Is raising the minimum wage a sneaky way to also raise the tax on capital gains?

[AmyStrange]

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Yes, and it also keeps more money in each state.

In my opinion, capital gains (stock dividends etc.) is one of the major reasons (if not THE major reason) why people are poor and can sometimes barely afford to live anywhere decent, or even be able to feed themselves or their family, never mind the cost of healthcare.
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ETA: Why not $30.00 an hour minimum wage everywhere? I know that won't fly, but maybe if we called it the theory of a "trickle up" economy, rather than waiting for the trickling down of crap from the richest amongst us.
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[ret5hd]

1. I have posted this question before:

Why are the rich so adamantly opposed to the general population getting a living wage? ALL THE MONEY ends up in THEIR hands after just a few transactions anyway!

Worker gets paid, pays his mortgage—-bam! In the hands of the rich.

Worker gets paid, pays the electric bill —-bam! In the hands of the rich.

Worker gets paid, buys anything at all, within 2 or 3 or 4 transactions —-bam! In the hands of the rich.

The only answer is: They need you to be afraid. Afraid of losing your insurance, afraid of going hungry, afraid of being homeless. Without that fear you might actually have the mental energy to question things. To question why, in many respects, we are not much more than serfs under a corporate feudal lord.

[AmyStrange]

2. +100000000000000000000000000000000 x infinity

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Thank you.
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[kurtcagle]

3. Of course it is

Stock dividends and minimum wage have an inverse correlation - when minimum wage rises, corporations have to spend more money on staff, which reduces their overall profitability and, by extension, the size of their dividends. It doesn't really matter that more people can buy the product that these companies make, primarily because sales profit over earnings (P/E) actually has contributed less and less to the perceived wealth (and hence dividends) of a company in comparison to a company's stock value (which is actually more loosely correlated). That's how you can have tech companies with insane valuations despite having net negative profitability.

Notice also that when minimum wage issues come up, the story is always steered towards service workers at restaurants, because those typically are perceived as independent small businesses (with the inevitable hand-wringing on the part of the manager who really wants to pay workers more, but their bottom line is barely in the black). The reality is that most minimum wage workers work for companies that are chains that employ them as fast-food workers, stockers, cashiers, hotel staff, etc.), and are large enough that they DO pay very healthy dividends. They also tend to be the ones that fight the hardest whenever it looks like minimum wage is going up.

[AmyStrange]

5. +100000000000000000000000000000000 x infinity

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I HAVE never given out 2 infinities in one thread.

Well said, by the way!
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[Midnight Writer]

4. Capital gains taxes should be progressive, with lower rates for lower incomes.

That would let retirees cash out savings or sell their homes or businesses without taking a debilitating tax hit.

[AmyStrange]

6. Very Good Point

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Thank you.
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[roamer65]

9. THIS.

Offset it with a 50 percent income tax rate on any income over 400k. That would be going back to 1982 tax rates.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

7. Somehow I don't see a connection between raising the minimum

wage and raising the tax on capital gains.

Can someone point out that connection to me?

[AmyStrange]

8. pay increases tend to lower dividends...

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that's my theory anyway.
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[PoindexterOglethorpe]

10. Do you have any actual examples?

Paying employees better often results in better employees who work harder, ultimately making more money/profit for the company. I don't think simply assuming pay raises result in lower dividends makes sense.

[AmyStrange]

11. It's common sense...

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Raising wages will decrease the overall profit of a company, unless they raise the price of the product they sell.

Raising the minimum wage won't hurt companies that already pay good wages to EVERYONE, but how many companies do that?

But, like I said, it's only a theory.
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[Mr.Bill]

16. I've always noticed that when large companies announce

big layoffs, their stock goes up.

[AmyStrange]

17. +100000000000000000000000000000000 x 2

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Thank you.
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[PoindexterOglethorpe]

12. Why, exactly, is it comon sense?

For as long as I can remember the claim has been made that raising the minimum wage ALWAYS costs jobs. The reality is, when actually looked at properly, a rise in the minimum wage has little or no effect on number of jobs.

So to say that in your opinion capital gains is one of the major reasons people are poor has almost no basis in reality. Please offer actual proof.

A crappy minimum wage is certainly a factor. I have worked for minimum wage more than once in my life, and know how hard it is to survive on that amount. But to connect it firmly to capital gains needs a bit more demonstration.

[AmyStrange]

13. Obviously, it doesn't make sense to you...

Last edited Fri Feb 5, 2021, 02:00 AM - Edit history (1)

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and also obviously, I'll never convince you, so let's just say that we'll have to agree to disagree.

Kick, thank you, and back to the top we go.



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[PoindexterOglethorpe]

14. No. Agreeing to disagree isn't the answer here.

You need to defend your claim. You have already said your idea that raising minimum wage decreases overall profits is only a theory. And so, wait for the proof.

[AmyStrange]

15. Kick, thank you and...

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back to the top we go!!!



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