Quote:
Originally Posted by Cowboy89
The problem doesn't exist when the 'living wage' floor is below or right around the wage floor dictated by current market conditions. The problem with implementing it at a time of record high real incomes is that in a future recession or a contraction in real incomes (ie very soon if not NOW) will decrease the wage floor offered by market forces and thus the 'living wage floor' will be higher and the city will either be forced to overpay to meet their labour requirements (And cheat taxpayers out of money at a time they need it more then ever) or simply hire less people and hurt employment numbers. Paying less people more will equal less work done and lower productivity than paying more people less at a time when they are willing to work for less out of economic necessity.
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That's an interesting take. Are salaries in Calgary actually getting lower even during a recession such as this? I doubt it. Perhaps there are layoffs and less pay raises, but I would love to see numbers that suggest Calgarians' salaries are contracting now, let alone in the future, especially given our phenomenal rate of growth.
That said, it makes it even more important to have a living wage increase so that people can keep up and help contribute to the city. I would say that minimum wage jobs are probably in the service and retail sectors, and if you haven't noticed yet, it's those industries in Calgary that are usually the ones in dire need of employees. Why not induct a living wage policy to help ease those numbers and improve the quality-of-living for these residents? Seems like a win-win for me.
Please keep in mind that "living wage" policy is not just for City employees; it's for employees in the private sector too.