The serious people keep using that word. But I do not think it means what they think it means.
Enter Sen. Mark Miloscia, R-Federal Way, a former Democrat, with what he calls a “grand compromise.”
Miloscia dropped a bill Tuesday, SB 6029, that would scrap local authority to raise the minimum wage — meaning it would nix Seattle’s $15 per hour minimum wage approved last year. Instead, Miloscia’s proposal would index the wage to both urban inflation and personal income growth.
So, um, how exactly is this a “compromise,” grand or otherwise? God I hate it when politicians speak to us like they think we’re morons.
Miloscia and his crowd have already lost the minimum wage debate. Seattle has passed a $15 minimum wage, and polls consistently show that voters overwhelmingly support Democratic efforts to raise the state minimum wage to $12 an hour. In fact, polls show that voters are willing to go much higher—and public support spikes again when we add in paid sick leave! So Miloscia’s proposal that we give all these gains away in exchange for just tweaking the index by which the state minimum wage is already annually adjusted, well, from our perspective, that sounds a lot more like a capitulation than a compromise.
But in the spirit of Miloscia’s creative interpretation of the word, I’d like to respond with a counter offer: How about, if the legislature refuses to raise the state minimum wage to $12 in 2015, we “compromise” by going to the ballot with a measure that raises it to $16 in 2016? Because what Miloscia, his fellow Republicans, and WA’s business establishment need to start wrapping their minds around is that $12 is the compromise. We could get much more than that at polls. So don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Walmart announces pay increase above min. wage.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/1.....l?iid=Lead
Oh nooooooooooo, the economy is going to Collaps!
Someone should explain it to Miloscia this way: If you’re an ISIS prisoner, and they’re threatening to cut off your head, but instead decide to cut off only your balls, that’s a “compromise”?
@1 They must be having trouble getting their slaves to show up for their shifts. When gas costs more than you earn, you’re better off to stay home. Then wingnuts decry the falling labor participation rate and point fingers at “lazy workers” …
By the way, all the “lazy” state workers I know, who haven’t received a COLA in six years and won’t this biennium either if Republicans in the legislature get their way, are retiring in droves. Why bust your rabbit balls working for the public good when a state lawyer makes less than a private sector truck driver? I’m better off collecting my pension and sitting on my ass flipping stocks at home than doing anything useful or productive. I’m making about $500 in the stock market today. That’s much more than I ever made by slaving away for a state salary.
“We could get much more than that at polls.”
And lest they think Goldy is bluffing, they should revisit what happened in the 4 red states with minimum wage increases on their ballots in last fall’s “Republican wave” election. The minimum wage advocates came away 4 for 4. Even Republican voters are sick and tired of working for the slave wages that GOP hardliners want to pay them.
When Walmart raises their entry-level pay to $9 in states where $7.25 is legal, that should tell you even the market is saying the GOP congress and GOP legislators are behind the times.
And Walmart IS responding to the market, and ISN’T doing this in the goodness of their hearts. As I posted yesterday, a new survey shows Walmart is America’s “most hated” retailer, retail data shows their sales are falling, and customers are walking away.
Walmart has problems beyond its wage structure and worker exploitation issues, but that’s certainly part of the public’s growing antipathy toward the company, and it’s finally sinking in on management that they have an image problem.
@ 5
Goldy wasn’t bluffing, he was blustering.
Tell, me, RR, which of those red state minimum wage increases were ‘much higher than’ $12?
The rest of Washington isn’t Seattle. Unless Seattle’s voter numbers are enough to roll over the rest of the state, I’d suggest that there will be pushback from those in areas of the rest of the state that aren’t doing as well as Seattle. Substantial pushback, on an order not seen in Seattle by the $15 proponents.
Germany just raised its minimum wage but only to $11.61/hr, it was contentious, and there are plenty of loopholes in it. And Germany’s the best-performing economy in Europe.
Switzerland’s unions tried to push a very large increase in the minimum wage, arguably equivalent to Seattle’s $15 after accounting for cost of living differences, and failed by a 3-1 margin. That’s what happens when the politicos get involved and say it’s a very bad idea.
There would be substantial pushback if a statewide issue raising minimum wage to ‘much higher than $12’ is put to the voters, and the pushback would be of a magnitude not seen in Seattle.
Since Goldy’s so sure he could get so much more by doing it as an initiative (I assume that is what he meant when he said ‘at polls’), why not just make it an initiative and go for it? Wouldn’t that be the best thing for Washington workers, according to HA libbie thought?
If much-higher-than-$12 is the best thing for WA workers, and by extension for the state’s economy, and if Goldy truly thinks he could get it if it is put to the state’s voters, then $12 is not a compromise. It’s a sellout.
@7…
Of course ‘Bob’ the sloppy solipsist won’t realize how his bloviating makes him look like an elitist asshole.
@ 6
When Walmart raises their entry-level pay to $9 in states where $7.25 is legal, that should tell you even the market is saying the GOP congress and GOP legislators are behind the times.
