Higher Minimum Wage Equals Lower Number Of Jobs

A candy bar sells for about a buck. Double the price of a candy bar and you won't sell as many. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to realize that as you increase the price of a service or product  without a concomitant increase in the value of that service, the demand for that service will decrease. And that is what is happening with the drive to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour. The number of entry level jobs will decrease.

From Investors Business Daily:

One of the most vexing economic issues today is the minimum wage. For many, the failure to raise the minimum wage to $15 or higher is a sign of our nation's stinginess and an essential part of the fight for income equality. However, the truth, sad to say, is quite different, as a new study shows.

The study by the American Action Forum, a nonpartisan think tank led by former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin, looked at minimum-wage hikes scheduled to take effect in the coming years in 14 states and the nation's capital and found they will "cost millions of jobs across the country and each lost job only leads to total wage earnings rising by a few thousand dollars."

The reason is simple: When you raise the minimum wage of low-skilled, low-productivity labor — a group that disproportionately includes young minority males — you inevitably destroy jobs. No business will hire someone and pay him more than he's worth.

And thus it always is with liberals trying to curry favor with voters. They ignore basic truths to remake the economic universe in their image. Of course the consequences of their ignorance is always blamed on someone else. They'll scream that jobs for young minority males are disappearing because business owners are greedy white men who exult in their white privilege and ability to oppress yada yada yada....

Can Trump MAGA?

President Trump has promised to male America great again and the nation, half of it anyway, responded very optimistically. The Dow Jones hit 20,000 for the first time and has remained over 19,500 ever since; it's almost 19,900 this morning. After falling below 9,000 in 2009 this seems like an economic miracle. But the DJIA does not give a good picture of the American economy; there is much, much more. There are 92 million American out of work and good manufacturing jobs have left the country, perhaps for good. What jobs are widely available today are part-time retail and service jobs.

This article describes the poor economic condition of our nation and why the globalists like it that way. They have set Trump up as the fall guy when everything heads south as it was designed to do.

The following is written by Brandon Smith at the DC Clothesline.

As I outlined in my article ‘The False Economic Narrative Will Die In 2017’, the mainstream media has been carefully crafting the propaganda meme that the Trump administration is inheriting a global economy in “ascension,” when in fact, the opposite is true. Trump enters office at a time of longstanding decline and will likely witness severe and accelerated decline over the course of the next year. The signs are already present, and this fits exactly with the basis for my prediction of the Trump election win — conservative movements are indeed being set up as scapegoats for a global economic crisis that international financiers actually created.

Smith lists some economic conditions that Trump probably will not be able to reverse. Sure, there are conspiracy elements to this analysis, but who in their right minds thinks Obama was an accident?

• The government cannot create wealth, it can only take it from one sector and give it to another. Trump promises to stimulate the private sector, but after eight years of Obama and  quantitative easing, is this possible?
• The finances of too many nations are almost hopelessly intertwined due to decades of globalist fiscal manipulation. Because of this interdependency, tariffs will not be as effective in protecting our economic interests. For example, China can seriously damage our economy just by liquidating American debt. Trump must be careful here even though Mexico and Canada are chaffing at the bit to rewrite NAFTA.
• Restoring our manufacturing base will be a long, lengthy process. Demand has to be generated, capital raised, factories built and workers trained. People must also be persuaded to come off the financial supports that have propped them for the past ten years. I'm not just talking about unemployment or welfare. Millions are now on SSI due to "mental depression."

[...]I understand that conservatives in particular want to “make America great again,” and I fully agree with that goal. But, someone has to point out the inconsistencies in the current strategy and recognize that the situation is beyond repair. To make America great again would require decentralized efforts to maximize production and self reliance at a local level, not centralized federal tinkering with the economy. The globalists have been far too thorough in their programs of interdependency. The only way out now is for the system to crash and for the right people to be in place to rebuild.

Trump has stated that our economy is in dismal shape, a dialogue in direct opposition to the economists, globalists and market seers who have been busily blowing fiscal  sunshine up our buttholes, wallets. They are lying. There are 92 million Americans (what the crap! That's the population of France and Australia combined!) sitting at home who can testify to this.

Many legislative and administrative fixes must be realized to help America become great again and there are political obstacles that must be overcome. Obama had the democrat dogs dry humping his leg and now they are baying after Trump like a bunch of bluetick hounds trying to tree a racoon.

If the Republicans can rein in McCain and other Republicans suffering from egomania/dementia and keep a majority in the House and Senate, his chances of succeeding are greatly increased.

The Home Cookin' Act

Notice how the libs finally take notice only when Starbucks and sushi bars start to close?

Restaurants are rapidly going out of business in the Bay Area, after San Francisco passed a $15 minimum wage law in 2014 and the State of California followed suit in 2016. Yet the media are struggling to make the connection between high minimum wages and restaurant closures.

The East Bay Times, for example, asked Tuesday: “What’s behind the spate of recent Bay Area restaurant closures?” It barely mentioned new minimum wage laws, brushing them aside as if they were largely insignificant.

It doesn't take a Ph.D to realize that paying a high school drop out $15 an hour to cook french fries is not a good business plan.

