In The News Today...

Quote: SOOPOO

so I only have to swipe in once a shift to prove my presence there.

I haven't dealt with a time clock since
1974. We used to punch people in if
they were late sometimes. Is that still
done?

Quote: Evenbob

I haven't dealt with a time clock since
1974. We used to punch people in if
they were late sometimes. Is that still
done?

No way. These days it's an eye scan and voice recognition combo.

Quote: kenarman

If you want to know why margins are constantly squeezed and thus the pressure is always on the company to lower costs, with labour usually being the biggest single contributor ask yourself this question RX. Do you purchase the cheapest product that meets your needs. If so you and virtually everyone else get the world that they help create.

That's a good point, which I've noted when discussing airline amenities (or lack thereof) and fares.

I don't usually buy the cheapest stuff possible, but I tend to visit stores within my budget range. Now, when buying groceries, I tend to buy specific brands but will favor the cheaper ones. When buying something like aspirin, I'll buy generic or store brand because they're cheaper.

But I ask: do the manufacturers of luxury goods, which by definition are not the cheapest, pay higher wages to their employees?

Quote: AZDuffman

Reminds me of when FNC had a reporter ask people at a Democrat rally of some sort if they would be in favor of banning "corporate profits." Many were.

How about the hippie/commie/whatever who had a sign of some sort about Corprate Profits. I asked him how old his sign was and he said five years. Stunned me a bit but then I told him about the misspelling. He didn't seem to care too much about it though.

Economists? Bah. They always talk of marginal dollars. When has anyone had a marginal dollar?

Quote: Nareed

But I ask: do the manufacturers of luxury goods, which by definition are not the cheapest, pay higher wages to their employees?

Perhaps they do. I know a shoe salesman who made 60 to 80 grand on commission when a union tried to unionize all the sales workers. Union's argument for most of the stores employees sure didn't apply to him. I think the clerks in Filene's basement listened to the union organizers though.

Quote: pew

Quote: stinkingliberal

Wrong. Don't confuse cost and worth. And don't misspell "its."

The worth of a good with no intrinsic value is indeed its market price/cost. However, a worker's production, or a cheeseburger, or a pencil, or a 2017 Lexus all have some intrinsic value, so their price/cost is not solely a function of the market.

Your statement makes no sense. What is "a good with no intrinsic value"? No one is confusing cost and worth.

A $100 bill has no (or, very little) intrinsic value. A gold coin has intrinsic value--the usefulness of the metal it contains. Sixty seconds of Super Bowl airtime has no intrinsic value. A pencil has intrinsic value. A house in Manhattan has the same intrinsic value as an equivalent house in Kansas City. There is very little correlation between a good's intrinsic value and its market value, except in cases where that good is widely available and its supply is constant.

The intrinsic value of a common stock is the book value of the company (net asset value) divided by the number of outstanding shares. The market price of a stock is a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic value.

Quote: AZDuffman

I look at it as an economist does. I never took sociology, waste of time.

You might have really benefited from it, as sociology helps you to understand your fellow human beings. And for what it's worth, an understanding of economics without an attendant understanding of sociology is worthless, as economics refers to the activities of humans.

Quote: Fleastiff

How about the hippie/commie/whatever who had a sign of some sort about Corprate Profits. I asked him how old his sign was and he said five years. Stunned me a bit but then I told him about the misspelling. He didn't seem to care too much about it though.

Economists? Bah. They always talk of marginal dollars. When has anyone had a marginal dollar?

You have. Every time you get paid a dollar more than the absolute minimum you would have settled for (the cheapest price for which you would have sold your labor), you have earned a marginal dollar.

You can use your marginal dollars to go out on a date with someone who is marginally attractive.

Quote: Nareed

That's a good point, which I've noted when discussing airline amenities (or lack thereof) and fares.

I don't usually buy the cheapest stuff possible, but I tend to visit stores within my budget range. Now, when buying groceries, I tend to buy specific brands but will favor the cheaper ones. When buying something like aspirin, I'll buy generic or store brand because they're cheaper.

But I ask: do the manufacturers of luxury goods, which by definition are not the cheapest, pay higher wages to their employees?

I think the answer to your question probably depends on the class of luxury good. Most off the rack luxury clothing is still made in what we would call sweat shops in the Asia. Some of these brands claim they pay more than the average wage for the country. The super high end, one off designer dresses are probably put together by well paid people.

The highest end luxury cars are all pretty much hand built in developed countries. I expect their craftsman are very well paid.

Quote: kenarman

I think the answer to your question probably depends on the class of luxury good. Most off the rack luxury clothing is still made in what we would call sweat shops in the Asia. Some of these brands claim they pay more than the average wage for the country. The super high end, one off designer dresses are probably put together by well paid people.

The highest end luxury cars are all pretty much hand built in developed countries. I expect their craftsman are very well paid.

From an economic standpoint, how well the worker is paid depends on how much value he/she adds to the product from the time he/she first handles it to the time it leaves his/her care. It isn't dependent on the total value of the good or whether it is a luxury or basic consumer good. A worker who adds little value to a luxury good will be paid less than one who adds considerable value to a basic good.