Republicans Are SEETHING Over Minimum Wage Increases

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#california #mcdonalds #fastfood

[@union1st]

"How dare the working class live happier lives! 😡"

[@superfluousnscrupulous9458]

"They have to suffer so they blame their problems on people of color or Jewish people, and not me, the politician that makes their life hell! 😡"

[@herec0mestheCh33f]

"Nooo u aren't being humiliated enough now"

[@tartipouss]

"I hate it when people are happy ! Grrrr !! My life is terrible and so everyone else should be miserable too to make me feel better about myself !"

[@flameroad123]

Those damn worker's! Always working to make ends meet. Living normal lives, makes me sick! Sheesh What has this world become!

[@MartinLeong25]

"they only deserve the bare minimum to serve me!!!"

[@wesleysmith187]

"THEY SHOULD STRUGGLE LIKE I DID AS A TEEN 😡😡😡😡😡" - Boomers who made the equivalent of $47 an hour bagging groceries.

[@dmike3507]

Lmao so true!

[@psycholaw4394]

You mean back when money was worth more, and people valued hard work?

[@VoiceOfTheEmperor]

"STFU, Boomer. Before I take away your 401K." But that's just me. 😂😂

[@sithisrants4154]

Making $20 an hour as a fast food worker in some parts of California, New York, and Hawaii with no benefits is still probably not a living wage, but it will at least allow some people to eat and maybe live in a car with a working air conditioner. Always glad to see it

[@MasterGhostf]

Oh for sure, but what it really does is raise the wages everywhere else.

[@Remorsefullyhumble]

Hell no 20$ is the old 15$ I’ve said this for years even in Dallas

[@toedrag-release]

​@@MasterGhostf It also brings everybody else down with them

[@sithisrants4154]

Well, minimum wage hikes alone obviously aren't enough, for sure. @@Remorsefullyhumble

[@sanepillow59]

Minimum wage won't solve the housing problem. Landlords will simply continue gouging their prices. Increasing the supply of housing units to force a lowering of the prices and crash the monopoly of the landlords cartels will

[@EpicWinNoob]

Damn $20 minimum wage, they might be able to afford 3/4ths of an average month's rent and ABSOLUTELY nothing else, neat.

[@jimmyhook4824]

It's true! It's still not a living wage. Not even close.

[@PartyC4nnon]

It won’t! There’s no way this won’t lead to cut hours by these fast food restaurants.

[@Rb39-ej5hh]

​@@PartyC4nnon The empirical research on the effect of minimim wages on employment suggest that there isn't a significant change in employment. However, we should be investing in training and education for fast food workers so that they can go into higher paying and higher productivity jobs, because that's the basis of a strong economy. Whatever way you cut it, people working full time while not getting enough to live a decent life is unacceptible, especially when most fast food corporations can easily afford a pay rise. If they can't afford it, which is sometimes the case with small buisinesses, then it's not a viable business.

[@stankyfx6001]

People need to live below their means, $7 is plenty.

[@wta1518]

@@stankyfx6001 If you work 50 hours a week, then assuming 4.5 weeks in a month, that's $1,575 per month BEFORE tax. You're lucky to find an apartment below $1500 in any sort of major California city. So, with all due respect, get bent.

[@SkylerHamm587]

The conservative default is making people suffer

[@chickenwarriorr]

If you're not a rich white male conservatives hate you

[@overlookers]

People gaining any degree of any allusion of power threatens their solipsism disorders.

[@anthonyrowland9072]

@@overlookers They're Cenobites. Their pleasure comes from your suffering.

[@arcturionblade1077]

With conservatism, the cruelty is always the point.

[@SceptileDude254]

Suffering to them is simultaneously a dick measuring contest towards others they want to compete with and something they always try to blame others for not suffering enough.

[@PatrickWDunne]

I remember thinking $20/hr was a lot of money at one point in my life

[@jc3drums916]

Yeah, probably when it was worth twice as much as it's worth today.

[@LenaLangton]

I made 90k this year and I still live like I did when I was making 40k, I’m also spending 1700 for rent when I used to spend 600 and I’m spending $250 a week in groceries when I used to pay about $100 At least my utilities are not much more than they have ever been

[@scorpion3128]

"minimum wage should be tied to average cost of living" THANK YOU! $20/hr in Nebraska is wayyyy more of a shock to the economic system than in California or NYC.

[@Nun195]

Maybe rural Nebraska, but 50% of that state lives in Omaha, 20 an hour there isn’t much.

[@gaphic]

the average annual cost of living in nebraska is about $54000. at $20/hr, if you never missed a single day of work, you'd still only make about $41000 a year

[@Khalkara]

I think its kinda backwards thinking, the average cost of living is predicated on how much companies can sell their services for in that area which is at least somewhat tied to how much people in that area make on average. Whatever "shock" a $20/hr would introduce is just a function of the inefficiency of a market system. Its also fundamentally unethical in a socialist worldview which makes it surprising Vaush would support this. The same labor should be valued the same. Hell even my non-socialist co-workers believe this.

[@funkyfresh2053]

I live in the second largest city in Nebraska and my bf makes 13 an hour (16 an hour on weekends and overtime) and can live mildly comfortably by himself! I make 12 and my pay will increase to 15 in the next few years i love Nebraska just cus we can afford rent and food lol

[@jrsydvl7218]

When we raised our minimum wage in AZ, the business groups bombarded us with constant doom and gloom scenarios. We didn't see mass layoffs or businesses close.

