Arguing about how many in Ontario work for a minimum wage is silly. Governments always seem to be trailing the curve on this problem. It is the people who are falling behind who need to get ahead of the poverty line.
Can you imagine a serious writer suggesting that a higher minimum wage is unnecessary because so many of the people earning minimum wage are younger people who live with their parents? They actually say that these young people do not need an increase. It makes you wonder how you would word the means test for that theory?
At the other end of the spectrum, you have the spawn of George Weston telling us that their $33 billion enterprise under the Loblaws and Shopper’s Drug Mart names will lose as much as a third of its profits because of raising the minimum wage in Alberta and Ontario. Well, we certainly do not want to deny the Weston family another hundred million or so in profits do we?
The far more serious complaint is how long this increase is to be dangled in front of people in need? It is taking the Ontario government until the beginning of 2019 to raise it to $15 per hour. And it might not be a good bet if the Brown Conservatives accidently win next year’s election. Brown is careful who he says it to but he does not approve of any increase.
The reason most economists support higher minimum wages (certainly above the poverty line) is that the people getting the benefit of this money are most likely to spend it sooner. Increasing the minimum wage has been known to have a beneficial effect on the economy.
It has always been clear to me that the company that treats its employees the best is the winner. For example, there are two very large retail outlets at the south end of Barrie. They are easy to distinguish. One pays most employees the minimum wage. That store does not have happy, helpful employees. The store seems dark and the shelves are not well stocked.
The other store is bright and clean. Its employees are always eager to assist and make that extra effort to please the customers. This store is reputed to be paying its employees a basic $21.50 an hour. The place is always busy.
One of those stores is called Walmart. The smart one is called Costco.
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Copyright 2017 © Peter Lowry
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