The Employment Policies Insitute's Michael Saltsman has
a little lesson in fundamentals for the Leader of the Free World;
...the warehouse retailer [Costco] rakes in what amounts to a more than $10,000 profit per employee [from its upfront membership fees], according to data from business research company Hoovers. A casual dining restaurant, on the other hand, earns a roughly $2,000 profit per employee, which explains why most businesses aren't following the president's "just be more like Costco" advice.
There are exceptions. In a visit this month to the University of Michigan, for instance, the president stopped at the local deli Zingerman's. He raved about its Reuben sandwich as well as the generous wages that the business offers. Like Mr. Jelinek, Zingerman's co-founder Paul Saginaw supports hiking the minimum wage. He posted a minimum-wage manifesto on a company website last September.
As Mr. Obama relished the perfect sandwich prepared by well-paid employees, he neglected to mention how much he paid for the happy experience: Zingerman's Reuben costs $14. That's about three times as much as a Subway foot-long. When I was an undergraduate student at Michigan, I rarely dined at Zingerman's because it was so expensive.
....The president seems oblivious to pricing pressures that exist outside of high-end restaurant concepts in tony metropolitan areas.
Also oblivious to the old adage that it takes all kinds to feed a world.
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