Progressives are blowing on their trumpets praising Bernie Sanders for getting Jeff Bezos to raise Amazon’s minimum wage to $15 dollars an hour.
Here is an excerpt from WIRED.
AFTER MONTHS OF increased public criticism about its grueling labor practices, Amazon announced Tuesday that it would begin paying all US employees, including part-time, seasonal, and temporary workers, at least $15 an hour and all UK employees at least £9.50 (with higher wages in London) beginning November 1. The move will affect 250,000 Amazon employees and 100,000 seasonal workers, according to the company.
In the same announcement, Amazon also said it will begin lobbying Congress to raise the federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25. Jeff Bezos—the company’s CEO and the richest man in the world—said in a statement that Amazon “listened to its critics,†and “decided we want to lead.â€
Now, you might be wondering how this is a bad thing. It isn’t on its face. Rasing Amazon’s minimum wage is an amazing thing. Even if Amazon was only doing this for a publicity stunt it would be a good thing. However, Amazon itself admits they are doing this for a far more business-friendly reason.
Here is what they wrote on their blog.
How are you going to work with Congress to raise the federal minimum wage?Â
Our public policy team will work with policymakers in Washington, D.C., to advocate for a higher federal minimum wage.
What do you want the federal minimum wage to be raised to?Â
We believe $7.25 is too low. We would look to Congress to decide the parameters of a new, higher federal minimum wage.
You got that right Amazon is going to help Sanders on his push to get the minimum wage raised to $15 an hour. By doing this Amazon will force other big companies to pay the $15 dollar an hour wage and crush smaller businesses by putting them into near bankruptcy.
Bezos is taking a calculated risk with this move. He figures that he will take a profit hit now so that he can continue to corner more of the market and continue to make Amazon stronger. Luckily for him, the progressives are happy to help him by destroying his competition through regulation.
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