Robert Reich Destroys Minimum Wage Myths
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- Опубліковано 1 лип 2024
- @RBReich - former U.S. Secretary of Labor, professor at UC Berkeley, prominent economic commentator, founder of Inequality Media - joins us to talk about a crucial topic: the U.S. minimum wage. At a time when prices are growing far faster than wages, leaving workers with tighter and tighter pocketbooks, the U.S. minimum wage remains where it has been since 2007. Robert explains why common myths about the minimum wage fall short, and why raising it will help ordinary working people without contributing to inflation.
Sources in the video.
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Even saying teenagers don't need more money is a ridiculous concept. Who doesn't need more money? Billionaires, that's who.
Not like student loans and debt is a think, am I right - _-
Also, its flies in the face of the idea that we should give equal pay for equal work.
The work that teen is doing "flipping burgers" is no less demanding than the adult "flipping burgers"
Introduce a "teen wage" and you'll see a lot of people fired on their 18th birthday. These fast food places *want* a bunch of kids they don't have to pay and who don't know their rights and won't speak up against authority...
@@summertime69 if these jobs were for kids, they wouldn't be open during school hours qnd would close early, as kids gotta get up for school. Amirite?
And it assumes that the only people making minimum wage are teenagers. This isn’t true.
Been a teen was rough how am supposed get cute Southeast Asian Girls or a Perky Icelandic Model or even Hot Black Chick on minimum wage. That is why I sell Windex, Vicky, Warlock. Making off to pay of the judges and cops so I wouldn't catch a case.
“Your tax dollars are subsidizing corporations who don’t want to pay a living wage” I’ve never heard that argument put that way. I love it. It seems so powerful.
Not only that, but in 2020 the US government handed out generous subsidies to oil corporations with the intention for them to spend it to build new extraction and processing infrastructure. Yet instead, these corporations used those subsidies to pay out dividends to their shareholders.
In other words, public tax money was used to pay dividends to shareholders!
Simple solution is to end welfare programs and let people starve. Problem solved with “subsidizing corporations” which is not actually true
For many years, the largest recipient of SNAP (FOOD ASSISTANCE) was fucking Wal-Mart. Because they would pay their employees dogshit and then encourage them to sign up for welfare.
@@joshuawagner1149 that is a lie as walmart was not paid any SNAP.
@@scottmolnar4132 oil companies are indeed subsidized as is the oil and gas industry and many other companies and programs across the United States. Please research before making your claims
Robert Riech needs to read a Thomas Sowell book.
Very True. I have most of his books. This guy enlightened me.
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it's sad how many people are tricked into arguing on behalf of interests that want only to take from them.
It really is. I want so bad to understand. Even more to believe. Why are they doing this? I desperately read both sides and have never fell for the Hivemind. The feeling is anger, powerlessness and hopelessness. I wish l were never born here so that way the very less can look like so much more. I would get more respect, services and opportunity. The people who built and died for this country. Erased and ignored. The unhoused and desperation for simple courtesy. Both sides found everyday to destroy instead of uplift their own nations. It's living nightmare come true. Nope, l love my nightmares. Only place that's real to me.
There are people doing that in the comments here in this video... It makes me really sad and angry to see that
Propaganda works
I remember working a job that paid 75 cents above minimum wage.. When min wage went up, its was above that amount and everyone was happy until I pointed out that we're now making exactly min wage and not above it.. it became a big argument with the managers vs me sticking up for everyone.
They kept trying to say that "I'm being paid more than before so I should shut up and be happy".. and I kept pointing out, "then why weren't we paid min wage before?".. silence
..The real answer is because we were independent contractors that used our own vehicles/gas/insurance etc, (and our gas expense at this time had already 2-5x'd from when we started, because of the war in Iraq)..
When they finally couldn't beat around the bush anymore, they gave me the ole "We're all in this struggle together, so we cant really pay anymore".. I told them I'll stick around if they don't raise their prices anytime this year.. so I basically quit about a month later. It took 3 people to do my route which eventually cost the thieves, I mean bosses their contract.. Damn it feels good to be right sometimes.
They're not tricked.
Many would rather starve than see "others" have decent lives.
Raising the minimum wage is just passed to the consumer. It becomes a never ending cycle and just leads to inflation of all prices.
Every American community that has put into effect a minimum wage increases has seen an IMPROVED economy in as little as 2 years. There was a study that started about a decade ago that followed two neighboring counties with surprisingly similar demographics; one raised their minimum wage to $15 and the other kept it at the Federally-mandated level. Within 5 years, the one with the higher minimum wage was seeing dramatically better outcomes for all of its citizens: more jobs, more house sales, more children, less crime, lower teen pregnancy rates, less suicide, better health outcomes; almost every single measure of happiness and health had increased. Just off a single increase in the MINIMUM wage. Why? People put that money into the economy, creating new opportunities for new business, further improving the economy with more jobs and businesses, in a self-perpetuating cycle that brought more growth.
So what did that county seeing all that success do? They raised the minimum wage AGAIN, this time to $19, and saw even MORE benefits which grew at an even FASTER rate. It's almost like when you force companies to share their business profits with the people who are, you know, MAKING THAT PROFIT POSSIBLE, good things happen.
Yeah good things happen for a lot of normal people. But good things for us aren't good for the rich. The rich want to keep us down, to keep themselves up
Could you provide this study?
**Starbucks raises minimum wage to $15**
**10 months later**
**starbucks drives up prices to compensate and valuation drops by 66 billion**
Oops, forgot about this one didn’t we (many others but this is the most obvious example)
@@ashleysantoro9375 Starbucks isn't raising prices because they HAVE to, but because they WANT to. Minimum wage increases don't cause price hikes, if anything it's the other way around
sounds really cool, what's your source for this?
*”You should not be in business.”*
Thank you. Not enough business executives get directly criticized for failing their own employees.
The benchmarks for business success need to be different.
The businesses hire these people to consult them. The reason we know them is because of the books they've written, the schools they teach at, and the lectures they give. The people at these companies graduated from THEIR classrooms. The politicians too! What happened? I don't understand. I never will.
@@ButtersCCookie I think the people should have the right to vote on if they want to collectively sell business owners or politicians together with their blood-related families into slavery and repeat that vote each year. I think that would immediately lead to an utopian society, as politicians and businesses would have to operate every day under the threat of being dehumanized and sold, together with all their loved ones. With the privileges they gain, rich and influencial people should be willing to give up their human rights. I think rights should apply disproportional to personal wealth, which means that the more wealth you have, the less you enjoy state protection of your human rights.
Because they always shift the blame to an employee or two or three.
its also up to employees to also be responsible with their lives. if you are an unskilled laborer and then you decide to go and have 4 kids, you should be jailed for coercing your employer to bend over backwards to support your irresponsibility. instead, take your limited resources and go to school part time, so you can have a skill that demands a better wage.
One of the saddest conversations I ever had was with a business owner who praised two Caribbean immigrant employees of his who "scrimped and saved" working for him for 15 years so they could afford a downpayment on a 2BR house, so that they could now start the family they'd always dreamed of. Both now at over age 40, both of whom he was still at the time (2021) paying less than $15/hr. He was genuinely proud of them, happy for them, and willing to share their feel-good "American dream" story, and all I wanted to do was slap him in the face hard enough to shake out the cognitive dissonance that was masking his abhorrent treatment of such loyal people and employees he cared about.
Everytime this man says the word "rubbish" I can't help but smile.
This was very well put together!
I want to hear him say "Codswallop!"
And “ baloney”. Haha he is a gem!
One thing that Robert, conveniently leaves out, is supply and demand. When both parties push for unlimited immigration and the job market is saturated- employers don’t need to raise wages or offer benefits. On the other hand those immigrants won’t complain about low income and will work two jobs and replace the complaining native population
@@Navy35 huh? Immigrants are not taking jobs. This is pure white nationalist propaganda.
His teaching is rubbish
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There was an anti inflationary board in Canada back in the 70s that limited wage increases. The effect was workers were harder hit by inflation:(
“If your business model depends on paying your workers starvation wages, you should not be in business.”
DAMN RIGHT! Couldn’t have said it better myself!
"But but bosses take so much risk!"
WORKERS TAKE RISKS TOO YA DUMB! Workers go through the lengthy hiring process, internship, education etc. to get your silly job in the first place. If the company fails, all that invested effort is wasted, and they loose their flippin job!
Get another job if you don't wanna work that amount. There's competition competing for your labor.
Demanding higher wages (if they actually pay it and don't go through _glaring loopholes_ in the law) will lead to *negative pressure* (including opportunity cost) on employment, prices, productivity, working conditions, and/or benefits to make up the higher cost of labor. All of which disproportionately hurt those of lower skill/capability.
Kids & the under experienced aren't looking for a 'living wage'. It's good to get on the job experience, make a bit of money, provide what people demand, & then move up the latter. All with the aid of friends, family, & charity to help keep you afloat. Lenders, seeing a future surplus from you gaining experience, will also aid you. They want to make money from your future endeavors. If we allowed deflation instead inflating the currecy, then the little you do acquire will naturally appreciate over time. You can reinvest that greater value to earn even more. Why get rid of small sectors like lemonade stands? They don't earn enough profit to guarantee a 'living wage' to all their constituents. They're not designed to. Should they not exist? Should the consumer (which is everyone) not have their demands met? Why not? Getting rid of those small sectors doesn't help the worker, who also consumes.
Through higher productivity (from funds being allocated towards production) *real* wages grow. You can get more/better goods & services.
Employers get around most of the cost imposed through cutting paid hours, then practically requiring 'volunteer' unpaid hours. They get paid the same amount, work the same amount, but at different time intervals. Time is money. If I have to pay you more over a shorter period of time, then there's more risk in that investment of capital. Labor is then more risky and thereby disincentivized, even where the market otherwise demands it. This is only a slight detriment, but a net negative nonetheless.
