Rising prices - Wow!

Today I drove by a fast food place we have here in town, "Chicken Express". They have a help wanted sign, "Need help. Will pay $10 / hour." If I needed the money, I could manage n that, but I don't know how many people today will still work for $10/hour. I thought it was usually $15 at least.
 

Today I drove by a fast food place we have here in town, "Chicken Express". They have a help wanted sign, "Need help. Will pay $10 / hour." If I needed the money, I could manage n that, but I don't know how many people today will still work for $10/hour. I thought it was usually $15 at least.
I think it really depends on where you live - but in most places $10 / hr. isn't really a "livable" wage anymore.

I made $15 an hour over 30 years ago - and everything was a LOT cheaper then, including single family homes!

The cost of living keeps going up up and up - and the wages have not kept up.
 
The cost of living keeps going up up and up - and the wages have not kept up.
It's so frustrating. Just yesterday at Walmart I noticed that packets of single-serve Star-Kist tuna went up in price from $1.00/pack to $1.24/pack.

I've ordered a RIT Back-to-Black kit to try to dye some of my faded leggings instead of replacing them. (I would have bought the kit locally, but it was $13 versus $9 on Amazon.)
 

I think it really depends on where you live - but in most places $10 / hr. isn't really a "livable" wage anymore.

I made $15 an hour over 30 years ago - and everything was a LOT cheaper then, including single family homes!

The cost of living keeps going up up and up - and the wages have not kept up.
In some other thread awhile back, I posted about an ice cream server (ice cream cone place) was being paid $21.00 an hour. That was on my local news. That works out to $43,680 a year. Wages haven't kept up with inflation, but the unfortunate fact remains that higher wages contribute to inflation, making it worse. Nobody wins.
 
If they’re like many places they keep the hours just low enough that they don’t have to pay for benefits. I would also guess that the place likes to hire students or people that just want part time hours.
I agree with all you wrote. The thing is, ice cream servers at the establishment I wrote about are earning $43,680 a year, whether it is one of them full time or several of them working part time. So the result to consumers paying for ice cream cones, the cost is the same either way: higher.
 
The reason for the rising prices is, of course, inflation. It hits us all, rich and poor alike. It's got so bad that parents in Beverly Hills are firing their nannies and learning their children's names.

Then you get what is dubbed: "Shrink-flation. You spend much the same on your provisions but there's less in the package. On the positive side, at least your bags are lighter and easier to carry.
 
@StarSong .......when they raise the prices on you like that, are there any add'l perks thrown it? To make it worth it?
No. This is a price increase due to their increased costs. Southeast Asia, home of a lot of manufacturing for US apparel, has been hit very hard by tariffs.

My primary supplier is a multi-national manufacturer/distributor that strictly sells to resellers who further embellish their products (as I do) for end purchasers. (Since semi-retiring, less than one percent of my sales are retail. We sell wholesale to two specialty retailers.) Believe me, my vendor is loath to increase their prices, just as I will be, and just as my specialty retailers will be.

I was warned of a January increase back in August-ish. They've absorbed the additional tariffs between then and the beginning of the new year. As happened last spring, the rest of my vendors will surely issue similar price increases.

Just as I can't absorb these kinds of price increases and remain in business, neither can my suppliers nor those I sell to.
 
Today I drove by a fast food place we have here in town, "Chicken Express". They have a help wanted sign, "Need help. Will pay $10 / hour." If I needed the money, I could manage n that, but I don't know how many people today will still work for $10/hour. I thought it was usually $15 at least.
Depends on the state. Indiana and Kentucky both have a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Some of these businesses still hire at minimum wage! If a company wants good help, I'd suggest they pay way more than that. You're right though, most people aren't going to work for $10/hr. If I was young and desperate I would. When I was a teen, my first two jobs were minimum wage. I was happy with it, but I could afford it because I was still living with mom and my step dad.
 
Depends on the state. Indiana and Kentucky both have a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Some of these businesses still hire at minimum wage! If a company wants good help, I'd suggest they pay way more than that. You're right though, most people aren't going to work for $10/hr. If I was young and desperate I would. When I was a teen, my first two jobs were minimum wage. I was happy with it, but I could afford it because I was still living with mom and my step dad.
It's $7.25/hour here in North Dakota, too. I think that's outrageously low. How could anyone live on that? 🫤
 
I think it really depends on where you live - but in most places $10 / hr. isn't really a "livable" wage anymore.

I made $15 an hour over 30 years ago - and everything was a LOT cheaper then, including single family homes!

The cost of living keeps going up up and up - and the wages have not kept up.
It's true. I make more than $15 an hour and with my bills and meds and groceries I spend more each month than one paycheck.
 
No. This is a price increase due to their increased costs. Southeast Asia, home of a lot of manufacturing for US apparel, has been hit very hard by tariffs.

