"...posting work schedules.." Ya right! What minimum wage business even has a bulletin board?

The same type of report from the same old dogma types that has always been around, the coffee shop elite that live off what tax payers provide. Why don't those smart people go to Russia where all these things are in place already, or have been tried before?

Go NDP Go! (To Russia!)

Interesting, Yammerer can't think of anything sensible to say about this report, so he resorts to ignorant insults about the authors.

Those kinds of insults are ad hominem attacks, and it is very is well known they are, in reality, a very blunt admission of the truth of the assertions made by the people attacked. Only, the apologists who don't like it can't find any way to counteract the facts presented.

So, go to Russia, eh? Is that the modern Russia or the old Soviet Russia? Is the Yammerer living in the past? Is he not aware that the Soviet Union crumbled from lack of democracy? Does he not know that the crumbling started in Poland with the actions of s democratic, socialist, union leader?

Thank God for socialism in Eastern Europe, it changed the face of the whole continent!

if you want to work for minimum wage the rest of your life, work at a chinese restaraunt. They are nortoriously known to not increase pay even when you have worked your but off for years. I am not saying where my experience comes from in this matter.

Minimum wage will remain low.
The Liberal govt and their corporate buddies like it that way.

I am not against minimum wage being raised, I am in favor of it if we can get it to happen and actually work for ALL involved. Unfortuneatly the premier of BC refuses to do anything about the cost of living. I am a small business owner, I don't have the funds to keep giving my staff raises, because of a certain section of the work force. I am not a multi billion dollar employer who is making money hand over fist.

I find it a bit premature for the honoured professors to blanket the entire workforce becuase casual workers are finding it hard.
Everyone is finding it hard, I need more customers to help pay those higher wages, how do I do that? Who comes in and makes a blanket rule for small business?

As I said before its not that I don't agree with the idea of higher wages, I love my employees and would do anything to help them, but in todays business profile, the money that seems to be just laying around for someone to spend just isn't there. Its not realistic to adjust the minimum wage because of one faction of the workforce. What about the other factions? single mothers? daycare expenses? taxi drivers that have to work 12 hours a day and pay fuel costs? students?
construction workers, loggers who are lucky to get 4 months employment out of the year? and yes small business owners, who simply make money to live by the amount of customers they get each month.

Whats the plan for all of those people?

A good idea gentlemen to pay more for casual workers, I think however, a bit short, what about the rest of the workforce? If we are going to go through the efforts of a study on wage increases, maybe a survey on the rest of us and how your decision may affect us may be in order before coming to a decision?

Just a thought.

A lot of the problem for these workers comes from the large chain retail outlets. They push the wages of their workers down and give them few hours of work so they don't have to pay benefits to their employees. These huge big box stores keep the wages down and enjoy large profits. Check the movie"The high cost of Low Prices" to see the effect on the workers and manufacturers.

Posted by: astro on August 13 2008 11:22 AM
A lot of the problem for these workers comes from the large chain retail outlets. They push the wages of their workers down and give them few hours of work so they don't have to pay benefits to their employees. These huge big box stores keep the wages down and enjoy large profits. Check the movie"The high cost of Low Prices" to see the effect on the workers and manufacturers.


Exactly why Wal-mart is one of the most successful companies on the planet.
They starve their employees and watch their own bank accounts bulge.

I agree employers do take advantage of minimum wage workers and especially students.
And that's not right,no matter what their reasons are.
I am not sure if small business can sustain 10 bucks an hour,but what's wrong with say...9 bucks?
So what's the minimum wage for a politician these days?...as if we didn't know?

Minimum wage was never intended not should it ever be relied on to provide adequate income to support a household.
If you are earning minimum wage then go to school.
If you do not wish to improve your skill set, you will get minimum wage.
This should not be increased at any time.
Every time there is a salary increase, the business will increase prices to continue earning profits to stay in business.
These dumbass academics are trying to improve things, but this will only cost every one more in the end.

Minimum wage employees who earn a few dollars more will spend it. That means more money will circulate. That means a slight increase in prices to pay for the small increase in minimum wage will be affordable to the minimum wage employees. Also, it is more equitable to spread the cost around than to force the employees to take the full impact of inflation.

Nothing happens in a vacuum, except that if there is no increase for minimum wage employees, each year they effectively earn less. It has been 8 years now, with inflation of a couple of percent a year. Increasing their wage to $10 per hour will, in effect, just bring their buying power back to what it was 8 years ago.

How many businesses actually pay minimum wage anymore? Signs outside the fast food places offer $9.50/hr anyways. With some of the people you get serving you they are being vastly overpaid. Most jobs command more than minumum wage regardless of where it's at.

At least with the minimum wage being low parents can still afford to hire a 15 yr old for summer daycare. Its good for the student as a first job and good for the kids as they get to have a more traditional summer vacation and hopefully still affordable for the parent. Remember that the employer still has to pay payroll expenses on top of the wages.

Unless your small business is a lemonade stand , you should be able to pay above minimum wage.An extra $2.00/hr. is a little more than $4000.00/yr.for a full time.

Why is it that all people who work in the service industries like clerks, servers and janitors don't deserve a "living" wage? Do these employees not contribute to society? They raise children, they serve us, they clean our work areas and they are just as deserving of respect as those who own the business or consume the products they help sell. People do not go to work to make sure that business owners or the folks that are served by these business have a quality of life above them. They work for the same reason we all work - food, shelter etc. The minimum wage was introduced to provide the most vulnerable of workers with a wage that sustains them and to help reduce the welfare roles. I also wonder what would happen if all these people decided to by-pass this type of work and go to school (where they'd get the money is a whole other question not to mention assuming that all have the ability to complete higher education). No company can function or grow without employees. I note that the business owner did not indicate what amount of income he/she took home? It seems that protecting profit at the expense of an employee is okay for most people. I for one appreciate those who work hard for that small wage and respect that any job is a job worth being paid a minimum.

Why would anyone need a raise? Especially minimum wage earners. Taxes haven't gone up, gas hasn't gone up, food hasn't gone up, home heating fuel hasn't gone up and above all Campbell and crew did not give themselves a big raise and their buearocrats didn't get a raise either.

ammonra says "..Minimum wage employees who earn a few dollars more will spend it. That means more money will circulate. That means a slight increase in prices to pay for the small increase in minimum wage will be affordable to the minimum wage employees...." blah blah ..

Anyway what amona believes in is re-distribution ofwealth, a simple concept that has simple results. Everyone gets equallized as the state designates. And anyone that squirms out from under that weight will get taxed some more.

The simple result is that investment capital dries up and jobs crumble and the economy dries up and dies. The suicide rate in Sweden also went up as one side benefit of those experiments, gets rid of capitaklists that want to get ahead. But.. if you can find a job it will be a high paying job!

HeeHee! Amora you funny!

Actually, what AmmonRa believes in is people being paid reasonable rates for the work they do.

Do I understand Yammerer correctly? Is he saying that if minimum wage earners get a couple of bucks more an hour, then investment in BC will dry up and our economy will die? Really???