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Edited Date/Time
8/13/2015 6:11am
Well I guess socialism doesnt work, who would have thought.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/08/01/seattle-ceo-who-set-firm-minimum-w…
Seattle CEO who set firm's minimum wage to $70G says he has hit hard times
Published August 01, 2015FoxNews.com
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The Seattle CEO who reaped a publicity bonanza when he boosted the salaries of his employees to a minimum of $70,000 a year says he has fallen on hard times.
Dan Price, 31, tells the New York Times that things have gotten so bad he’s been forced to rent out his house.
Only three months ago Price was generating headlines—and accusations of being a socialist -- when he announced the new salary minimum for all 120 employees at his Gravity Payments credit card processing firm. Price said he was doing it, and slashing his $1 million pay package to pay for it, to address the wealth gap.
“I’m working as hard as I ever worked to make it work,” he told the Times in a video that shows him sitting on a plastic bucket in the garage of his house. “I’m renting out my house right now to try and make ends meet myself.”
The Times article said Price’s decision ended up costing him a few customers and two of his “most valued” employees, who quit after newer employees ended up with bigger salary hikes than older ones.
“He gave raises to people who have the least skills and are the least equipped to do the job, and the ones who were taking on the most didn’t get much of a bump,” Gravity financial manager Maisey McMaster, 26, told the paper.
She said when she talked to Price about it, he treated her as if she was being selfish and only thinking about herself.
“That really hurt me,” she said. “I was talking about not only me, but about everyone in my position.”
Approaching burnout, she quit.
Grant Moran, 29, also quit, saying the new pay-scale was disconcerting
“Now the people who were just clocking in and out were making the same as me,” he told the paper. “It shackles high performers to less motivated team members.”
Price said McMaster and Moran, or even critic Rush Limbaugh, the talk show host, were not wrong.
“There’s no perfect way to do this and no way to handle complex workplace issues that doesn’t have any downsides or trade-offs,” he said.
The Times said customers who left were dismayed at what Price did, viewing it as a political statement. Others left fearful Gravity would soon hike fees to pay for salary increases.
Brian Canlis, co-owner of a family restaurant, already worried about how to deal with Seattle’s new minimum wage, told Price the pay raise at Gravity “makes it harder for the rest of us.”
“It pains me to hear Brian Canlis say that,” Price said. “The last think I would ever want to do is make a client feel uncomfortable.”
The Times said Price has dozens of new clients inspired by his move but those accounts won’t start generating profits for at least another year.
Making matters worse for Price is a lawsuit his older brother filed two weeks after the pay hike announcement.
Lucas Price, who owns 30 percent of the company, accuses his brother of taking millions of dollars out of the company while denying him the benefits of his minority ownership.
The lawsuit has forced Gravity to pay mounting legal fees at a time when the new salary scale is being eaten up by profits.
“We don’t have a margin of error to pay those legal fees,” Dan Price said.
Click for more from The New York Times
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http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/08/01/seattle-ceo-who-set-firm-minimum-w…
Seattle CEO who set firm's minimum wage to $70G says he has hit hard times
Published August 01, 2015FoxNews.com
Facebook551 Twitter176 livefyre594 Email Print
NOW PLAYING
CEO explains dramatic solution to company's wage gap
Never autoplay videos
The Seattle CEO who reaped a publicity bonanza when he boosted the salaries of his employees to a minimum of $70,000 a year says he has fallen on hard times.
Dan Price, 31, tells the New York Times that things have gotten so bad he’s been forced to rent out his house.
Only three months ago Price was generating headlines—and accusations of being a socialist -- when he announced the new salary minimum for all 120 employees at his Gravity Payments credit card processing firm. Price said he was doing it, and slashing his $1 million pay package to pay for it, to address the wealth gap.
“I’m working as hard as I ever worked to make it work,” he told the Times in a video that shows him sitting on a plastic bucket in the garage of his house. “I’m renting out my house right now to try and make ends meet myself.”
