Employee of the month
A picture of poor people getting fired
I have been warning of the unrecognized consequences of raising the minimum wage. While the cost of a computer continues to go down, politicians make sure that the minimum cost of human labor in America goes up as fast as possible. The blindly driven car of the minimum wage is wilfully unconcerned of the approaching cliff.
We have reached the “wage singularity.” I have been saying for years that if Liberals continue pushing the pseudo-compassion of increasing the minimum wage, fast food workers will soon be replaced by a computer touch screen. Last weekend, I came across just that at a Jack in the Box in the San Francisco Bay Area. Other than Santa Fe at $9.92, San Francisco will enter 2010 leading the country with a minimum wage of $9.79.
I have said it before and I will say it again.
The minimum wage gets poor people FIRED.
While San Francisco brags about it’s compassion for the poor, it is slowly ensuring that our poorest citizens will become even poorer. Before the arrival of these kiosks, employers of poor workers were given a choice: pay someone the min wage or pay them zero. Many can afford to pay their higher wage but many businesses simply can’t. So they choose zero. Now they can choose a computer.
Hal the kiosk will soon be the perpetual employee of the month, as I have no doubt Liberals will be unphased by the arrival of kiosks. Communist areas like Berkeley or elsewhere will likely pass legislation banning the kiosks but most areas won’t.
Hal works 3 8-hour shifts with no breaks, no lunch, never goes to the bathroom, and never gets tired.
Hal does not have health coverage or workers comp or paid vacation.
Hal doesn’t have any tattoos, piercings, or attitude.
Hal doesn’t eat the fries or drink the soda. He doesn’t steal from the cash register. He is never late.
Hal does need his screen wiped occasionally.
Let me add that I do not oppose the kiosk taking people’s jobs. Technology makes our lives better every time it advances, as evidenced by past history. Yes, some people will lose their jobs and find it harder to find jobs, but for society it is an improvement. It just shouldn’t be happening so soon, but it is, thanks to your local politician.
Click the minimum wage category below to read more about the economic realities of minimum wage laws.