15 Bucks

Any links to this to put things in to context?

What "skilled" workers?

Electricians, maybe.
Plumbers, you've no chance.

It's not exactly killing jobs in Seattle.

I think that, given the fact there ARE NOT enough good jobs available anywhere in this country, $15.00/hour can work well.

It may doom a few businesses, sure.

Maybe the food stamp/welfare program (taxpayers) will see a savings.

Check the chart:

Checking Seattle's $15 Minimum Wage: Look, There Are ...

The unintended consequence is that as local prices go up for things like food and housing, the workers earning $15 have to commute in from longer and longer distances from places where the cost of living is lower.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aCpaON5NyE

You stated, "the news that no skilled and semi-skilled workers will have to be paid 15 bucks an hour"

Didn't you really mean, "the news that [no] skilled and semi-skilled workers will have to be paid 15 bucks an hour"?

non-skilled

Start with New York,

Seattle has experienced the largest 3 month job loss in its history last year, following the introduction of a $15 minimum wage.

chart-no-minimum-wage-supporting-socialist-wants-you-see

France has since a long time the highest minimal hour rate in Europe and....the HIGHEST percentage of unemployed people (over 10%). The industry became noncompetitive and products from low cost countries eliminated the internal goods production. There are also other reasons but this is one of the most important.

What is their work week? Its a 35 hour work week?

Socialist works for some.

It my have plus's by sharing the work available.

But, "Be like France" is not my Battle Cry.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-evidence-is-piling-up-that-higher-minimum-wages-kill-jobs-1450220824

OK. Let's cut taxes for the rich and big business.

Let's let them move their mailing address to a foreign country and give them billions of dollars in tax breaks like expenses for moving jobs offshore, deferments for taxes for "unrepatriated income."

Don't pee in my boot and tell me it's raining, kramarat.

Agreed. Perhaps it's time for a maximum wage!

We'll start with movie stars and sports first.

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/736527-unfortunately-the-real-minimum-wage-is-always-zero-regardless-of

"Unfortunately, the real minimum wage is always zero, regardless of the laws, and that is the wage that many workers receive in the wake of the creation or escalation of a government-mandated minimum wage, because they lose their jobs or fail to find jobs when they enter the labor force. Making it illegal to pay less than a given amount does not make a worker's productivity worth that amount-and, if it is not, that worker is unlikely to be employed."

Think that's a good idea? Have we looked at the results of such a raise on the economy?

My daughter only makes $15/hour and she has a 4 year degree in nutrition. NY is considering the same thing. My daughter is working for a non-profit food bank. Do you think they'll be able to weather that storm?

We have semi-skilled labor here where I work, just miles from the NY border, making less than $15/hour. What will this company do when our semi-skilled can go over the border and flip burgers for more money? Obviously, all the wages here will need to almost double to keep employees.

My wife is a DON at a nursing home. Want to stay there? Better get ready to fork out $6K / month now, with CNA's getting a bit more than half of $15/hour. Are we ready to pay $12K / month for a nursing home room? With my savings and SS, I would manage to stay there at that rate for about 5 years until the government will have to pay my for my stay. (yes - you will end up in a home unless you really want to burden your kids) What happens when wages double and SS stays the same? Are these governors and state legislators going to do something to raise SS? If not, they better get ready for an large increase in older folks living on government assistance.

I wouldn't disagree with most of that, but doubling CNAs' pay doesn't mean monthly room rates must double.

You double the CNA's, then you also must double the LPN's, the RN's, the DON, the Administrator, the Physical Therapist, and so on, or why would the LPN's go to school to rise above the CNA level, and if the RN wage doesn't rise, why go to more schooling to get above LPN level, and so on right up the line? Payroll is a major cost at a nursing home. That what it is all about - humans caring for humans. This is a labor intensive industry, not material intensive.

About the only good I see in all this, is, if my daughter has to get nearly a double income to stay above her staff, her school bills, all $50K of them, stay at the same level. Those with existing loans at set interests will get a benefit from the rising wages this will create.

I have a daughter who is a teacher.

She buys her students supplies that were, a few years ago, furnished by the state.

Then the Republican Legislature started cutting public school funds and giving them to private "charter" schools.

Now the Republican governor wants to rob the state rainy day fund and pay for building maintenance instead of taxing businesses at a fair rate.

It all sucks.

In healthcare, that wage scale all hosed up.

In our area, (Wisconsin) .... as an example, there is such a shortage of RN that the healthcare facility will basically hire an recently graduate RN fresh out of college for basically the same wage level as a current RN with 5-7 years of experience that's already on staff.

Pharmacology on the other hand, the number of graduates are controlled. Which also has both advantages and disadvantages.

You know you're going to have a position that pays well, but your $ future is pretty much already laid out.

Well, it seems rather obvious that giving corporations and the top 10% of earners in the US huge tax breaks has not resulted in the wonderful "trickle-down" increase in the standard of living promised us by Reagan/Bush et al. All that money is sitting in foreign tax sheltered accounts and has NOT been re-invested in businesses located in this country.

Our own host just changed their address to "save" billions of dollars.

Will those savings ever benefit anyone here in the US who is not a part of the rich elite, 10% previously mentioned?

NO!

Long, long time ago there was such a thing as "being paid what you were worth" based on exactly what you did and how well you did it. Unfortunately, those days are mostly gone.

Trade unions were established to "try" to stabilize and "equalize" pay rates, however, what usually happens is that everything gets lowered to the least common denominator. It may be unfortunate, but the least productive worker gets the same pay as a really "productive" worker, because that is what the collective agreement says(there are some agreements that allow differences).

You also have to look at the premise(as in other posts) of "equal pay for work of equal value". It's usually difficult to compare across the various industries and services. What are the determining factors? If you pay the server $15.00, what does the cook get?? Is his/her job just as important/more important and the server?? And so on and so on up the chain.