I saw at least two cartoons last week arguing that raising the minimum wage in California will cause mass layoffs and store closures. Sure, some businesses will decide they can’t afford to remain open or to retain all their employees, but I also smell a load of crap.
One of the right-wing cartoons made the argument specifically for McDonald’s, whose CEO made $19 million last year. Maybe instead of arguing against paying a living wage, the CEO should take a pay cut.
There are arguments that raising the minimum wage will lead to self-serve kiosks and self-checkouts. Do you think the self-checkouts in your grocery store are because of the minimum wage? There are about 15 registers at my local grocery store and it’s been a long time since I’ve seen more than two open at a time. Why do stores like Walmart purchase and install so many registers if they’re not going to use them? But they’re not putting the self-checkouts in because of higher salaries. No, it’s because of corporate greed.
Why do grocery prices remain high as inflation comes down? I don’t want to hear gougers gripe about paying a living wage.
There’s a McDonald’s in my neighborhood with the self-checkout and the minimum wage in Virginia isn’t $20 an hour. The only thing going for the American worker in the service industry is that the majority of Americans are probably too stupid to learn how to use the kiosks.
Conservatives argue that the free market and competition among capitalists should determine wages, not the government. But if it wasn’t for the government, there wouldn’t be overtime pay, safety regulations, or laws about children working in coal mines. And if our capitalist system decided what to pay the least skilled in our country, then they would only pay as little as they could get away with.
As a victim of a corporate layoff, I can attest that shareholders don’t care about employees or customers.
And if you can’t pay a living wage, then maybe you shouldn’t be in business.
Fun update: I was out yesterday afternoon after I thought I had sent this cartoon to my clients. That’s when the idea of the out-of-service ice cream machine came to me and I started kicking myself. I told my friend Olivia this and she laughed about it. Then, I saw three emails from clients that I didn’t send the cartoon in the email. I had forgotten to attach the files. Holy crap! I rushed home and added the files but first, I went back and put in the ice cream machine. I just got an email from one of them laughing about the ice cream machine. Maybe I was supposed to forget to attach the files the first time.
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CLAYTOONZ 
I have osteoarthritis in both my hands and wrists, so it is difficult for me even to put heavy items on the conveyor much less go through the motions of scanning them. Not only do most of the supermarkets near me have only one or two (most often one) staffed lanes open, they always seem to put the slowest, least trained employees on those lanes.
I am also of the opinion that self-checkouts are a violation of the 13th amendment, which forbids unpaid, involuntary labor, “…except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted…” is forbidden “…within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
There have even been times when none of the regular checkout lanes have been staffed, leaving no option other than the self-checkout.
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Great Toon! I especially love the settings on the Robot – Nice/Kill! You would think that Conservatives would love seeing more people get off Welfare. Corporate Welfare is okay though.
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Well said, Clay! My local Kroger store is the same, with never more than two checkout lanes with cashiers at any given time, and those are the two grumpiest they have! Meanwhile, those who were once cashiers have either left, or been relegated to cleaning or stocking chores, or in one case, working the outside “pick-up” lane in rain, snow, heat, etc., and she is in her 60s! Remember that these are the same companies whose profits skyrocketed in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, while they gouged us mercilessly.
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Certainly, it is, a whole lot, cheaper to have robots or AI work for a, company. You don’t need to pay for their sick leaves, you don’t need to pay for their, OTs, and, they won’t sue you for injuries sustained on the job either. And so, those well-trained monkeys would also soon be, out of a, job too, like most humans, as the workforce is now, replacing the workers with, A.I., it’s more efficient, cutting costs of operations down by a hell of a lot, no need for 401Ks, no need for health or dental insurances for the, employees that the employers need to pay for. A great deal, isn’t it…
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Since the US has become a consumer economy, low wages (relative to inflation) are self-defeating and short-sighted. Less money in the consumer’s pocket means lower consumption. Circle of life or something like. If the minimum wage had kept up with inflation over the last 40 years today it would be closer to $25 per hour, so California isn’t being all that progressive, it’s just being realistic.
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In the last couple of weeks I’ve been reading that our local Walmart stores (maybe not just local, could be happening in other places) are going back to having their employees checking out groceries and other items rather than being all self-checkout as it’s been for the last couple of years. Theft in our area is so bad that #1 – they’ve locked up many everyday items – such as laundry detergent, personal care items, and just about anything that costs more than a few bucks it seems, and #2 – theft at the self-checkout is really high with people not ringing up items in their carts. That is in addition to people just filling up their carts and walking out the door, since no one stops them (too dangerous for employees). The stores are losing money (while still making a fortune, of course) due to thefts.
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