[@johnk2347]

AZ is booming, new places to eat popping up everywhere there is space. The doom and gloom was so overblown.

[@TheKnives777]

That’s the typical. Corporate song and dance they want to shout “record profits” from the hill top but claim their business will collapse if they pay their employees more.

[@beepyou34]

Anything that makes Republicans seethe and cope this hard is worth looking into

[@Bagel920]

As someone who lives in California, a big response to this has just been people groaning that fast food prices will increase because these companies certainly aren’t going to keep paying their workers more and take the hit to their profits

[@mr.ashenfire2624]

If you're making record profits regularly you don't have any right to bitch about anything.

[@CrowsofAcheron]

People should first ask about who's charging commercial rent, then about executive salaries, then about shareholder expectations. After this, then we may talk about reasonable pay for service workers.

[@googane7755]

They're not going to significantly increase their price above market rate, it means they further lose out on profit and give their competitors an edge. Plus higher paid workers means there is more money circulating in the economy so people can afford higher prices anyway.

[@VoteBidentoSaveDemocracy]

That argument is laughable. The same logic used to argue that increasing the minimum wage will inevitably led to price increases, and so in order to prevent that from happening, we should never increase the minimum wage, would necessarily mean that forcing people's wages down to $0 would mean that everything is free. Yet you won't see Republicans claiming that we should lower their wage to zero.

[@W333L]

@@googane7755not if all the money goes to rent -signed, a Californian

[@-Teca-]

Everything is ALREADY GETTING MORE EXPENSIVE WITHOUT THE INCREASE

[@micahgelfand8282]

It's just fear mongering corporate propaganda. They price gouge regardless

[@dmike3507]

Exactly. You'd think people would be smart enough to realize that... but NOPE

[@johnwalker1058]

Conservatives: "But, but, then if we increase the minimum wage, then everything will become even more expensiver!"

[@shaneraab5510]

Kevin O'Leary the kind of guy to be that cartoon villain who would foreclose on the orphanage and build an oil refinery if said orphanage couldn't put together a specular enough talent show to make the cost back by midnight.

[@True2ChainzLilWayne]

Hes the type that would invest 50% with a $2 royalty per lap dance the strip club the brothers in the movie Norbit wanted to build to replace the orphanage.

[@bigkirbyhj666]

They hate the free market when it comes to labor negotiating their price.

[@robertredmon5409]

But this is not labor negotiating their price this is the Government forcibly setting the price

[@bigkirbyhj666]

@robertredmon5409 yeah cause we the people were complaining. The government should be there for the little people who can't for themselves. And I'm sick and tired of hearing that otherwise especially from people who are military.

@@robertredmon5409 as they should...

[@kylegonewild]

@@robertredmon5409 Correct, because the bargaining power of the average worker in the US is non-existent. Decades spent eroding the buying power of the average worker to enrich the already fabulously wealthy has led to a situation where the government *must* step in because the businesses aren't mature enough to self-regulate. There's way too much to go around for people working full time to be struggling with basic needs including shelter.

[@Nun195]

@@robertredmon5409you’re wrong. Workers voted for a higher salary. Government is the mechanism for how it’s accomplished.

[@ajplays-gamesandmusic4568]

You know, there's a fastfood chain that's based in California that raised their wages and didn't pass the increase onto the customer... and that company... is In-&-Out. Anytime McDonalds or Pizza hut says "If wages increase, we have to raise the price of the products"... I say... "No you don't. In & Out figured out how to do it, and you're bigger and more profitable than they are... maybe ask them how they're doing it." (hint, they have better burgers, for far less money. They source all the ingredients locally, and don't freeze or microwave anything).

[@CrowsofAcheron]

💯💯💯

[@sigmascrub]

I had my annual In-N-Out in Vegas recently, and the wage is absolutely deserved. It's like clockwork.

[@ThePanMan11]

Then you go to places like Europe and see McDonalds there paying their staff way more because of local laws and their hamburgers there cost the same or less. It's all just corporate greed. All they're saying is: "We couldn't possibly pay our staff more and keep all these millions upon millions to ourselves without passing the extra cost to the customer."

[@therideneverends1697]

yeah in and out burgers have been 3.50 for like 10 years atleast

[@DavidRichardson153]

​@@ThePanMan11 I still remember when I showed my MAGA mother that story where the reporter compares the worker at an American McD's to one at a Dutch McD's. It spelled out how the Dutch worker has a base pay that is several times higher than the American's, the Dutch gets a pension, stellar health insurance, can (and usually does) work fewer hours with no loss in personal benefit or profit for the franchise or corporation, and can afford to live very locally. It even points out how the Dutch worker is practically guaranteed to be in a union. And yes, there is a price increase for all of these benefits that the Dutch worker gets over the American, a price increase of... $0.25, visible with the Big Mac and pretty much all of McD's menu. And all the while, McD's is one of the most profitable corporations in the Netherlands and on a level comparable to how it is in the US. You should have seen the look on her face when after she finished watching it (I cannot recall if it was CNN or MSNBC that originally aired it) when I then told her to never believe when any company says that they cannot afford to do something to help its workers. In fairness, it did not compare to the face she got when it dawned on her that Medicare For All would benefit her and the whole family far more than any private insurer ever would.

[@dominicpinchott7432]

Remember when Chipotle raised prices before inflation, and way more than inflation, and blamed the prices on inflation? Every single Chipotle I see appears to be in a hiring crisis. Getting forced to raise their wages will actually help their business.

