck while also going to college. My wife's salary goes entirely to savings/investment. It is about sound money management.. something that 95% of minimum wage workers do not understand, and it is the sole reason they are in the monetary situation that they are in. No, I do not feel sorry for someone who struggles with money, because people who are not "losers" do not waste their money on eating out, alcohol, cigarettes, and weed. They save, they invest, and they move up in the world. And honestly.. in my opinion, it is not just minimum wage workers who are losers. Anyone who cannot manage their money is a loser. Whether you are a multi-million dollar athlete, or a McDonalds worker. If you're living paycheck to paycheck, you're living beyond your means, and I have no respect for that.
I have to call bullshit on Peter on the shoe thing. I buy the cheapest sneakers you can get, $20/pair at WalMart, and I wear them until there are holes in the soles, usually about 5 months. Good expensive sneakers will last 2 to 3 times as long, but who earning minimum wage could buy a $100+ pair just to last longer? I have a pair of Red Wing Boots which on average last 10 years, BUT they cost a fortune (my current pair was $225) That could be 2 weeks take home pay for a minimum wage worker
McDonald's wont close down if they have to pay 10.10 because Burger King, KFC, Taco Bell and all their competitors are in the same boat. When the cost of labor increases it is passed on to the consumer as higher prices like any other cost like the cost of beef, cost of energy, municipal taxes or inflation. Sure, there may be the odd McDonalds right on the verge of profitability and 10.10 fueled price increase may be enough to make enough people eat at home and put a few McDonalds in the red but that would be a very small percentage because 10.10 will increase the cost of groceries too.
I pretty much have to agree with Schiff here. Those of you saying he is just taking this view because he is wealthy are really missing the main points. Businesses have to make money or they aren't worth running. So if minimum wage is too high any businesses that can't make a reasonable profit will either have to raise prices or close up shop. If businesses have to raise prices especially businesses that employ people at or near minimum wage like fast food and retail who does it hurt the most? The same people that wanted the minumum wage to begin with. People stuck in a minimum wage job for years are failing to work harder to advance or look for a better job. If the guy working at Mcdonald's for 20 years isn't managing a restaurant yet, who's fault is that? He should know the business inside and out by then. Obviously he is showing no initiative.
Some business based in America pay less than people working on minimum wage and some business and rich people a making record amounts of money, basic economics if no money if flowing in a economy you get poverty. It starts a cascade effect in the job environment. Look the rich can have their money but the effect is the current conditions with the job markets we have now. If business just invested in people unemployment would be a problem. During our last economic booms and bust the people who worked were always the same; some word hard, smart, like slackers, the 9 to 5; some were even convicts and that didn't exclude people from a job. NO Job NO employment You made some great points.
Well gee, if you work a minimum wage job for many adult years - a job that most unskilled teenagers can be trained to take over in under a week - you are eminently replaceable and just not worth a high wage. I imagine if you really interviewed these people, many of these long term entry-level employees are the same kids who goofed off in class, dove deep into drugs and alcohol, got pregnant as teenagers, and generally decided responsible living wasn't really for them. Now they look back and decide the world owes them for their poor life choices? Sorry, it just doesn't.
***** I'm happy you started your own business - hope it's doing well. As for it being difficult to find good paying jobs with full time benefits, there are two major factors to consider. 1) How relevant are your skills? For example, degrees in early childhood education are a dime a dozen, whereas a degree in biomedical engineering can open a lot of doors (not that everyone has the aptitude to be a biomedical engineer - but you get the point). The people in the video didn't impress me as working hard to obtain ANY skills beyond the most rudimentary. 2) The economy is absolutely suppressed right now due to gross government mismanagement and overreach, in addition to the disastrous policies of the federal reserve. This is displacing a lot of people from certain jobs that would otherwise be available in a thriving free market economy. No doubt about it, times are tough all over. But the best thing anyone can do that wants to find a good job is research areas where there is an actual demand for labor and realign your skills. Good luck.
Only thing ya got wrong Peter is the tennis shoes thing. She probably buys crappy cheap t-shoes at wal-mart. I buy these crappy things to do yard work, and can pretty much tear them up in one summer mowing the grass and yanking weeds in my own yard, just wearing them on the weekends. They cost $9 and are made in China. It's been years since I had a job even close to what she is doing, but if I had been wearing these $9 Bobos, I'd tear them up too.
Maybe she needs to get shoes so often because she doesn't have a car and needs to walk everywhere. Walking to work, home, school, grocery store, banks, etc. all the time will wear out your shoes pretty fast; I know I lived in downtown LA for four months with no car, and it killed my pair of shoes.
I don't support the minimum wage, but I want to point out that the workers at Mcdonalds don't just stand in one place. The workers are versatile; one day they're working the front with customers and one day they're working in the kitchen. If you're a good worker, you're always moving. So it isn't unusual for a Mcdonalds employee's shoes to be battered up; however, having to replace your shoes every four to five months is unusual. So she might be lying or maybe bought some really cheap shoes.
Tennis shoes or running shoes made in China will last 3 months if you do not wear them much. I'm on a pension and know from wearing them, cann't afford the $80 - $90 good Americian ones.
