Comments on: Santa Fe’s minimum wage and unemployment

By: Joanne

Joanne — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 02:30:30 +0000

The Albuquerque store is closing.

By: Don

Don — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 21:30:33 +0000

What a bunch of rubbish. “Take any number from one to fifteen, divide it into the number of apples for sale at Albertsons, divide it by your social security number and tell me why it doesn’t equal your idea of a utopian society. Please, seek treatment.

By: Michael L. Hays

Michael L. Hays — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 22:16:33 +0000

The idea that a high minimum wage discourages low-wage employment is nonsense. Do the arithmetic. Take the difference between the Santa Fe’s high minimum and the state minimum, multiply by 2000 hours, and divide the result into an idea of a living annual wage. Then tell me how many Santa Fe companies have that number of minimum-wage employees so that a reduction to the state minimum would enable the hiring of one more employee. And then tell me why those companies need an additional employee. You cannot do it, so drop this canard. Any cut in the minimum wage would create almost no jobs, but it would increase company profits–the real reason for the push to lower labor costs.

By: Renardo

Renardo — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 15:29:59 +0000

An economy based upon artificial stimuli ultimately leads to NO economy for more and more of us. History shows that Socialism and the elite central planners that drive it always fail in the end. Why should any of the recent examples be any different?

By: Don

Don — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 16:37:37 +0000

The minimum wage law used to enable the hiring of unskilled kids who needed summer jobs and to learn skills. When the minimum wage is increased beyond what is proper, as Santa Fe did, eliminates them from the job pool. Employers increasingly seek the highest and best qualified persons for the job if they are forced to pay a wage that is higher than is proper for the job requirements.

Add to that the problem that, quite frankly, some people aren’t worth even minimum wage because they don’t work and steal, and it’s no wonder jobs dry up when the minimum wage is artificially increased by criminals posing as city counsellors.

By: Charles

Charles — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 05:26:16 +0000

To bolster the argument that Santa Fe’s minimum wage impacts low skilled workers, take note that Santa Fe Greenhouses (High Country Gardens) has closed its Santa Fe store until next March. This is the first time that the Santa Fe store has ever closed, to the best of my knowledge. The Albuquerque store is remaining open. Greenhouses use tons of low skilled workers.

The Santa Fe New Mexican ran an article quoting David Salman, the owner, explaining why he decided to shutter the Santa Fe store until next year. Mr. Salman talked about high water rates in Santa Fe, competition from big box stores selling plants, and the fact that most plant purchases take place in the spring.

The fact that the Albuquerque store is remaining open seems to prove the point that it’s profitable to keep the Albuquerque store open. If you assume that labor is the highest cost for most businesses, what does Albuquerque have that Santa Fe does not? Oh yeah, we DON’T have the highest minimum wage rate in the U.S.