[@vice166]

i work at chipotle, and we're always understaffed, even when we have ppl they just cut our hours, and we stay understaffed every shift

[@mekannatarry1929]

Speaking of which, last I checked they wouldn't reveal pay rate info--and I checked just now, it's not just missing anymore, they straight up tell you the info will not be provided. This is on indeed, btw lol.

[@Infinitejules]

The company I work for now and the previous ones constantly raise their prices (several times a year) without raising wages. I just got a whopping 50 cent raise after two years without any sort of increase and I only got that cause we are all in the verge of quitting. The GM quit last month, the other assistant manager is leaving next week, I'll be out in the next month or two, and I will be followed by all our key employees

[@YisYtruth]

Cost of living is just rediculously high. Health, housing and food shouldnt bankrupt you if you're working full time.

[@toedrag-release]

Sure but omcreasing minimum wage just makes the cost of living more expensive.

[@lemon93]

​No it doesn't companies destroying the environment does way more. Think of all the people that have increased medical bills. Not to mention crop failures

[@Nun195]

@@toedrag-releaseif that’s the case imagine how much worse all these high paid c suite execs make it.

[@toedrag-release]

@@Nun195 It is the case. If it costs more to sell something they increase the price to make up for lost profits. It's never not been the case. If you buy 1 ton of pork for $1000 and sell it for $2000 but now all of a sudden you have to buy the pork at $1500 you will sell it at a higher price to make up for the $500 profits lost. This isn't just major corporations but also small ma and pa shops too

[@CaptainPrincess]

Its by design Its the closest the wealthy can get to having slaves again, and keeping workers on the edge of starvation is a great way to keep them from getting ideas like Having Opinions and Wanting To Do Something Other Than Work It seems to be falling apart now but its been a very effective strategy for keeping people dependent and subservient for a LONG time

[@domenigo97]

If you as a business owner are successful only because you pay your employees so bad that they can't survive on their salary alone, then you and your business deserve to fail.

[@psycholaw4394]

100% agree

[@con1302]

He says california is the most mismanaged state meanwhile alabama has been compared to a third world nation

[@jacksmith-vs4ct]

but alabama is doing that on purpose California isn't lol

[@brandonfitzgerald-eo3tk]

​@@jacksmith-vs4ctthat's not good

[@saturn_v42]

Didn't Kevin O'leary promote FTX before it turned out to be a huge scam? Clearly the best person to learn about finance from.

[@cdvideodump]

*Fortune favors the brave*

[@hanzohasashi4534]

Kevin O'Leary used to slander all Block Chain projects when he was in the Gold business, but he later did a total 180 after he realized how unregulated it is, and then continued to invest in the most shady projects he could find. There's a reason why he doesn't promote legit projects like Chainlink, but instead promotes shady unregulated exchanges like FTX.

[@kylegonewild]

He got *paid* to shill FTX.

[@fluffywhitebudgie6376]

Yes he did it cause he needs MOAR money!

[@jasonslade6259]

One of the worst Canadians of all time. We're so sorry these people keep leaking into the USA.

[@jwhbos]

Kevin O'Leary saying he doesn't invest into Massachusetts is absolutely insane. MA has such a huge healthcare startup and professionals scene, lots of tourism, small businesses, large corporations, and everything a capitalist investor could ask for. Every shoe brand has a flagship or mainline store/office building here. Lots of office space and "real estate" for businesses here too. While that real estate would be better used as apartments and affordable condos, it's something an investor would be stupid to pass up on. He has no clue what he's talking about.

[@RyouShi98]

You're telling me Kevin OLeary is kind of stupid?

[@olivermorin3303]

@@RyouShi98 I don't believe they said "kind of".

[@causeofdeath5592]

He's Canadian 😂 so yea

[@Karlswebb]

He’s a fake businessman. His businesses mostly failed, he made his money being an actor mostly.

[@hyena280]

Look up Kevin Leary being debunked - he lied about his history. His opinion is worth nothing - just a grifter, but Canadian

[@tristanalain9239]

I have a friend who works for Pepsi in North Dakota as a local area truck driver. I got treated to a very long angry rant about its not right for stores to stop carrying their products because the company keeps price gouging. He ranted about the price gouging being necessary cause the union insisited on pay raises and that means they need to raise prices to keep things going as before. And then completely ignored the point about their record profits, and then blamed the union for making his pension or some other shit worth less money or something. He despises Unions. Uses the whole "They only protect bad workers, no one wants to work" blah blah shit. And he bases all of this derangement on working for Kroger. Once. Because Kroger has a union. A union iirc he did not join (but I did). And I don't know why, but I feel compelled to mention his name is Kyle because that feels it like it somehow explains all that shit

[@syeblaize]

We all know a Kyle.

[@dawildbear]

Never met a good Kyle.

[@Alic4444]

@@dawildbear I've met a good Kyle, he actually started a Co-op.

[@BlueBlur24]

He got drunk from all the Monster Energy drinks.

[@summerlovinxx]

this guy is a stain on the Kyle name, your average Kyle would just hear that he's getting a raise and be like "dude that's epic sauce, wanna hit a puff from this empty Monster can?"

[@Turquerina]

NOOOO!! People not struggling to make ends meet and afford to feed themselves! How dare the poors get the modicum of bare necessities?! In all seriousness, I hope we keep up this W! It's the least we could do.

