Posted by Tina
A few months back the CEO of Seattle based Gravity Payments caved to the lefty notion that companies should base pay on fairness rather than merit and the value of the work being done. Dan Price generously awarded his employees minimum salary to $70,000 a year. Months later some employees are complaining that they are paid the same as others whose jobs are much less demanding. Two key employees left the company. Customers also bailed and Mr. Price has been forced to rent out his home just to try to make ends meet.The experiment in socialism was met with great enthusiasm at first but has since gone bust.
I believe Dan Price is a man with a big heart. But human nature is part of life’s equation and it’s often overlooked by liberals. This grand socialist plan didn’t work for employees, didn’t work for the company, didn’t work for customers and didn’t work for the CEO, Dan Price.
Tina: “A few months back the CEO of Seattle based Gravity Payments caved to the lefty notion that companies should base pay on fairness rather than merit and the value of the work being done.”
This is not a “lefty notion.” Lefties, for the most part, believe that the merit and value of minimum wage work currently exceeds the payment for said work. The idea that “companies should base pay on fairness rather than merit and the value of the work being done” doesn’t even make sense; “fairness” requires that companies base pat on the merit and value of the work being done. That’s literally what fairness means. It’s not a dirty word.
“Dan Price generously awarded his employees minimum salary to $70,000 a year.”
That’s insane, and no prominent lefties are advocating a minimum wage of $70,000 a year.
“The experiment in socialism was met with great enthusiasm at first but has since gone bust.”
This is not socialism.
“Lefties, for the most part, believe that the merit and value of minimum wage work currently exceeds the payment for said work.”
A notion they pull out of their hats as they attempt to manage other people’s businesses, work, and lives!
No two businesses are exactly alike, just as no two workers are exactly alike, just as no two minimum wage jobs are exactly alike. That’s why the decision must be left to the business owner and the potential employee. The job seeker either accepts the terms or he doesn’t.
And it is a lefty notion if for no other reason than to bash business/Republicans at election time.
Sorry Chris but it is socialist to inspire such nonsense. Your leadership spent months invoking the theme “a living wage” in order to get state governments or businesses to raise their minimum wage to $15.00 an hour. They have spent months attempting to bully restaurants to accept the $15.00 wage as necessary and right. this is intended to inspire more government control and unconscious support from the masses. It’s a covert attempt to have government (Under Democrats) manage our personal business…a basic socialist theme.
The take away from this story is that the lefty inspired scheme failed. Outside pressure/management/government manipulation fails every time it’s tried. Which is why our nation is in the worst non-recovery since the Great Depression.
Our nation is in the worst recovery ever because of ideas like this. a thriving economy is whats needed to boost employee pay.
This article is a couple of years old but still applies today: Forbes.
This ones even older…which tells us just how sad/bad the Obama economy is. See here.
Tina: “A notion they pull out of their hats”
No, a notion we pull out of comparing historic minimum wage rates with rises in inflation, worker productivity, and other factors. Today’s minimum wage worker effectively makes less than you did when you were on the minimum wage. You recieved a benefit from the government that you are now trying to deny workers of my generation. My generation is, understandably, not very happy about that.
“No two businesses are exactly alike, just as no two workers are exactly alike, just as no two minimum wage jobs are exactly alike.”
Of course not. That is not an argument against the minimum wage, anymore than “no two cars are alike” is an argument against minimum safety standards for automobiles.
“And it is a lefty notion if for no other reason than to bash business/Republicans at election time.”
No, it really is because we believe minimum wage workers aren’t paid enough. Not everything is about you.
“Your leadership spent months invoking the theme “a living wage” in order to get state governments or businesses to raise their minimum wage to $15.00 an hour.”
And what does that have to do with a CEO voluntarily choosing to pay all his employees at least $70,000 a year? That is over twice as much as a $15/hour employee would make in a year if they worked five days a week and never took any vacations ($15 x 8 hrs = $120; $120 x 5 days= $600; $600 x 52 weeks = $31,200/yr).
Not to mention plenty of lefties said $15/hr is excessive, or at least too much of a jump all at once; it’s only been fairly wealthy cities, with high costs of living, that have instituted this minimum wage. $15/hr is a hell of a lot here in the Valley where I live; it’s not that much in San Francisco.
“Outside pressure/management/government manipulation fails every time it’s tried.”
Except that, again, this failure had nothing to do with outside pressure/management/government manipulation. This CEO voluntarily chose to inflate his employees’ salaries beyond what he could afford. He paid a minimum of twice as much as what even the most die-hard lefties are demanding businesses in wealthy and expensive cities pay their minimum wage employees. Calling this a failure of the minimum wage or government control makes absolutely no sense. This was simply bad business.
Now I have heard it all. That is utter nonsense!
Socialism? NOT!
BTW Socialism would be the vets medical system, it is gov ran, or your social security check and medicare.
We were a capitalist country balanced by socialism.
Forbes is just rallying against wages for investor profits.
The man did a very honorable thing. Here is video of their reaction
http://www.businessinsider.co.id/employees-reaction-to-70000-minimum-wage-at-gravity-payments-2015-4/#.VcAuHPliCos
Raising the min wage to 15 has helped the economy everywhere they have done it. People who make min wage spend it in their community and business sees increases.
CEO pay is out of line. CEO pay has grown about 90 times faster than employee pay.
Wall street gobbled up our business’s now wages are cut for investor profits.
Income inequality has grown to a point where money goes to the top.
Rents, food and transportation costs do not go down. No one working 40 ours a week should be living in poverty so a few billionaires can be greedy.
Fascism is what we live in called corporatism and the oligarchy runs this country.
What does a raise from 48k to 70k have to do with min wage?
What leadership fought for $15hr? LOL
No that is the people and Candidate Sanders will fight for $15.
Bottom Line I support $15 hr and have no problem saying so.
I will fight the Conservatives against cutting veterans benefits, social security,ect and am proud of it.
Sorry Tina you are wrong on this one. Forbes is not news it is investor leaning propaganda.
All Media is crap these days
Dewey: “Bottom Line I support $15 hr and have no problem saying so.”
Are you also willing to come up with the money? Will you fund the extra payroll and taxes for small businesses that have to try to make it under this forced wage?
Your a big shot with ideas and extremely generous with other people’s money, not to mention arrogant about what is possible for small business. You have that luxury since you don’t actually have to comply yourself and come up with the cash flow yourself!
Tina Payroll taxes? Ya mean the ones deducted from the employees check?
Other peoples money? Hum, a sucessfull business should be able to pay a decent living wage and the CEO can make a ton of money.
Miss Tina Wall street owns most low wage companies. Their obligation BY LAW is to make the investors money at the expense of quality of goods and employees.
Ceo pay has risen 90 times faster than employee pay. You really need to look at who owns these companies.
The Ayn Rand Hedge fund manager who has been running Sears just sold all their real estate to a shell REIT, he is raiding them and ruined them. Vulture Capitalism has destroyed American Business.
The Romney Model to wealth! matters none to a conservative what a greedy person does to American jobs as long as they get rich.