That combined with mutual lawbreakers, people leaving for better, less people immigrating, & businesses pricing the effects of the minimum ahead of time (before its implementation/rise) *heavily* negates the damage seen through statistics.
The minimum doesn't help anyone. Like all price controls, it always has adverse effects.
@@brandonsteele2826 no, it doesn't lead to more workers joining their business since every business is doing it. If they were better off in raising wages, then they would. They often do, but productivity comes first (as it should). That increases *real* wages.
Mandating higher wages doesn't leave them with the funds to actually do it. They must get that money from somewhere.
They reallocate funds *away* from productive capacity, innovation, employee benefits, or working conditions to increase their wages. They often also cut back on future hirings. Those of lesser skill/capability are the first to be fired & denied a job, since their labor doesn't make up for the cost of their labor. Prices are left relatively higher, & quality lower. The workers that do get more money end up with less purchasing power.
It can also price out small businesses, leaving more bargaining power for large corps. There's a reason mcdonalds lobbied for a higher minimum.
It also destroys many sectors that don't bring in enough revenue. Take lemonade stands as an example. I understand that in many places there's exemptions, but they're often arbitrary & many are still left with complications. Why shouldn't they exist? Everyone's a consumer & some demand those small sectors. That's the entire point of the market, to get what you demand.
Once you account for opportunity cost in all these categories, mutual lawbreakers who don't report on their wages, then the many exceptions & loopholes in the laws in various places, the statistical data is clear. The minimum (like all price controls) is bad.
There is some factors that haze this, such as higher bargaining power within some sectors. Bargaining power means they'll just raise wages with no real consequences, since they fund it through their personal profits instead allocating from other business operations. Most cases of high bargaining power are temporary or driven government interventions, such as protectionist policies, inflation, & *the minimum!* It exacerbates the problem. Bargaining power differs per sector, & there's no real way of measuring it. And it's healthy! Profit is what signals people to supply sectors & in proportion to how demanded they are. When you artificially raise the cost of labor, you make everything less profitable, meaning smaller sectors see producers leave & fail even when they're otherwise capable of supplying.
@@brandonsteele2826 Yes.
It's seems like you're being satirical, but I can't tell. If so, you're funny.
@@austinbyrd4164 have you thought about what they said in the video about the government being able to allocate more of their money to other sectors, they could even cut taxes which would lower the price heightening. More people would also be able to use money on nonessentials which would cause other sectors to increase their own sales.
We've been fighting for $15 for so long that isn't even enough anymore
By the time we finally get $15, it will be just enough to buy a loaf of bread.
The minimum wage should be at least $100/hour, equal to that of a skilled worker. Why should skilled workers make any more than unskilled? *IT'S NOT FAIR!*
@@RussellNelson Thanks, I beginning to think everyone has lost their minds.
@@RussellNelson Nice Strawman there.
@@mylesbarrett2031 What's wrong with $100/hour that isn't also wrong with $15/hour?
this hits home for me. I worked as a bagger for a grocery store for 6 years. Ended up with weaken shoulders due to injuries.. i was earning $9.50 an hr for those 6 years and due to factors ended up with cut hours after some point to 1 day a week for 3 hours. My paycheck literally went to just paying for the taxi i rode to and from work.
I was 20-26 years old and no job i had from 19 hrs old onward gave me any money to save up to look for a place to live. I lived with my parents till 31, before moving in with my then bf. He has a degree in chemistry, and even he barely makes enough cash to live on.
I currently get disability, and get $840 monthly, and even with that just barely get enough to live on. Like our old apt we lived at for the past 4 years.. a 2 bedroom 1 bath place in a 4 family building is 1,200 monthly. This is in Luling Louisiana as well, so not even in a big city.
after Ida we got forced to live with his mom, and we can't afford to leave because housing and living costs are too high. I have a lot of physical and mental disabilities that employers rather not deal with, Autism and heart condition, weaken shoulders due to injuries. Which is why im on disability.
Here's the cold hard reality: your job didn't give the economy enough to justify an actually good amount of money. The money the rich get does not boost the prices you have to pay; the starvation wage you earned is the only thing that is boosting the prices of what you buy. If the economy was actually healthy the items you buy would be cheap enough that the starvation wage would be enough because prices ARE NOT FIXED.
Every single person here is forgetting one extremely important fact: goods and services exist, but money is a figment of our imagination. Changing our perception of our shared IMAGINATION does not affect actual reality. The problem is that our workers are not impacting the economy enough to justify lower prices for goods; there is still WAY too much demand for WAY too little work to push the items out at a cheaper price... And it's only getting worse.
Raising the minimum wage will continue to make this problem WORSE. It will increase demand for items yet again and drive people out of the job.
EDIT: There is ONE THING that is CORRECT to say here, however, and that is in regards to the rich. Stop this BS about minimum wage; that'll just impoverish us more and give the rich even more share of the money. What we absolutely NEED TO DO is break up ALL corporations in the US and abroad. Some FORM, not necessarily saying we do it directly as indirectly achieving this would probably be best, of maximum income. My suggestion is to render it illegal to buy and sell companies and to adjust monopoly laws to better account for population; if a company owns more than a capita's projected market share then they must be considered a monopoly and broken up. We need to move this to the civil sector so that regional managers can sue to gain ownership of the fragmented pieces.
@@Ryanowning Stop smoking POT !!
@@martinko40 Never engaged in narcotics.
The reason that prices are so high that your starvation wage doesn't cut it is because artificial demand non-stop inflates the price way beyond what it should be. Where does that artificial demand come from? The government subsidized torture that is the poor.
You cannot regulate people out of poverty. All you can do is regulate people out of unsustainable riches. That's what we need to be doing so that everyone can have well paying jobs and cheap goods to buy.
There is one thing that really irks me about this dumbass talking at the camera. He says we produce enough food for 12 billion people. Want to know where that extra 3 billion actually goes? Fucking ethanol. Seems like the solution to world hunger is to just stop being batshit crazy and embrace nuclear power.
@@Ryanowning the first two paragraphs you wrote make absolutely no sense. you might need to rephrase.
thats really messed up that this happened to you azari
When Seattle raise minimum wage to $15 an hour unemployment skyrocketed, explain that.
B-but how will those oligarchs be able to work hard for their hard-stolen multi billion dollar wages? 😭
To quote the late Alex Trebek: "Fuck 'em!"
They'll need to lift their bootstraps much harder lol
Hard stolen lol - what happened to you peoples brains
Oligarchs pay people 40K a year and the government takes 8K of it for "roads." Oligarchs aren't the issue
@@yeetyeeterston6916 Yes they are, tf? Literally stagnating wages while also busting unionization efforts
Oh, & have I mentioned one of their most synonymous activities? Tax evasion. No, that 8k for the roads would've not come from them.
Those are just merely scratching the surface btw.
As a young person who used to work a minimum wage job, it was so frustrating hearing my boss (the business owner) complain about how hard it is to save up for *ANOTHER* rental property nowadays
Like bro, I'm trying to save up to make *RENT* for the month, and after this I'm going to my other job so I can buy other necessities
Cry me a river
Save up and buy your own company, that's the lesson. Most people today, and I hope this isn't you, have thin-skin and have no toughness.
Some people, and I'm not saying this is you. But there are some people in America who think that what we should do is take everything from the rich people, instead of trying to teach people how to become rich.
So again, the lesson you need to learn is, not how to cry and take things away from your boss that he earned. Try to become a boss.
@@mgtowdadUA-camSucksCoxks sorry, but might I ask how old you are ?
Cause it sounds like you making an argument that is not relevant for today's economy anymore...
@@karlpalmgren6069 You might.
@@mgtowdadUA-camSucksCoxks Ah right... being an employee sucks and makes life awful, so become a boss and make your employees life hell instead! To be happy you have to be the cause of other people's misery, got it.
@@stillwaitingforblackmetalr2503 I've had Bad Bosses. Bad neighbors. Bad employee. Bad Marines. Bad girlfriends. A bad parent.
That doesn't mean that, when I'm in the position to be any of the above mentioned things, I have to be bad at it. In fact, having an example of how not to conduct myself, can now be used as very valuable Insight in the future, and actual things to reflect on when looking back.
Or, you know I could be like you. I had a bad boss, so I obviously, without thought needed to be a bad boss too! There's no other way around it is there?
If you can't be sure you can keep a roof over your head and eating when working 40 hours/week then there is something wrong with society. If employers will always pay their workers enough for that then they don't need to worry about the minimum wage.
I help by using the Internet.
I Used the Report-System of YT and Tiktok, but then everything changed when Susan Wojicki took-over...
It has become harder and even though i still know i do good
and get problem-content deleted, it feels not enough.
I wonder if i can rally-up some fellow Socialists here, 'at least'
for a quick flagging of Hatepreachers and/or P0rn?
If the minimum wage is too high for them to be hired, they can't keep a roof over their head. After all, the jobs that pay the wage you want for minimum wage to exist ... those jobs already exist. Why aren't they working at those higher paying jobs now?
@@mwatcherfl Because they have higher qualifications, and since even the lowest paying jobs will fire you unless you work exactally as often as they want you will get fired and that will look bad on a resume. Also what's stopping a job that already pays barely enough from lowering wages? What are you going to do, quit?
And if a company has no workers they can't function. If even the lowest skilled jobs need to have a specific wage then the amount that number is doesn't effect the qualifications for hire.
@@RRW359 "Because they have higher qualifications," exactly ... "what's stopping a job that already pays barely enough from lowering wages" lawyers and the law. "if a company has no workers they can't function." Yes, they probably make comments on forums.
"If even the lowest skilled jobs need to have a specific wage then the amount that number is doesn't effect the qualifications for hire."
Do you think jobs should hire based upon the expenses of the employee?
@@mwatcherfl Why would the law come into effect when they don't require contracts or anything?