[@xamislimelight8965]

"You don't deserve money and the chance to live a life" - GoP right now. Exain why you'd vote for this, because I'm at a loss. The only 2 things I can think of as to why you would is A) you ate too many crayons in 1st grade, and thats why art class was cancled. Or B) your mom and dad share a DNA line.

[@popdogfool]

We all share a DNA line.

[@salce_with_onion]

@@popdogfool its alabama joke

[@popdogfool]

@@salce_with_onion share great grand parents might be better phrasing

[@pacificangel1769]

Usually the answer given is "minimum wages just cause inflation, so it doesn't do anything" Or "Minimum wages going up means companies have to raise prices"

[@WASDLeftClick]

“Well I don’t work a minimum wage job so why should I care?”

[@TankZappa]

A friend of mine makes about $22 an hour and works 40+ hours a week. She can not afford the most basic winter rental in NJ. An increase to $20 would be a huge win. But sadly it's still not enough for many areas in the US. Her only option is to move to a red area and be surrounded by people who will hate her bc of her skin color.

[@FearLegion-co8gg]

No one is going to hate her for the color of her skin. Keep victim baiting though.

[@VoiceOfTheEmperor]

​Really? Sounds like something PragerU would say.

[@JohnTorres1987]

If you can’t pay your workers $15-$20 an hour, then you probably have a bad business model and shouldn’t exist.

[@psycholaw4394]

A decade ago people said the same when the minimum wage was around 10$ an hour. In 10 years you will repeat that statement, but for wages that doesn't exceed 30$ an hour

[@CivilWarMan]

@@psycholaw4394 The federal minimum wage is $7.25, and has been for almost 15 years now. It's never been $10 an hour federally, and is currently only over $10 state-wide for 29 states.

[@lukedeutschbauer6724]

@@psycholaw4394 Bro has never heard of inflation before

[@cmmosher8035]

As a Canadian, why is america giving the guy we flushed down the conservative toilet a voice?

[@buffbarney2648]

probably because they have a use for him theyll probably flush him down sooner or later

[@rachulus5897]

Sectoral unions and minimum wages are the way to go. They can be specialised to local needs and industry specific. Uk used to be sectoral. Union power dropped off massively when this was thrown out

[@Khalkara]

Why would sectoral minimum wages be better than a high federal minimum wage?

[@wingxerox]

"Be thankful for high drug prices" has to be satire. No way people read that and say "this is good and makes sense"

[@VoiceOfTheEmperor]

Only those bought off would.

[@lopoa126]

Looking at rent in areas where I am looking for work is so depressing. No point in taking the job if I have to live in my car in the Midwest.

[@psycholaw4394]

Get away from democrat lead cities

[@VoiceOfTheEmperor]

​@@psycholaw4394 Just say "Jewish". You'll get more brownie points with the kinds of people you attract with that rhetoric.

[@herec0mestheCh33f]

"Nooo u arent being humiliated enough and it makes me feel emasculated" -the rightoid

[@darkcrystalmagik3369]

Oregon passed a damn good law recently for increasingly minimum wage- automatically increase EACH & EVERY YEAR, w/ the amount of which is determined by the previous year's rate of inflation, AND it addresses the reality of CoL differences with a 3 tiered system: rural areas get X $ amout, suburban areas gets .X+ $1, Portland metro area gets X + $2

[@mr.irrelevent8956]

Oregon actually has regional minimum wage like Vaush was describing. Portland area has the highest, willamette valley has slightly lower, rural areas have slightly lower than that

[@wta1518]

Counties and cities are also allowed to make their own minimum wages. For example, it's $18.07 in San Francisco, which is just over $2 higher than the state minimum wage.

[@philscherer1605]

Maryland does this, too. The state sets a minimum, but the expensive areas have higher minimums.

[@mr.irrelevent8956]

@@philscherer1605 the way Oregon has it is that all of those levels are set by the state rn

[@BlackEpyon]

I fail to see what the problem is. Your workers salaries get deducted from your taxes, so it's not like you LOOSE anything by paying your employees properly. If anything, it means that your employees are happy, and YOU are happy because you pay less taxes!

[@psycholaw4394]

(laugh) oh wait you are serious? Sure, why not ignore inflation which increases export/import costs alongside other thing, like production and labor while democrat states at the same time are openly taxing businesses and those considered part of the one percent (except themselves) And also forgetting that yearly profits and costs aren't set in stone

[@Khalkara]

They don't get deducted 1:1, do they? Cuz if not then they do lose money. Not that that should matter, but capitalists gonna capitalists you know.

[@Infinitejules]

Corporations are full of shit

[@kimmcdonagh6756]

We have a similar bill in my local city.....there was a town hall to discuss the measure......and the small business representative said that raising the minimum wage might mean workers will go off welfare. She said it as if it was a negative....😂😂

[@sigmascrub]

Could it be that she bought into the welfare queen narrative? "You poors love welfare so much, but if we pay you more, you're gonna lose it!" Kind of thing

[@SilverDragonJay]

hm...I could see it from the perspective that "they'll make too much to qualify for wellfare, but still not enough to survive." One of those situations where you actually make more in the long run by being underpaid and then going on wellfare to make up the difference. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't pay workers more though, that means that you need to fix wellfare because that's a bug, not a feature.

[@Josep_Hernandez_Lujan]

Imagine paying people a living wage

[@filipmaly6603]

That is like Communism or something! Back to slave wage bondage with you!