The craziest part is that before people have any real idea of what value they are ready to add to society they are goaded into jobs. Starting at 16 years of age the push for money is on, most still too immature to have developed any real sense of their talents. Whatever floats the need of the "common good"... I guess.
Which countries have a minimum wage, and which don't. Then see which one of those countries have high unemployment, and others have low unemployment. If Peter is right then countries with high minimum wage would have high unemployment. Can someone prove that Peter is wrong? Of course correlation doesn't equal causation. Or do it?
Having worked fast food when I was in high school and college I've seen three types of fast food workers. One type are the ones who work there while they strive to improve their situation (finish school, search for better job, etc). The other type are individuals who are working there for supplemental income (normally their spouses or significant others are the main breadwinners of the household). Both of these groups aren't expecting high wages for what they do. They are just working there to get by until things improve. The third type are the ones who settle for being a fast food worker. They don't have the motivation to improve their situation so they settle for a mediocre existance. They get comfortable with their low skilled job, and aren't determined to improve their situation. This group is the most likely to be manipulated into the $15 hour rhetoric from leftist groups. They are the ones claim victim mentality, and believe they deserve more than market value for their low skilled labor. They are also normally the worst fast food employees.
I absolutely love peter schiffs commentary on the minimum wage. I hope peter runs for president in 2020 so we can hear this on national tv!
The lady's new shoes argument is bogus. I don't own a car and I walk everywhere and I've worn the same pair of $100 shoes since 2010. Except for during the day in the summertime when I have bought two pair of $20 flip flops since 2010. The woman in was talking about Jordans for her kids which are totally un necessary. If you are an adult making minimum wage, that's your fault. Period. And even if the places these people work for raise wages, they won't get that money. They will be fired and replaced with a machine or a better employee, who will be attracted by the newly raised wages. And if the company can't afford the new wages at all, then the company will close down and everyone loses.
LOL "These Losers" HAHAHAHA SOOOO TRUE! 21 years at 8.50 an hour.... are you fucking serious!!!!
Nearly every political debate can be split into 3 camps : naive people who think everything has to be good at work and doesn't recognize limited resources, people who understand that there needs to be trade offs and the role of unintended consequences, and people who know this and pretend they don't to placate the idiots.
Raising the minimum wages will only push further towards fully automated fast food restaurants.
Peter Schiff, the voice of Reason. Love his videos.
Peter Schiff needs to link the issue of minimum wage to Inflation and the income tax. If people understand the problem is inflation and income tax they will understand the minimum wage.
Agreed, once again how inflation is pretty much a tax on the middle and below class. Either inflation kills you if you are not earning enough with current min wage or simply get put out of employment if it was raised, by raising the price floor in the labor market.
Peter I love you brother and follow your financial advise. I am a supporter of liberty and free markets. But calling some of these people "losers" was harsh man. These are the people that get stuck in an area / economy and are raised in dangerous neighborhoods. A lot of these "losers" could have taken the road of selling drugs and crime but they would rather work at a place like McDonalds to make ends meet.
I am not saying they are in the right at all. I think there should be no min wage... These people make be woefully ignorant of economics - but to call them "losers" was harsh. Uneducated sure... but not losers.
This was just my 2 cents
I can agree with you here, but at the same time, being one of those people myself. It's important to not remove our responsibility for our situation, most of us (not all of course) wound up "stuck" in minimum wage positions, because we didn't make smart choices.
Calling them losers, i agree is a bit harsh. But so many people who talk about these people, depict them as having no fault in their current position, which is not only false, but insulting.
We need to find the middle ground, where people like myself retain personal responsibility for our situation and choices, without calling us names.
Sometimes, you have to be cruel to be kind. Peter is a rich man - he is here to help. He doesn't need to be on Radio. He could retire tomorrow. Trust me - he is here to help. to wake the sheeple up.
Life requires initiative if you want to do well. We have trained people to expect life to happen to them instead of making it happen themselves. I lost a job and after failing to get a job in the recession then, I started my own business over 20 years ago. But even then I had always advanced at my job. Anyone with anything on the ball quickly moves up even at a fast food joint. Guy's a loser.
Of course we should blame the employer. Because “FAVORITISM” is “ALIVE” & “WELL” “”today””! Hiring people to management positions who don’t have the qualifications. This “LEARNING THE JOB AS YOU GO” is some BS. AND what about the less ambitious & intelligent THAT get promoted. 95% of the time, that SH!T happens.
Graduate from high school. Work at Min wage job while living with parents. Save up as much money as possible. Purchase reliable/affordable car with cash. Get an entry level job at a big corporation (Or a good business that promotes from within). Show up early/Stay late. Work your ass off. Learn as much as possible about not only your current job but the job you're seeking. Go after any promotional position even if you fail every time, looks good to the boss... Accept promotion.
Simple method that works every time... that's if you're able to push past the many failures that WILL come with this journey towards financial success.
All common sense. Refreshing.
Really, people are complaining that Schiff calls other people losers? C'mon people we aren't in kindergarten anymore, if anything positive, those fast food workers just need the drive and initiative to prove Schiff wrong.
That's a bit harsh calling them 'losers'.
No matter how many times I watch this video it never gets old
"Win What?!" Peter's a beast!! love it.
Maybe Peter needed to be "politically correct", but he is right. I'm no employer by any stretch of the imagination, but I think we need to understand how a business works on the basic level. Forget about the corruption that exists in a business for a minute and see how a business is suppose to function.
