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The most utterly evil profit maximizing business would always prefer that the government mandated minimum wage is somewhere near what they pay their lowest paid

The most utterly evil profit maximizing business would always prefer that the government mandated minimum wage is somewhere near what they pay their lowest paid employees. Sad state of journalism that a group of businesses lobbying for their self interest is swallowed so frequently as selfless action for the public good.

corresation 14y ago
The most utterly evil profit maximizing business would always prefer that the government mandated minimum wage is somewhere near what they pay their lowest paid employees. How so? Costco in this case has always benefited from a happier, more loyal, consistent workforce because they have a job that many other service workers actually strive for. I fail to understand how reducing the advantage of their position helps maximize their profit.
- forrestthewoods 14y ago
  Because their profit margins remained unaffected by the change but their competitors already razor thin margins get significantly reduced.
  - praxulus 14y ago
    I think you missed his/her point. Costco gets to have more motivated and more loyal employees because their pay is significantly higher than minimum wage. If minimum wage goes up, they lose some/all of the benefit unless they further increase wages.
- AlbertoPier 14y ago
  This is the same company that was for the higher taxes for the rich and then made sure to get a huge loan to pay bonuses ahead of schedule so the Costco execs and board members could avoid the tax hike. Hypocrites.
  - Evbn 14y ago
    Over a 10-year horizon, that scheme only counters 10% of their goodness.
  - corresation 14y ago
    Hypocrites I don't beleive that makes them hypocrites. I can simultaneous believe in higher taxes, while optimizing my own situation based upon the current tax code. The notion that the only people who can argue for higher taxes have to maximize their own exposure is not robust.
- Tichy 14y ago
  Obviously lifting the minimum wage would increase pressure on their competition. Maybe they can not operate as efficiently as Costco and having to pay their workers more would send them on a tailspin to bankruptcy (for example). It really doesn't make sense for a business to call for higher minimum wages (other than for PR and hurting the competition). If they believe in paying more, they can do so without a law.
robryan 14y ago
My thinking also, as long as the minimum wage doesn't cross $11.50 it has no effect on Costco and would just be raising other competitors costs who do pay minimum wage to some employees.
- lukifer 14y ago
  It's more likely to have a positive effect on Costco rather than none at all: if all minimum-wage workers have more money in their pocket, they're more likely to buy a CostCo membership, or spend more if they have one already.
  - corresation 14y ago
    That's highly doubtful as Costco is primarily used by middle income earners, in one of the paradoxical effects of wealth where having a bit more allows one to save more. Walmart would be far more likely to benefit, but we know that Walmart isn't exactly for it. People are really stretching to try to make Costco out to be bad guys in this.
    - lukifer 14y ago
      I didn't mean to imply that there was anything sinister with Costco's advocacy; it simply seems like an instance where the interests of Costco and minimum wage workers (possibly) align. In my mind, that's the benefit of a minimum wage program: you might have to pay more for labor, but so does everybody else, theoretically resulting in more customers with cash to spend. As a company which already pays above minimum wage, they happen to get the benefit without the cost.
    - robryan 14y ago
      I don't think they are really the bad guys. Just that it is a lot easier to advocate a jump in the minimum wage when it doesn't effect your payments. They would be the good guys for having these better wages in the first place.
rndmize 14y ago
You have an odd definition of "utterly evil". By my measure, the most "utterly evil profit maximizing business" would prefer to externalize the costs of employment as much as possible by not paying for healthcare and paying employees as little as possible. Surprisingly, it seems that Walmart does something along such lines[1]. There are other business strategies that might approach utterly evil, like child labor in third world countries, or sweatshops, or paying no attention to physically/medically dangerous working places/conditions, but somehow I don't really find supporting a higher minimum wage to be one of them - especially when that business has continually ignored calls from Wall Street to increase its profitability at the expense of its employees. [1] http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/dec/06/alan-grayson/alan-grayson-says-more-walmart-employees-medicaid-/ http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/dec/...
- kevinpet 14y ago
  That's an overly narrow view. I start with the assumption that Costco has already found the optimum wage to pay their employees. It's a rare business that does well by mistreating their employees. I'm trying to emphasize that this has nothing at all to do with any altruistic motives and is entirely consistent with profit maximization.
ams6110 14y ago
The term "utterly evil" in the context of discussing a mainstream retailer is pretty out of place IMHO.
hetman 14y ago
That assumes a rather static view of the situation. For Costco to maintain the advantages they gain from the wage disparity (employee loyalty, motivation, etc) they would have to further increase their own wages if such legislation was passed.

