I couldn't explain everything wrong with this mindset of "prices will skyrocket if we pay people a living wage!!!!!1!" mentality if I had a week and and a degree in economics.
Anyone who is against paying someone a decent wage simply because they want their shitty Macdonald's food to stay cheap is a definitely some sort of cunt. A special sort.
There are three moving parts in a sale. You've got wages + profits = price. Right? That's how it goes.
Now, since 1970, Wages have gone down precipitously, particularly at the bottom level. This has literally impoverished millions of people; that young woman will likely receive more than one type of welfare because her employer refuses to pay her properly. As a result, profits have gone up spectacularly, massively increasing both inequality and overall system risk. A system based largely on profits is far riskier than a system based largely on work. One good thing has been that rich people have been able to steal all your money, which they deserve, so Ayn Rand is quite happy - and who cares if a few scum starve to death? Of course, the fiction industry has suffered, but Rand's already popular so no skin off her back.
Anyway. If you increase wages, one of two things happens. Either 1) prices increase. Or 2) profits decrease. Those are the only two things that can happen; it will not increase unemployment. There is some debate here, but it's possible that in a recession it may actually improve employment.
So, when you point this out to conservatives, they seem to be very sure they know will happen. No company ever took a hit to their profit line, they say. Firstly, that's simply not true; the wage/profit ratio changes every year. It isn't set in concrete. So that's just wrong. Another point: if a raise in wages doesn't threaten profits, why is McDonalds running a huge campaign against it?
This is why virtually all serious economists agree with an increase in the minimum wage.
In fact, this dishonesty has been a problem since time immemorial. For instance:
"Our merchants and master-manufacturers complain much of the bad effects of high wages in raising the price, and thereby lessening the sale of their goods both at home and abroad. They say nothing concerning the bad effects of high profits. They are silent with regard to the pernicious effects of their own gains. They complain only of those of other people."
Who said that, do you reckon?