From my little understanding, a business is one that provides a service or product at a competitive price that consumers want in order to make a profit. A business can't survive if it can't make a profit meaning you have to consider the costs of everything especially if you are working with a very tight budget. One miss calculation and the business is dead.
So the business can’t survive if the ceo take home less pay?
@@emmarose7491 A CEO does whatever he or she wants. It’s not about whether a business can survive when CEO receives less pay. It’s about being happy. I would think that if you put in the work to get your company off the ground that you would want to enjoy what your hands have put together; attain things other than a high profit margin. You would want to unplug and go after childhood dreams and aspirations that wouldn’t be possible with just a meager wage.
These clips never get old
Life isn't fair people. If you were born an unintelligent person or a lazy unmotivated person I'm sorry but you aren't entitled to anything. Just because you are here in america where lots of people have pretty good living standards doesn't mean that you should be able to get the lowest entry level job out there and be able to afford a house and cars and everything else. These are entry level jobs they are jobs for kids and shit trying to make some spending cash they aren't meant to raise a family on.
awesome Peter. You're right. Keep up the great work!
What about taxes! Taxes are killing me! I pay much more in taxes every month than I do rent!
Working at McD in this economy for $15 p/hr is a blessing to many
Thanks for telling the truth Peter. We don't hear that often in our world today.
So true. Some people are smarter and more focused than others.
Peter nailed it on the head in the last 2 minutes. If raising the minimum wage is so much better for everyone and the economy, why not raise it to $100/hr. or more?
The problem with starting a company yourself and paying $15/hr is that you put yourself at a competitive disadvantage with companies that don't care about their employees. If the wage floor is set to $15/hr no single company would be killed off for trying to pay their employees more. Demand will decrease but IMO very insignificantly.
The amount you pay your employees has nothing to do with how much you "care" about them. Also, some companies operate on very thin margins. A 15$ floor might destroy their prfitability. Its a mistake to assume otherwise. Unless expenditures come down significantly, the amount you pay your employees plays a huge role in a companies viability.
joseph zamudio To offset the loss in increased wages they would raise prices. This would be possible because every other company has to raise their prices as well, which would never happened if a minimum wage wasn't enacted and enforced. A minimum wage simply allows companies to compete while paying their employees more than a few pennies an hour.
As far as companies caring... virtually no company cares about its employees. I'm bringing up the company that cares as being a magical Christmasland company that wants to pay its employees enough so that they don't live in poverty.
Erik Barmon
When you raise prices, your volume decreases and your revenues goes down. If companies could raise prices right now and make more money, they would do it. A lot of people would just get fired in the end, there is no dodging it. Price controls doesn't work.
TheRealMisterB Can you read my post before replying to the thread? Thanks.
Erik Barmon You don't know what you are talking about.
1) You post assumes that an increase in wages will have a uniform impact on the margins of all companies within a given sector such that they will all raise their prices (and by about the same amount). This is false. Take farming for example; different farms operate with different levels of automation vs. manual labour. If you force an increase in min wage you will certainly impact the margins of those farms which rely on heavily on manual labour, but not so much on those that are automated. The effect will be that the former will have to raise prices, the latter won't, the former will go bankrupt.
2) Even if you saw uniform increases in prices, it still means a decrease in volume. Volume of sales is not only driven by the price a certain company charges relative to its peers, it is also driven by the overall price for the product within the industry. Take an extreme example; if tomorrow shoe prices tripled because of min wage laws you would see a drop off in the total number of shoe sales, not just sales at one individual shoe company.
3) Even if you saw uniform increase in prices and no decrease in volume, what it still means is that the consumer is now paying more for a given product and thus is effectively poorer. The real crime with min wage laws, alongside people being fired as a result (or never being hired in the first place), is the fact that it targets industries that cater to the poor. The rich don't frequent McDonalds. The rich don't buy mass-produced cars. The rich don't go to Walmart. It is exactly those industries who will have to raise prices as a result of min wage that also are mostly catering to the poor. When they raise prices those poor people are the ones who suffer as they now can buy less.
100%
Well said Mr. Schiff.
Ive owned the same tennis shoes well over a year and a half. Ran in then sometimes, jumping jacks every week, work, walking around still not done yet.
Peter it's good you have raised a very important but simple point that many people seem to find difficult to understand. If you don't work hard, you don't get success. It's simple. If you think you are plateauing, then go out and get more skills !
I usually like Peter, but wtf? There simply aren't that many high level jobs. Most jobs are always going to be lousy, bad paying jobs. It doesn't matter how hard you work, not everybody can have a great job. You know, the average income isn't that high, and that's because there just aren't that many jobs that pay that well.
Tell it like it is Peter!!!
How can these minimum wage workers afford a computer to down vote this video?
zdrux I make over 3 times the federal minimum and I downvoted it
I have a relative who constantly complains about his low pay (actually double the min wage) but who refuses to look for other jobs, attend night school to learn a trade, or do anything outside of his comfort zone. He does, however, have plenty of free time and money for hours and hours of sports on TV and to travel to games.
You forget that a lot of the time favoritism rules you out of advancement and it’s everywhere
11:48 Listening to Peter go all George Costanza about the tennis shoes is hilarious! "How often does she play tennis?"