Story here.

That Sucking Sound As Jobs Disappear

Brexit's reception here must have worried the socialists running North America so they're not wasting time getting their heads together to figure out ways they can screw their citizens before the freedom tsunami hits.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Monday called for greater integration with Canada and the United States in the wake of Britain's vote to split with the European Union.

Nieto, who spoke during a stopover in Quebec City, is scheduled to attend a North American leaders summit in Ottawa on Wednesday with his US and Canadian counterparts.

The three countries are economic partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and work closely on security matters.

At Wednesday's summit, the leaders are expected to announce joint energy and environmental strategies, including matching renewable energy targets.

"The purpose of this visit is to renew our bilateral relationship, to give it new life, to find ways to advance the prosperity and competitiveness of North America," Pena Nieto said.

"I think what is happening elsewhere in the world invites us to strengthen our strategic alliance and especially to be much more inclusive," he said in response to questions about the so-called Brexit decision.

Notice how he is not addressing crimes committed by Mexican citizens when they enter the country illegally nor is he worried about the narcotics trafficking that is poisoning America and feeding the bloodletting in our cities. Nah, he likes the energy gig. Remember Solyndra? There's lots more "green" companies that have gone belly up after feeding on government subsidies. I bet there's a few Mexican start ups that would like a piece of that. Obama did pretty well off the solar scam, Nieto just wants to wet his beak.

All this thief is doing is looking to increase the spread of his net. You know, the net that he casts to catch corrupt politicians and businessmen. He might be running low on Mexican thieves so he wants some of our ours and Canada's. How do we know this? The three of them want to start a continental carbon market - to enlarge Al Gore's multi-billion dollar scam involving green house gas (GHG) emissions trading. This could be Obama's retirement plan which of course will be funded by taxpayers.

And the current idiot Prime Minister to the north? He's got a whole country as a new toy and he's dying to see if he can break it. Silly socialist, maybe he thinks failed economic policies do better if they get rooted in a colder climate.

These high ranking politicians just don't get it.
But then again, corrupt politicians rarely do unless it's in the form of an arrest warrant or a noose.

More here.

Okay, So They Ain't Happy

The Carrier Corporation is located in Indianapolis, Indiana; it makes airplane engines. As part of its stated objective of remaining competitive, the company just announced that it is moving 1,400 jobs to Monterrey, Mexico.

At a company-wide meeting, a corporate representative announced this news to their workers. Everyone was ecstatic. No really, they were almost overcome with happiness. You can hear the joy in their voices as they are informed of the move. No, really, I'm not kidding. Once you listen to the video you too will be amazed at the overwhelming love and support displayed by the rank and file as they find out they will soon be unemployed.

You probably don't want to run the video at work as the rampant happy-happy joy joy is very contagious.

Story here.

Cyber Economics

Chinese Apple iPhone factory

The South Koreans are working on a project to mass produce robots at a price that will make it economically feasible to replace even cheap Chinese workers. A Chinese factory worker's minimum wage can be as low as $200 a month (1250 yuan at $0.16 per yuan).

As of 1 July 2015, the monthly minimum wage in the Pearl River Delta manufacturing centres of Dongguan, Foshan and Zhongshan was 1,510 yuan, while the rate in the sprawling inland metropolis of Chongqing was only 1,250 yuan per month.

I would hate to see what would happen if suddenly millions and millions of Chinese laborers lost their jobs. The government would have to distract their attention by starting a war or some-such.

In the future, we will all be on benefits, while rich people use robots to make even MORE money.

That’s the dark future hinted at by Samsung’s new ‘big project’ – a plan to build robots cheaper even than the miserably underpaid humans who work in Chinese factories.

The project, in collaboration with South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, has been funded to the tune of 6.75 billion won – and aims to create factories which will undercut Chinese ones, according to The Register.

If the plan works, South Korea could pick up lucrative contracts assembling products such as new iPhones – currently made in huge Chinese factories.

If so, it marks a dark day for the future of human employment – as so far, many jobs have been protected simply because humans are cheaper than machines.

About 3 million jobs manufacturing jobs have left the US for China despite the American worker being far more productive. But no matter how productive you are, $2,400 a year is a  hard number to beat.

Story here:

New Economic Paradigm?

Wealthy tech founders and the automation of middle-class jobs are often blamed for increasing concentrations of wealth in fewer hands. But a 26-year-old MIT graduate student, Matthew Rognlie, is making waves for an alternative theory of inequality: the problem is housing.

Rognlie is attacking the idea that rich capitalists have an unfair ability to turn their current wealth into a lazy dynasty of self-reinforcing investments. This theory, made famous by French economist Thomas Piketty, argues that wealth is concentrating in the 1% because more money can be made by investing in machines and land (capital) than paying people to perform work (wages). Because capital is worth more than wages, those with an advantage to invest now in capital become the source of long-term dynasties of wealth and inequality.

Rognlie’s blockbuster rebuttal to Piketty is that “recent trends in both capital wealth and income are driven almost entirely by housing.” Software, robots, and other modern investments all depreciate in price as fast as the iPod. Technology doesn’t hold value like it used to, so it’s misleading to believe that investments in capital now will give rich folks a long-term advantage.