If you need someone to run the register you need someone to tune the register. It doesn't matter if you are required to pay them $1 or $100 per hour. If nobody takes that job because they are qualified for better ones then they will lower the requirements, but will still need to pay them the same.
This comment section is a real good look into the minds of those who don't understand economics, supply and demand, or the value of labor.
Big businesses do not have their workers’ best interests at heart. Thank you for countering these myths about the minimum wage
Correct. Workers should union to further their own best interests... Like fair wages.
Except, of course, the only myths are being pushed by Reich (every one is a bald faced lie). Big business pays workers their full value in their *own* interests. As has been repeatedly proven, any attempt to underpay workers results in excessive turnover costs and the company loses money.
@@JensPilemandOttesen But then the companies use every tactic, including physical intimidation, to break up unions. See what happens if a regular worker tries the reverse: i.e. using all of the tactics the corporation uses: they would be thrown in jail. It's NOT a level playing field, or in other words: the game is rigged.
@@rsr789 Yes. It is a struggle. Rights does not come automatically or easy.
That is true for ALL rights.
It seems US has given up on all civil rights. Women, race, workers, Human rights... But for some reason having a gun is super important!?
@@JensPilemandOttesen You are so STUPID !! You can 'unionized " as much as you want , the bottom line is EMPLOYER, who will contact government and ASKED for GRAND money to compensate for increase in wages , IF NOT he can shot the business and lay off everybody . That is his rights . Government will eat the costs of unemployment and BAD economy . U are FIRED !!
Can anyone talk about Wage Theft??? It’s the number one crime in America and yet it goes uncharged.
Second Thought has an excellent video on wage theft if you search for his video/channel
@@alex0_graham I really just wish more Americans were aware. So many say what we shouldn’t get and who needs to work harder. Meanwhile the rich just steal and get richer.
"Can anyone talk about Wage Theft?"
No, it is impossible. If you try, the Earth's magnetic poles will flip with huge earthquakes and tsunamis, so don't do it.
@@thomasmaughan4798 Damnit, I KNEW there was a good reason we weren't talking about this...and not an utterly abysmal, morally bankrupt reason we weren't talking about this...
@@DrTssha ACTUAL wage theft isn't a right wing or left wing thing. Its just greed and a bit of petty larceny. My first job was 50 cents an hour. But I was getting 25. At that wage I should have been getting every penny. But 50 percent was being "withheld" and not delivered to the government as taxes. Everyone else at that restaurant had similar "withholding" and so one day I took a tax book and calculated the actual, legally required withholding and showed it to the staff. I had already quit; the cook quit that same day and I think some of the wait staff quit.
A teenager cannot prosecute these things; but a little bit of knowledge goes a long way to karma for the owner.
1:24 *Bigger wages equal job cuts: Myth*
3:03 *Small businesses can't afford increase: Myth*
4:29 *Higher Wages = more Inflation: Myth*
6:09 *Teens don't need more wages: MYTH*
Neat presentation my dude!
You clearly don’t run a business- fact.
Businesses know wages that are required to operate their business. - fact.
The liberals think they can regulate people out of poverty by forcing business - false.
Stupid liberal. -fact.
"Teenagers need money less." This is actually true. However the effect is not that it makes them amiable to work minimum wage jobs. It has the opposite effect. Because they don't need the money as much they don't have to settle for a low paying wage simply because they have to pay bills. Thus teenagers won't work minimum wage.
Around these parts the minimum wage is no longer paid. You simply won't have any workers. However businesses have responded by slashing hours. They pay 15 dollars an hour but then only schedule the worker for 25 hours. ( often still requiring 100% availability ) Then they gripe about how even with higher wages they can't retain workers. Not that the griping makes them profit but I guess it makes them feel better about themselves.
When I hear conservatives ( like me though by today's standards I barely qualify ) gripe about the "socialist" threat. It is stuff like this that I use to show them that its their own fault. Conservatives should have an "enlightened self-interest" to keep the low wage earners in the US from collapsing into financial ruin. We haven't and we will pay the price for it.
I would argue teenagers need the money more since it's become expected for them now to get into massive debt immediately after they turn 18.
@@RRW359 Teenagers generally don't have the foresight to think about saving money to afford college with their high school jobs. I've seen teenagers save up for a car but saving for college is a step too far. However in this case perhaps they are wiser than we give them credit for.
Massive debt - wages earned working part time as teenger = massive debt
Wages earned as a teenager could put a dent in the teenager's college costs. But only a dent and if it's a minimum wage job only a small dent. After college that dent is not going to make much of a difference in the teenager's loan payments where they will find themselves in one of two places: One, they use their education to get a higher paying job and make payments on the debt. Two, they don't find a job and the debt cripples them financially. The wages earned as a teenager won't change either outcome.
@@peterkottke2570 So you're saying teenagers need more money to keep put of debt? Also the reason they don't save for college is because unlike a car they know that with current wages they'll never afford it, plus living options and job options both in college and after are extremely limited without a vehicle.
@@RRW359 exactly.
@@RRW359 I'm saying that teenagers aren't going to save for college as the debt level of college is so high that they are far better off spending money on more immediate needs and just letting the college debt pile up. Teenagers are fed, clothed and housed by their parents. They are not in the same position as an adult who if he does not work will end up in a homeless shelter. The adult must work. The teenager can decide not to work and look for better paying jobs.
This is what happens when minimum wage is decided by the rich and not economists
This is what happens when there are no labor laws and unions are under-mined at every opportunity by the exploiters.
Economists would set the minimum wage at zero haha.
Robert Reich isn't an economist
@@jsebby2284 Milton Friedman would set the minimum wage to zero, but his ideas have proven to be nothing but a massive failure.
@@PistonAvatarGuy oh yeah sure totally absolutely positively without a doubt
@@jsebby2284 Friedman's ideas have never been successful anywhere, EVER, and the closer a country moves to a "free market" system, the worse it performs... in every possible way.
I live in Germany, our conservative party used to fearmonger about the minimum wage too and how it would increase inflation, and if you look at the statistics you'll see it had absolutely zero impact.
Reply so this gets pushed up
Honestly they sound no different than the ones who cried how will most industries survive without slavery, or child labor
Yes rich always saying can't afford to pay workers ..... it gets tiring.
Yeah, it's kind of an joke. History has proofed their claims to be false and yet they clinging to them.
thats horseshit you get from whoever tell you increase wage dont increase inflation. if what you claim is true then why dont we just increase min wage to 10million an hour. so we all could be billionaire in couple weeks. no more poor people. everyone is a billionair. you know exactly what will happen if we did that. so horsehit
The thing about teenagers working minimum wage is that, when you buy goods or services, the price isn't determined by what the person recieving "needs". It's determined by the value of good or service they're providing to you.
Even if a teenager is just working for pocket change, their labor is just as valuable as all of ther adult coworkers to the businesses they provide it to, and they should be paid as such.
No, its not.
@@brodeize Why not?
@@brodeize I kinda want to know your reasoning there, mate. Even as an economically conservative person, that doesn't make much sense.
@@NoobsofFredo teenager have not much to offer. Dont know if you ever worked yourself/ Or if you ever worked with teenagers and looked at the data. I am all for work from early age. But the value is not the same.The person with anime profile picture is absolutely what expected to be. A third party philosopher who never worked probably in their life but rather know so well how the rest of the world must act.
@@brodeize I'm afraid that I have to respectfully disagree with you. Given that I worked on an assembly line immediately out of high school, as did several classmates of mine, and we had exactly the same productivity as our older coworkers, I can verify that we teenagers had exactly the same to offer as anyone else. That's not even mentioning my classmates who did farm work all throughout high school, who contributed massively.
let's be honest, 15 isn't even enough anymore in most places
"let's be honest"
Are you volunteering to be the first person on this page to do that?
Having a $15 minimum wage would also lead to businesses offering higher wages to compete
And higher prices of goods to offset it.
@@jeremeyunger6568 not according to the data
@@jeremeyunger6568 elasticity is very low. so it is not an issue for us economy. dollar is strong. even supply shortages only resulted in %8 inflation. this isn't an issue.
@@jeremeyunger6568 4:26 are you deaf?
@@jeremeyunger6568
Prices increased regardless if stagnant wages, keeping wages stagnant only led to exploitation, skyrocket increase of poor people and spending on welfare
I find it infuriating that people regularly buy into myths like these, my own family included.
I'm so incredibly happy. I've been searching for so long for someone smarter than me to justify these needs. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making this.
It sounds more like you are trying to justify your views more than find the right answer
If this guy is smarter than you, I feel really sorry for you
If you believe the lies of Robert Reich, I have some ocean front property on the moon to sell you.
@@jacksonray3596 that’s all liberals ever do these days.
@@RedPillGrimReaper amen.
this will make a fine addition to my "deradicalizing my conservative parents" playlist.
This will make a nice addition to my "videos i send my parents that they will never watch and accuse me of being communist after" playlist
never will happen, best use that energy elsewhere in your community
I would consider a state mandated minimum wage conservative. The liberal and the socialist approach is to let the workers union and employers union agree on a minimum wage, without interference from the state.
Neither side cares about you or your parents.
@@JensPilemandOttesen your overthinking it. A state mandated increase to the minimum wage would immediately materially improve the working peoples' lives. That's what we want.
You can't just give money to poor people, they'll just spend it all! We need to give it to rich people who have proven they can hide money in giant, impressive vaults where no one can steal it!!
If you give a poor person money, they'll just buy food with it. A rich person will buy a race car with it. I don't want to look at fat poor people, I want to look at race cars!!
Yeah, it's not like they invest that money into other businesses that use it to hire employees to offer new services to people who will pay for them because it improves their lives... Y'know, because real life isn't some Scrooge McDuck cartoon.
@@thomasmacisaac1503 It certainly sounds like you're living in a cartoon. Rich people don't invest, they hoard cash.
