Minimum wage debate

[Benton]

(03-04-2019, 11:41 AM)michaelsean Wrote: The only thing I said is you didn't provide a good argument.  Nobody is going to say, "Well if prices go up anyway that's good enough for me.  If a Big Mac was going to go to $4.00 what does it matter if it goes to $7?"

The issue is what the market will bear.

In this example, people won't pay $7 for a big Mac. But they'll pay 4.10. and in a couple years they'll pay 4.25. and in a couple more, 435. Etc etc.

That cost,along with wage increases,are factored into small, regular prices increases over the long-term. Because the market won't bear jumping from 4 to 7. So they raise it even if it doesn't need raising now, but because they know it will need it in the future.

The flaw here is that there haven't been those mechanisms that increase wages. Like either a strong economy with a surplus of high wage jobs or increased mandatory wages.

The short of it: businesses know it's going to happen, that's why you keep paying more.