Quote:At least we can all agree a blanket $15 minimum wage isn't realistic.

 

Here's how I see it...  From a small business / middle class worker point of view...

 

The number 1 employer in the USA is Walmart (I heard this on some news show).  Walmart imports most of the goods from overseas in order to keep thier costs low.  They also have economies of scale, so when they purchase thier goods for sale, they get a discount that a smaller business could not get...  So they have driven their costs down, and have in essence driven out small business competitiors.  The only people that can compete with Walmart's prices are the other big chains (Target, Costco, ETC)...  

 

To exaserbate this, we have move to becoming a service based economy, we really don't manufacture that much, except for war materials...  So we have no high paying manufacturing jobs available to workes.  And even in the service based economy, the major players are generally large conglomerated corporations.  So based on our economic policies of little regulation and free trade agreements we've helped the big businesses at the expense of small businesses and middle class workers.

 

It's time to level the playing field.  It's time to put in some rules that even's the costs that small businesses cannot compete with.  

 

I got to get ready for the day...  But it's something I'm thinking about in regards to the minimum wage.  Consider this:  A minimum wage that only affects the consolidated corporations that are traded publicly but does not affect small businesses could potentially help level the playing field and allow small businesses to compete...  

 

At the end of the day, small businesses are would will help our economy.  If we concede that manufacturing is never coming back, we should begin to figure out a way to ensure we as educated and skilled middle class workers are not having our wages stagnate.  And we should also come up with solutions the level the playing field so that markets are not dominated and taken over by only a few corporations that own all the market share.

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