[14:21] Hahaha!! "Well duhhhhhhhhhhhh! That's my point!!" You just gotta love Peter...
That "tennis shoes every 4-5 months" comment threw me also. I mean, WTF !?
I worked at McDonalds for 2 years in high school. I learned a lot about the job market and what it takes to succeed. If they offered me the same money as i make now to do fast food work i would switch in a second.
peter, awesome clip.
The tennis shoes lady is obviously referring to buying tennis shoes for her kids, because they are playing.
Absolutely correct! People who have worked at these jobs for 5 or 10 years complaining about the fact that they haven't received a raise is both an indictment against themselves for lacking the ambition to improve themselves and against the present Administration for fostering and presiding over such a horribly stagnant economy.
BTW McDonald's food is about 30% overpriced as it is. If the minimum wage is increased to 10 plus an hour then their products will be priced out of existence.
The tennis shoes are probably part of the uniform at McD's.
"A community organizer does not an economic organizer make"
I'm curious what these career McDonald's employees have done to increase their skills and employee value since they have been working there. I don't believe that is all they are humanly capable of.
Peter, you are contradicting yourself. You are the one (and I totally support it) saying that this economy has problems creating jobs. Now you are blaming these fast foods workers why they are not improving their skills to get better job. How can you get better jobs in this part-time economy, or even no real jobs economy?
I got a job at a grocery store at 15 working part time through high school and I was grateful to get my $8.00/hour because it helped me buy my first car. I also got Christmas bonuses and a 25 cent raise every 6 months. I loved the business Market Basket and when I turned 18 and graduated high school I quit that job and moved on...
Blame your parents.
I wear out my tennis shoes in about a month because I spend my free time playing tennis instead of arguing politics :)
Roland W I literally wear out a $20 pair of sneakers in about 5 months, so I don't know what shoes Schiff-bot is buying, and I mean WEAR OUT, like half inch holes in the soles and all the stitching coming undone
Peter...I have been wearing the same tennis shoes for 3 years! Still lots of tread left and I walk a lot everyday. LOL
I have been working at walmart for 50 years and I refuse to get another job
Peter, I agreed with everything you said except the tennis shoes thing (going for the big picture, I know). I worked in restaurants for 10 years, and I've worn holes in nice shoes in under 3 months quite a few times. Lots of restaurants will pay for half your shoes though. Just pointing out a discrepancy.
I've been using the same shoes for a couple years. lol
Technoguy3 must be nice shoes, the cheap ones I buy don't make it more than 5 months before there are holes in the soles and the stitching comes undone
Peter I would not call them losers.
How do you work at McDonalds for 21 years ? LOL
I agree with you, Peter, on most things. The rant about shoes at fast food joints is wrong however. When I was a kid, my first job was in fast food and the oil that is all over the floor in the back destroys rubber soles very quickly. So she needs to replace shoes quite often because of her job, not because of running around and having fun.
The law comes in, wages raise, burger (consumer) prices will raise immediately, then rent and bills will raise proportionally.
The balance will settle at the same relative proportion as it was, the minimal skill workers will still have the same spending capability as before even if they get more zimbabwe dollars plus many of them will be fired in the transition period.
So the people who can't hand me a bag of food without my napkins being covered in grease need more money?
Cronyism, the Tax Code, excessive regulations, the national debt and the Federal Reserve are the major causes of the widening income inequality gap.
Solutions:
Abolish Tax Code and IRS.
Enact Fair Tax (national sales tax).
Minimize regulations to only what is absolutely necessary.
Balance the budget.
Start decreasing the national debt.
Abolish the Federal Reserve as we know it. Replace with automated system as Milton Friedman suggested until better solution is discovered.
Treat gold and silver as legal tender, not as an asset.
The income inequality problem is counterintuitive. Big government equals more income inequality. Smaller government equals less income inequality.
The middle class is the byproduct of a free market economy; it is not manufactured by a politician's tax gimmicks, minimum wage laws, or government redistribution of wealth.
There is no such thing as a living wage; there is only a wage that someone can afford to pay. You have to tailor your living around your wage, not have government tailor your wage around your living.
It is about supply and demand. If you have an easy time filling your employee needs, you offer lower wages, if you have a hard time filling your employee needs, you offer higher wages; because if you do not your competition will and you will be out of business.
It is not about what people deserve or what is fair or what is just; it is about what the market will bear. Blame the consumer for shopping for the lowest price and blame the voter for voting for government to fix their problems.
When I was a kid and I thought something was unfair my mom told me LIFE ISN'T FAIR. She was right. Some people are born with everything given to them but tgat doesn't mean shit should be easy for you. If you want anything in life no matter what it is you have to work for it sacrifice for it even. Man up and stop crying its unfair and go get yours
Ya, attack the poor working class, great job Mr. Schiff. I don't care if you are a "dead beat" or "loser". you work somewhere 10 years, you deserve a raise, at least enough of one to counteract inflation, and keep your standard of living from steadily decreasing until your homeless. though, in fairness, you still have a full comprehension and valuable knowledge of the economic system, and the troubles impacting it, if not enough compassion to see people who work for a decade with a company deserve to get treated better, then being called losers.
