OK, I'll give you the abbreviated version of this.
A restaurant in Stillwater, MN puts a "surcharge" listed as "minimum wage tax" to cover the recently increased minimum wage.
Now you,
me,
and anybody with half a f*cking brain knows that this is merely a play on words
That no matter how they break down the bill ALL OF THE EXPENSES HAVE TO BE PAID BY THE CUSTOMER!
It's always been that way.
It will always be that way.
And if it stops being that way, then the company goes bankrupt because it's NO LONGER PROFITABLE.
But oh no. That's too complicated for the "brilliant" American people.
No, read the comments and take in the galactical stupidity of some of our brothers and sisters.
Cripes, I need a book babe to lower my blood pressure.
The childish entitlement in those posts is extremely depressing. It's that attitude that's driven us into tough economic times.
ReplyDeleteYeah. I've been holding my tongue (erm, keyboard) on this all day. The levels of stupidity involved are enough to make me sound like I got Tourette's all of a sudden.
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for book babes.
I would eat at that restaurant out of spite of all of those people complaining about that extra fee.
ReplyDeleteSorry Cap. Book Babes raise my blood pressure!
ReplyDeleteIt's the HuffnBlow.
ReplyDeleteIt isn't made to be read by people with triple digit IQ's... fact is that most of 'em are probably burger flippers themselves...
she's not lowering my blood pressure. Am I doing something wrong?
ReplyDeleteI don’t know… I read the comments and most of them were saying “He is stupid to make this a political statement, he should have just raised his prices, like he would if the price of beef went up.” I don’t think anyone was worried that he was charging extra – I think they were worried that he was doing it in an overtly political way. (By the by, if he isn’t posting that surcharge on his menu or something, the folks that say that he may not be able to legally do this may be correct, depending on blah blah legal shit).
ReplyDeleteI’m not sure how many of them would agree with that very sentiment if the tables were turned and they found a right-wing blog that was decrying a gay person’s attempt to make a political statement at HIS place of business, but whatever. Political inconsistency is a hallmark of the human condition.
I’m not sure that the claimed widespread misunderstanding of how businesses work was all that evident from the comments I read. I think they all understand that the business owner has to raise prices, I think their problem was that he was doing it in such a bold, politically obvious way. They don’t like to be called out, because they think they are “right thinking” and everyone else is just ignorant and bitter.
But it does emphasize one of the largest problems with raising the minimum wage – you may not actually increase anyone’s net purchasing power or wealth. Yeah, they’ll take more home on their paycheck, but when everything costs more (due to the raise in wages) they really aren’t any better off. Or may not be.
I don’t know… I read the comments and most of them were saying “He is stupid to make this a political statement, he should have just raised his prices, like he would if the price of beef went up.” I don’t think anyone was worried that he was charging extra – I think they were worried that he was doing it in an overtly political way. (By the by, if he isn’t posting that surcharge on his menu or something, the folks that say that he may not be able to legally do this may be correct, depending on blah blah legal shit).
ReplyDeleteI’m not sure how many of them would agree with that very sentiment if the tables were turned and they found a right-wing blog that was decrying a gay person’s attempt to make a political statement at HIS place of business, but whatever. Political inconsistency is a hallmark of the human condition.
I’m not sure that the claimed widespread misunderstanding of how businesses work was all that evident from the comments I read. I think they all understand that the business owner has to raise prices, I think their problem was that he was doing it in such a bold, politically obvious way. They don’t like to be called out, because they think they are “right thinking” and everyone else is just ignorant and bitter.
But it does emphasize one of the largest problems with raising the minimum wage – you may not actually increase anyone’s net purchasing power or wealth. Yeah, they’ll take more home on their paycheck, but when everything costs more (due to the raise in wages) they really aren’t any better off. Or may not be.
certainly, all expenses have to be bourne by the customer. But this is a case of crusaderism, nothing more. Even if i´m not a fan of state-administered minimum wages, we´re talking about a measly $8 per hr, increased from $7.25 after being unchanged for five years. $8 ist just below €6. Where i live (affluent area of Germany) thats ridiciulous, even for food-serving jobs. When i patronize an establishment, i want decent food an a nice experience, this includes serving personnel who are content with their working conditions and are not being bullied by their boss about a few dimes an hour. i could not care less if my meal ist 35c less or more.
ReplyDeleteI have to meet a libtard that has started a viable business and pays anyone above market rate for their labor. I'll take them more seriously when I see a majority doing something about it instead agitating for government to fix the alleged problem.
ReplyDeleteWhere i live (affluent area of Germany)
ReplyDelete*smirk*
That explains the rest of your comment. Europeans, socialist to their collective core, have even less understanding of business concepts than Amoricons, particularly such fundamentals as "profit and loss" and "market efficiency through wage competition." It also explains why prices in every EU country are astronomical when compared to those for the same goods and services in countries unburdened by multiple layers of bureaucracy and taxes (such in the EU making Amerika's look positively anarcho-capitalistic by comparison).
I salute the restaurant owner. He's simply reminding citizens that stupid government regulation comes that their cost. He's revealing an "invisible" tax.
ReplyDeleteI once heard of a car dealer that included corporate income tax in the expenses on the sticker prices of his cars. The government intervened and stopped the practice. Apparently it's illegal. The government wants to keep those invisible taxes invisible.
It's funny how some businesses -- such as cellphone and home phone bills and airline bookings -- can break out all of the taxes and fees, but others cannot.
ReplyDeleteThe consumer in me just wants to see where the bottom line figure, but the economist in me would like to see how much of the money is due to governmental jiggery-pokery.