They don’t hide it. They buy property to earn more money by increasing the cost of survival and making their employee class pay them for necessities.
@@DKGifford19608 HOW DARE YOU TRY TO CALL SCROOGE MCFUCK A LANDLORD.
But....doesn't spending money make the economy go brr? Lmao
In Scandinavian Nations, they don’t have a minimum wage, and every time minimum wage goes up a dollar groceries and rent goes up a dollar. we should pay people they’re worth
The problem is with the wage hike, the business closes, goes overseas.
If they stay in operation the business will pass the cost of human resources to the consumer.
Minimum wage increase also helps local economies because people can spend more in the cities they live in which has a snowball effect.
Not it doesn't lol. Because it would cost people their jobs and increase prices
@@jsebby2284 bro did you not watch the video or what
@@cheezbrgr of course I did. It's the same bullshit he always spews lol.
What about my comment makes it seem like I didn't eatch the video?
Please explain how it would cost people their jobs and increase prices
@@jsebby2284 Data or it didn't happen.
It’s criminal that the minimum wage in the US is so low, and extremely sad that so many people don’t comprehend the fact that they have been lied to by the GOP into keeping the min wage so low.
The minimum wage here in Aus is $21.38 hr, and it goes up each year, but it’s still not high enough, it should be closer to $30 an hour so that people can afford to live and not just survive.
It seems intuitive that if inflation is 2-3% every year then the minimum wage should also be raised by that much every year. I'm no economist but I can't wrap my mind around why that isn't the case
@@RedScareClair A wage rising with only inflation can still become a starving wage. It should at minimum maintain our buying power (which isn't only affected by inflation). The minimum wage should rise with the cost of living.
Hell, even the Australian minimum wage in US dollars is less than $15 an hour. Y’all have the highest in the world, and it’s still only like USD $14.50. If the US raised its minimum wage, it would become the highest in the world.
@@jakefoster5611
For the richest country in the world thats how it should be, but instead the corporate oligarchs have duped millions of people into believing that it cant be done, creating hundreds of millions of people who are perpetually stuck in indentured servitude just to buy food and pay the rent to their masters.
The minimum wage in the US should be $20+ an hour, theres no valid reason why it cant be.
The problem is the young people are investing in Cryto and NFT. Instead of unions. Unions and talk s about Workers Rights Universal Healthcare Education and material needs is one step towards Goose stepping. The logic is amazing.
Lets talk minimum wage. I've been doing costing for 30 years. You raise the minimum wage and the cost of the product goes up.
Here: A candy bar costs .50 to make. It consists of Chocolate, peanuts, milk, preservatives a printed wrapper a bulk box AND LABOR FOR THE PEOPLE THAT MAKE IT. The labor goes up and so does the price of the candy bar. Know what else goes up?? The chocolate, the peanuts, the milk, the preservatives the wrapper and the box because all those also have labor costs of the people that make them and the box for instance has OTHER providers of corrugated cardboard, etc. So you gave an employee a raise, but EVERYTHING went up as a result. Now I've heard leftists that don't understand this argue that inflation goes up say 4% so we should tie minimum wage to inflation, but they don't get that THEY created inflation by increasing minimum wage. That candy bar is sold to distributors and you factor in the cost of labor for freight for the distribution co and the retail store workers etc all those costs raise the price of that candy bar to 1.00 or 100% where the minimum age only went up 20% or here, 100% over 5 years.
Not to mention that the cost of an employee making 10/hr lets say does not cost the employer 400 a week for 40 hours. The cost of the employee is about 1.4 time because the employer is on the hook for additional taxes, workers comp insurance and depending on the size of the company the bulk of their health insurance.
You leave minimum wage alone and teach people MARKETABLE skills that increase their value in the marketplace and they will get an increase without inflation.
See you leftists think, hey raise minimum wage and people will have more money. Sure but everything goes up MORE than the increase and they are WORSE off then before. You created generational poverty. Congrats. and you guys keep increasing it and people's buying power goes further down.
Now some of you leftists will say, well lets cap the price so it does not go up. OK then the company will stop making a product that costs MORE to make than it will sell for and you will have shortages. Ask China, the Former Soviet union, Venezuela and Cuba.
But hey, that is just my 30 years experience talking. LOL
The black middle class was growing faster than the white middle class through the 50s. The great society policies replaced the intact family with government money and single motherhood exploded. 75% of black household are single moms which will be poor.
....Ah but you say. what about the Pennsylvania David Card and Alan Krueger experiment. Where minimum wage went up and unemployment went down... Done as a series of phone interviews (sample of about 450)by leftists (Come one Berkeley???) and never duplicated by fellow economists
Insightful video. It's always great hearing about subjects like this. You mentioned in the video, "we are the richest country with the richest people". This is why we still have the minimum wage. It works to their advantage while lobbyists fight against legislation coupled with handsome donations to politicians who sustain the low wage. I think it's possible to increase $7.25 to $22.00 with the people uniting for change. Additionally, the education system needs to include financial literacy courses in order for kids to be become financially responsible.
You want to help people? Get rid of the minimum wage and millions will get employment and gain new skills.
Democrats are so stupid. They just sell lies for votes.
A White guy, a minority man, a woman and an ultra rich guy walk into the doughnut shop. The waitress brings out a plate with 12 doughnuts on it. The rich guy notices no one is paying attention. He slips 11 of the doughnuts into his pocket. Afterwards he leans over to the white guy and whispers in his ear, " You better watch those other two. They are trying to steal your dough nut!"
Sun Zu, "The Art of War" was written around 500 B.C. One of the philosophies was to keep your enemies fighting among themselves so they don't notice what you're doing. 2700 years later and that simple philosophy is still in play among those too ignorant to see or understand it.
Hey, I might try using that short story, it’s very powerful.
"He slips 11 of the doughnuts into his pocket."
Obviously they are very small doughnuts.
This retarded analogy aside, maybe you could employ your own insight to see that one of the things they use to keep us fighting is class and that you're taking the bait.
Billionaires are only created AFTER creating millions of jobs buddy.
Nice try. It’s ok. Liberals can’t ever do logic, truth, or math.
I hate it when people don't want people who are poorer than them to get a living wage.
Most adults spend a majority of their lives at work. Selling your time to a richer person for the right to live is not freedom.
Minimum wage is not supposed to be a living wage
@@scottmolnar4132 Franklin Roosevelt would say otherwise, considering he passed the minimum wage I think his opinion outweighs yours.
@@fatguy6153 considering the minimum wage was not a living wage when it was created, it doesn’t really matter what FDR wanted or hoped it would be
@@modernmind5872 It is indeed not freedom but at least not starving is a good first step. We leftists must not only push for revolution, but for better living conditions even under capitalism.
And when my state's minimum wage went up 50 cents my rent increased by $50 a month
Dude just talked about money, a quantity, and tried to disregard it by talking about quality. Sure I can pick better employees but the man addressed how I couldn’t afford them AND STILL didn’t tell me how to afford them, he said “better workers” OK I get that, but if I can’t afford double the wage then how do you expect me to grow my business from better quality. If you tell me “ofc you can’t buy this car anymore it’s too cheap the gov outlawed it” I’ll say “ok but I can’t afford the other one that’s double that price” and you say back “but now that it’s double the price you can pick from better cars!” “Okay I get that, but I don’t have the money still, that didn’t change shit man”.
If you can't afford it you can't have it. It's what poor people were told for decades. But if a business owner is told the same the tears start falling. Take the salt elsewhere.
Liberals think the can legislate people out of poverty. No. Individuals need to pull themselves out of poverty
I found a good rebuttal for minimum wage counters:
"Is this YOU worrying about this? Or is the worry that of your donors and lobbyists?"
I don't think that's necessary. People have fear instilled in them via propaganda, but then those fears become their own. I feel like accusing them of being shills would make them defensive.
"I found a good rebuttal for minimum wage counters:"
YOu could also try some economics and science. Oh, but that does not work so well. I do not have donors and lobbyists; but I have instead a good understanding of economics.
@@thomasmaughan4798 Knowing more economics would lead you to support minimum wage increases, due to labor market monopsonies, that are widespread in the economy.
@@anthonytom-duyquang3558 "Knowing more economics would lead you to support minimum wage increases, due to labor market monopsonies, that are widespread in the economy."
No. Well I suppose if I had that weird, unproven blend of stupidity called socialist economics maybe I would think things of this sort.
A minimum wage creates a *wedge* in the demand and supply curves. It results in unemployability of any skill whose actual worth happens to be less than the minimum wage.
The CORRECT minimum wage is zero. The market will then determine actual wage equivalence for each kind of labor.
HOWEVER, just as governments can distort economics, so can major employers and corporations, SO a modest minimum wage is a compromise necessitated by the fact that a pure market economy does not exist and probably cannot exist.
But then, socialism also cannot exist and never has; not for long.
@@thomasmaughan4798 So...leave people to be poor? Have them starving? Where would be your "workforce" then if they're all too weak or dead?
So incredible. Thanks for clearing away all the lies that keep us in poverty.
He's telling the lies that keep those foolish enough to fall for his disproven drivel in poverty.
Child labor was almost non-existent by the time the US outlawed it in 1938. Besides, children lie outside of capitalism because they can't consent. There was, however, a time when child labor was absolutely necessary.
In the UK when minimum wage was raised not long ago.
Businesses did cut down on employees.
Businesses did increase the cost of whet they're selling, EVERYTHING went up in price.
Yeah and also completely ignore everything else that are the bigger causes in the increased prices, Ukraine covid etc.
This is the kind of video that should be trending on UA-cam
Thank you Gravel Institute this video needs to be played at Every Business in America, so Employees know what they need to do.
"this video needs to be played at Every Business in America"
And in your perfect world, it would be! Pro Choice much? No. No choice for anyone but you.