*****
oh, just leave your job huh? forget about your rent, and food, just leave. oh you lost your car because you can't make car payments without the job you left? and now you can't make it to interviews?
*****
oh you mean stay at a job while you look for another one.. oh i see... except the only time I can interview for other jobs is during work hours at my current job. Since I can't miss work, I can't go and do other interviews. Besides even if I could miss work, without getting fired, I can't afford it because I work for joke wages that keep me exactly where I am and unable to maneuver to a better place. I make just enough to get by, never enough to save and never enough to get an education for a better job. (is a hypothetical and reasonable argument)
*****
"Well those losers should be tightening their belts and going with less then!" you say. "those pathetic losers, just tighten your belt and you'd be out in a jiffy! I understand the world perfectly and know exactly what to do! I would never be trapped by a job that spent millions on research on how to precisely keep me working but never moving up!! I'm smart!" Except there is one more little important factor here, inflation. one factor that Schiff is so fond of pointing out, is actually much higher then is being reported. according to the bureau of labor statistics $1 dollar in 2004 would now be worth $1.26. and that's what the bureau of labor statistics is reporting. thats a 25% decrease in buying power and those are bullshi* numbers put up by the fed, the reality is probably much worse. Meaning those people HAVE been tightening their belts, because what their getting paid is worth less and less and less. "well just tighten even more!" you can only give up so much until your destitute and living off the street. I'm guessing those people have given plenty
***** what car? you make 7.50 an hour. move somewhere cheaper? you're right the one bedroom shi*-hole is too spacious, and ya I guess someone could get rid of their refrigerator to make room for that extra bed and move in the the possible drug addict co worker that steals things, but he's the only other person that I could get to want to live here..
Nobody deserves a raise. You have to show increased productivity. You have to earn it. And as long as you work for someone else your opportunities are limited.
There is a third option besides giving them a waver or watching them close down. Not a good one, but one that could save the president´s face and keep the business running without a waver, and with the higher minimum wage. The government could (secretly?) subsidize the difference between the "old" and "new" minimum wage.
AgAuBug or do a UBI or negative income tax
Schiff is a smart man, but honestly he always defends the rich because he is rich. He really has no idea what is it like to be poor and struggle month to month making ends meet. Also calling these people losers is pretty mean, just because somebody hasn't found a job/career that's high paying or has been some place making the same wage for awhile does not make them a loser. When he says go out and get skills he doesn't realize not all people have the ability to be doctors, electricians, lawyers, engineers, teachers, ect, and also the manufacturing jobs have been absolutely gutted in America which were good jobs for average people that they could live off of. In the end the same thing will happen: The rich will say I can't raise wages, the working poor will turn to the government for welfare,food stamps, medicare, housing assistance, ect and the middle class will pay for most of this. I don't think you should get 15 bucks an hour to flip burgers, but also, people who can't even afford the basics after working some place for almost an entire decade seems wrong also, just giving my two cents here.
That is not smart at all.......that is completely stupid
there is no second tier jobs , there is no ladder......This myth that somehow its down to effort or talent is stunning
100 entry level jobs are not matched by 100 better positions or even 5 I suspect
Scameron44 That's right. You enter an entry level job and how do you exit it? Hell, I know people having trouble getting even an entry level job.
Scameron44
It is indeed a kind of pyramid scheme.
perhaps we are just being conspiracy theorists......This could actually work if the people with these decent positions just die quickly and repeatedly ...selfish bastards are just living to long. Mind you even these "middle" class are 2 income families that need to work into their 70s to survive.....Greedy fucks don't need meat every week do they?
If this assumption that the richest ones provide more value was true, it would be awesome, but it is not the case in virtually any scenario. The richest ones are not the ones that do good for society, but the ones that own means of production, for example, factories, hotels and other assets. Putin is rich because he has his paws on Russian oil, which is actually damaging to society. Yes, he (well, the workers in oil wells) is providing society with a good asset, but it wasn't his to begin with. Even Bill Gates that ''came up'' (bought for cheap or even stole CP/M concept for MS DOS, as some sources say, but let's assume that this was purely his brainchild) a wonderful idea, didn't produce everything himself. The actual producers got a small share, but that's it.
When it comes to competing for jobs, well, do you know any worker that is a billionaire and does loads of good for society (proportional to their income, of course)?
This is LOGIC... Liberals..
couldn't pay me to eat that stuff anyway. it's the crack of the food industry....coming to a vending machine near you
Heck. I am 6-6 and 230lb and run for 4-6 months in a pair of sneakers. Then they get relegated to every day walking shoes for 4-6 months. Then they get washed and sent to the local running store for someone that can't afford new shoes. They are still viable to use after a year.
Maybe tennis shoes don't last as long. But 4 months?
I agree with peter, but have to comment on the shoes. I work at kfc as a cook, and working there you need to wear "non-slip" shoes. And the Shoes for Crews, which is what we order through them, are the best at not slipping, which is Great when working with hot grease. But after a little over a year, i am on my third pair. The sides are water proof, leather i believe, but they wear out when you bend down and go on the ball of your feet. So that argument i understand. Peter Schiff
Why cant they just raise prices? Fast food joints don't have uniform prices. Prices at McDess are higher in high cost places like center city, turnpike rest stops etc.. Why can't they just raise the prices on the military bases?
