Minimum wage rising to £8.72, a 6.2% increase. What impact on inflation, people on fixed incomes, small businesses?

[reddog]

Seems pretty steep to me, I think this could have some adverse affects.

 

For me the worse parts of the minimum wage, are the effect on small labour intensive business (shops, child day care), as well as the bunching up of wages (i.e. the supervisor only getting 50p per hour more than the minimum wage worker, which begs the question why bother being the supervisor).

 

Could this also be some wet Tory redistribution?  (From middle to lower incomes, higher incomes are in a different sphere naturally)

[Travisher]

I suspect that if you were on minimum wage you would not see 6.2% as a steep rise. For me that amounts to £2.20 a week pay rise. Less than a cup of coffee. Working for a charity means limited paid hours but having to do more because you can't just walk away and leave the people you are helping in the lurch. Companies that cannot afford to pay the increase are often zombies dragging the market down. Many operating in what was the public sector are parasites leaching off the tax payer and the poor sods who work for them. A good example was the executive of a local education trust parking a new Maserati in the school car park and going in to tell the caretaker and teaching assistants they were being made redundant.

Recently we had a family of four living in a tent hidden in a wood. The father had a job but simply could not afford to rent anywhere. They were too embarrassed to use a food bank so some volunteers took food to them anyway.

The only way out of this downward spiral is a wealth tax.

 

[DiggerUK]

Stop making yourselves in to self flagellating, virtue signalling vassals. As a minimum, everybody should now be demanding 6.2% pay rises, its way overdue.

How do you think  I feel, I'm a pensioner with state and local government copper bottomed pensions......all I'm getting is 3.9%, strewth,  the injustice of it all.   Especially as all I've heard for years now is how pampered pensioners are.
STFU, please..._

[doomed]

29 minutes ago, Travisher said:

I suspect that if you were on minimum wage you would not see 6.2% as a steep rise. For me that amounts to £2.20 a week pay rise. Less than a cup of coffee. Working for a charity means limited paid hours but having to do more because you can't just walk away and leave the people you are helping in the lurch. Companies that cannot afford to pay the increase are often zombies dragging the market down. Many operating in what was the public sector are parasites leaching off the tax payer and the poor sods who work for them. A good example was the executive of a local education trust parking a new Maserati in the school car park and going in to tell the caretaker and teaching assistants they were being made redundant.

Recently we had a family of four living in a tent hidden in a wood. The father had a job but simply could not afford to rent anywhere. They were too embarrassed to use a food bank so some volunteers took food to them anyway.

The only way out of this downward spiral is a wealth tax.

 

Absolute nonsense.

There is no way this is not being done by choice. There are plenty of places in the country a fulltime worker can afford rent, without the generous benefits a family of 4 would get on top.

[reddog]

2 hours ago, DiggerUK said:

 

How do you think  I feel, I'm a pensioner with state and local government copper bottomed pensions......all I'm getting is 3.9%, strewth,  the injustice of it all.   Especially as all I've heard for years now is how pampered pensioners are.
STFU, please..._

I was actually highlighting that people like you would be affected.

 

i.e. there will now be more inflation and your  income will therefore be down relative to someone on the minimum wage. 

 

 

[DiggerUK]

5 minutes ago, reddog said:

I was actually highlighting that people like you would be affected.i.e. there will now be more inflation and your  income will therefore be down relative to someone on the minimum wage. 

How will inflation hurt me?  I was having a dig at all the nasties who have been wingeing non stop about how those of Digger Mansions age are looked after, and everybody else has to suffer. 

Now that NMW has been raised 6.2% why can't everybody not feel entitled to demand at least a 6.2% pay rise.
People should STFU and get off their knees, time to get some decent wage packets at last..._ 

[dom]

3 hours ago, doomed said:

Absolute nonsense.

There is no way this is not being done by choice. There are plenty of places in the country a fulltime worker can afford rent, without the generous benefits a family of 4 would get on top.