Land/housing is really one of the only investments that give wealthy people a long-term leg up. According to the Economist, this changes how we should rethink policy related to income inequality.

I have problems calling income inequality a problem at all. When Mary poured perfume over Jesus head, Judas complained that the money could have been spent on the poor instead. Jesus replied "The poor you will always have with you..." (Mark 14:7).

There will always be people who have more money than others. Some are just better managers of whatever they have. Some are are smarter, or they work harder, or are on the right side of good fortune, or they inherited it ... or they stole it. Socialism will not cure that, it will only put everyone in the same misery zone and leave a ruling elite to truly enjoy the labor of others.

Rather than taxing businesses and wealthy investors, “policy-makers should deal with the planning regulations and NIMBYism that inhibit housebuilding and which allow homeowners to capture super-normal returns on their investments.” In other words, the government should focus more on housing policy and less on taxing the wealthy if it wants to properly deal with the inequality problem.

More here.

Living The Good Life ... In Mom's Basement

Someone got tired of their crap.

• Companies making no effort to attract workers under age 35 because millennials are workplace divas
• While corporations believe millennials are tech savy and creative they had some caveats about hiring employees under 35
• More than half of CFOs said that millennials were disloyal to their companies 

• 46 per cent of corporations said that millennials had a sense of entitlement

Corporations are doing nothing to attract workers under 35 because millennials have a reputation for being workplace divas.

A new survey conducted by Duke University and CFO Magazine found that millennials are thought to need more management in the workplace and are also known for leaving jobs at the drop of the hat.

Unfortunately for millennials they are making much less money than their parents did and the economy is still slowly crawling its way out of an economic recession.

Story here.

The Unemployment Zone

This article is a pretty decent summary of the move to make unskilled people unemployable. The "living wage" concept simply drives out businesses or raises prices to where businesses can not compete. These leftist idiots honor and worship Mother Gaia but ignore Father Free Markets.

[...]The economic pressures that led to robotics replacing manufacturers of physical goods are being applied to food preparation in the name of compassion. These “strikers” are painted as victims by the media and heroes for standing up for themselves.

In reality, they are people who've made bad choices in their lives and now, as adults, work dead-end jobs that were designed for children. The person most responsible for the misery in their lives is not sitting in a boardroom anywhere; it’s the upside-down image looking back at them from their spoons.

There’s no money and no power in conveying that truth, so it isn't told. But it’s a truth that bears repeating.

None of the “strikers” are saying they’re going to “earn” anything. They’re saying they “deserve” more. They don’t. If you can be replaced by a kiosk or the honor system, you are not in position to ask for a huge raise.

The kiosks are coming, and if robots can assemble a car, they sure as hell can assemble a hamburger or a pizza.

I disagree that all these minimum wage people have made bad choices; there are plenty of economically displaced workers who suffer from under employment because of piss poor government policies and out and out thievery.  That and college students need to graduate with a degree that has a chance of landing them a job; or don't bother going to college at all.  Hold off on that degree in gender misrepresentation among medieval lute players and instead apply for an electricians' apprenticeship.

Hell To Pay

The QuikTrip gas station/convenience store in Ferguson, MO, was looted and burned during the riots. The gas tanks have been emptied and the store will not be rebuilt.

And the locals are pissed.

On August 10, 2014, the Ferguson, Missouri, the local QuikTrip was looted and torched during riots over the shooting death of 18 year-old Michael Brown.

The QuikTrip was completely destroyed during the Ferguson riots.

Ferguson protesters later warned local business owners to rebuild:
“Or it’s gonna be hell to pay”

Despite the threats QuikTrip has no plans of rebuilding in Ferguson.

On August 19, 2014, the gas was removed from the tanks at the Ferguson QuikTrip.
This was another sign that the QuikTrip in Ferguson will not rebuild.

UPDATE: A QuikTrip official told TGP the company has no plans on rebuilding in Ferguson and that the looted store was barely breaking even.

Rebuild the stores so they can be looted and burned again when Ofc. Wilson is exonerated.
Rebuild the stores you robbed and burned because now you don't have a job.
Rebuild the stores so once again you can terrorize clerks and stock boys.

It's like the Menendez brothers begging the courts for mercy because they murdered their parents and now are orphans.

Idiots.

Story here.

H/T iOTW.

The Shape Of Things To Come

This really makes you go "hmmmmm."
Not for yourself probably; depending on your age, not right away.
I'll never see this as a problem. But my kids probably will. My grandkids ... most definitely.

Crowder Does Detroit

For decades Detroit was the fourth largest city in America. Now it is number 18.
Detroit has lost over 1.1 million people since 1950.  It's population now is barely 700,000.

This is heartbreaking, but nothing that we do not already know.

Liberals hate prosperity that they do not dispense.

Liberals hate the happiness that comes from people who are free to take care of themselves.

If liberals did not hesitate to condemn the once fourth largest city in America to ruination, what do you think they will do to the entire nation?

Let's Play Follow The Kenyan