corresation 14y ago

The most utterly evil profit maximizing business would always prefer that the government mandated minimum wage is somewhere near what they pay their lowest paid employees. How so? Costco in this case has always benefited from a happier, more loyal, consistent workforce because they have a job that many other service workers actually strive for. I fail to understand how reducing the advantage of their position helps maximize their profit.

forrestthewoods 14y ago
Because their profit margins remained unaffected by the change but their competitors already razor thin margins get significantly reduced.
- praxulus 14y ago
  I think you missed his/her point. Costco gets to have more motivated and more loyal employees because their pay is significantly higher than minimum wage. If minimum wage goes up, they lose some/all of the benefit unless they further increase wages.
AlbertoPier 14y ago
This is the same company that was for the higher taxes for the rich and then made sure to get a huge loan to pay bonuses ahead of schedule so the Costco execs and board members could avoid the tax hike. Hypocrites.
- Evbn 14y ago
  Over a 10-year horizon, that scheme only counters 10% of their goodness.
- corresation 14y ago
  Hypocrites I don't beleive that makes them hypocrites. I can simultaneous believe in higher taxes, while optimizing my own situation based upon the current tax code. The notion that the only people who can argue for higher taxes have to maximize their own exposure is not robust.
Tichy 14y ago
Obviously lifting the minimum wage would increase pressure on their competition. Maybe they can not operate as efficiently as Costco and having to pay their workers more would send them on a tailspin to bankruptcy (for example). It really doesn't make sense for a business to call for higher minimum wages (other than for PR and hurting the competition). If they believe in paying more, they can do so without a law.

robryan 14y ago

My thinking also, as long as the minimum wage doesn't cross $11.50 it has no effect on Costco and would just be raising other competitors costs who do pay minimum wage to some employees.

lukifer 14y ago
It's more likely to have a positive effect on Costco rather than none at all: if all minimum-wage workers have more money in their pocket, they're more likely to buy a CostCo membership, or spend more if they have one already.
- corresation 14y ago
  That's highly doubtful as Costco is primarily used by middle income earners, in one of the paradoxical effects of wealth where having a bit more allows one to save more. Walmart would be far more likely to benefit, but we know that Walmart isn't exactly for it. People are really stretching to try to make Costco out to be bad guys in this.
  - lukifer 14y ago
    I didn't mean to imply that there was anything sinister with Costco's advocacy; it simply seems like an instance where the interests of Costco and minimum wage workers (possibly) align. In my mind, that's the benefit of a minimum wage program: you might have to pay more for labor, but so does everybody else, theoretically resulting in more customers with cash to spend. As a company which already pays above minimum wage, they happen to get the benefit without the cost.
  - robryan 14y ago
    I don't think they are really the bad guys. Just that it is a lot easier to advocate a jump in the minimum wage when it doesn't effect your payments. They would be the good guys for having these better wages in the first place.

rndmize 14y ago

You have an odd definition of "utterly evil". By my measure, the most "utterly evil profit maximizing business" would prefer to externalize the costs of employment as much as possible by not paying for healthcare and paying employees as little as possible. Surprisingly, it seems that Walmart does something along such lines[1]. There are other business strategies that might approach utterly evil, like child labor in third world countries, or sweatshops, or paying no attention to physically/medically dangerous working places/conditions, but somehow I don't really find supporting a higher minimum wage to be one of them - especially when that business has continually ignored calls from Wall Street to increase its profitability at the expense of its employees. [1] http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/dec/06/alan-grayson/alan-grayson-says-more-walmart-employees-medicaid-/ http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/dec/...

kevinpet 14y ago
That's an overly narrow view. I start with the assumption that Costco has already found the optimum wage to pay their employees. It's a rare business that does well by mistreating their employees. I'm trying to emphasize that this has nothing at all to do with any altruistic motives and is entirely consistent with profit maximization.

ams6110 14y ago

The term "utterly evil" in the context of discussing a mainstream retailer is pretty out of place IMHO.

hetman 14y ago

That assumes a rather static view of the situation. For Costco to maintain the advantages they gain from the wage disparity (employee loyalty, motivation, etc) they would have to further increase their own wages if such legislation was passed.