Wow, if this is so much of an imposition for the poor business owner, he should just sign the business over to the guys actually running the restaurant! Problem solved! This is why capitalists famously yearn for The Revolution! Owning the means of production is so stressful!
Florduh If we ever meet it would my honor to buy you a coffee (decaf for you). Or a beer if more to your liking.
So, you think the hamburger maker/flipper is educated enough, experienced enough, and has the mental wherewithal to run the business? I he aware of the human resource issues and other has relevant business acumen to run the business? If he was that talented he wouldn't be making hamburgers. He may not be able to afford buying a business but he certainly could find a better paying job.
It was a 5 minute video using simple numbers. It also doesn't matter what the exact number is. I don't care how much raw hamburger meat the business owner buys or how nice of a place he rents.... all of that is
worthless until workers transform the raw materials into a saleable product.
There is no value without labor! And the only labor you've attributed to the owner is signing checks and being stressed. As if food service industry workers in this country
never have to deal with financial stress themselves.
And the worker would not have a job if the owner hadn't taken the financial risk and had the business acumen to even open the business.
I mean, the hamburger maker makes hamburgers that are good enough to sell for $15+ (these days). The owner just signs checks and goes to meetings
I wish that's all I had to do to keep my job. Although I did sign about 500 checks a month. I usually took them home to sign in the evenings.
And I agree there is (not value) but business without labor. But here again is the rub. What is the value of labor? Mr. Wolff apparently thinks the value of labor is relative to profit. Hey lets talk more about the hamburger store. Let's assume that the store , in its first year, did actually make a annual profit of $300,000 (I'll even ignore expenses for this discussion). I think you and Mr. Wolff would agree that the helper would be entitled to $150,000. Now suppose the store, since being it's first year of operations had a net profit of -0-. This happens quite a bit. Does that mean the workers labor is meaningless and has no value. Of course not, we still need to pay him. Now what also happens if the fledgling businesses incurs a loss. Let's say our hamburger joint loses $10,000 in it's first year. Should the employee now have to pay the owner $5,000? Does the the employee only share in profits but not losses?
I also like this delusion that the hamburger maker isn't starting his own restaurant because he's dumb or something. No, he just isn't rich enough. And he never will be. He has as much of a chance of owning his own restaurant as a medieval serf did at becoming part of the nobility.
Really, so all business owners are rich? I have examined and consulted with many small businesses. Most of these owners were far from rich. Large corporate businesses on the other hand need much more capital and most of us are unable to provide that funding. Keep in mind that some small business start in a garage and end up turning into giant corporations (Apple, etal.) I wish you would have had your own (successful) business. You would be so much better positioned to discuss business. Don't misunderstand me. I have absolutely no problems or issues with your comments. I wish others also would chime in with their thoughts and experiences in the business world.
Floriduh I'm going to thank you again for responding respectively and sharing your thoughts and ideas. It is a Professor's job to provide facts and scenarios that open students minds and enable them to make thoughtful informed evaluations. Students, and non-students, alike untimely benefit from this. In terms of business operations Mr. Wolff has failed. It doesn't matter if his presentation was cursory. He should have presented all the relative facts of his narrative. It possibly would have added 30 seconds or minute to his video. What he did what to obfuscate in order to make his point. If he is going to try to influence people he needs do it objectively and not mislead or omit crucial facts. Do it right!!
Final 2 things - I promise.
The local library emailed me to inform me the book has finally arrived !! I'll pick it on Monday/
I watched another video from Mr. Wolff. This one is titled "Is China Capitalist, Socialist or Communist?" This is where he shines. I don't necessary agree with everything he says but I think it provides some good material. I'll send you all the link when I find it. If he would just just cease espousing about things he doesn't have any experience with (running a business).
www.commondreams.org
www.aljazeera.com
