3 ms·

There's a line out the door and workers are quitting because of low pay and bad working conditions? It seems like a former labor secretary would, instead of blo

by mhb 5y ago

There's a line out the door and workers are quitting because of low pay and bad working conditions? It seems like a former labor secretary would, instead of blogging about a static situation, understand that this is a self-correcting problem. If you have demand that you can't satisfy, you raise your price.

alistairSH 5y ago
If you have demand that you can't satisfy, you raise your price. But not before bitching high and low about lazy workers and trying to convince Uncle Sam to force the wage slaves to return to work.
ipython 5y ago
He’s not in the position to do that though. He’s a bartender. It’s clear he is advocating for higher wages and better conditions and even notes that the management of the theater tried to do so but the national chain leadership shot them down.
- lotsofpulp 5y ago
  I know quite a few businesses that leveraged themselves with CMBS to refinance during the mid to late 2010s whose debt service coverage ratio are about to go below the agreed upon threshold because of rising labor costs. They borrowed money and gave up the business and land as collateral in exchange for some frothy valuations and limiting personal liability, but the terms are that if they exceed their DSCR, they enter default. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dscr.asp https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dscr.asp
  - alistairSH 5y ago
    The correct solution to that problem is allowing those businesses to default. Not attempt to universally prevent wage increases.
    - lotsofpulp 5y ago
      No one is preventing wage increases other than the owners of the over leveraged businesses. I was just positing one reason why business owners would be so hellbent on prevent wage increases.
- mhb 5y ago
  The reason the essay is of any note is because the bartender used to be someone who you would expect to understand what labor is actually like. I would also be pleased if he understood economics, but maybe in the next essay the former labor secretary takes an econ class and is surprised at what he discovers.

by mhb 5y ago

alistairSH 5y ago

If you have demand that you can't satisfy, you raise your price. But not before bitching high and low about lazy workers and trying to convince Uncle Sam to force the wage slaves to return to work.

ipython 5y ago

He’s not in the position to do that though. He’s a bartender. It’s clear he is advocating for higher wages and better conditions and even notes that the management of the theater tried to do so but the national chain leadership shot them down.

lotsofpulp 5y ago
I know quite a few businesses that leveraged themselves with CMBS to refinance during the mid to late 2010s whose debt service coverage ratio are about to go below the agreed upon threshold because of rising labor costs. They borrowed money and gave up the business and land as collateral in exchange for some frothy valuations and limiting personal liability, but the terms are that if they exceed their DSCR, they enter default. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dscr.asp https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dscr.asp
- alistairSH 5y ago
  The correct solution to that problem is allowing those businesses to default. Not attempt to universally prevent wage increases.
  - lotsofpulp 5y ago
    No one is preventing wage increases other than the owners of the over leveraged businesses. I was just positing one reason why business owners would be so hellbent on prevent wage increases.
mhb 5y ago
The reason the essay is of any note is because the bartender used to be someone who you would expect to understand what labor is actually like. I would also be pleased if he understood economics, but maybe in the next essay the former labor secretary takes an econ class and is surprised at what he discovers.