As of this week, there are more people taking federal subsistence then are working to support them. Do you still think this administration is doing the work of the people? Just imagine what the next three and half years of Mr Obama's administration will have on our country given the last five?
Who Really Employs Minimum Wage Workers?
Source: Michael Saltsman, "Who Really Employs Minimum-Wage Workers?" Wall Street Journal, October 28, 2013.
October 30, 2013
The only thing standing between minimum wage employees and a generous salary with paid time off is the greed of the large corporations they work for. That's the argument voters in SeaTac, Wash., will consider Nov. 5 when they vote on a referendum to create a $15 minimum wage-more than twice the federal minimum of $7.25.
This corporations-can-afford-it narrative isn't confined to the Pacific Northwest. Earlier this year, groups like Fast Food Forward, backed by the Service Employees International Union, organized walk outs at large restaurants in major cities and presented the same $15 demand, arguing that "it's time for these big fast-food and retail companies to pay up."
It's a clever talking point designed to shift the focus from the size of the wage mandate to the size of the employer. But it doesn't square with the facts.
In March each year, the Census Bureau conducts a special survey of many of the same U.S. households that make up the monthly jobs report. Respondents are asked about the size of the company they work for, and the responses are then sorted into six categories ranging from fewer than 10 employees to 1,000 or more.
In a recent analysis, the Employment Policies Institute used this data to determine the size of a typical minimum-wage employer. Contrary to the rhetoric of organized labor and its allies, the vast majority of people earning the minimum wage aren't working at large corporations with 1,000 or more employees.
Even if the talking point was true, and large corporations were mostly responsible for the country's minimum wage workforce, organized labor's math still wouldn't make sense. Profit margins are determined more by the business model than the size. According to Deloitte's Restaurant Industry Operations Report, the median profit margin at an independently owned fast-food restaurant is 2.6%-and only about a percentage point more at a corporately-owned location. The corporate locations might have more of a cash reserve than their independent counterparts, but any labor cost increase is also magnified across a larger workforce.
This corporations-can-afford-it narrative isn't confined to the Pacific Northwest. Earlier this year, groups like Fast Food Forward, backed by the Service Employees International Union, organized walk outs at large restaurants in major cities and presented the same $15 demand, arguing that "it's time for these big fast-food and retail companies to pay up."
It's a clever talking point designed to shift the focus from the size of the wage mandate to the size of the employer. But it doesn't square with the facts.
In March each year, the Census Bureau conducts a special survey of many of the same U.S. households that make up the monthly jobs report. Respondents are asked about the size of the company they work for, and the responses are then sorted into six categories ranging from fewer than 10 employees to 1,000 or more.
In a recent analysis, the Employment Policies Institute used this data to determine the size of a typical minimum-wage employer. Contrary to the rhetoric of organized labor and its allies, the vast majority of people earning the minimum wage aren't working at large corporations with 1,000 or more employees.
- Roughly half the minimum-wage workforce is employed at businesses with fewer than 100 employees, and 40% are at very small businesses with fewer than 50 employees.
- The results are similar even if you follow the left's cue and broaden the analysis from minimum wage employees earning $7.25 an hour to "low-wage" employees earning $10 an hour or less: 46% still work for businesses with 100 or fewer employees.
Even if the talking point was true, and large corporations were mostly responsible for the country's minimum wage workforce, organized labor's math still wouldn't make sense. Profit margins are determined more by the business model than the size. According to Deloitte's Restaurant Industry Operations Report, the median profit margin at an independently owned fast-food restaurant is 2.6%-and only about a percentage point more at a corporately-owned location. The corporate locations might have more of a cash reserve than their independent counterparts, but any labor cost increase is also magnified across a larger workforce.
No comments:
Post a Comment