Desert Messenger

8 www.DesertMessenger.com September 4, 2019 READER'S OASIS BOOKS 690 E. Main - Quartzsite (one block east of Family Dollar) Got events? Do you or your organization have recurring or new events planned in Quartzsite for next season? Please consider sharing the dates now, before everyone leaves for the summer. QuartzsiteCalendar. com is a FREE service to list your special events, workshops, class- es, music jams, bingos, entertain- ment, pot lucks, picnics, gather- ings, fundraisers, ice cream socials, meetings, etc. SUBMIT your events for FREE to- day! www.QuartzsiteCalendar.com We knew we could get you to read this ad! For effective advertising, contact Desert Messenger today! Call Rain at 928-916-4235 Email: Editor@DesertMessenger.com or visit www.DesertMessenger.com MANDATED MINIMUM WAGE INCREASE IN ARIZONA A perspective by business owner Norm Simpson Although the Federal Minimum Wage is currently set at $7.05 per hour, our Arizona State Legislature has recently mandated increases to this state's minimum wage, which is currently $11.00 per hour. When given the fact that a wage increase for an individual employee that is based on their job performance will then increase their purchasing power and ultimately improve their quality of life, one might assume that an across-the-board increase in minimum wages to all minimum wage earners to all minimum wage earners would elevate the quality of life of all minimum wage earners. But could it really be that simple? The free market approach provides for increases in a person's wage that are based on that worker's individual merit. This merit would include: growth in job related knowledge, certifica- tion, specialized training, increased job performance, experience, dependability and ability to work with other employees. This allows the employer the ability to take the risk of hiring an un-skilled or entry-level candidate, then investing in that new hire by sponsoring an on-the-job training period. The free market approach then allows that employee the ability to negotiate a rate of pay that is commensurate to their individual worth to that employer. When negotiations for pay increases fail, the employee is free to take their newly-acquired training, experience, and knowledge and shop them elsewhere to other employers. My observation is based on ten years of operating a food service business in Quartzsite, Arizona where I currently employ up to 30 people annually, with near half of those employ- ees starting at the minimum wage level. These jobs include: custodial, dish washer, busser, cashier, host, server, prep cook and line cook. So what have I concluded to be the result of the mandated Minimum Wage increase after observing several years of these increase cycles. 1) Increasing minimum wages with the across-the-board method negatively impacts every- one, those working or not. The "Law of Unintended Consequences" states that there is a "gap between our ability to innovate and our ability to foresee the consequences." 2) This will trigger a survival response by small business employers, manufacturers, ranchers, farmers, and other industries structured around the use of minimum wage workers. This will cause an increase to their COGS (Cost of Goods Sold), forcing them to increase their sales prices, while passing that increase on to all consumers. 3) Increasing minimum wage requires all employers to restructure all employees pay, as an employer cannot elevate a minimum wage employee above an employee with seniority and experience. This impacts all merit and step increase structured programs such as is currently used by most small businesses, hospitals, manufactures, educational and municipal govern- ment organizations. 4) The people most negatively affected by this minimum wage increase are the very same em- ployees intended to benefit from that increase. Their purchasing power will have been eroded by increased coasts. Also seriously affected are persons who depend on Social Security, retire- ment systems, or are on a fixed income based on COLA. 5) COAL (Cost of Living Adjustment) is based on national costs, rather than the regional increases resulting from the mandated minimum wage increase. 6) Every person and business in this state will pay for these increases, resulting in making Arizona's manufactured goods less competitive nationwide, and also in the global marketplace. 7) As of January 1, 2020, Arizona minimum wage will have risen by 70%, up to $12.00 per hour. However, it will not end there. The target is to continue increasing to a targeted $15.00 per hour. 8) As a business owner, I must continue raising my prices as necessary in my struggle to survive. At the same time I must search for better and faster machines, and better business strategies which require fewer employees. What a shame! Paid for by Norm Simpson, Quartzsite We have great lunch menus, serving at 12 noon sharp! Suggested donation is only $3.50. There's cards, books, games, puzzles, Wi-Fi available. Community Services, Volunteers Needed! Come join the fun at Quartzsite SENIOR Center 40 Moon Mountain Ave. For more information call 928-927-6496 Senior Center open all year! Monday - Friday, 9am – 3pm Quartzsite Police Explorers is holding a Little Caesars® Fundraiser to raise money to for equipment and competition 09/01/19 through 09/18/19. Little Caesars® Pizza Kits and Cookie Dough range in price from $16.00 – $24.00 and contain all the ingredients to bake delicious pizza, bread, and cookies at home in minutes. Little Caesars® Pizza Kit line up includes 19 delicious Little Caesars® Pizza Kits, Bread Kits and Accessory Items to choose from: Pepperoni, Cheese, Thin Crust, Cheeser! Cheeser!, Soft Pretzel Crust Pepperoni, Personal Pepperoni, Personal Cheese, Microwave Personal Deep Dish, Deep! Deep! Dish, Family Meal Kit, Crazy Bread®, Italian Cheese Bread, Cinnamon Crazy Bread®, and more! The product line up also includes 3 varieties of gourmet Cookie Dough, Pizza Server Paddle and Pizza Cutter 2-Pack. To order your items from Quartzsite Police Explorers Post 928, please contact Det. Candi Conley at (928) 927-4644 ext. 103 before 09/18/2019. For further information regarding Little Caesars® Pizza Kit Fundraising Program, call 1- 888-4-LC-KITS (1-888-452-5487), or visit PizzaKit.com Now friends and family across the country can support Quartzsite Police Explorers Post 928 (Fundraiser #372922) with Pizza Kit Home Delivery! When you place an order through Pizza Kit Home Delivery, Pizza Kits are delivered directly to your home or offi ce. Order online whenever it's convenient at PizzaKit.com; click on Products, then Shop to order today! Explorers Little Ceasars pizza fundraiser

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