My primary supplier is a multi-national manufacturer/distributor that strictly sells to resellers who further embellish their products (as I do) for end purchasers. (Since semi-retiring, less than one percent of my sales are retail. We sell wholesale to two specialty retailers.) Believe me, my vendor is loath to increase their prices, just as I will be, and just as my specialty retailers will be.

I was warned of a January increase back in August-ish. They've absorbed the additional tariffs between then and the beginning of the new year. As happened last spring, the rest of my vendors will surely issue similar price increases.

Just as I can't absorb these kinds of price increases and remain in business, neither can my suppliers nor those I sell to.
Understood..
 
Depends on the state. Indiana and Kentucky both have a minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Some of these businesses still hire at minimum wage! If a company wants good help, I'd suggest they pay way more than that. You're right though, most people aren't going to work for $10/hr. If I was young and desperate I would. When I was a teen, my first two jobs were minimum wage. I was happy with it, but I could afford it because I was still living with mom and my step dad.
Texas also has a $7.25 minimum wage, which matches the federal minimum wage which has been $7.25 per hour since 2009. Many states have not set a separate minimum wage from the federal minimum, in which case the federal minimum applies by law. In this case, it is irrelevant, since businesses here are not basing their pay on state and / or federal minimums - such as the one I posted about in my post #151, where they are hiring at $2.75 above the state / federal minimum, while still paying lower than like businesses in my area.
 
California's current minimum wage is $16.50 (going to $16.90 Jan 1st), but Los Angeles's is $17.28. Fast food workers at big chains have a minimum wage of $20/hour.

In CA, restaurant employees - servers included - must be paid at least minimum wage by their employers, meaning tips are on top of that wage. I bear that in mind when going someplace where my server does minimal work, or I order at the counter and pick up my food, but the computer screen "suggests" I provide a 20% tip. Seriously?
 
I order at the counter and pick up my food, but the computer screen "suggests" I provide a 20% tip. Seriously?
I'm not surprised to read your account, but I would just add that customs are different in Texas, since generally we aren't prompted to tip when ordering to go and paying at the counter, except at Starbucks.
 
In some other thread awhile back, I posted about an ice cream server (ice cream cone place) was being paid $21.00 an hour. That was on my local news. That works out to $43,680 a year. Wages haven't kept up with inflation, but the unfortunate fact remains that higher wages contribute to inflation, making it worse. Nobody wins.
I agree, and it does seem almost arbitrary in many ways. I certainly don't have the solution. I wish there were no starving people in the world... plenty of jobs, etc. My mother used to say, wish in one hand and :poop: in the other and see which one gets full faster. 😲
 
prices in the UK in relation to food have increased ,butter had doubled ,eggs have doubled alot of supermarket items have not gone up that much however eating out is anther kettle of fish ,cod and chips is now £10+ kebabs £10+ .in 2003 i could get a full fry up in the cafe with mushrooms and bubble for £3.50 ,now there over £10 iv heard reports coming from cafes in london that the average price of a fryup is £18
 
In CA, restaurant employees - servers included - must be paid at least minimum wage by their employers, meaning tips are on top of that wage. I bear that in mind when going someplace where my server does minimal work, or I order at the counter and pick up my food, but the computer screen "suggests" I provide a 20% tip. Seriously?
Buffets in Vegas used to be really reasonable, not so much anymore. The Palms A.Y.C.E.
Brunch Mon-Fri: 9am-2pm
Sat-Sun: 9am-4pm $42.99 X2 +tax =$93.65

The servers there bring whatever drink you order for the recommended low $18.50 suggested tip.

We don't pay because if you play & get 500 points you get two free buffets. Even though we usually get 2000 points or more when we play eating at the buffet is really rare.

Eating a steak at home grilled the way we like ours beats free. This week Albertsons has USDA choice petite sirloin steak @$4.97 a lb. Typically $10.97 a lb. Time to stock up :)
 
prices in the UK in relation to food have increased ,butter had doubled ,eggs have doubled alot of supermarket items have not gone up that much however eating out is anther kettle of fish ,cod and chips is now £10+ kebabs £10+ .in 2003 i could get a full fry up in the cafe with mushrooms and bubble for £3.50 ,now there over £10 iv heard reports coming from cafes in london that the average price of a fryup is £18
The other day I used a Domino's coupon I had for a free, 2-topping medium pizza. I used carryout instead of delivery because (1) I didn't want to pay the delivery fee and tip and (2) with the new app we have for the doors, I still don't know how to let someone into my building (😆).

I did get it free, of course, but the cost was $16.79. For a 10-inch pizza. Mind-boggling.
 
Who says prices only go up? The price of a Bitcoin has dropped from about $125,000 to $85,000 in less than two months. Does that help?
@Brookswood, I don't follow cryptocurrencies at all. I plead complete ignorance. But hasn't the Trump family established one or several cryptocurrencies? How are they doing? (Not that I feel any temptation to invest in those.)
 


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