> There's a lot of stuff to ship, but margins on those things are very thin + demand for said stuff is extremely elastic due to it not being super essential so there's also not a lot of room for increased driver wages.
Why should truck drivers subsidize these companies, then?
A company should not be in business if it isn't sustainable without screwing the workers.
Why this is so poorly understood by people is beyond.
Small businesses always complain about how they can’t afford to pay more. But if you need to pay less than a minimum wage to make your business viable then… it’s not viable.
Well..if there were laws to enforce a higher minimum wage, all of your competitors would have to do it too and the price of products across your industry would rise.
The myth here is that everyone would suddenly stop buying things, but with higher wages people can afford to spend more.
Over the years we’re in the same boat and the cycle begins again with a new minimum wage - that’s ok.
> The myth here is that everyone would suddenly stop buying things, but with higher wages people can afford to spend more.
that is a myth. Only people on the bottom can afford to spend more. For the rest of us we don't get a raise.
With higher wages prices need to go up for the same profit. Supply and demand may or may not allow prices to go up. Some marginal products go off the market. Some prices go up. People adjust to buying less things because they can't afford them. Slowly inflation catches up and wages are back to "too low" - this is a bad thing.
Why should truck drivers subsidize these companies, then?
A company should not be in business if it isn't sustainable without screwing the workers.