If you want an easy way to have a good Job , go to a recruitment center near your town , they will take good care of you .
Problem is there is no where to go. In the 50s and 60s you would take an entry level job and learn what it takes to hold a job -- show up on time every day, get some work experience then the factory would call your boss, check you out and if you were dependable you would get your next job and so on. Raise minimum wage or not. This whole debate is like arguing over how to set the engine speed on the Titanic.
The minimum wage is a bad idea. It doesn't address the government created inflation which makes it harder for people to make ends meet on their wages. Jobs are harder to find because they are being destroyed by government monetary policy. 2008 was the culmination of bad policy and it is shrinking jobs. If the bottom end workers seek relief, they should demand it in the form of lower taxes. Their wages are taxed on both sides, the employee and the employer.
The minimum wage is morally wrong because the entity which is ordering the people involved in a voluntary transaction to amend their contract, is the party who is feeding off of them the most.
So I repeat, maybe if we really cared about these workers we could lower their taxes?
These people pay low are under stress.
The issue is not with minimum wage, it is the high real inflation, cheap money that causes low wage workers to ask for higher wage.
Tennis shoes? Look, Peter! There goes the point. :P
"Organisation funding fast food workers' protests"
Who funds the organisation?
Amazing video uncle Pete!
PS - you should give a link top the original video so we can add nasty comments to it! :)
America won't let reality ruin the "American Dream" of a "Great Society"
I remember when this class 1 railroad was hiring. They called about 60 people that might be possible employees. The railroad used a large meeting room to explain to these people what would be expected of them, before they would be hired. Ok. All 60 people are sitting there in folding chairs. The speaker came in. The first thing he asked was, if anyone there had been arrested for a drug violation. He said, if they had they might as well leave now. About half got up and left. Then he said if anyone had ever had a DUI that they might as well leave also. Again, about half go up and left. Last question was if anyone had ever been convicted of a felony. As it turned out, of those 60 people, there were 11 left. All those people that left, had to do to get a better paying job, was keep their nose clean, and they couldn't even do that. So, whose fault was it that they couldn't get a better job? The employer? The company only wanted the best people, that they could get. Who wouldn't?
Another thing. This was before any interviews were given. What is wrong with people in this country? What has happened to us? At one time, I believe we had the most productive people in the world. What happened? It seems like a good work ethic is not to be found anymore. What happened to drive and ambition and a good work ethic? There is so little of it now. People feel that they deserve and are entitled to a high paying job, or a government handout, as soon as they drop out of High School, or they get out of jail.
Jim Sherlock
Poverty mysteriously turns people to crime and then think hey I should get a job. maybe they'd tried to get a job first but the hunger pains got to em. Look once you have been to Jail paid for your crimes you should be able to come back to the community if not just kick em out. I thought America was supposed to better than everyone.
Cut 6, arround 12:47. "I've never done this before." "It's just too important." "We wont' stop. Not until we win." In my opinion, it seems way easier to gain a new skill, improve existing skills, or seek out higher paying work than fighting for a $15/hour fast food employee minimum wage. If it really is that important, I think many of the folks in the video would have figured out a way to make this happen on an individual basis after so many years in fast food.
I agree, in theory, with a lot of what Schiff is saying, but I also think that we as a society need to look at (and Schiff has covered in other shows) why so many people are stuck at these kinds of jobs to begin with. Our economy simply isn't generating good-paying jobs. Forty years ago, an unskilled worker could raise a family by working in manufacturing. Now, thanks to the massive trade deficit, most of those jobs are in China and people are stuck at McDonald's. And it's not about education, either. There are plenty of educated people wasting away at Starbucks or working at the mall.
Read somewhere that in wage would really need to b $23/hr if adjusted for inflation
Peter, Shoes wear out every 2 to 4 months if one is standing on them for 8 hr shifts - the shoe becomes "dead" if you will. Especially the crap that is made today. A high quality Shoe/Boot maybe you can get away with six to eight months before they become "dead" sure the treads are still good but it looses "something" the shoe become "Flat" and those shoe Inserts cost a good twenty bucks a piece so this is the first time since I started listening to you that you are wrong on this one. Sure the shoe, sneaker, tennis shoe is still useable but standing on a hard surface they do not do a foot justice. Keep up the good work!
I worked at 711 for minimum wage in highschool.. Worked my way up and do very well now.. Actually I loved working st 711 in highschool
I completely agree with Schiff, BUT, he has obviousley never wore the same shoes every day while working 40 hrs a week, especially in a resturant... Stick with the economics Pete. Love your work, just correcting a friend with some mundane knowledge.
The only thing I disagree with is the shoe thing. I worked as a car rental agent and wore cheap dress shoes as I was on my feet all day. Never had a pair last more than 6 months. Cheap shoes are like 20-30 bucks anyway so it's really not a concern anyway. I am sure the people who make the shoes make much less per hour than they do. lol
Well, none of this would be an issue, if the Federal Reserve and the government, would just stop trying to inflate the dollar, taking away its purchasing power. If these minimum wage workers had more purchasing power, none of this would really be an issue. You would still have career burger flippers, but if the dollar was just allowed to gain value, they'd find life a lot easier.