The Times article said Price’s decision ended up costing him a few customers and two of his “most valued” employees, who quit after newer employees ended up with bigger salary hikes than older ones.
“He gave raises to people who have the least skills and are the least equipped to do the job, and the ones who were taking on the most didn’t get much of a bump,” Gravity financial manager Maisey McMaster, 26, told the paper.
She said when she talked to Price about it, he treated her as if she was being selfish and only thinking about herself.
“That really hurt me,” she said. “I was talking about not only me, but about everyone in my position.”
Approaching burnout, she quit.
Grant Moran, 29, also quit, saying the new pay-scale was disconcerting
“Now the people who were just clocking in and out were making the same as me,” he told the paper. “It shackles high performers to less motivated team members.”
Price said McMaster and Moran, or even critic Rush Limbaugh, the talk show host, were not wrong.
“There’s no perfect way to do this and no way to handle complex workplace issues that doesn’t have any downsides or trade-offs,” he said.
The Times said customers who left were dismayed at what Price did, viewing it as a political statement. Others left fearful Gravity would soon hike fees to pay for salary increases.
Brian Canlis, co-owner of a family restaurant, already worried about how to deal with Seattle’s new minimum wage, told Price the pay raise at Gravity “makes it harder for the rest of us.”
“It pains me to hear Brian Canlis say that,” Price said. “The last think I would ever want to do is make a client feel uncomfortable.”
The Times said Price has dozens of new clients inspired by his move but those accounts won’t start generating profits for at least another year.
Making matters worse for Price is a lawsuit his older brother filed two weeks after the pay hike announcement.
Lucas Price, who owns 30 percent of the company, accuses his brother of taking millions of dollars out of the company while denying him the benefits of his minority ownership.
The lawsuit has forced Gravity to pay mounting legal fees at a time when the new salary scale is being eaten up by profits.
“We don’t have a margin of error to pay those legal fees,” Dan Price said.
Click for more from The New York Times
Advertisement
More from Fox News
The Shop
Since you appear to exhibit more knowledge than I: Ill ask you this? Whats the definition of a Small Business? A large business? Why does anyone deserve greater than $200K in any position? If making over $200K What percentage should the annual income be to warrant that?
If you can answer one of these, I will possibility take stock in what you are saying. If unable this is why America is entitled. Morons feel morons that are a scoche smarter are entitled to some magical number because they are making decisions.
Lets not kid ourselves that equal pay or lots of money will equal good hard work when most of the time more money for nothing equals the opposite.
"What that really is, is a bunch of sheep buying into a system with the belief that if they work hard and put in their dues, they can have a house and car and a nice big tv. What that really is, is getting up and going to work to make someone else rich while you get to take on a lot of debt and because you've taken on a lot of debt, you get to get up and go to work some more to pay off your debt."
I'm not even sure what you're talking about here. Are you saying that it's the CEO's fault if you take on massive debt you can't afford? That's ridiculous. Have the best day ever.
Income inequality is a particularly tough issue to tackle (primarily in addressing our dwindling middle class). It'll continue to be a federal-level stalemate until some meaningful change happens in our retarded hyper-partisan/corporation and union-centered (think super-PACS and lobbying) political system.
The irony is that as our middle class gets smaller (due to inflation, rising college costs, and no overtime pay for middle class salary workers), these corporations make less and less money since most consumer spending is done by the middle class (and consumer spending makes up most of our economy). Shortsighted stupidity at its finest.
You have some issues with basic economics.
Pit Row
The correct answer to question 1. What is the definition of a small business. As determined by the SBA (Small Business Assoication) and NAICS North American Industry Classification. A small business determination is set by either annual sales and or employees.
2. A large business is that one of which that exceeds the small business guidelines and is now a large business. WHY is this important? Taxes? Employees?
Wouldn't that be something a CEO, someone worth $200K a year should know? After all, that might be a bit of important information to know when a CEO is negotiating that next project or extending the company bonds or purchasing additional assets.