[@Dekedence]

"for chains with 60 or more locations" ... get ready for a new class of restaurant dubbed "the 59'ers"

[@MissGenkiArt]

The chain I work for in CA has been gouging their prices like crazy. I've seen items go up by 2 dollars in a single increase while othera go up 30-50 cents every couple of months. After the news that the minimum wage increase was coming and after we got a new CEO our hours have been getting cut like crazy and we're constantly working with skeleton crews. All this after a record breaking summer of profits. I fucking hate they can continue to use this shit as an excuse to make us all suffer more.

[@psycholaw4394]

Ever heard of the supply chain or followed the news? Doubt it since you assume head executives are raising prices solely because of greed

[@BengtNordsten]

As I am literally living in a rural Minnesota small city, I say Vaush is 100% correct, so I hope nobody thinks his "rural Minnesota" example was in any sense derogatory. My friends still in Minneapolis are paying rents double (or more) what costs are out here, and it's still possible to find a run-down (but sweat-equity fixable) house for less than $86K. (Food is slightly more expensive, from lack of retailer competition.) And, in unrelated news, our population is so sparse that $20+ starting wage is standard because, y'know, supply/demand.

[@RiddleOfLightning]

hello rural minnesota person here, starting wages for fast food is already about 20 dollars an hour because minnesota is more progressive than washington or california

[@magnus_cockstrong]

The working people being economically strangled by the ownership class are also the same people the ownership class relies on to be consumers. Capitalism is just auto-erotic asphyxiation of the highest order.

[@psycholaw4394]

You say that until your hard work pay off

[@MinecraftSurge]

i thought it was a free market. if 20 dollar wage is bad, then let the capitalists adapt; They are always rationalizing why they deserve all our money, because all that risk they are taking. In general this is a load of horseshit because, the other anti-proletariat political commentators argue in favor of keeping wages low to avoid inflation. Well if it causes inflation, then those places where 20 dollar wages are a lot of money, they are going to see cost of living and housing cost increase... making the 20 dollar wage not worth a lot of money... The economy is self balancing, and giving workers more money can only be a good thing. So i say fuck the means testing and just keep pumping wages federally, and the local governments can set the minimum wages in states or counties.

[@Nun195]

Maybe those entrepreneurial capitalists should get to innovating, I’m told it’s what they do best. Create some efficiencies.

[@fluffywhitebudgie6376]

The risk of having to work. So horrible! They're literally just nobles aren't they?

[@applepye87]

In the UK, London has a different minimum wage for that reason.

[@52flyingbicycles]

Cable news interview one (1) worker when discussing labor issues challenge (difficulty: impossible)

[@atlantiswolf]

Any time I hear about the Minimum Wage in America and how it shouldn't go up or should only go up to like 8 or 9 bucks an hour, I'm reminded of that Dan Price tweet about McDonalds workers in Denmark making 22 bucks an hour. Cost of Living in America, even in smaller areas has basically run away while efective wages have backslid. We need a universal minimum wage increase.

[@CompComp]

Working fast food sucks @$$ not in a good way either. $20 an hour to work at MacDonalds is fair especially in expensive places

[@psycholaw4394]

Search why the cost of living where you live have gotten expansive, and come back once you find out

[@SilverDragonJay]

I love when people describe San Francisco as "a war zone" or "a disaster" if that was the case, then Why do you still need to make like 6 figures just to live in the city proper? Like, man, I _wish_ san Francisco was half as bad as they pretend, I might actually be able to afford to live in a walkable neighborhood then. Also, reminder: a lot of people on minimum wage right now can only manage that because they are cashing in on food stamps and other forms of government wellfare. Tax dollars are subsidizing big businesses like walmart and mcdonalds. But you never hear _that_ side of the story, just 'oh no its going to cost more!' and general complaints about 'wellfare queens'. Bullshit. Pay your fucking workers. If you have a problem with small businesses struggling to pay their workers and shutting down, then the problem is big businesses who can better absorb the costs of business and still price their goods lower then the small business. Small businesses _can't_ compete with McDonalds. Even people who supposedly hate big business (looking at the right) won't touch such a subject. Because they don't really oppose big business.

[@mattwong5403]

Anyone who compares San Francisco to a warzone should just join the International Legion in Ukraine if they want to know what an actual warzone is like

[@psycholaw4394]

''I wish san Francisco was half as bad as they pretend, I might actually be able to afford to live in a walkable neighborhood then'' I don't have the patience to express how stupid that statement is. Things would just get more expansive genius

[@VoiceOfTheEmperor]

​@@psycholaw4394 ... How would San Francisco get bigger?

[@Storm_Caltonic]

Every min wage increase should come with it a windfall tax to stop companies from retaliating.

[@VoiceOfTheEmperor]

Bernie tried to implement that. But the Lobbyists won.

[@Storm_Caltonic]

@@VoiceOfTheEmperor California implemented it once but hasn't had the balls to again.

[@leparfumdugrosboss4216]

Raise minimum wage in rural Minnesota would also probably incite people to stop all gather like ants in the same few cities, which would in turn make the cost of living easier over there. Wouldn't happen overnight, but maybe there's something to dig here. (Also, the guys who tells us he invests in Florida was pushing SBF and cryptos like crazy, so... There's that 🙄)

[@Khalkara]

Yeah that's my thinking too. If you can afford a lot more in less populated states, because the high minimum wage isn't tied to the local cost of living, that would encourage people to spread out more. Which in this flawed economic system is a good thing.

[@governm3nt697]

O'Leary rightly said that crypto is a scam, then got chummy with FTX. He's genuinely a bad person.