I'm still young. My job consists of cleaning commercial businesses after they close. all things considered, for a physical labor job, it's quite good. Flexible hours, and what I love is it's not on the clock. I go in, do the job, and as long as it's done, I leave. Great!
It doesn't pay that well, but it's stress-free, and it's what I can get for now. If I go through my life without improving my skills or education, I don't expect to get much better. In the end, it'd be my choice though. The great thing about my position is even now, I save a lot of money. I just live frugally. Within my means is too easy. Live under your means, no matter your income. If you can do that, you'll go far.
There are people out there who have better genetics, better lineage, better luck in general. And vice versa. I won't blame luck for my situation. In the end, it's down to my choice and it's my responsibility. Life isn't fair and never will be.
I agree with schiff much of the time in concept but not always the way he frames things. In a free market, wages would likely go up naturally because there'd be tons of great jobs out there and it'd be tough to keep people employed. Minimum wage workers aren't always "lazy" many bust their but and never see promotion due to discrimination in the work place. In case he didn't know just because your great at your job doesn't always mean the job market isn't going to try to suppress your upward growth. That said the solution is more jobs, because more jobs means more chances you can take to improve your situation... but to just flat out call min wage workers "lazy" is just wrong. Physically speaking those are usually the hardest jobs.
I just think that people that actually do the physical labor should financially compensated better than they often are. There's no downside. It incentives more productivity and would maintain long term employment. I'm amazed that some of the hardest working people are paid the most pitiful wages. And some of the time they can't improve their situation because they're stuck working 3 jobs at once. I don't think government is the answer but a bit more fucking respect for the people that do the jobs that allow us to live a more comfortable lifestyle. Physical labor isn't often valued by CEO's and I think it's because many CEO's have no clue what they're talking about. They've never done these sorts of jobs, and never learned to do them with any sort of proficiency.
And if the market wasn't so closed off we'd see people starting as a burger flipper and working up to CEO and they could rework the company. But that's a damn rare occurence.
Whether or not these people could have gotten another job, it's a crime that they weren't given better wages. That's piss poor business practice and maybe the consumer should boycott places like that.
Jesse Riley Jesse, as someone who has worked fast food for the last 2 years while paying my way though college. I can promise you, the majority of employees ARE lazy. 95% of fast food workers are not punctual, they are never on task for their entire shift, and for that reason, they have to be babysat. A lot of them do not do anything unless they are told to, and they do not think for themselves. They do not think about how they could better the company, or help other employees out, or go the extra mile. They simply clock in, do what they are told, and clock out. Why is that deserving of a raise? If that is all someone is doing, they are not valuable to the company. You can train anyone (yes anyone) to do that.
You also talk about the physical demand of working fast food. Seriously? Yes, I understand that the job requires you to be on your feet for up to 8-10 hours at a time, but if you are claiming that as "labor intensive" you need to research some diets and exercise programs. Physically demanding jobs would be construction, landscaping, movers, fire fighters, etc. and yes, the job market does compensate for actual physical labor-intensive jobs ;)
And to your point about CEO's never having these starting jobs, umm.. Where do you think they started out? Many of them have worked the grunt work jobs, including Peter. You should probably do your research before popping off on them and making accusations.
My guess is that you have never owned your own business, and certainly you have never hired anyone. So please.. keep your comments to yourself :)
If it is pitiful business practice, and it is in the best interest of the business to pay workers a higher wage and/or provide benefits, wouldn't business owners be doing that already? Why do we need the government to tell a business owner what is best for his bottom line? If someone has "pitiful business practice", why not let the free market eat them alive and let their ass lose money?
Also, the reason why it we keep using fast food is because that is what this whole video is about... it is in response and a rebuttal to a video posted that interviewed several McDonalds workers.... which happens to be a fast food joint.
To the shoes comment.. you have a point, but is that really going to be the premise of your argument against Schiff - that he doesn't know how quickly shoes wear out? Man.. I wish that was the biggest of my concerns with all of our elected officials. Look, he cherry picked the shoes comment, made a rather dumb statement about it, but it took up what, 15 seconds of a 16 min video? It doesn't invalidate his argument.
Listen, being in a minimum wage job, I see and hear a lot of things about peoples' personal lives and spending habits. "fuck yeah, just got paid, drinks are on me!" turns to "Damn man.. can i get a ride to work? I'm a little short on cash until payday." It is fucking absurd how people prioritize their money, and yes, it goes across the board, but between cigarettes and alcohol, most people spend a good $200 per month or more on those things, and then wonder why they have no money at the end of the month. I support my 3 person family solely off of my paycheck while also going to college. My wife's salary goes entirely to savings/investment. It is about sound money management.. something that 95% of minimum wage workers do not understand, and it is the sole reason they are in the monetary situation that they are in. No, I do not feel sorry for someone who struggles with money, because people who are not "losers" do not waste their money on eating out, alcohol, cigarettes, and weed. They save, they invest, and they move up in the world. And honestly.. in my opinion, it is not just minimum wage workers who are losers. Anyone who cannot manage their money is a loser. Whether you are a multi-million dollar athlete, or a McDonalds worker. If you're living paycheck to paycheck, you're living beyond your means, and I have no respect for that.
