-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
In a keynote address at the Netroots Nation conference, Johnson reaffirmed his campaign pledge to do away with the subminimum wage. “Because of subminimum wages, many of our young people are working full time and still find themselves living in poverty. People are working hard every single day, [and] they cannot afford to live in the very city in which they work."
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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My suggestion is for Johnson to open up a some sort of venue for public comments and dialogue.
I have no idea what Johnson thinks he’s going to accomplish with this. I think it’s safe to say that most restaurants are tapped out. All of my friends are working their buts off and getting destroyed by bad city management. I used to eat out a lot and know some of the most successful restaurateurs in the city. These are just the guys that survived the lock downs. There’s a whole bunch that didn’t even make it this far. Anonymous guy #1 – He’s a very charming and sincere gay minority. He’s been in business for over 20 years.… Read more »
Johnson probably never tips following the “blacks never tip” rumors meaning, to him, it all makes sense.
The real scandal is the sales tax rate for restaurant meals in Chicago. Add in a 20% tip and nearly a third of the bill is for something you never ate.
So, I think it’s important to remember that we’re only talking about tipped positions. McD’s, et al, are all already paying their employees the non-tipped minimum wage. Everybody’s cook or cashier/order taker or dishwasher or prep-person or janitor is already earning the non-tipped minimum wage. What BJ is counting on is that food service operations with tipped employees will be able to figure out a business model that works, based on their tipped food-n-beverage server’s wage expense going up by 60 some-odd percent. Not going to happen. Can’t be done. Full service sit-down dining will go away, and get replaced… Read more »
Johnson Plans To End Tipped Wage — An Economically Illiterate Move That Would Be A Hammer Blow For Struggling Restaurants