Actually, Wal-Mart raised minimum to the level actively being discussed in the US Senate prior to Dem capitulation to forces demanding that the minimum be $10.10 instead. Had that not occurred, $9/hr may very well have been passed and many more workers than just those employed at Wal-Mart would have had some benefit. Awhile ago.
Wal-Mart did what the Democrat-controlled US Senate didn’t.
Something to think about, RR:
Wal-Mart employs so many people. What might be the long-term fallout if Wal-Mart raises wages and its business doesn’t improve as a result? Would the answer be to double down and raise some more? Or begin cutting back and possibly accelerating whatever automation might be forthcoming?
@1
It’s a reare day when two “We’re all DOOOOOMED” Republican economic arguements go up in flames.
WallMart will clearly be out of business by the end of the year and
Loookee here, a lot of businesses are agreeing that at a cost of less than 1% of profits, providing health coverage under Obamacare is “not significant.” There’s a we are the 99% joke in here somewhere…
@7 “Tell, me, RR, which of those red state minimum wage increases were ‘much higher than’ $12?”
That misses the point, because Republicans are ideologically opposed ANY minimum wage increase in ANY state no matter how little the existing minimum wage is. They would repeal the 13th Amendment if they thought they could. Which is why they use wedge issues like abortion, racism and homophobia, and scare tactics to get the votes of low-income working people in places like Alabama and Arizona who are hurt by the GOP’s virulently anti-worker policies.
@9 “Had that not occurred, $9/hr may very well have been passed and many more workers than just those employed at Wal-Mart would have had some benefit.”
Bullshit. Republicans now control both houses of Congress and can raise the federal minimum wage to $9 anytime they want to. Does anyone seriously believe President Obama would veto that? Okay, then, where’s the GOP bill raising the minimum wage to $9? Crickets chirping …
@9 Either Bob is ignorant or he’s a liar. I prefer to believe he’s ignorant, so I don’t have to call him a liar. Here, Bob, for your edification:
February 13, 2013:
“In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama outlined … a proposal to raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour by 2015 …. But … on Monday, House Speaker John Boehner shot down the idea ….”
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ti.....itics.html
February 21, 2014:
“Speaker John Boehner is so against raising the minimum wage that he once said he would rather commit suicide than vote for a ‘clean’ increase. … Some Democrats are optimistic Boehner will … allow a vote this year, but the record shows there is little if any daylight between the … Speaker and his conservative conference on this issue.”
http://thehill.com/homenews/ho.....nimum-wage
January 26, 2015:
“In an interview with CBS’ ’60 Minutes’ on Sunday night, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) turned to autobiography to explain his opposition to raising the federal minimum wage.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/.....48814.html
Do you see a pattern here, Bob? I do. It doesn’t matter if the minimum wage is 50 cents, $5, or $7.25 — Speaker Boehner, who controls what gets voted on in the House, is philosophically opposed to minimum wage laws and won’t allow a vote on ANY increase, no matter what it is. His voting record and political rhetoric have been consistent on this; he has opposed minimum wage increases throughout his political career. The man simply doesn’t believe in a government-mandated minimum wage. His position is that lower wages result in more jobs. If you follow this line of thinking to its logical conclusion, a zero wage should produce an infinite number of jobs, but as Walmart is finding out, in the real world lower wages result in fewer workers.
Once again Repukes on the wrong side of the issue. Is there any issue that they are right on?
Bunch of creeps. They no longer believe in freedom.
Employers Troll Facebook For Dirt On Job Applicants
While we’re on the subject of employers, jobs, and wages, a pernicious new development in the work world is voyeuristic employers trolling the internet for personal information about employees and job applicants, then using that information to blackball workers from employment. CBS reports,
“Whether it’s a Facebook video of a cat jumping through snow or a photo of a dwarf planet 250 million miles away, clicking the Like button may cost you your next job. Peter Maulik says social media activity has completely changed the way he screens potential employees for his New York-based consulting firm Fahrenheit 212. ‘The resume, while still useful, oftentimes is retrospective,’ Maulik says. ‘So what we use is LinkedIn, all the social media information that is out there to give us a more holistic perspective of the individual.’ Stanford Professor Michal Kosinski wants to take the screening process a step further. He uses a computer model to predict personality traits by analyzing what someone ‘likes’ on Facebook. ‘The surprising thing is when you combine you liking Lady Gaga, you liking some books and movies and comments made by your friends, we can extract something more than that,’ Kosinski says.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/ho.....ob-search/
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Yes, folks, these trolls are making judgments about your knowledges, skills, and work ethic by trolling your internet activity. Of course, there’s a flip side to this: Not only do employers select employees, but workers also select employers, and why would any worker with a shred of self-respect agree to work for an employer who does this? I sure wouldn’t.
So, Mr. Maulik needn’t waste his time spying on my internet activity, because there isn’t a chance in hell that I will ever work for him, even if he offers me a job. I have ethical standards, and he doesn’t meet them.
As for Professor Kosinski, if I catch him spying on my internet activity, I’ll report him to the police.