[@wta1518]

I wish people would stop having CADS (California Derangement Syndrome). That includes you, Vuowsh, California High-speed Rail is actually being built, and they have made a lot of progress.

[@jacksmith-vs4ct]

isn't it still way behind schedule and needs even more money?

[@Nun195]

@@jacksmith-vs4ctyes, but wait until you hear about how cost effective interstates are…

[@wta1518]

@@jacksmith-vs4ct Yes, largely because Republicans keep blocking funding. Also, that happens with literally every infrastructure project ever. Just take a look at I-69.

[@gaphic]

20$/hr is only a living wage in THREE US states. THREE. in the other 47 states 20$/hr literally does not meet the annual cost of living for a single adult!

[@xb5442]

In Australia we're starting to have a bunch of government and union investigations into corporate price gouging and especially our supermarket duopoly. Preliminary reports suggest every major industry has been ripping off the consumer massively since the pandemic.

[@psycholaw4394]

Oh really? Was anything else going on during that pandemic that may also have contributed to the increase in prices? Like I don't know.. an overated disease that disrupted global trade for one?

[@VoiceOfTheEmperor]

​@@psycholaw4394 Are you saying that COVID was "planned" by some "Shadowy Cabal that rubs the world"? Are you sure they don't have beady eyes, long noses and speak Hebrew? Be honest!

[@joeyjointjebaiter1275]

Oh nooooooo not a good thing, i hate good things 😠

[@hexkwondo]

Guess Cali Fast food restaurants are about to get automated real quick!

[@futurefruit8281]

As someone who lives in an extremely rural area of CA, no, $20 is not a lot. It's a good thing, but it's not going to "ruin the economy".

[@ericc3773]

I absolutely want to avoid living in any state that Kevin O'Leary invests in

[@WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot_YT]

I’ve been hearing since the 80s and 90s to this day that California, my state, is failing or is going bankrupt. Yep, any day now. 😃

[@spencers4121]

It always cracks me up when right wing nuts say that, literally the fifth largest GDP in the world if it was it's own country. I mean imagine if they didn't have to pay federal taxes, and prop up the poor republican states.

[@bjornstahle4652]

@@spencers4121 I feel if they believe that about my state of California, just means they aren't coming here.

[@tylerkriesel8590]

I mean, it has started to decline in population since 2019.

[@bjornstahle4652]

@@tylerkriesel8590 A lot of the MAGAts left it because it was "too woke" and are now regretting it. My brother was one of those people who voted trump and left California. California is a much nicer place now.

[@tylerkriesel8590]

@@bjornstahle4652 hmmm ok.

[@camfields7685]

look up how kev got his money. 100% scammer.

[@Shiv-ym1rr]

"Incredibly badly organized state" 15% of the US economy.

[@Ironcorgi2]

I live in California and I really hate when conservatives try to say it’s bad. California may not be the best but I’d rather be here than any red state. Ya I pay a little bit more in taxes but at least I won’t die from hypothermia due to terrible energy infrastructure like Texas. Or if a woman gets sexually assaulted the state doesn’t actively enables the rapist like most red states. What these guys ALWAYS leaves out are what the wages for these same companies are in say Denmark and Germany. Cause the starting wage In those countries for say McDonald’s is about 20 dollars an hour

[@bjornstahle4652]

Correct. I love living in Southern California. Also, I haven't seen illegals racing across the border like the Republicans are claiming. We did have a problem during the late 80's when Reagan and George W Bush were in office, but Bush's Border policies near the end of his term seemed to have fixed that. The same policies that tRump got rid of at the beginning of his term in 2017.

[@mattwong5403]

They always talk about San Francisco as if it's a warzone more dangerous than Ukraine. I grew up in Los Angeles and visited San Francisco, and I've never had to worry about getting blown up by IEDs or gunships. I'll also guarantee that anyone anyone in the military would rather get stationed in California than in Republican states. Just compare the quality of life at Camp Pendleton or any base in San Diego to Fort Hood, Texas

[@jacksmith-vs4ct]

and people in those places often pay less actual taxes and of course no health insurance to pay for.

[@Nun195]

@@mattwong5403literally any southern city is more dangerous than San Francisco. And those southern cities are also fine.

[@tylerkriesel8590]

it’s not a “little bit” more taxes

[@ericcolbear2373]

I've always been a fan of minimum wage equaling 60% of the median wage. If you took 60% of the median wage in the poorest state in the union, West Virginia, and made that the minimum wage, that still $15 an hour Plus most mainstream economists all agree that 60% of the median wage being the minimum wage is like the golden range where it doesn't upset local economies. Granted I've also been in favor of tying minimum wage to a percentage rather than a solid number, because inflation does exist, and I'd rather minimum wage be Incrementally raised every single year by a few pennies, then always have a huge fight every 7 to 15 years trying to raise the minimum wage because it's been neglected for so long.

[@federicomarintuc]

Damn... $20/hour lets you change your whole furniture, electric bike and consumer electronics twice a year in Argentina... working 30 hours a week...

[@Canadish]

Above the median wage here in the UK as well. This place has gone to the dogs.

[@Nun195]

20 an hour is scraping by in most places in the us. Also remember , there’s no public health care. And you must have a car, and auto insurance because there is no public transit.