When I was thrown to the wolves as an owner-occupier of 20 years, I found it almost impossible to find somewhere. 95% of everything I looked at was through an agent who wanted proof of income, credit check, references, etc. I can see how someone with four kids would look for a two or three bed to make do and keep costs down. However, if the agent was in the slightest doubt they wouldn't return their call.

[msi]

5 hours ago, Travisher said:

The only way out of this downward spiral is an unearned  wealth tax.

 

I agree with you.  Capitalism, as a system, works in that a rising tide does lift all boats. That rising tide is built on the productive work of people (minus a common deduction for the functions of society - known as general taxation).

Any wealth that is earned by virtue of coming out of a specific uterus or by charging a non production related 'rent' is a fundamental risk to the system and should be controlled accordingly. 

[Peter Hun]

1 hour ago, dom said:

When I was thrown to the wolves as an owner-occupier of 20 years

What do you mean by that?

[nothernsoul]

Tory wets do not exist any more within the conservative party. To be honest, dont think Conservative government has any ideological principal,  except gaining and maintaining  power, which to be fair, they are very good at. Raising minimum wage sends a positive message to those northern seats they won from labour, indeed a popular message that they are now a party for ordinary working people They also want and need inflation in wages, which they know has been left behind by inflation in assets due to QE. Any complaints from business would be, we saved you from corbyn, so suck it up. 

[nothernsoul]

Maybe they also want to cushion the population from possible rising costs if sterling falls further as a result of brexit? If that does happen, the double whammy of that and higher wages would  be terrible for retail. 

[Peter Hun]

6 hours ago, nothernsoul said:

Maybe they also want to cushion the population from possible rising costs if sterling falls further as a result of brexit? If that does happen, the double whammy of that and higher wages would  be terrible for retail. 

Inflation, ah yes, that could end badly.

[doomed]

11 hours ago, msi said:

I agree with you.  Capitalism, as a system, works in that a rising tide does lift all boats. That rising tide is built on the productive work of people (minus a common deduction for the functions of society - known as general taxation).

Any wealth that is earned by virtue of coming out of a specific uterus or by charging a non production related 'rent' is a fundamental risk to the system and should be controlled accordingly. 

I am sorry but the main reason for my existence is to give my children as much of an advantage as possible. I would simply exit the country if anything attempted to get n the way of this, as I am sure many other productive people would.

[msi]

7 hours ago, doomed said:

I am sorry but the main reason for my existence is to give my children as much of an advantage as possible. I would simply exit the country if anything attempted to get n the way of this, as I am sure many other productive people would.

Sorry, but you wouldn't leave.  Your only option is to become evil or to fight - Ballot or Bullet.

 

Being productive and leaving the means for future production is one thing - those skills and capital can be passed without systemic risk.  There will be a level of taxation to reflect the wider impact costs of society - agreed through the body politic.  If the politic went full taxation, then you no longer have Capitalism but Feudalism. The powers that be would make sure you can't leave (capital controls, visa restrictions etc)

 

If you have so much capital that you can effectively become the market and can control the body politic moves the country from Capitalism to Feudalism. Your power is tied to the country so you won't leave.

[mallish]

18 hours ago, msi said:

our only option is to become evil or to fight - Ballot or Bullet.

ridiculous infantile comment from a keyboard warrior 

[winkie]

What are the extra costs entailed with working?........how much can people save by not working, both in time, money and quality of life?

 

That is the question.

[Master of the Universe]

On 1/1/2020 at 12:11 AM, nothernsoul said:

Maybe they also want to cushion the population from possible rising costs if sterling falls further as a result of brexit? If that does happen, the double whammy of that and higher wages would  be terrible for retail. 

A depreciation of sterling is an appreciation of it's pair. Tourists prefer a weaker sterling, and tourists support retail.

[Wayward]

Higher min wage just means other benefits will be removed and working conditions worsen.  Remember the days when over time was paid at double time etc?  No surprise that had all gone.