The Minimum Wage Destroys Jobs

Honestly, Crash's argument hits it right on the head for me.

Before I got promoted, I was PISSED that Florida raised the minimum wage, because suddenly, I wasn't making more than the crappy guys on the job. Admittedly, my work paid off with a promotion into management, but that just gave me a better view of why it's not a great idea.

When I'm working, I'm expected to keep the wages we pay around a certain amount per customer. As a movie theater, we have slow weekdays and busy weekends, so weekdays give us more leeway to have a higher cost per customer, since it's to be expected. When weekends hit, however, if it turns out to be less busy that we thought it would be, we then have to start sending people home early to cut down on payroll. With an increased minimum wage, it makes us have to keep that payroll figure that much more in the forefront of our minds.

Management also allowed me to appreciate the benefits that having a motivated, hard-working and dependable staff can bring. Having a good staff makes my job that much easier, so I'm that much more inclined to recommend certain employees for raises, making them even more motivated. A staff that knows it's gonna get paid a certain amount if they work their asses off or slack off is only going to piss off customers, not get anything clean, loaf around, and some might eventually steal from you. Customers won't get mad if my staff is polite and efficient, so it's in my best interest to get staff members that have these qualities, and pay them as such so they retain said qualities.

While I do understand that due to inflation, people are, over the long run, going to have to get higher wages, but inflation is caused, in part, by minimum wage increases. A vicious cycle, indeed. This makes the minimum wage issue that much more complex, with employees needing higher wages, and employers put in the uncomfortable position of paying everyone the same wages. This reminds me of one of the major problems with communism: If everybody gets the same wages and benefits, where is the motivation to work more?

In all honesty, there is no simple or easy answer to the question. People need to get paid more, but how is anybody supposed to get ahead of the curve, when the curve keeps on moving ahead of them?

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