[@ONLINE.SUPERSTORE]

More investor worship. We're at a point where only people who profit from this imbalance are the ones able to stay afloat. From working a lot of low paying jobs myself, I know now that business owners lie about this 1st hand. "Well if we pay you more, we have to raise prices to make the difference". No. Not completely. People wouldn't go into the restaurant owning business if it was a lemon. There's plenty of dough for them and their investors and they gain more from their uneducated workers and education fearing society believing they're the small guy too and we eat it tf up.

[@ONLINE.SUPERSTORE]

AND the wage increases are needed from the damages from the ruling forced class upon on. It's not like we get to keep it. We just go into slightly less debt paying our rent on paid hours. They collect again with interest from buying our debt and it's one big investment conversation that starts and ends with their abuses.

[@ONLINE.SUPERSTORE]

Also a matter and meter of perspective. I was in agreement when my friend who also worked these jobs pointed out the pandemic was a death sentence for food and dining, and though people were spending less, and less money was coming in, another friend of mine opened a restaurant because believe it or not, that that's the ideal circumstances to get investor backing. It's the best market to start a new project if you're lucky enough to be the one who gains, but my 1st friend would argue you blue to the face not knowing that people are actually hoping for these shake ups to take advantage of her naivety as a worker AND customer awarding charity purchases to people who make WAY more than she does and ever will.

[@jacksmith-vs4ct]

40% of restaurants fail in their first year mostly because the people owning them have no idea what they are doing or they have a ton of established competition

[@ONLINE.SUPERSTORE]

@jacksmith-vs4ct which is exactly what the remaining 60% want you to act upon. And when the ones that do fail go under its not the same as being a worker out of work. The owners still go on vacations buy cars and send their kids to private schools. They're not a victim in the same way.

[@AshenHawk96]

Kevin: "I'd invest in Florida." Me, Florida Local: "Lol. Your loss, buddy..."

[@VoiceOfTheEmperor]

Especially when the USS Missouri starts using Florida for gunnery practice when they try secession again.

[@reyalsregnava]

I still say a lot of laws should be adjusted based on population density. It would go a long way to stopping the urban/rural fighting. A shotgun in your hands is very different standing in Central Park vs the foot of K12. Frankly it is madness this basic understanding of civilization is blatantly ignored.

[@pewdiepiesubbot3273]

This was a good stream especially at the end 👍

[@innosoul7837]

Fast food places have been increasing their prices anyway. They might as well pay their workers. IDK why the general public believes that unskilled labor deserves dirt poor pay but they still expect these people to be courteous and have excellent customer service.

[@crashoppe]

ever notice prices go *WAY* up then (minimum) wage goes up a little bit

[@dustinpilon2258]

"Why does Canada keep sending its worst down here?" Americans think Canada is their attic, when in reality America is Canada's toilet

[@psycholaw4394]

I live in Canada and that statement is false. Just look up the nonsense our liberal party been spewing in the past few years alongside some other questionable decision

[@VoiceOfTheEmperor]

I honestly think that you've got a point. On both sides of that statement.

[@WillTellU]

I never noticed the difference, but on our national radio they often call various economists when taking about the economy, unlike these giant news corporations

[@spencers4121]

I live in Alabama, it's literally a few dollars more to eat at a place that serves you. Then to eat at a fast food place, and in some cases you can even eat at a sit down place for cheaper. Also for some reference Mcdonald's, gross profit for 2023 was over 14 billion.

[@pedrosaraiva]

This is actually surreal. Guys like this constantly talk about "strong economy" but when faced with the economy of California (5th in the world or so) they go "oh not like that" Its pure grift. "Strong economy" means solely "muh money"

[@masterofthecontinuum]

3:18 My brother in Christ, you make the sandwich.

[@Maclyn88]

I think a county minimum wage would be a good idea. The housing allowance in the Army is based on your duty stations zip code since the cost of living is sooo vast.

[@dansmith7009]

Ok, economics here. When talking about the economy generally, the most common perspective is that of consumers. So demand side means what makes people buy more or less, or be willing to pay more or less, for products and services. And supply side means what things businesses need to pay for in order to provide goods and services. That’s why right wingers say supply side economics when they talk about lowering business taxes, because that reduces the cost that businesses have to pay to produce goods and services, and they just ASSUME that those savings will be passed on due to perfect competition that doesn’t exist. However, when talking about increasing the minimum wage, it only has a supply side effect on the microeconomic level, but on the macro level, it ALSO has a demand side effect: low income people have more money. So, for example, it’s possible that the tiny increase in cost for restaurants to pay their workers more, will be offset by all the low wage workers who are getting paid more increasing the demand for restaurant meals, so they could make the same amount of money without raising prices, just based on selling more. Making $1.60 profit on 100 burger meals is less money than making $1.55 profit on 200 burger meals, obviously. Also, just do the math. How many hours of labor goes into making your food? It’s like 0.05 at fast food places. So 0.05hrs X $4/hrs = burgers are $0.20 more expensive to make, and you’ll pay $14.40 instead of $14.20. Boo hoo.

[@VoiceOfTheEmperor]

Underrated comment.

[@user-mm2kx9kd7d]

20 bucks an hour is nothing. After tax that’s like 2500 a month. You’ll still need two jobs to be okay in most cities.

[@psycholaw4394]

Now I wonder why.. Because I am paid 15$/hour in cad which is worth around 11 in American dollar and despite our high taxe rates, and the ever increasing cost of living I still find a way to gather disposable income and be satisfied with my life

[@user-mm2kx9kd7d]

@@psycholaw4394 I mean, rent is 1200 for a 300 square foot studio in Seattle, if you have a car payment that doesn’t leave much left over. Plus they want you to make 3600 a month gross just to move in.

