I would say that humans are replaced when they are too expensive relative to other solutions like automation, robots, changes in the process, etc. The $15 an hour just makes other methods more cost effective than they were.

If the only other alternative to a human is a $50/hr automated cost (expensive computers or software), then they could get a $15/hr wage and have little effect.

BUT, when it comes to order takers at fast food restaurants, cashiers, servers at restaurants and jobs like that, robots and automation are ripe to take them over.

"I would propose alterations to the ways in which campaign funding may be raised,..."

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

they must figure that there is more need for them as the economy collapses- more regulations, more tax money. After all, someone has to do SOMETHING

they must figure that there is more need for them as the economy collapses- more regulations, more tax money. After all, someone has to do SOMETHING

"Replacement of humans will be accelerated by $15/hr wage"
I think this is true, but it's true in the way a breeze might accelerate a tidal wave. The tidal wave is coming and its timing or impact won't be affected much by the wind.

Convention of states is all there is left, unless Kim Jung Dumb takes out DC, in which case we may have to call him "ally".....

ROBOTICS and automation are going to be good fields to get into. Replacement of humans will be accelerated by $15/hr wage

It is almost as if they are begging those of us with 2oz of common sense to have to drop our lives and go (yechhh) become politicians and grab the damn wheel out of their frigging hands before we go off the damn cliff....

Yep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

++++++++++++++++++++++'s

And masks the fact that one works harder for dollars that buy less!

All of these schemes, as well as "amazement" that people vote for a minimum wage, are hopeless. The cause is belief in altruism and collectivism.

I dont think they even think about the national debt. They never intend to pay it back. But just adding to the debt is a hidden way of gaining more tax revenue without calling it a tax.

And on my hat!!!!

Wage controls have NEVER worked in any country. Ask Venezuela.

Let's see,“I know they will project that this will cost jobs,” Elrich said.. This dude knows the truth, and yet will ignore it, then when 50K people are out of work, want to have a huge welfare program to provide a "living wage" to people who don't work. This policy is the same tired out, failure after failure, policy that crazy places (all Dumbocrapic) like Seattle and San Francisco have pursued, with the same results. It just does not work. It does not match any known business logic, nor any economic logic. It is pure "special ticket" politics, just like the ones who say "we won't touch PERS" in states going bankrupt on it. Our stupid leaders (if you can call them that) and their minions (looking for a free ride) will drag us all under...

Term limits may have an impact, but I would suggest that it is the ties to the re-election campaign funding which is more critical to affecting representative behavior. We commonly see the effects of so-called "lame duck" sessions where (since there is no accountability) representatives feel little reproach from voting on the most logically absurd things.

I would propose alterations to the ways in which campaign funding may be raised, with the primary stipulation being that only voters living within that Representative's voting area may contribute. This would lock out outside interests even including the very political party apparatus through which the Republican and Democratic Parties influence their respective members.

The liberal politicians who push the minimum wage increases know full well of the negative fallout, but they don't care about that. What they care about is the support of labor unions who want minimum increases in order to create wage compression which will result in their ability to demand higher wages at the bargaining table.

"business owners would certainly cause the study to show a negative impact caused by a raised minimum wage." How would they cause it, by letting their businesses go under just to prove a point? That makes no sense.

Perhaps the media needs to expose this story and report it daily to once and for all prove that $15/hr would do little harm. Maryland’s Montgomery County could/should be used as another test site to prove these theories one way or the other. But without massive media attention and reporting the truth the majority of voters will never understand the implications of their choices. I always wonder why the mainstream media covers the start of the movement to make these changes but never covers the results of what the people were coerced into changing. Just another Seattle experiment where the results will be ignored if they don't go the way they had hoped. I guess it's all about getting reelected, the hell with the people.

It interesting how so many of the issues come about that can be traced back to Term Limits. With Term Limits our representatives at all levels of government might concentrate more on making this a better country and actually teaching the people how and why, instead of what gets them votes for reelection from ignorant voters.

Union leaders are in it to extract every penny from the union members to support their lavish lifestyles. They don't care about the union members themselves. Case in point was the mandatory union dues being extracted from teachers in Wisconsin. Once those were halted, the school system saved millions on over-inflated wage prices and teachers chose to opt out in large numbers from union representation. We see this in every instance where union membership is elective rather than mandated.

I was intending to provide a sandbox and small pail complete with shovel in order to give the silly fools something else to play with instead, but the manufacturer can't keep up so I canceled the order and am planning to send a set of jacks instead.

How many times must they bump up against price + profit, supply and demand, and the various laws of economics before they get it into their inane heads that IT DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY. OK, Forrest Gump, I hear you, but the Union leaders are supposed to be smart guys -- or are they merely thugs as they are often portrayed?

Absolutely, and this is further encouraged by the actions of the Fed to influence inflation rates and lending interest rates.

The dollar decline also results in an effective discount in paying the national debt because the debt is in dollars. Clearly this is deliberate.

You are correct. prices for a lot of things denominated in dollars keep rising (like price of cars), while wages denominated in dollars dont because of the effect of cheap chinese labor increasing the supply of lower priced labor.

We are also finding that as we buy more and more from china at lower prices, it keeps the apparent price inflation here low for those items. Makes us think inflation is 2%, when its more like 10% in terms of increase in money supply

All I can tell you is that in our small business of 9 employees, 3 of them will have to go if the minimum wage is raised to $15/hour. I dont know about any other businesses, but we would cut hours and/or get rid of people at that rate. Just cant afford it !! The jobs would go to china as we would buy more assemblies from outside the country.