Sources?
And they say people don't want to work anymore
When employers don't want to pay employees a livable wage
What frustrates me is that conservatives like to pontificate about family values, but their policies make it more difficult for people to start families. I personally think the minimum wage should be at least 20. One cannot be for family values and support corporate interests at the same time. Their goals are not aligned.
Why not $50/hr?
@@thomasmacisaac1503 The number should come from an agreement between workers and employers.
@@thomasmacisaac1503 bow to your rich masters like a good slave
@@JensPilemandOttesen 😘
@@thomasmacisaac1503 Why not five? It’s always going to be somewhat arbitrary, but in many areas, a salary of 40,000 dollars a year provides a minimal standard of living. In other areas, it will have to be more.
$15 Minimum Wage, Stronger Unions with Collective Bargaining is a good way to start, if workers know their Rights as a union, & know they're being exploited they'll start to realize that Unions are the best way to get The Living Wages they deserve.
So true, which is why Amazon, etc fight unionization so strongly.
What is needed are unions on the European model. Organisations that educate working people and employers on the right way to develop and nurture workers in a defined, open and transparent career paths with agreed rates of pay applicable to each target and milestones reached by each employee.
All too often people are left in dead-end jobs which arrive at the highly destructive model of "they pretend to pay us and we pretend to work".
Badly run and poorly invested businesses struggle through crisis after crisis many of them facing a final crisis until bankruptcy and closure.
I have seen this often in many workplaces where mediocre or downright malevalent management fight out a spiral to self destruction and final closure while other more visionary and competent companies work together as a coherent team and stay afloat in the hard times and thrive in the good times.
In small communities people move jobs to the better employers and leave the bad employers. This leads to increased training costs and recruitment costs for these bad employers.
Worker employer relationships are a cpmplex and difficut subject often fraught with dangerous emotions and conflict, in extreme cases leading to violence. I have seen this a few times in my life and hope not to see it again.
Those in a Union are more likely to go on strike as well like what is happening in the U.K at the moment. The railway workers are on strike at the moment and now we have Bus workers, Barristers, Teachers, Doctors and nurses talking about going on strike as well.
@@samanthahardy9903 Many people are conditioned to see strikes as a bad thing but in reality strikes are a form of disciplinary action against dysfunctional management or company owners. You cannot have a good working relationship in any organisation unless you have accountability on both sides and the power to implement sanctions against the erring partner. For employers this is hiring and firing rights, for employees this is the right to withdraw labour in an organised and cohesive way. Without these rights employees are little better than slaves.
@@jgdooley2003 Don't get me wrong. I think the strikes are much more effective than just simply going on a protest march. The last time we had these multiple strikes back in the 1980's wages went up for a lot of people. I'm all for the strikes because the general public have had enough of being treated like slaves on slave wages, whilst big companies make huge profits. The big companies have forgotten that without the ones at the bottom doing most of the hard work they would not have a business to make any profits in the first place. It's about time people rose up to go on strike and hit the big companies where it hurts, their profits. The MPs got decent pay rises and more than likely have dividend payouts from holding shares in the big companies. They've hit our pockets too often and it's about time the tables are turned!
appreciate you sir for this information
Robert Reich did not destroy minimum wage myths, he created ones.
Bot
@@Lobos222 what Bot means ??
My state (Texas) is deeply anti-union and has the lowest legal minimum wage ($7.25). Is it a coincidence that Texas also has the largest number of children living in poverty and the highest percentage of people without health insurance? I dont think so...................
"Is it a coincidence that Texas also has the largest number of children living in poverty and the highest percentage of people without health insurance? I dont think so"
I also don't think so. It is more likely its proximity to Mexico.
But Texas is so very “business friendly” 🤦♀️
Just not employee friendly?
Glad to see more of these types of vids! I once argued with a capitalist sympathizer over this. He said the whole system would collapse if all workers were paid a livable wage. Not surprisingly, that argument pushed me further left.
Inflation is at 8%. So why are we fighting for a min wage of $15 and not $16.20? In fact, the current min wage proposal is to raise it to $15 by 2025. By that time, $15 will probably be worth as much as $7.25 was in 2009. And $7.25 wasn’t necessarily a livable wage in 2009.
@Bob Smith So how would you use crypto to solve all our societal issues?
The problem, of course, is that those trying to make a living have absolutely no problem doing so (the median full time worker makes more than $26/hr) and federal minimum wage workers (only 0.11% of the US workforce) are overwhelmingly tudents (more than 80%), part time (74%) and under the age of 25 (nearly two-thirds with the next largest cohort being retirees earning supplemental income).
The question you should ask yourself is why (despite the disproved nonsense that makes up the entirety of Reich's claims) you are "fighting" for a policy that has never been anything but harmful to workers, never once either increasing pay levels or preventing them from falling and, instead, resulting only in disemployment (cuts in hours, benefits and training and outright job loss), *increasing* unemployment, *increasing* poverty, *increasing* welfare rolls and the cost to taxpayers and *DECREASING* the financial resources available to impacted workers. It has even been shown to undermine the long term earnings prospects of low wage workers.
@@FletchforFreedom The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which included a minimum wage of 25 cents, was part of the recovery from the Great Depression. At the time, 25 cents meant “more than a mere subsistence level…the wages of decent living,” as FDR said. This policy increased the purchasing power of many workers, which meant economic recovery. So the workers received the benefits of a higher wage *and* a better economy. This law also included the 40 hour workweek and the end of child labor.
If a business would rather lay off employees than pay a decent living wage, that says as much about the business as it does about the government and the employee.
Many capitalist sympathizers take the FLSA for granted. To them, any government oversight is “communism,” but without it, we’d have 10-year-olds working 12 hour shifts in factories instead of school. Now, some might say, “But I’m a skilled worker! Why should I care about unskilled workers?” If they were living in the late 1800s or early 1900s, they may not have been able to go to school and learn that skill. They would’ve instead been working to support their family because both their parents couldn’t make a living off of the meager wages paid by their employers.
@@ultraviolet7838 Just how stupid are you? The FLSA, like the rest of the New Deal did not contribute to any recovery. In fact, FDR objectively prolonged the Depression for at least seven years. Worse, you have taken the words of a politician over objective fact - which isn't very bright. The initial minimum wage amounted to no more than $5.18/hr in today's dollars. There does not exist a calculus in which it was more than that. So, either $5.18/hr is "more than subsistence level" or FDR was just another lying politician. There is no possible third option, Choose.
In addition, the policy increased the purchasing power of precisely no one as there has never been so much as a single instance in which minimum wage laws have ever resulted in anything but disemployment (the research is nearly unanimous on this point). You simply have no clue what you are talking about and are aggressively ignorant.
And it is an absolute fact that it was capitalism - and *ONLY* capitalism that resulted in the material improvement in worker pay, working conditions and prosperity, including the shorter work week, the 8 hour day, and the effective end of starvation, poverty as it was understood as recently as a century and a half ago and child labor. These are things that are completely alien to you, They're called "facts" or, if you prefer, objective recorded history.
Only an idiot references a "living wage" as if it were a real thing (or relevant to this discussion) as no one making such wages are trying to make a living off them, being overwhelmingly students, part-time workers and under 25 years of age. It isn't a question of what a business would "rather" do. They have no choice. It is a proven fact that it is objectively impossible for the business to pay less than the full value of the provided labor services. The business will happily hire as many workers as possible that will generate for them at least the minimum return. Some moron imposing a price floor above that value level means that the business loses money on that worker (and it's not a charity) so the worker gets the shaft not because of the "greedy" businessman but because of the intellectually bankrupt virtue signaler that wants to show they want to "help people" rather than learn something about the insidious policy they want to impose on everyone.
No one with a grasp of economics, history or reality need worry about taking the FLSA for granted as it objectively provided no value to anyone. No one suggests that it is "communism". It is, certainly, socialism by definition and it has never been anything but harmful to workers, particularly the most vulnerable among them, and the economy as a whole.
In the 19th century in the US, in the complete absence of labor laws and before the rise of union power (after 1880), real wages *QUADRUPLED,* working conditions improved dramatically, the average work week was slashed by a third and continued to fall, the 8 hour day came into existence and began becoming widely available and child labor which has approached 100% (agrarian society) plummeted to fewer than 1-in-3 boys and 1-in-8 girls and continued to fall (the remainder still overwhelmingly employed on family farms). these facts demonstrate the complete and irredeemable imbecility of the notion that regulations of any kind prevented the continuation of 12 hour shifts, supposedly for pennies. And, in fact, school participation continued to rise throughout the period as the prosperity of capitalism made it possible for families to forego the incomes of children.
Try doing some actual research before making such a complete fool of yourself.
@@FletchforFreedom - The numbers show they do not cut jobs, are you really this dense. Wages have been increased regularly since minimum wage was introduced until recently and no substantive effect on the work force. IN fact the workforce has GROWN and unemployment is rather low (disclaimer, fewer kids are being born which could change this in the future). Higher wages = more expendable income= more spending or self improvement. Meanwhile companies are seeing record profits with no benefits to their workforce.
- First inflation is up globally. Of 100 developed an developing economies around 70+% saw increase of 5% or higher. Where is America? About middle of the pack. Better than sweden worse than germany. No policy put forth by by biden is going to have this affect globally and the fact you seem to believe that shows your bias.
- Second minimum wage is NOT 0.15% of the work force it is 1.5%. TEN TIMES more than your claim as of 2020 which s the most recent I could find
www.bls.gov/opub/reports/minimum-wage/2020/home.htm
So actually closer to 2.5 million workers
- As for the median worker, with CEO's that on average make 350% more than their lowest employee. MAY want to ask how much that throws off that number especially when you have 1/3 of the workforce earning less than $15 per hour. With the average cost of living being $3,189 per month which MEANS $20/ hour is needed on average to LIVE in the US. So 1/3 of the work force can't afford to LIVE in the US.