I have to call bullshit on Peter on the shoe thing. I buy the cheapest sneakers you can get, $20/pair at WalMart, and I wear them until there are holes in the soles, usually about 5 months. Good expensive sneakers will last 2 to 3 times as long, but who earning minimum wage could buy a $100+ pair just to last longer? I have a pair of Red Wing Boots which on average last 10 years, BUT they cost a fortune (my current pair was $225) That could be 2 weeks take home pay for a minimum wage worker
I'd lmfao if all fast food companies closed shop... No fast food companies... Now where are you going to work Mr. rich and free American?
McDonald's wont close down if they have to pay 10.10 because Burger King, KFC, Taco Bell and all their competitors are in the same boat. When the cost of labor increases it is passed on to the consumer as higher prices like any other cost like the cost of beef, cost of energy, municipal taxes or inflation. Sure, there may be the odd McDonalds right on the verge of profitability and 10.10 fueled price increase may be enough to make enough people eat at home and put a few McDonalds in the red but that would be a very small percentage because 10.10 will increase the cost of groceries too.
I pretty much have to agree with Schiff here. Those of you saying he is just taking this view because he is wealthy are really missing the main points.
Businesses have to make money or they aren't worth running. So if minimum wage is too high any businesses that can't make a reasonable profit will either have to raise prices or close up shop.
If businesses have to raise prices especially businesses that employ people at or near minimum wage like fast food and retail who does it hurt the most? The same people that wanted the minumum wage to begin with.
People stuck in a minimum wage job for years are failing to work harder to advance or look for a better job. If the guy working at Mcdonald's for 20 years isn't managing a restaurant yet, who's fault is that? He should know the business inside and out by then. Obviously he is showing no initiative.
Some business based in America pay less than people working on minimum wage and some business and rich people a making record amounts of money, basic economics if no money if flowing in a economy you get poverty. It starts a cascade effect in the job environment. Look the rich can have their money but the effect is the current conditions with the job markets we have now. If business just invested in people unemployment would be a problem. During our last economic booms and bust the people who worked were always the same; some word hard, smart, like slackers, the 9 to 5; some were even convicts and that didn't exclude people from a job.
NO Job NO employment
You made some great points.
Well gee, if you work a minimum wage job for many adult years - a job that most unskilled teenagers can be trained to take over in under a week - you are eminently replaceable and just not worth a high wage. I imagine if you really interviewed these people, many of these long term entry-level employees are the same kids who goofed off in class, dove deep into drugs and alcohol, got pregnant as teenagers, and generally decided responsible living wasn't really for them. Now they look back and decide the world owes them for their poor life choices? Sorry, it just doesn't.
***** I'm happy you started your own business - hope it's doing well. As for it being difficult to find good paying jobs with full time benefits, there are two major factors to consider. 1) How relevant are your skills? For example, degrees in early childhood education are a dime a dozen, whereas a degree in biomedical engineering can open a lot of doors (not that everyone has the aptitude to be a biomedical engineer - but you get the point). The people in the video didn't impress me as working hard to obtain ANY skills beyond the most rudimentary. 2) The economy is absolutely suppressed right now due to gross government mismanagement and overreach, in addition to the disastrous policies of the federal reserve. This is displacing a lot of people from certain jobs that would otherwise be available in a thriving free market economy. No doubt about it, times are tough all over. But the best thing anyone can do that wants to find a good job is research areas where there is an actual demand for labor and realign your skills. Good luck.
Only thing ya got wrong Peter is the tennis shoes thing. She probably buys crappy cheap t-shoes at wal-mart. I buy these crappy things to do yard work, and can pretty much tear them up in one summer mowing the grass and yanking weeds in my own yard, just wearing them on the weekends. They cost $9 and are made in China.
It's been years since I had a job even close to what she is doing, but if I had been wearing these $9 Bobos, I'd tear them up too.
Maybe she needs to get shoes so often because she doesn't have a car and needs to walk everywhere. Walking to work, home, school, grocery store, banks, etc. all the time will wear out your shoes pretty fast; I know I lived in downtown LA for four months with no car, and it killed my pair of shoes.
Peter your feet would stank if you wore the same kicks and ran around all day at work. Cmon bro! However most of what you said is on point. Cheers
I don't support the minimum wage, but I want to point out that the workers at Mcdonalds don't just stand in one place. The workers are versatile; one day they're working the front with customers and one day they're working in the kitchen. If you're a good worker, you're always moving. So it isn't unusual for a Mcdonalds employee's shoes to be battered up; however, having to replace your shoes every four to five months is unusual. So she might be lying or maybe bought some really cheap shoes.
So people that make food can't afford food and shelter? I see...
Goodwill sells tennis shoes for a $1.
Socialism at its finest.
Tennis shoes or running shoes made in China will last 3 months if you do not wear them much. I'm on a pension and know from wearing them, cann't afford the $80 - $90 good Americian ones.
The craziest part is that before people have any real idea of what value they are ready to add to society they are goaded into jobs. Starting at 16 years of age the push for money is on, most still too immature to have developed any real sense of their talents. Whatever floats the need of the "common good"... I guess.
Which countries have a minimum wage, and which don't. Then see which one of those countries have high unemployment, and others have low unemployment. If Peter is right then countries with high minimum wage would have high unemployment. Can someone prove that Peter is wrong? Of course correlation doesn't equal causation. Or do it?