But I should go get hired as a CEO first, huh?
For Example Dallas Texas:
11150 - Janitor $9.70 + health and welfare
15080 - Graphic Artist $22.70
The differences are substantial but then again, what is known to push a broom and clean dirt vs what is known about four color printing, pre-press or web design and SEO optimization? The two are just as distant. So then to define working hard? Is that hours or sweat? That's where rewards come in.
To note where I agree with you and how the balance was lost. Entitlement is a huge issue. Before 1990, it was standard for a company to have one manager and three workers. More would get done, less was paid in HR. In today's entitlement society we have one worker to three managers. Each manager wants profit sharing, bonuses, wages, kickbacks and commission pre and post gross. That's an issue. Because they don't earn it or warrant it. Neither do CEO's IMO They are paid employees. Executive staff yes and they are reward based on their performance but they are still employees. The problem that this brought was illustrated perfectly from 2001 to 2010. Businesses folded because they had no savings. Then they lowered rates to keep business going through the door to either: boost shareholders (they lied) or stay in business and hope things get better. They didn't survive that long. The CEO should have directed the savings for slow times.
Then Minimum is just that. Minimum schooling, knowledge and time. It was meant to be a starting place. Do fast food workers need more than minimum? I suppose if they are moved from basic positions sure. For most It's not arbitrary, for some it is.
And as long as you are an employee you are making someone else rich. Figure it out how it can be the other way around.
I think it is related in a way, because it shows the skewed thinking with some people.
Modern CEOs have pretty much one goal- increasing quarterly profits for shareholders. So they tend to make short-term changes to increase those profits, and maybe even escape with a "golden parachute" when the whole company goes south as a result of short-term thinking.
And I will agree that there is nothing wrong with making $10.00 an hour. The only problem is when the individual has zero desire to advance beyond that point.
And I do buy into the belief that if I work hard, I can have nice things that I want. It's how I live my life. And as far as finances and debt, you throw a lot of assumptions out there when you know nothing about the finances of the guy sitting next to you. Or the guys on this forum. Some are well off. Some struggle. Some own companies. Some work for companies. It doesn't make one better than the other, but to say we all deserve the same quality of life based on what we do is asinine.
As for working to make someone else rich, there will be owners and employees. If the owner does a good job, they're rewarded with a successful business and hopefully some financial benefit. They took the risk of starting a business. They put an investment into their company. In no way would I assume an employee is entitled to the same compensation as an owner. And for the record, in most successful businesses there was a startup period where the employees did actually make more than the owners. But the success of the business is when the payoff comes.
When I see my surgeon on Monday, I'll be sure to tell the receptionist that she should have an equal lifestyle to the doctor. After all, it's only fair...
Shane
(obviously i'm using arbitrary numbers and milk as an example, but you get the picture)
If their overhead is increased (increase in taxes, increase in wages, increase in anything), they simply increase the price of their product. Since things like wage increases and taxes are applied across the board (meaning their competition is also experiencing the same increases so they all raise their prices together), those kinds of things just get passed on to the consumer, across the board.
So increase the minimum wage to $20 (to go with hvaughn88's example) and see what happens to the price of your value meal at McDonalds, or the cost of your oil change at Jiffy Lube. Granted something like a minimum wage increase will largely only affect the industries that are dependent on minimum wage employees (Increasing the Minimum wage likely wouldn't affect an engineering firm, for example, because none of their employees actually make minimum wage...where McDonalds and Jiffy Lube would be affected because the majority of their employees are probably at, or near, minimum wage).
What business is it of theirs if I make $200,000, $500,000, or $10,000,000 per year??
As a business owner you hold all the risk, and all the stress. There should be no ceiling on what a business owner can earn (as long as the company is healthy and profitable), and its none of their employees business.
Post a reply to: Remember the CEO who raised all his workers pay to 70K