Cost of living: www.upwardli.com/resources/new-to-america-what-is-the-average-monthly-cost-of-living-in-usa
Workforce under $15: www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-22/federal-minimum-wage-1-in-3-us-workers-make-less-than-15-an-hour
www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/research-publications/the-crisis-of-low-wages-in-the-us/
Pull you head out of your right wing silo and take a look around please. And post some links / sources if you are going to spout this nonsense on every thread.
RIGHT NOW SINCE WE RAISED MINIMUM IN MOST STATES UP TO 15 dollars an hour, the usa is going through the worst inflation periods ever!
I can't see McDonald's paying an 18 year old unskilled boy a $2400 a month wage with all benefits: that's why most places like that will cut their base wage jobs into 2 part time jobs
Restaurants like Chick-fil-A make enough profits to pay their cashiers $100,000/yr.
Or the automate. Stupid liberals think they can legislate out of poverty.
It's April, 2024. California minimum wage is $20 for fast food workers, and restaurants are cutting jobs, or closing, and all are raising prices.
Reich doesn't see reality much like most delusional leftists.
The minimum wage should be an absolute minimum of $25 per hour today, and increase every year on May Day by the rate of inflation.
Minimum is zero because we don’t hire people who are not worth it
BRUH IM LEGIT OUT HERE PLOTTIN FOR A 20$ an hour job and u devalued it by providing a valid number noooo jts fuckin crazy
It should be pegged to local CPI of housing, groceries, utilities, and healthcare. Should be at least $19 per hour in Pete Creek, Nebraska and $30 per hour in San Francisco.
@@user-nf9xc7ww7m Or not because you being lazy is not a reason to pay people more
$15/h is just the barest minimum, the amount we've been fighting for for years. It is therefore out of date. In many states, even that isn't a living wage. The real minimum wage should be $20/h, or even more than that. $15/h is just a compromise.
Democracy is built on compromise. At least our system anyway.
We have unemployment at 3.5%. Would putting the worst workers in the workforce out of work really be the worst thing in the world so the rest can live a life of dignity?
for 1 and 2 most of the "kill jobs and hurt small businesses" thing comes from considering an overnight doubling of the minimum wage.
Thankfully more people are finally telling the truth about this. Based on what sources I read/hear I consistently hear that once fully adjusted based on productivity and inflation, a minimum wage should be $23-26 right now.
The thing is minimum wage workers now DO NOT produce anymore value than the same workers 50 years ago so their wages should not be pushed up for no reason. The whole "productivity has increased" is a blanket statement that does not necessarily apply to all workers, tell me how is a supermarket clerk more productive now then 50 years ago? What extra layers of value/productivity did they produce?
If you were to argue the same point for high skill jobs like engineers then i would agree, engineers now produce much more value (see technological advances, increased project load/output due to tech).. So in the end that argument only applies to some jobs
@@yt_nh9347 cost of living rose, so people need to be paid more. hope that helps
@@yt_nh9347 I don't care. At a minimum, the minimum wage metric has not kept pace with inflation. And whether the metrics of productivity apply equally to everyone equal or not, I don't care. Minimum wage should be $24-25 and if I ever have any ability to change it directly either through voting or from holding office I'll do everything in my power to do so. I do allow for small business exception of $15 because I understand that they may have a very low profit margin and I want to be sensitive to that. Other than that, no. If employers don't like it they can go jump out of an airplane without a chute for all I care.
People have the right NOT to live in poverty and NOT to constantly have to struggle and scrape and be on the edge of homelessness and eviction every moment of their lives. Those accustomed to being at the top or doing the exploiting clearly get used to thinking their greed deserves to be satisfied. Even when they have millions or even billions to their name, that's still not enough for them. How many unions have had to go on strike over the past 2 to 3 years representing tens of thousands of workers in various fields; some skilled, some less so, all because their management structure and/or company owners refuse to compensate them ethically and appropriately and treat them with respect?
When people on the bottom or in the rank and file ask for more, you or others in management act like they have no right. I don't know about you personally, but a lot of those people seem actually shocked or offended at the idea that the plebs would dare demand better than whatever current shit deal they're currently being given. I mean how dare the slaves revolt amirite??? I mean they should be grateful to the employer for providing them a job with which to support their miserable existence on amirite?? I mean God forbid the workers turn to the job creators with anything other pure slavish devotion and a tacit understanding that they should never dare step out of their place amirite??? You may think I'm exaggerating but I bet if you could hear the inner monologue of these trash pieces of crap, I'm not far off from the truth.
The constant greed or desire for more from the upper echelon is always presented to broader society as perfectly fine, but those on the bottom or in the middle asking for modest gains is NOT, according to these assholes.
The logic of the wealthy and those in the executive class is always so convenient isn't it?
Now perhaps you personally would defend skilled workers getting a better deal. And if that's true I say good for you, glad you're on board. But I'm not going to neglect those on the bottom either. Everyone has to start somewhere in life. Most people look forward to increasing their skills, but they shouldn't have to wait to get a living wage until they can meet with precious management's approval to now be deemed worthy enough to get paid something they can make an ok living on.
People who oppose me on this issue act like those with low skills DESERVE to struggle meeting their basic needs or and deserve not to have basic economic security and have to go without, because it's some kind of divine will or some other "Doctrine of the Rich" self-justifying nonsense. Well, not if I ever have anything to say about it.
I DON'T CARE WHETHER LABOR IS LOW OR HIGH SKILLED. NO OWNER AND NO SECTOR OF MANAGEMENT DESERVES TO PROFIT FROM THE EXPLOITATION OF THEIR WORKERS ON ANY LEVEL.
All pay does not have to be the same and I'm not suggesting that, but it does have to be fair and provide a proper floor for all workers. You people act like workers are robots and don't have to eat, pay rent, and LIVE. I mean really what in the living fuck is wrong with you people???? DO YOU THINK WORKERS ARE ROBOTS? Do you think they live in some fantasyland where everything is free???
Have you never had to actually work in your lifetime?
@@yt_nh9347 The REASON is basic decency and morals and respecting the human beings who have no choice at the moment but to take those lower skilled positions. It's called having a conscience and caring about one's fellow man. THAT'S THE REASON. It's about acknowledge the humanity and the rights of human beings who WORK. IT'S ABOUT GIVING PEOPLE DIGNITY. If you can't see that then there's a problem with your moral outlook on the universe.
"a minimum wage should be $23-26 right now."
Make it a million dollars an hour. Makes no difference. Many hours of your unskilled labor is traded for one hour of my skilled labor and knowledge. How you denominate the trade makes no difference.
I've always felt minimum wage is too low to live on.
higher paid workers means also more spending per individual which means price gauges which means inflation.
The last time minimum wage was increased, my meal cost went up 11 cents. 12 years of minimum wage not increasing, that same meal went up $3! And that’s before the events of 2020
That's because even when there is no increase in the minimum wage, there IS an increase in the pay of CEOs, middle management and the like, so your prices still go up. But we never discuss that. We just keep hearing about how an increase in poor people's wages will raise prices sky high and hurt us all. But rich people getting more never hurts. Bullshit.
Data is even worse now for the purchasing power of the minimum wage because that was 2019 numbers and excludes the high 8% inflation we've had for a year and a half now. Yet it's still $7.25 in most states
"high 8% inflation we've had for a year and a half now."
You can thank People of the Left and the increase in minimum wage to $15 which requires to increase price on everything in order to pay employees. It is a game that People of the Left cannot win. It is impossible. Many have tried.
@@thomasmaughan4798 no, inflation is due to supply chain issues caused by the pandemic. The minimum wage is still $7.25 in half the country.
The cost of living has nothing to do with what the minimum wage is. nothing is affordable for minimum wage workers.
@@scifirealism5943 " nothing is affordable for minimum wage workers."
It depends on where you live although in the past year I might have to agree with your assessment.
So what actually happens? Suppose there was zero minimum wage and you could not live? Well then you die. Workers die. Then who does the work? Nobody. Naturally, a scarcity of labor increases the price of labor (ie, wages). This is known as the Iron Law of Wages.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_law_of_wages
Now in the United States it is preferred to NOT simply have surplus labor die, particularly seasonal labor that is idle right now but will be needed every year. This is why some forms of socialism arise naturally in norther latitudes.
The problem of "nothing affordable" to minimum wage workers DOES NOT CHANGE if you raise the minimum wage. All prices simply rise. They already have. They will again.
@@thomasmaughan4798 Prices of everything has risen with the minimum wage remaining stagnant so I don't know why you think the MW will do that.
We need to stop having this argument every few years. Set wage ratio laws so the wealthiest at a company can’t make more than x times the lowest. Or at the very least, pin it to the cost of living or inflation rate so it adjusts automatically year to year
Wage ratio makes the most sense imo. Best businesses would pay more and bad businesses would close because nobody would want to work for $4/hr.
Setting wage ratios is ineffective, because the form of compensation typically will be manipulated obscuring total income for those in power.
Wage ratio laws will never happen. We live in a capitalist, free market society where the gov't is forbidden, at least in principle if not on paper, to interfere with private businesses in that manner. Not to mention that the Republicans would pitch a complete hissy if they ever tried to do anything like that.
I'm not saying it's a bad idea, just that it's simply not doable.
@@keithcraig506 we're not in now nor have we or any other country ever been a fully capitalist nation. Even just the existence of minimum wage is antithetical to capitalism. Not to mention also government subsidies to the oil and agriculture industries in our own current system. So you can't just argue we can't do it because free market capitalism when that's not the system we have.
@@anthonydelfino6171
I didn't say "fully capitalist", but I did say "at least in principle". It's not that they can't, it's that they won't.
I understand what you're saying, that the gov't should dictate what a person can earn. I know that's not what you said, but that's how a lot of people will take it.
