The Government can't legislate prosperity!

And if it works at McDonald's, you can bet it'll be in Wendy's, Burger King, Pizza Hut and so on. And after that will come TGI Fridays, Chili's, Applebee's and other chains like them. That'll be the end of tipping as well. Why not make the minimum wage $100/hour? That way all of the burger flippers can say they lost a $100/hour job.

I think this is a great example of 'hoist on your own petard'. Yeah: go ahead and raise the minimum wage...we will just 'out science you'.

Jan

Hello Mr. DeSapio,
"Be careful what you wish for." ...comes to mind.
Also "A fool and his money..."
Regards,
O.A.

It is just so silly that people do not understand that entry level wages will always be entry level wages. If you force them up, then everything else goes up and who ends up paying the price? The consumer! Minimum Wage will always be a certain percentage below other wages. It always balances out. Why not make it $100.00 and hour? Or $1,000.00 an hour? So silly.

If it cost me more I will charge more than the cost raise to me, that’s how you get ahead.

In the end they will still be at the same low percentage, because every other profession will demand a wage increase citing McDonalds and the new min wage as examples and excuses for their desire to have higher wages. So if these folks earned 2.6% less than others, then they will still earn approx. the same percentage less in the long run and inflation will go up.

IF you want more money why not improve yourself and your value, don't just demand more pay, because others earn more. Look at what they do for a living and learn those skills.

Actually robots will be a big improvement in some cases.

Think of a future with no human contact when going out to eat. A standard meal costing $50, but a once a year trip to a human service restaurant costing $150.

But is the government going to tax the man-hour equivalent of the robot worker?

I started at $1 an hour at my first job (guess when). And 25% of that was withheld in taxes. A few years later I made $3.50 an hour at a much better place that prepared me to start my own graphics business a year later. I've had my own businesses ever since, and I no longer count my income by the hours I put in.

My little company is working hard to automate our production. If we cant, its going to china. One way or another, we cant and wont pay $15 per hour for what we have to get done. Add another $$ to the cost of a big mac, and I just will cut down the number of times I get one.

My entry job was washing dishes and bussing tables, didn't last, moved my self up to becoming an entrepreneur, mowing lawns and pulling weeds. And as soon as had enough smarts I moved into Hi-Fi and Stereo (anyone still remember when stereo came into being?) and electronic sales, then became a rocket scientist in the space program until I was ordered to become a soldier, then because we went to the moon while I was away, I became a field service technician, supervisor, and finally a service manager for a rather large company. Also during that time I tried 20 years of having my own business run by someone else until government regulations and taxes got the best of it. Without knowing what a crappy job dish washing and bussing tables was personally for me, I'm not sure I'd be as secure and retired as I am. If they had paid me a lot of money washing dishes would that have become my career? I hope not, for sure. I tell my kids, now my grandchildren, get a good education and save as much as you can for retirement. My grandson just started college and just got a great job in food service in the cafeteria of an on campus sorority. I'm sure he will enjoy that job, but hopefully not too much. His friends are all somewhat jealous of his job. Sometimes food service has other benefits besides good pay.

I was trying to think of some cute parody. Perhaps Robbie the Robot at the Mickey D's take-out window getting orders screwed up and melting down as in Forbidden Planet. It doesn't work, because sdesapio's scenario is all too real and all too possibly soon. Brother! We old farts are sure leaving you a screwed up planet.

I'm looking forward to the robot restaurant kitchen as well, this way there won't be spit (or worse) inside burgers.

When I grew up in NYC there were Horn and Hardart restaurants. little cubicles with glass fronts that showed you what was in them and you put in a quarter or what ever for the food. there were people continually filling the spaces. so we are headlong going back to old technology. all the poor people will ultimately storm these places when they do not get what they have become accustomed too. good bye america