# The Nahployment 'Crisis' **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 30, 2021, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117 "2021-04-30T19:07:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 23
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/443 "2021-05-10T20:06:51Z")
**McDonald’s’s** upcoming **dividend** is US$1.29 a share, following on from the last 12 months, when the company distributed a total of US$5.16 per share to shareholders. Last year’s total **dividend payments** show that **McDonald’s** has a trailing yield of 2.4% on the current share price of $212.24.Feb 21, 2021 They have to raise prices? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/444 "2021-05-10T20:20:44Z")
Do you have a problem with dividends? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/445 "2021-05-10T20:40:29Z")
I just saw a pic on Reddit - a sign taped to a Wendy’s drive-thru speaker “WE ALL QUIT! CLOSED!” Made me think of all of these “just kids” wanting “pocket money” to work, so that’s why their jobs are only worth $7.25/hr. If stopped caring about their “pocket money” (I mean, they don’t need it to live, they’re just blowing it on AirPods) where would the fast food industry be? Right there, I think. With a sign taped to your drive-thru about how you’re closed. I think the trend will continue regardless of whether or not people are still collecting PUA funds. The kids have moved on. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/446 "2021-05-10T20:44:20Z")
Can you explain this? I’m not very familiar with shareholding but it looks to me that you’re saying one share in McDonald’s Corp. is paying less in dividends now than it did in the last year. Then you ask why McDonalds would raise prices now. The obvious answer would be to make the company at least as profitable for shareholders as it used to be. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/447 "2021-05-10T20:44:40Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I just saw a pic on Reddit - a sign taped to a Wendy’s drive-thru speaker “WE ALL QUIT! CLOSED!” Oh, that might just be something that someone posted intending to make it go viral, like I think a lot of those signs are. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/448 "2021-05-10T20:46:30Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > Can you explain this? I’m not very familiar with shareholding but it looks to me that you’re saying one share in McDonald’s Corp. is paying less in dividends now than it did in the last year. Then you ask why McDonalds would raise prices now. Dividends are paid quarterly so it’s exactly the same. Companies very rarely lower their dividend, it’s an extreme move. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/449 "2021-05-10T20:51:06Z")
I see, thank you. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/450 "2021-05-10T20:52:15Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Do you have a problem with dividends? I didn’t have problems with dividends until my (ex) company announced $XX billion of cash to be set aside for dividend payouts about 2 months before forcing my coworkers to take some unpaid vacation because times were tough. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/451 "2021-05-10T21:07:10Z")
In something which matters to some in this thread, we actually did get over 1,000 new visitors to the Dope to visit the site and, hopefully, some registered: [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51171067318_98cd6cdc9b_b.jpg "2021-05-10\_04-02-16") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/68782016@N08/51171067318/) ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/452 "2021-05-10T21:08:06Z")
Yes, and? Corporations exist to benefit the shareholders, not the employees. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/453 "2021-05-10T21:12:46Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Corporations exist to benefit the shareholders, not the employees. Which is why I feel comfortable telling shareholders to go fuck themselves, they can fucking well eat a $15-$20/hr minimum wage, and don’t think I’m going to give one fat fuck about how much it’s going to hurt their bottom line. Voters don’t exist to benefit shareholders, so I’ll happily vote to make those bastards as poor as I like. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/454 "2021-05-10T21:25:21Z")
Here’s another announcement from Sheetz about a $2 raise: > **[Sheetz announces permanent $2/hour pay raise for all store employees](https://abc6onyourside.com/news/nation-world/sheetz-announces-permanent-2hour-pay-increase-for-all-store-employees?fbclid=IwAR3GTG75Xb1T9L5cqQB2Otybs8lHGmD251vSjGeaqzapeIf5jEaupZh_OIU)** > > Sheetz announced a permanent $2/hour wage increase for all of its 18,000 store employees Monday. Officials said the pay increase goes into effect May 21. “To attract and retain top talent, we know we need to continue to invest in our employees,” said... ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/455 "2021-05-10T21:32:18Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Corporations exist to benefit the shareholders, not the employees. So… [Warning: spoiler follows] This poster is named after a fictional character in a novel where the essential plot point was _business owners going on strike_, largely because government regulations made it no longer worthwhile to work. His character was a dashing Argentinian, inheriting the worlds largest copper mines, who mysteriously went on strike and, (spoiler), his hissy fit growing so acute he blew up his father’s business in an attempt to prevent it from being nationalized (he succeeded), throwing thousands out of work and causing a worldwide copper shortage. However, when faced with the prospect of the business employees doing the same, Mr D’Anconia’s namesake here apparently isn’t as consistent in the application of his principles, something the eternally rigid and correct John Galt would definitely frown upon. A is A, @D_Anconia, existence exists, and if shareholders are happy while potential employees are refusing to even apply at their business, they are doing nothing but committing the cardinal sin of Objectivism: denying the reality of existence. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/456 "2021-05-10T21:41:38Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > @Sam_Stone, you tip for fast food? During the pandemic, yes. The way I see it, the people back at work in restaurants and grocery stores during the pandemic deserve extra support. So I have been tipping 10% to 20%. And delivery drivers are getting good tips from me because they don’t make much and the job can suck. But during normal times, no. So I shouldn’t include tips I guess. But I didn’t include GST or PST, so maybe that’s a wash. The biggest mistake I made is that I’m so used to skip the dishes that I too, the Wendy’s prices from their menu, forgetting that their delivery charge is probably baked into the price. I’m actually going to stop at Wendy’s to pick up supper tonight. I will report back the exact cost of the bill. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/457 "2021-05-10T21:52:22Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Right, and productivity improves, and productivity is where our wealth comes from. Those people will be displaced, but there is an increasing need for workers who interact with people. If a worker’s productivity is worth $8/hr, and the law says they have to be paid $15, Then an employer who can automate for the equivalent of say, $12/hr will do so, but would still be better off with a lower cost employee. Or, if the small restaurants can’t automate (it’s very expensive in capital - one thing restaurants are notoriously short of), they’ll go out of business and we will get consolidation of large chains with industrial-style automated operations. > [@sitchensis](#): > > - From 1978 to 2013, CEO compensation, inflation-adjusted, increased 937 percent, a rise more than double stock market growth and substantially greater than the painfully slow 10.2 percent growth in a typical worker’s compensation over the same period. > - The CEO-to-worker compensation ratio was 20-to-1 in 1965 and 29.9-to-1 in 1978, grew to 122.6-to-1 in 1995, peaked at 383.4-to-1 in 2000, and was 295.9-to-1 in 2013, far higher than it was in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s. > > They can’t cut any overhead? Just raise prices? That’s weird There is ONE CEO. McDonald’s has over 200,000 employees. McDonald’s CEO has a compensation of about $18 million per year. If you divided that up among all the employees, you could give them all a raise of $90/yr. For a full time employee, that’s a little less than 6 cents per hour. We can argue that CEO compensation is out of whack, and there are some decent arguments for that, but you should be aware that even if you could get every CEO in America to work for free, it wouldn’t move the needle on employee compensation. CEO pay just isn’t much of a factor. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/458 "2021-05-10T22:02:41Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > If a worker’s productivity is worth $8/hr, Wait; who gets to determine this value? The worker or the employer? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/459 "2021-05-10T22:03:53Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > CEO pay just isn’t much of a factor. Then surely the CEOs can live without some of it? I mean, if it isn’t that much money that we’re talking about, they won’t miss it, right? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/460 "2021-05-10T22:06:49Z")
I’m sure **Sam\_Stone** meant “worth $8/hr” to the employer. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/461 "2021-05-10T22:15:11Z")
Is it your belief that corporations exist for the benefit of workers? ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2021, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117/462 "2021-05-10T22:15:40Z")
I personally think damned near everyone would be working doing SOMETHING because people like to be busy and engaged. Scutwork that nobody likes needs to either be automated or paid commensurate with how much it sucks. Or maybe some nice person who has their needs met will find that their need to see the scutwork done is important enough to donate some time doing it. I mean, people voluntarily give up their weekends to clean up trash right now because they hate seeing trash so there’s no reason to assume they’d stop feeling that way just because their cash flow comes from somewhere different. As we speak, there is a shitload of work that needs doing but we as a society suffer from a surfeit of privatization so the only work that gets done is work that can be profitably mined for excess by an owner so work we all direly need to get accomplished is not getting done and it shows. Privatized profit with socialized costs is a shitty business model yet here we are. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117.md?page=22) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-nahployment-crisis/941117.md?page=24)