At the very least what you're suggesting would be considered government over reach. It also be considered as straying a little to close to the communism line, which a lot of people would freak out about.
It would also be political suicide if they attempted to do that. We'd have to reverse Citizen's United before they'd even think of going that far. Ever since the Citizen's United SCotUS decision the corporations, and the people at the top of those corps, have a death grip on our government.
I'm not against the idea, but the reality here is that it will never happen. Not as long as the corporations have free rein to pump as much money as they want into the system and not as long as the majority of the right wing is so adamantly opposed to anything that smacks even the tiniest bit of socialism / communism.
"Cant afford two bedroom".. two bedroom flat/house is *not* a starvation by deffinition.
Wow. I posted a comment providing rebuttals to the points made in this video and it was deleted. I guess that shows how open the left is to hearing dissenting opinions and having an open dialogue. And no, I wasn’t disrespectful and I didn’t use any profanity
You do understand that UA-cam frowns certain words, so it ISN'T the Left that is scared of your arguments. Instead try to write your comment in a different way. And keep the insults away.
Also, saying that teenagers don't need or deserve a minimum wage increase treats their labor as less valuable- and it isn't. There is no reason the labor of a teenager now should be worth 17% less than the labor of a teenager in 2009. They are still workers, and they still deserve to be fairly compensated.
17 percent? That seems low ball to me. On average price of everything DOUBLES every 15 years.
You proceed from a false premise. The workers now making the minimum wage were effectively unemployable in 2009 and those that could earn as much are already making more. As a result, the average worker makes 14% more than they did in 2009 and the number of workers making the federal minimum has plummeted by 82% to a whopping 181,000 workers (0.11% of the labor force) as workers have no problem at all being fully compensated for the value of their labor services.
@@FletchforFreedom why can't we raise minimum wage so nobody has to work for 7.25?
@@puellamservumaddominum6180 Because the alternative to not working for $7.25 in those cases is generally not working at all. Oh, sure, some few will retain their jobs (if not necessarily their hours) and likely be asked t do more as a consequence but that's not much consolation for those that have their hours or benefits cut or lose their job outright, How are we to tell someone that it is better that no one have to work for $7.25 if it means they are out of work?
It would be wonderful if we could just wave a magic wand (pass a law) an instantly the lowest paid workers would make more but this is the real world and no such thing has ever happened.
@@FletchforFreedom do you really think companies keep extra staff on doing nothing?
Companies already have trimmed jobs to bare minimum in order to give their executives bonuses.
The Trickle Down Economics theory kills me...Workers are fooled into believing giving the Wealthy more money somehow "Trickles Down" to them? 🤷🏿
yes it does, ofcourse not directly but in the long run it does
@@divinefavour1289 ...You're obviously a Conservative who's in love with austerity.
@@user-em6ie2be7x not a conservative, whatever that means
As John Kenneth Galbraith once said, trickle down theory is the less than elegant metaphor that if one feeds the horse enough oats, some will pass through to the road for the sparrows. I think that says it all.
@QB5 i really dont think you should listen to bush for economic advice, he is part of the reason the US economy is in the state it's in
thank you
Why do businesses not complain about the rent they pay? Isn't it too high?
Just the other day I was thinking about all the cool places I wanted to go and hobbies I wanted to pick up but can't because I'm stuck working full-time for a small paycheck.
waaaaaaaaaaaaahhh
Then unionize and strike for a decent wage.
A literal decade ago I told my mom about $15 an hour and she gave me all these same excuses. I had no explanations but they all felt wrong. Now I’m gonna show her this
And you will still be wrong
@@jsebby2284 yes I’m sure you applaud the minimum wage staying at $7.25 permanently wouldn’t you
@@JETAlone12 $15 federal minimum wage is estimated to cost $1.3 million jobs.
The cost of living varies across the country. Let states and localities decided minimum wage. Not federal. This is incredibly easy and a simple concept to understand
@@StephySon yes the federal minimum wage is the minimum for the cheapest part of the country. The cost of living varies too much in this country to be doubling the federal minimum wage.
Let the states and localities decide their minimum wage. This is incredibly easy to understand. Such a simple concept.
@@jsebby2284 Brilliant, so what your saying is your willing to live and work on those wages?
Oh what’s that your not? Yeah I fucking thought so
what if there was no minimum wage and employers just had to compete to provide better rates/benefits to employees like how every higher skill job is?
First and foremost. Who in their right mind thinks anyone should even consider a minimum wage job as a lifetime career?
You want more money for your time spent working? Improve your skills to qualify for better paying positions and accept the greater responsibility that goes with those positions.
The same people complaining about not making enough money to live on. Complain about having to work at all. Even just part time.
The exact same people who complain about needing more paid hours. Will refuse to work more hours when offered to them.
The exact same people who complain about being passed over for raises and promotions. Refuse to work any harder than absolutely required to keep from being fired.
That employer does not owe you anything more than what you and they agreed on the day you started working there.
If you know so much about how much they can afford to pay you. Why are you working for them? Why don't you take that vast knowledge of yours and open your own business in direct competition with them? Surely you would be able to offer YOUR employees higher wages. So you would then attract all of the best workers away from them. Having those better workers means you would then be able to produce better quality products than they can. And still sell those products for less than they charge while still making a respectable profit for yourself.
Instead of yammering about what THEY could do or what THEY should do. Just do it yourself and run them out of business.
This man is so smart. I love his insights and the effort he puts in to fighting the good fight. This man needs to be protected 🙏🏽
This man tells people to vote for the Democratic party. The Democrats have had COMPLETE control of government since 2020. They have NOT raised the minimum wage. Therefore he is telling people to vote for a party that will NEVER raise the minimum wage. How smart is that?
Vote Green party.
He isnt... ive seen the same arguments from some idiot on reddit of all places.....
69 👍
2👻💬
The man is a non-economist and congenital liar (every claim he makes here has been debunked for decades). What does he need protection from? Reality? His head would explode.
This guy is just throwing #s at everyone without references and validity. In other words he was blowing smoke.
i like how he ends on a "living wage". The 15$ mark was never the main focus, thats just a number to get people in the door
I dont know why we have a blanket minimum wage controlled by the government anyway when each states economy and taxes are different.
I remember having more than one conversation about this over the years. One of my favorites went like this: He said that doubling the minimum wage would cut jobs in half. I had to comment that given over 90% of people on minimum wages jobs work more than 1 job, and assuming his assertion was true, cutting jobs in half but allowing those people working 2 jobs or more to make the same money shouldn't be seen as a bad thing.
And in fact its inversed when a person have to work two jobs for the same income as a single job worker the double job worker is taking a spot somone else could be taking themselvses
The problem is that your neglecting the fact that when minimum wage goes up there is automatically a raise in the prices of menu items at every fastfood restaurant as well as many other goods and services. So it raises the cost of living for everyone but only provides an increase in pay for the people making minimum wage.
@@red_neckin However is that a causation or just a coincidence, as large corporations even with a increase in labor costs would still be making far more than a small business so while it would make sense for a smaller business to raise prices for financial reasons, for a large corporation to do so would seem to lean towards either the greedy or mismanaged.
@@roberthampton2629 Doesn't stop them from being greedy anyways sadly.
@@sirsteam6455 Not per worker! This is the reason why a large business is large, because they are more economically efficient.
"A majority of all workers who received a raise improved their overall performance"
Can't remember the last time I got a raise that wasn't less than the inflation rate, i must be the minority. This year we're getting 2%. 😂
You must work at my company. Years of 2% "raises" and two years without a raise at all. But the owner makes tens of millions of dollars a year.
@@warthog473 Same with the company I work for, it must happen a lot. The CEO's explanation as to why it's only a 2% raise is just insulting
@@warthog473Lol yes. We may actually work for the same company 🤣
I have been following this issue for some time. I have heard that demand for minimum wage labor is inelastic--the demand remains constant even with modest increases in labor cost. Also, it is nonsense that a Walmarts or a McDonalds would cut staff due to a minimum wage hike because these businesses already operate with lean staffing to begin with. Anyone who suggests that minimum wage hikes lead to job loss is suggesting that businesses are keeping excess staff around they don't need but will not be able to afford if wage costs go up; nonsense! If a Walmarts or McDonalds cuts staff, they risk losing customers due to poor service. I once calculated that the average Walmart worker adds about $35/hour in revenue to the company income statement; so cutting a worker making $10/hour because that worker is lifted to $15/hour does not make economic sense.
The thing is minimum wage workers now DO NOT produce anymore value than the same workers 50 years ago so their wages should not be pushed up for no reason. The whole "productivity has increased" is a blanket statement that does not necessarily apply to all workers, tell me how is a supermarket clerk more productive now then 50 years ago? What extra layers of value/productivity did they produce?
If you were to argue the same point for high skill jobs like engineers then i would agree, engineers now produce much more value (see technological advances, increased project load/output due to tech).. So in the end that argument only applies to some jobs
@@yt_nh9347 Wrong! The direct answer to, "...tell me how is a supermarket clerk more productive now then 50 years ago?" is that 50 years ago we did not have self checkout stations. One clerk can now oversee 6 or more customers checking out. If you want to argue people who work essential jobs are not worth more, how do you justify the outrageous increases in CEO pay over the last 50 years? Guess what? I'm an Engineer and Engineering pay has remained flat since 1972 adjusted for cost of living. As technology improves, more stuff gets made with fewer people; no reason that the productivity boost cannot be shared by all. We should make paid time off mandatory and increase it as productivity goes up in order to spread the jobs around. Almost all of the productivity gains in the last 50 years have gone to the FIRE sector.
@@yt_nh9347 Whatever the company still loses 20$/hr by getting rid of the employee.
@@yt_nh9347 they are not pushed up for no reason, minimum wage needs to be increased to cover cost of living and inflation. The cost of everything doubles on average EVERY fifteen years.
