I guess government cannot magically implement a so-called living wage without there being consequesces?

Those down payments and closing costs will get ya. I was fortunate enough to not have to pay either.

2 Likes

Yeah, Down payment and closing costs are a big big hurdle.

If ya don’t have 20% down you can go with less but you have to buy insurance for the rest and that insurance is equivalent to what you’d pay for a cash advance on a credit card.

So for that $375k home you’re looking at
$15,000 closing costs
plus
either

  • $75,000 down
    or
  • $19,000 down and borrowing the $56,000 remainder of the down payment at a HUGE rate.

How can you say definitively it’s not a reaction to minimum wage laws?

It’s also a value meal, not the cost of a single big mac.

But my point still stands: If you think you can run a fast food franchise profitably on cheap food and expensive labor, a ton of them are now losing money and are considered distressed properties. Go get one, show us how it’s done, and become a gazillionaire.

But before you jump, let me give you a cautionary tale.

Red Lobster tried to do what you liberals claim will work with fast food, and it helped drive their company into bankruptcy.

Seems cheap food and expensive labor isn’t a good mix after all?

Well its definitely not a reaction to the CA minimum wage law.

CT has a minimum wage of $15.69 so if its a reaction to that then why arent a plethora of McDonalds and other fast food outlets increasing the cost of their meals?

It is at a rest atop and typically prices are inflated at these locations because
its a captive audience with not a huge choice.

In my opinion it was a single franchise owner trying to see how much they could increase the costs by.

Economics is complicated but a lot of people in the industry are directly blaming the new laws for at least a substantial portion of the price increases. From the article I posted earlier:

The situation is particularly noteworthy in California, where a new $20 minimum wage for fast-food employees, effective April 1, 2024, has been established. The substantial increase from the previous $16 minimum wage has led to a ripple effect across the industry.

Businesses like Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. and McDonald’s Corp. have already raised their prices in anticipation of the wage hike. But the impact is not just on prices but also on employment. Over 1,200 Pizza Hut drivers in California face layoffs, with companies opting for delivery services like DoorDash and Uber Eats instead. The new minimum wage law, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, is seen as both a boon and a bane.

For workers like Jose, a Pizza Hut driver in Los Angeles, and his co-worker Jim, the law initially seemed like a positive change, according to the California Globe. “I thought it would finally be something good,” Jose said, considering the decline in tipping and increasing living costs. But the reality was harsher. The wage increase, while beneficial for some, has resulted in job losses for others, leading to a complex mix of gratitude and resentment among affected workers.

“There are a few who are saying that Pizza Hut is doing this out of greed … but most are like maybe this went up way too fast,” he said.

I am sure there is a connection. But automation is coming to the fast food business regardless if there is a minimum wage or not.

The way people are employed is changing, i prefer the kiosk type service where my interaction with humans is minimal. Its fast and gets me in and out with no fuss.

Technology, AI etc are going to have bigger impacts than what we pay people.

Okay, but that seems like a totally different argument. Yes, when the robots take over we won’t need to argue about minimum wage laws because no one will have a job at any wage. :smiley:

if a machine costs $100,000 to buy (and is free to run and maintain)
it comes with a a $2,000/month payment
or $2,000/month in opportunity cost.

That’s $65/day and it works 6, 16 or even 24 hours.

OTOH machines do come with problems. My phone, my computer, etc. work 100% fine,
and then, once every few months, some over[paid engineer working from poolside decides to justify his job by “updating” my apps and software. This new improvement means my phone, my computer etc. can no longer do what it used to do just fine.
.
.
.
In short, the economics are already there to replace McWorkers with machines, and have been for a long time, but that won’t be feasible unless and until the tech culture gets its head out of its ass.

1 Like

Yep…if you do not understand ANYTHING about business and obviously by your posts, you don’t.

What’s missing?

All the price hikes once the suppliers and distributors have to up their prices too.

Why would a minimum wage hike make suppliers raise their prices?

Autoworkers are hardly middle income people plus your assumption that if you can’t afford it you are working for Mickey D’s is nonsense.

I have one child who is definitely not Mcincome nor her husband but they can’t afford a house these days.

I won’t list where they are working (solid jobs) because i limit what i allow libs to know about me or my family.

I might tell you in the “corner”.

That is probably a big part of it right there.

When we dropped the work week more than 10% the ability to save evaporated.

A lot of the turds that moved in from places like Cali and NY not having a clue what things cost in TN and foolishly gave Cali and NY prices in TN drove prices up to where it made it hard on all the locals unless they are loaded.

A medium sized house with an acre lot is 6 or 7 hundred thousand now. Was maybe 150,000 before.

The thread is about fast food minwage in Calif.

Not sure why you needed to get nasty in your response.

And I chose auto workers as representative of blue collar factory workers, as an example of what our grandfathers did back in their day.

Even back when I was in college (previous century), doing the warehouse job I had in the summer, the regular workers grabbed every hour of overtime they could get their hands on.

It hasn’t taken long for the work ethic dynamics to change.

2 Likes

Me either when we did a refi on our home several years ago. Used USAA to get the VA loan, no down payment and because I am rated over 30%, no closing costs. In doing the refi we lowered the interest rate by 2 points AND got rid of the PMI she had to have when she first bought it.

3 Likes

That may be, but it’s no reason to murder it.