[@VoiceOfTheEmperor]

​@@psycholaw4394 Because you live in a place with a good standard of living that isn't like Night City in Cyberpunk?

[@loszhor]

Finally some good news for a change!

[@thecatsbackyard4833]

Excellent.

[@BlitzkriegOmega]

There's something I don't get. Businesses aee making record profits year on year. Why are we still seeing constant layoffs? Why are businesses still so resistant to wage increases? They clearly have to afford wage increases, And people having more money to spend benefits everyone *including them* Would it not be better for your profits to have a properly staffed workforce With enough money to buy the products from your business? Didn't Henry Ford discover this roughly a century ago? What's the difference nowadays? Am I missing something?

[@jacksmith-vs4ct]

more greed and idiots in high places ford was many things but he was at least actually smart

[@VoiceOfTheEmperor]

Because Lobbyists own the government. They hoard their wealth like Malevolent Dragons. That's why.

[@Mikearice1]

With regard to corporate profit, I can say that over the boom we had after covid, I saw some bosses raising prices kind of in the hope of getting business customers to either stop asking for specific services that were causing us problems, or that interfered with our need to suddenly scale up everything. When volume suddenly matters more than anything else, that requires streamlining of services, and that means you can't afford to keep making custom exceptions for specific customers, etc. (letting them miss deadlines, etc.) But some clients are just used to being able to demand hand holding and special attention that makes it impossible to scale up. Sometimes higher prices are meant as a deterrent or to train customers to choose a different option. If the customer is willing to keep paying or asking for the same things even after the increase, oh well.

[@jackpaul7102]

Companies need to be stopped from passing the cost down to the consumers to protect their profits.

[@FloPm3ister]

The problem is franchise fees are a huge tax on local businesses that is then ate up by the corporate behemoth.

[@Bluebowiebean]

I live in rural Michigan 4 hours north of Detroit and we have the same rent prices and housing cost is similar to city rates. Rent in our area is between 1200 and 1600 dollars with average housing cost is around quarter million. I think the argument that increase in rural areas would disrupt the economy doesn't take into consideration that the easiest places for these large corporations that have swooped in and bought up all the housing and where they put all of their factories have little to no competition and collect nothing but profits is overlooked. The days of the mom and pop shops that employee half the town are very rare if not extinct. By the way my town has 3,000 people and every town within a 40 mile radius is similar with the biggest at 15,000 and that one is an hour and a half away.

[@tylerduncan5908]

Minnesota mentioned. 💯💯💯😎🗿

[@TheReykjavik]

Going based on cost of living isn't means testing, it is needs testing.

[@Jazzmaster1992]

To the point about wages matching CoL to the area: remote work has hugely upset this trend. Where I live, the CoL until the past couple of years was historically not very high. When COVID hit and remote work was on the rise, people fled down here in waves and brought their high incomes from other states with them. This drove up demand as well as the cost of living, but ultimately started to price a lot of natives out of the market. My rent doubled in the past five years, and even though I'm making more money than I ever have thanks to a career change, it sort of hurts to know I would be basically living like a king on this salary 5-10 years ago.

[@walexander8378]

Oh no, prices are going to increase now? You mean like they have been and always will be irregardless of how much workers make?

[@WASDLeftClick]

Maybe they should do something about the absurd cost of living and housing in California too. I think real estate companies and homeowners need to just take the L and accept that all their properties are wildly overvalued.

[@pepperpitz3291]

Still not convinced a blanket minimum wage increase wouldn’t benefit everyone. How are ppl supposed to escape low-income areas if they’re not making nearly enough to live anywhere else?

[@VoiceOfTheEmperor]

Crime.

[@mogscugg2639]

Kevin is coping so hard that Yahweh God smiles upon His peoples' true homeland, Californ I. A.

[@paulhenry8174]

Living in a rural area in Minnesota, I can tell you it’s not cheap here and the going rate of an 18 yo fast food worker is about $17. It’s not a big stretch here.

[@Ruby-qf6tw]

As someone whom lives in rural Minnesota most places have a starting wage of at least 15 dollars and up

[@RedJadeArt]

4:36 can confirm this is true. Like I work in the public service in IT, and bigger companies can just outspend the shit out of the public services. There’s no way we can compete for quality software developers; so most of our developers are private contractors. The only upshot to being a public employee is that the terms are pretty good. It’s quite difficult to fire public servants; so if you have a family and a mortgage it’s very reliable (if underpaid) work.

[@monorail4252]

Increasing miinium wage offsets trickle down economics. If an office worker can make more and have a less stressfull job will cut into corporate profits to pay employees more out of net profits.

[@DAsrada]

"Mr. O'Leery, Mr. LaGlare and Sir McVile's representative..."

[@jesseorellana5339]

Hasn't Kevin O'Leary given some of the worst financial advice ever? And hasn't many of his investments gone belly up? In a normal world he would be breaking even. But in a world where investment losses can be written off on your taxes, he's able to stay rich.

[@4bkb]

you remove the oil subsidies and let THAT money offset the business to pay the minimum wage.

[@siohunndai]

The closest thing Texas has to an interesting red city is San Antonio and it's literally still a blue city, it's just slightly less blue.

[@blacklungsjoe]

There is no where in Ca that $20/hr is a "ton of money" It's still not really enough in even some of the cheapest areas, ands not nearly enough for the coast.