Oppose the decrease in the minimum wage
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by TommyDouglas
Once again, there is a proposal before congress to lower the Canadian minimum wage.
Once again, it is shaping up to be a close fight in Congress, but so far the edge is going to those who would seek to lower the standard of living for Canadian workers.
It is certainly a tempting proposal. For those who have reached the upper echelons of Canadian society, the benefit is obvious: lower wages means higher profits, better competitiveness with foreign firms, higher exports and in turn more contributions to the Canadian economy in taxes. Even some of those who are not in control of companies have been lulled into believing that this benefit will 'trickle down' to the rest of Canadian society.
However, the fact is that lowering the minimum wage will hurt average working Canadians - and it will damage the Canadian economy for all, even the wealthier business owners.
Lowering the minimum wage will not just effect those making minimum wage - it will place a downward pressure on ALL wages, in ALL sectors and at ALL skill levels. Every single working Canadian will see a decrease in their standard of living.
Unfortunately for business owners, the benefit of more competitiveness in the export market will be counterbalanced by a lower demand for their products on the domestic market. Some purely export-oriented businesses will benefit greatly, but those who rely on domestic consumption will not fare well in an environment of lower-waged workers.
A decreased minimum wage will discourage newer eCanadians. They will be slower to develop, slower to grow their finances. Some may quit altogether if they see their wages cut. A wage decrease may seem like a quick and easy way to benefit our corporations - but it will hurt the long-term growth of our economy, which succeeds only when our workers succeed.
It is not too late to stop this proposal! Write to your congressmen and congresswomen - and tell them what you think about their plan to lower your wages.
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The DAL does not support this lowering of the minimum wage. You can be sure that all DAL congress members will be voting 'NO'.
Get lost, you vile socialist 🙂
Most new citizens will be at minimum wage for all of three days. If they work conssitently they will receive a higher wage from their boss, and if they do not, they are free to seek a higher wage on the market.
Not to mention, there are tons of programs designed to help wellness and give food. No new citizen will be truly hurt by this proposal.
lowering the minimum wage will just lower the unrealistic expectations of new workers....2.20 CAd for a new skill 0 worker is ridiculous...just using a erep calculator will show you just how much an owner loses on these workers each day. Most workers get raises in a few days after joining so the minimum wage is not a "killer" on them...With q1 food at less than 70 cents they can survive for a few days while they progress in the game. remember the minimum wage is not a set wage, it is just a minimum. Owners will still offer more than minimum wage but perhaps this law will prevent ridiculous wages like 2.20 CAD from happening and move the range into a more acceptable 1.50-1.75 CAD range
@Petz: It's at 1.5 now. We should leave it there.
"Most new citizens will be at minimum wage for all of three days"
I keep hearing this yet that being the case what then is the point, other than to put that 3 days of difference in pay into the pockets of business owners and this will do what for ecanada? Other than an attempt to drive down wages across all skill lvl's through some domino effect again to put money in the pockets of the greedy.
Some things never change, the wealthier get wealthier on the backs of the working person.
I would note that many new players are not aware of the fact that they can apply for higher-paying jobs immediately after 3 days. With the present minimum wage, they have enough money to maintain their wellness, which gives eCanadian society more time to find and welcome them, hopefully turning them into active citizens.
Petz has it right, and I can vouch that he is a helluva business owner who actually gives a sh*t about his employees.
A 0 skill worker produces next to nothing, let alone $1.50 worth of product. Business owners who hire 0 skill workers run at a loss on them for three days at least.
James, they also have access to numerous programs and individual charity in order to make it through the first few days of eLife.
I mean, one simple shout of "I'm new!" has prompted me to help dozens of citizens.
@TemujinBC: They could just be playing you like a fiddle... 😛
I feel confident when I tell all congressmen to vote 'NO' on the proposal. I see TommyDouglas as an extremely promising Social Democrat, and as former CSD leader, I welcome him to the party and I hope to hear more input from him in the future.
@Karsten I'm sure I've helped severral multis LOL
I vehemently object to the statement that this bill lowers the standard of living, that is a complete falsehood. There are 2,000 ecitizens without work, this bill will provide some of them with work and that will improve their standard of living. Canada enjoys a very high quality of life and average wages are plenty adequate to sustain a dip and still maintain the existing cost of living.
I vehemently object to the statement that this will increase exports to the point there is no domestic demand, that is a complete falsehood. The Canadian market is oversupplied to the point it is threatening viability.
This bill will create CANADIAN jobs as more jobs will be supplied at the lower price point. Canadian companies are being mothballed due to high labour and operating costs, opening the door for foreign companies sell into our market.
This bill will
Check out my article covering off the quality of life/cost of living and my statistical proof of the supply of jobs:
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/cpm-lower-minimum-wage-more-jobs-day-748--1075736/1/20" target="_blank">http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/cpm-[..]1/20
Read the debate in open congress:
http://ecanada.ws/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=4097" target="_blank">http://ecanada.ws/forums/viewtopic.php?f[..]=4097
Tommy Douglas kicked ass!
This is exactly what I am refering to when I said in Congress that lowering minimum wage might discourage new players. I remember being around the same level as Tommy is when this was proposed in the last Congress and it was discouraging ...
That is why I am opposed to this proposal.
Having said that I like the work that Addy has put into this, and am supportive of initiatives like lowering income taxes that benefits everyone.
Tommy, I am with you. I am against this reduction in the minimum wage proposed by the Honorable Congressmember Lawrence. However, please don't be so alarmed. You state😛
"However, the fact is that lowering the minimum wage will hurt average working Canadians - and it will damage the Canadian economy for all, even the wealthier business owners. Lowering the minimum wage will not just effect those making minimum wage - it will place a downward pressure on ALL wages, in ALL sectors and at ALL skill levels. Every single working Canadian will see a decrease in their standard of living."
Actually, a lowering of the minimum wage will do none of this. It will not pressure wages downward. Congressman Lawrence believes it will and that is part of his desire to reduce minimum wage. You can check the Congressional record on this:
http://www.ecanada.ws/forums/viewtopic.php?f=65&t=3937" target="_blank">http://www.ecanada.ws/forums/viewtopic.p[..]3937
http://www.ecanada.ws/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=4097" target="_blank">http://www.ecanada.ws/forums/viewtopic.p[..]4097
But wages don't pressure wages. Its the demand for workers that pressures wages. Lowering the minimum wage will not reduce demand for workers and will have absolutely no effect on wages.
So, it will not hurt the standard of living. It will not damage the Canadian economy. It will not even help business owners, even ones looking to hire the lowest skilled workers (because actual wages, even for zero skill workers, will NOT go down as a result). It may discourage and hurt our new citizens - the most vulnerable members of our society - in the future. That is the primary reason I am against it. (Oh, and that it is a waste of a proposal that will accomplish nothing, except to waste our time.)
Citizen B, Member of Congress
addy are you seriously saying that those 2000 citizens are actively seeking work?
come on.
they are dead. they are inactive.
it takes 2 seconds to get a job on the market. there is never ever a lack of jobs at any skill level on the market.
ps. i support the lowering of minimum wage. I have hired a few noobs over the last 3 months and all too often it just costs me money and has resulted in me loosing interest in helping them.