Minimum wage: $15 NOW!; or 15... eventually

[glatt]

I thought that employee productivity is up in the US and company profits were also up. But wages are not also rising because unemployment is so high, companies don't have to increase wages to retain their employees. The teeming masses of unemployed waiting to get their foot in the door is enough to keep workers from leaving a low paying job.

So how do you convince companies who are sitting on piles of cash to share that cash with the workers? Either through new jobs or higher wages? Companies will always hold on to profits and not share them if they can get away with it.

Reminds me of how the Republicans have long chanted that small businesses are the job creators, but that's a fallacy. It's consumers who are the job creators. If demand goes up, businesses have to hire to meet that demand. They don't hire more and pay more just because they are good guys. If they have a huge profit, they are going to keep that profit if they can. They only create new jobs if they can't meet current demand. They have no choice but to hire. And they will never give a raise unless they are afraid they will lose their employees. And they aren't afraid right now because there are so many willing to jump in and fill the spot of the current employees.

A minimum wage takes some of the power from the companies and gives it to the workers.

Some small businesses may be on such shaky ground that they have to do layoffs, but I bet most will be fine. And the large ones will have no problem.

There will be a small increase in inflation because of this. Probably seen in the apartment rental market the most. (Because that's local and a finite resource.)