Of course, the best thing to do is become a capitalist and drop out of the labor force, like I did, and then you don’t have to hassle with searching for a job, putting up with interviewers’ bullshit questions, and trying to satisfy the unpredictable whims of crazy hiring managers. Do like I do, sleep in every day, make your money in the stock market, and tell employers to take their lousy job and all the hoops they make you jump through to get it, and shove it up their collective asses. That’s what I did, and I’ve never been happier.
Here’s another reason to not work and drop out:
“In the topsy-turvy world of America’s post-recession economy, the poorest workers are getting pay raises, while the best educated workers are suffering from shrinking wages. … The only group to see a significant wage gain in 2014 were the lowest 10 percent of American earners, which was likely driven by minimum wage increases in more than a dozen U.S. states. On the other hand … those with college and advanced degrees … saw hourly pay slip 1.3 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively. The problem … is that the labor market has seen an erosion of bargaining power for workers ….”
(Note that the only reason the bottom 10% got raises is because the minimum wage laws that Republicans always bitterly oppose forced their bosses — nearly all of whom are Republicans — to give it to them.)
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/po.....come-dips/
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Well, there’s a solution for that, too: Go where the money is. Corporate profits have jumped from 6% of GDP to 11% of GDP. Shareholders are getting raises, workers aren’t, so obviously being a passive stock investor collecting dividends is more rewarding than working for wages. My stocks typically give dividend raises of anywhere from 5% to 10% a year. When was the last time your boss gave you a raise? I get my raises by owning the business instead of working for it. Plus, I get a 50% discount on my income tax rate. Fair? Hell no! And, in all honesty, even though I’m a capitalist my conscience won’t allow me to vote for the Republican policies that perpetuate this immoral system. But as long as it’s the system, I’d rather be a capitalist than a worker. Have you ever heard of anyone volunteering to be a slave? Given a choice to be a slaveowner or a slave, I’d rather be dead than be either, but in any case when the system is so stacked against workers as it is right now, people get to a point where they just should refuse to work. That’s what I did. After working for over 40 years, I’ve had enough of bosses. I’m a capitalist now, not particularly proud of it, but it sure beats working.
SB 6029 begins with the statement which reveals its entire purpose:
“The state of Washington hereby occupies and preempts the entire field regarding wages, hours of work, employee retention, and leave from employment within the boundaries of the state.”
In case that just wasn’t brutally clear enough for you, it continues:
” A city, town, county, or port district may not require, enforce, or otherwise regulate by means of charter, ordinance, regulation, rule, resolution, or contract, including purchase agreement, any of the following for private employers: Payment of wages, hours of work, employee retention, or leave from employment. Any such provisions or terms may not be adopted or agreed to and are preempted and unenforceable. The state preemption created in this section applies to all charters, ordinances, regulations, rules, and resolutions regulating payment of wages, hours of work, employee retention, or leave from employment for private employers.”
Democrat-turned-Republican Miloscia knows what his new owners want, and he’s doing his very best to deliver. Seattle and Seatac can not be allowed, by their examples, to show how bogus right-wing opposition to high minimum wages really is.
Our state’s minimum wage, the highest in the country, has proven very beneficial to our economy:
March 8 (Bloomberg) — When Washington residents voted in 1998 to raise the state’s minimum wage and link it to the cost of living, opponents warned the measure would be a job-killer. The prediction hasn’t been borne out.
In the 15 years that followed, the state’s minimum wage climbed to $9.32 — the highest in the country. Meanwhile job growth continued at an average 0.8 percent annual pace, 0.3 percentage point above the national rate. Payrolls at Washington’s restaurants and bars, portrayed as particularly vulnerable to higher wage costs, expanded by 21 percent. Poverty has trailed the U.S. level for at least seven years.
@14 “Once again Repukes on the wrong side of the issue. Is there any issue that they are right on?”
No. It’s curious how they’re dead wrong about essentially everything and yet remain a viable political party. That speaks to the power of propaganda and disinformation.
@17 It doesn’t have a chance of passing the Democrat-controlled house or surviving the governor’s veto pen, but it shows what the Republican mindset is. Compromise my ass. As usual, Republicans are trying to grab the whole bag of marbles.
well then, if we could get more at the polls, why don’t we?
no democratic party official is saying we will go to the polls. there are no plans to do so. only goldy and a few others, not party leaders.
this is amazing, isn’t it. we are ready to self capitulate because we are too lazy to go to the polls? well then who do we blame the gop or the dems?
oh please scorpion, I will carry you over the river is the democratic mantra. just go to the fucking polls already, why are they even BOTHERING in olympia?
How about a little tax fairness in the State??? Raising the minimum wage will be paid for mostly by the middle class as prices raise and the middle class income doesn’t. While lower income gets a deserved raise does anyone think it’s going to come out of profit margins? Nope prices will raise meaning the raise min wage employees get will not go as far, for middle income it’s effectively a wage decrease since middle income wages have also stagnated. Meanwhile the very wealthy will continue to have their incomes grow at a rate that outpaces everyone else, while paying less than their fair share of taxes.