How big is the incentive for big corporations to want minimum wages to increase, because that would make it harder for newer competitors to enter the market?
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Don't think there's much. Labour seems to be more of a variable cost than a fixed cost. So fewer economies of scale. Different to the case of regulatory compliance which seems to be more fixed cost-like.
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Trying to think of an example where that would be the biggest barrier to competition and I can’t offhand. If the minimum wage disappeared tomorrow, Walmart’s moat would be just as big, and indie coffee shops would still be able to compete with Starbucks.
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Tbf a lot of companies can (and do) export jobs to third world countries.
But also I don't really understand the "all jobs must be able to sustain the livelihood of someone working it." What about part time or multiple jobs? What if you want a side gig?
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Usually they don't want changes. This means that they don't initially push for it, but when it happens, they don't want it go away anymore.
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Big corps are far more able to substitute capital (machines) for labor than small shops. Costs are less impacted by min wage and competitive position enhanced by increase. Entry isn't the primary story, but it is consistent.
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If you talk to an entrepreneur or exec at BigCo, they'll say the incentives are huge. Pretty much everyone else will think your question is dumb and that min wage obviously hurts BigCo.
The execs and entrepreneurs are right.
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If minimum wage increased poor people (who far outnumber rich people), would have more disposable income and be able to buy more of their products.
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Approximately equal to the difference between the salaries they currently pay and minimum wage
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If Walmart wants to kill upstarts by strangling them with high labor costs, they could just pay more.
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