by William Thornton » Thu Oct 02, 2014 6:54 am
My mod/lib friends often advocate here for gummit to set a living wage for hourly workers, one that will lift individuals and families out of poverty. The living wage for my area is $10.10 for an individual, $15.15 for two adults (a couple), and $18.14 for a couple with one child. The figure I see often demanded by libs is $15 per hour, so I'll use that. Not insignificantly, my mod lib friends here often call a living wage a morality issue, something Christian employers should do as an expression of their Christian values. There is little chance of a living wage being passed here but, suppose one were?
I am associated with a small, family business that has two owners, two employees that work on commission, and six or so hourly workers, three of whom are full time (30+ hours weekly), and the others part time. What would a $15/hr minimum wage do do this business?
The owners and commissioned people would be unaffected in regard to employment.
All hourly workers are paid less than $15/hr. One FT worker makes about $12, the next two at about $10. The part time workers all make around $8. None receive insurance but the business gives Christmas bonuses to all and is flexible enough to allow extended periods away for the workers to travel to their home (Mexico). There is a family atmosphere at this business.
The FT hourly workers do a simple, tedious job that adds value to a common relatively inexpensive product which is then resold. A $15 minimum for the three FT workers would increase labor costs about 40% making the resultant cost of the finished product non-competitive. Buyers would find a more competitive price out of China or Mexico. The business could still be viable with two FT hourly workers instead of three with some adjustment to work loads and schedules. The third job would be cut.
The PT hourly workers would be cut back to one or two at $15/hr. Two jobs lost.
As is common in small businesses, there is family involved. Two of the three FT workers are husband/wife. The wife would be the one released. Among the PT workers is the child of the couple. He lives at home and spends his $10/hr earnings on clothes, games, car, car insurance, fancy wheels for his car. He's a teenager. These are important to him. He would likely be cut back in hours or let go so he could get his $15/hr at McDonald's or somewhere.
The living wage is a sledgehammer that would indiscriminately smash businesses. This small business has workers and owners alike that are satisfied with the arrangement.
The living wage ignores family income. The two adults both work and make about $22/hr combined, considerably above the living wage for a couple. The teen would bring that up to over $30/hr for the family. If the goal is a living wage for a household, why aren't living wage proponents proposing laws that would adjust wages downward if more than one household member is employed?
Are these owners immoral in their pay scales and employment practices? Is there some Christian morality missing here?
Every business isn't a demon like Walmart and McDonalds but the anti-demon labor and wage laws aimed at these mammoth businesses will snare the ma and pa businesses as well.
My stray thoughts on SBC stuff may be found at my blog,