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words missing from this article: 'delivery', 'outsource', 'manufacturing', 'offshore', 'manual labor'. Seattle is the headquarters of starbucks (low-wage high-

words missing from this article: 'delivery', 'outsource', 'manufacturing', 'offshore', 'manual labor'. Seattle is the headquarters of starbucks (low-wage high-labor coffee shipped from overseas) and amazon (manufactured goods shipped from wherever). They can raise the minimum wage because a big piece of their economy is already happening elsewhere.

jhall1468 9y ago
That's true of almost all extremely large companies, so I'm not sure I understand your point. Those two companies still only represent a small portion of the entire Seattle workforce.
- awinter-py 9y ago
  I'm not talking about the people who work at sbux/amzn, I'm talking about the people who don't work in seattle because of import/export activity: factory workers and coffee growers.
  - chillwaves 9y ago
    Yes, but we all buy from markets that benefit from the lower cost of other labor markets or technology (or regulation).
    - awinter-py 9y ago
      Agreed. And that's the reason Seattle was able to raise their minimum wage without major disruption -- not because their economy doesn't rely on cheaper labor, but because they've outsourced it. I'm not assigning a moral value to outsourcing, though I agree with intel founder Andy Grove that outsourcing high tech like chip fabs can backfire after a generation. Just making the point that raising wages is easy if cost of living / labor deltas has already offshored part of your economy.
      - jhall1468 9y ago
        But the point is moot because whether or not minimum wage is $8.00 or $15.00 we've offshored the major aspect or our labor to other countries. You aren't wrong, but it's moot. You're literally making an argument that we could have a $15.00/hr minimum wage everywhere in this country because most labor exists in China or other less developed nations. You're right, but that's not exclusive to Seattle.
        awinter-py 9y ago
        If the chinese economy continues to grow faster than america's (not a given), at some point we may need to onshore those jobs again.

jhall1468 9y ago

That's true of almost all extremely large companies, so I'm not sure I understand your point. Those two companies still only represent a small portion of the entire Seattle workforce.

awinter-py 9y ago
I'm not talking about the people who work at sbux/amzn, I'm talking about the people who don't work in seattle because of import/export activity: factory workers and coffee growers.
- chillwaves 9y ago
  Yes, but we all buy from markets that benefit from the lower cost of other labor markets or technology (or regulation).
  - awinter-py 9y ago
    Agreed. And that's the reason Seattle was able to raise their minimum wage without major disruption -- not because their economy doesn't rely on cheaper labor, but because they've outsourced it. I'm not assigning a moral value to outsourcing, though I agree with intel founder Andy Grove that outsourcing high tech like chip fabs can backfire after a generation. Just making the point that raising wages is easy if cost of living / labor deltas has already offshored part of your economy.
    - jhall1468 9y ago
      But the point is moot because whether or not minimum wage is $8.00 or $15.00 we've offshored the major aspect or our labor to other countries. You aren't wrong, but it's moot. You're literally making an argument that we could have a $15.00/hr minimum wage everywhere in this country because most labor exists in China or other less developed nations. You're right, but that's not exclusive to Seattle.
      - awinter-py 9y ago
        If the chinese economy continues to grow faster than america's (not a given), at some point we may need to onshore those jobs again.