Are you saying people should not get a raise ever again? That people should still be making 7.25 an hour in 2037 and than again in 2052 when everything costs 4 times what it does now?
Thank you for at least attempting an intelligent comment (the first I've seen today).
"I have heard that demand for minimum wage labor is inelastic"
Incorrect; it depends on the industry. Industries that provide non-essentials are the most sensitive to various costs, of which labor is sometimes the greatest cost, but not always. Food growing is relatively inelastic for demand but only in the short term. As labor costs rise, mechanization takes over.
"Also, it is nonsense that a Walmarts or a McDonalds would cut staff due to a minimum wage hike because these businesses already operate with lean staffing to begin with."
Walmart made a huge cut in FULL TIME staff. Some are still called full time but by putting them under 32 hours a week, fall out of labor law pertaining to full time workers.
www.indeed.com/cmp/Walmart/faq/as-a-full-time-employee-in-walmart-can-they-lower-my-hours-to-less-than-32-hours?quid=1c3cvt9ecak57dlv
"Anyone who suggests that minimum wage hikes lead to job loss is suggesting that businesses are keeping excess staff around they don't need but will not be able to afford if wage costs go up; nonsense!"
It depends on what these workers produce. If doubling their wage makes their product non-competitive in a global market, the company simply goes out of business and then where are they? Where are the American workers making Craftsman tools? Oh, there aren't any. It's now Chinese.
"If a Walmarts or McDonalds cuts staff, they risk losing customers due to poor service."
And goes out of business entirely. Seen a Sears lately? K-Mart? Probably not.
"I once calculated that the average Walmart worker adds about $35/hour in revenue to the company income statement"
That's it? The usual industry estimate is that a worker should be worth four times his stated salary. This is called "load"; the company not only pays my salary, but the company share of retirement benefits, 401k, the rental value of where I sit or stand as I work.
"Commonly, the fully loaded cost of an employee is at least twice his or her salary. This is why consultants charge so much more than regular employees:"
www.nngroup.com/articles/loaded-cost-of-employee-time/
"so cutting a worker making $10/hour because that worker is lifted to $15/hour does not make economic sense."
But cutting HOURS while adding more employees DOES make economic sense. It reduces the "load" cost of the employees.
Thanks for having me on. To lift up working people, we must raise the minimum wage as soon as possible. To help workers thrive, we must ensure they are paid a living wage.
P.S. I'd also like to thank the fine folks at Inequality Media (inequalitymedia.org) for helping produce this video. They help me produce all of my other explainer content on my own UA-cam channel. If you haven't already, please look at our work there!
Exactly
You did such a great job here Robert, never thought about minimum wages like this before. Very informative!
Awesome!
Hey Robert can you explain your garbage piece on why Liz Cheney should run for POTUS?
$15 an hour is outdated, Robert. You even admitted to that *in the video*
In the 70s and 80s buying American made products are easy. Now everything is made overseas because American wages are too high.
You don't need a college degree to understand inflation is the problem, not minimum wage.
"Raising the minimum wage would make the cost of everything go up"...hello? The cost of everything has already been going up!
$15.00 an hour isn't enough !
No. The minimum wage should be $100/hour.
@@RussellNelson your right.
@@russellstone1503 Of course. There will be no negative results from forcing employers to pay $100/hour to all their employees. It will completely eliminate poverty, everyone will have a job and a good income, and everyone will be middle-class.
@@RussellNelson understood.
The US needs a Minimum wage of 25 dollars
That's ridiculously low. It should be $100/hour.
@@RussellNelson sounds fair to me.
Still wouldn't match the trillions the Fed gives to rich bankers.
@@RussellNelson why stop there? Let’s do $300 an hour. These greedy business owners can easily afford that.
Here in Australia, the current government promised, when they got in, to recommend rising the minimum wage by 5.1% ( rate of inflation ) which they did. All the corporate types screamed that this would cause inflation... The wages have been stagnant for at least a decade, but inflation is growing rapidly. The only "wage risers" that have happened and so must be the inflation driver is CEO Bonuses.
So if those bonuses are cut until society equals out a bit, we won't have those inflation problems.
More money in people's pockets means the spend more, more spending means more demand less supply, less supply means higher price increase to meet supply and demand. Raising minimum wage raises prices which in turn increases inflation rates. So yes increasing minimum wage increases the cost of living, because of supply and demand.
Do not take my word, or his word for it. Neither of us are economist. If you want to know the effects of minimum wage, and what are myths and are not myths go ask an economist. Someone who has at least a master's or higher about it. Not me or someone who studied law, even if he was secretary of labor, he is not an economist.
You'd think there would be broad agreement that it's not optimal to pay taxes so that people with jobs can get food stamps. I would rather pay taxes to support an unemployed person than an employed person, so I think minimum wage should be raised until that is an edge case rather than a fairly normal situation. If high minimum wage causes those low pay + federal benefits jobs to simply disappear, that's acceptable to me, although I think most would be getting raises or higher paying jobs fairly quickly. I do not want to subsidize companies that don't pay workers a living wage.
It;s neither optimal nor happening. The "subsidization myth has been completely disproved for decades and minimum wage laws actually increase poverty, welfare rolls and the cost to taxpayers.
@@FletchforFreedom Because the rich TELLS you that it has been disproven. Long story short, the rich wants to stay rich. Anything that cuts into their profits is an automatic disaster to them.
@@FletchforFreedom you're a troll
Poverty is a policy choice. The government requires grocery stores to accept food stamps but does not require the workers themselves to not need them.
@@scifirealism5943 Since, of course, minimum wage laws objectively increase poverty....
Great video, Prof. Reich, but you're forgetting about the minimum wage exception for tipped workers. We need an equal minimum wage for ALL workers.
"We need an equal minimum wage for ALL workers."
Why?
Min wage in my province is currently 12.75 an hour (just went up a dollar in Apr to that and up another this October). Sure some costs have gone up in the places (yeah, I work 2 jobs, one full time and the other up to 20 hours per week), but that was mostly due to increase costs of merchandise from the vendors and not our wages. Even with my current pays (14/hr at PT job, 13/hr at FT job) I STILL struggle to keep up with rent, bills, wife's medications, groceries, etc).
The whole small business argument only works for those who can hire 15-20+ workers and doesn’t actually work for 10 or less workers. It also only works in large cities where there’s a higher number of workers. But if you are from a small town with a smaller amount of workers and competing with businesses like Walmart, and fast food than it no longer works. I’m from California where the minimum wage is $15, it definitely does hurt small businesses in small towns. He’s just making up things and calling it a fact in myth 2.
This is why the tax regime needs an overhaul; it too much favours big corporations over small businesses and entrepreneurs. The way to reduce taxes for small businesses and to create a competitive advantage so they can compete with big companies, would be to progressively tax commerce instead of net profit so the largest of the monopolies and conglomerates are forced to self divest and spin off divisions and plants, but we know the two parties would not tolerate that, as their donors would have a fit.
Yk it’s genuinely shocking how every single argument about supporting people ruining the economy is always such a bold face lie.
The strongest most enduring economies all treat their people with respect and give them proper rights. It’s so obvious that when you treat people better the economy works better.
That’s why I always roll my eyes at the thousands of middle-wage workers defending or excusing this behaviour as “part of the market.” These people don’t care about you and if you broke your bones doing your job then they’ve won, I’m happy a lot more people are waking up to this.
But there has to be a stronger unified message that sheds political opinions and just focuses on basic fucking decency within our overly rich economies. Because the right, the centrists and the rich are perfectly brainwashing so many people into thinking they deserve to stay in this position and that those arguing for basic protections are crazy and causing the problem.
The "Right" and the Rich make sense in addressing when it comes to brainwashing, however Centrists? Centrists unlike the prior two are not unified in general agreement or motive and vary to a greater extend the differencing features that distinguishes them from the "Left" and "Right" is the fact they often agree with one and the other on different topics and versa thus making Centrists a random assortment of beliefs.
@@sirsteam6455 Centrist democrats almost always lean republican on all issues. They're basically democrat in name only but are a functional republican. Centrist Republicans don't exist because all republicans in office generally just go with their party's talking points and messages, and the same goes for their voting base.
@@asimovstarling8806 Thats simply not true, unless you are talking about politicians in which that is more correct, however for the voter that assessment isn't correct, and given the rarity and lack of centrists and centrist thought , and the fact unlike republicans or democrats centrists can fall anywhere on any subject it is hard to classify. it also doesn't help when self reported centrists aren't centrists but I digress
Like the rich guy Jeff Basoz who is advocating for a minimum wage increase lol
You guys are so naive.
@@emperorpicard4901 sounds like you're the naive one. He's the person whose company patented a cage on a mechanical arm to move workers from one station to another without letting them leaving their appointed task for anything, and that includes preventing bathroom breaks and food breaks. He patented and tried to force recording devices on his workers that they had to where everywhere. They aren't just his employees, they're also a product he wants to sell. Get your facts straight before you call any one naive maggot.
Very well made video. Robert Reich always gets it right.
I dont think he's ever been right lol
@@jsebby2284 it's a good thing facts don't care what you think.
@@silentbob7959 it's a good thing facts and logic are on my side
@@silentbob7959 Reich (and apparently you) wouldn't recognize a fact if its incisors were buried in your gluteal muscles (have mommy look up the big words for you).
No. Thomas sowell is the truth teller, not stupid Robert
"You should not be in business " that is the point .
You have businesses who probably should not be in business but produce some employment.
Or should you lose some employment but improve lives for many.
Jobs will be lost because liberal government wants to put equity over opportunity
For a healthy economy we MUST cut taxes drastically for small and medium businesses.
Then we can discuss about increasing workers wages.
Big corporations are paying next to no taxes and exploit people shamelessly.
You have no clue what you’re taking about, like all liberal eunuchs.
The US has higher corporate taxes than most other western nations.