Businesses need to continue to cut costs in order to remain profitable year over year (steady, "manageable" inflation is encouraged by the U.S government [which is really GE, Wall Street, and Big Oil in a Congress-shaped trench coat]). Costs are cut by suppressing wages and other labor costs, and/or renegotiating with their contractors to force them to do the same (oppressing labor all the way down!).
Of course, businesses and other commercial entities under capitalism also need to grow by selling more and more products/services. The contradiction arises due to the fact that consumers of these products and laborers are the same exact pool of people. Businesses are required to both sell more product in order to exist and pay wages that people need to live on, while also doing everything they can to reduce their payroll as much as possible as fewer and fewer people can actually afford to buy their product.
One of the easiest solutions to this as a capitalist would be just a bit of social democracy. Say you're a Carl's Jr. or Olive Garden Franchisee or something like that, a lot of people who make minimum wage or near that are going to be well outside of your target market since they may only be able to afford to live off EBT/cooking at home/McDonalds on occasion. If you simply set the minimum wage as a "living wage" then yeah, your labor costs increase, but your target market now includes pretty much everyone since even people on the new minimum wage should have some extra spending money to bring to your business. Not to mention the other positive externalities that would result from even a slight reduction in income inequality.
Anyway there's one of many examples, hope it helps.
Businesses need to continue to cut costs in order to remain profitable year over year (steady, "manageable" inflation is encouraged by the U.S government [which is really GE, Wall Street, and Big Oil in a Congress-shaped trench coat]). Costs are cut by suppressing wages and other labor costs, and/or renegotiating with their contractors to force them to do the same (oppressing labor all the way down!).
Of course, businesses and other commercial entities under capitalism also need to grow by selling more and more products/services. The contradiction arises due to the fact that consumers of these products and laborers are the same exact pool of people. Businesses are required to both sell more product in order to exist and pay wages that people need to live on, while also doing everything they can to reduce their payroll as much as possible as fewer and fewer people can actually afford to buy their product.
One of the easiest solutions to this as a capitalist would be just a bit of social democracy. Say you're a Carl's Jr. or Olive Garden Franchisee or something like that, a lot of people who make minimum wage or near that are going to be well outside of your target market since they may only be able to afford to live off EBT/cooking at home/McDonalds on occasion. If you simply set the minimum wage as a "living wage" then yeah, your labor costs increase, but your target market now includes pretty much everyone since even people on the new minimum wage should have some extra spending money to bring to your business. Not to mention the other positive externalities that would result from even a slight reduction in income inequality.
Anyway there's one of many examples, hope it helps.