I find it interesting that none of these people are addressing the elephant in the room.

In 1978, the average CEO made 30x the average worker wage. From 1978 to 2013, CEO compensation increased 937% while worker compensation increased 10.2% in the same period.

In 2014, when Maria Ferdandez died in her car napping between shifts at 2 different Dunkin Donuts locations, the NY Wage board called for a $15/hour minimum wage. Nigel Travis, CEO of Dunkin Donuts, got on national tv to decry $15/hour as outrageous. He himself makes 15K/hour.

According to the Economic Policy Institute, CEO salaries are rising 70% faster than the rise in the stock market.

Houston, we have a problem.

So why are they talking about what they can take away from workers to compensate for a hike in minimum wage?

The solution isn’t to take away more from workers, or automation. They automate stuff and all they do is make more people poor until no one can afford to buy the crap they’re selling.

The solution is to get a handle on greed at the top. But you’d need different people in the White House to make that happen.