No problem. Technicians that service and repair kiosk probably get paid the $15/hr wage that everyone is griping about.

Yup, and the elimination of the order taking process by employees allows them to serve the orders faster. Within the restaurant, no jobs will be lost. That order taker has been slowed down in the past by indecisive customers, then they have to put the orders together and serve the customer. I used these years ago at Sheetz. It wasn't a robot that served me. I'm interested to see how they handle the drive thru. I don't think the kiosks are weather proof.

Or did you already lose your job to this automation?

Oh jobs will be lost. Instead of five or six order takers/servers there might be three or four servers.

Really? The number of orders being processed will be higher. Which will require more servers to to produce them. O had a long talk with the marketing manager for the local Burger King franchise a few years ago. Among changes brought about from that discussion, was additional employees were hired. The key factor was that people go to fast food places to get their food fast. If that doesn't happen, there are always other restaurants with better food and service.

Have you eaten at a restaurant that has these kiosks? I have. The food quality didn't change, but believe me, the speed of the service was better than their competitors.

So, how many of these restaurants do you own. It seems the only people I see complaining about the increase in the minimum wage ate the guys that will have to pay their employees a living wage. It wouldn't be so bad if the mi jmum wage had had a cost of living adjustment annually like Social Security or even the military. The reason for the big jump is because minim eage rarely goes up. Take the current minimum wage of 7.25. While that didn't go into effect until 2009, the legislation that authorized it was passed in 2006. It was a 3step increase like Congress had been doing. In 2007, the first increase in minimum wage occurred for the first time in a decade. In jumped from $5.15/hr to $5.85. Next increase the following year took it up to $6.55, and in 2009, landed, and stuck, at $7.25. In 2014 legislation to raise it to $10.10 was blocked by House Republicans (several who complained that they couldn't live on their meager salaries of $100K plus a year) had the minimum wage kept up with the cost of living over my adult life, it would be currently be well over $24/ hour.

Something of minor importance, though, that you may want to review. Since the minimum wage was first established in the 30s, every time it has been increased, there has been no negative impact on the economy. In fact, it gave businesses a shot in the arm, enough so that they actually had to hire more help because consumers had more disposeable income. So far, it seems the only time the economy does poorly is when taxrs on the GOP tier tax brackets are cut.

That actually depends on location and the ability to automate. Actually cutting taxes and REGULATIONS does improve the economy. Look at Williston, North Dakota. For a while, almost everyone made at least $15/hr., including the "burger flippers." That is another thing people don't know. If the cost of labor goes up, then so does the cost of the product.

Even if the cost of labor stands still, the cost of product goes up. McDonald's recently proved, however, that the cost of end product can go down when the cost of labor goes up. Why? It goes beyond McDonald's, covering every aspect of business. I'm speaking of employee retention.

McDonalds selected several of their company owned stores to run the experiment. They have all the employees a hefty raise. Even new hires. Suddenly, training costs dropped. Employees stayed and got good at their jobs. Edfiency increased, customer complaints dropped, and sales increased. So did sales. I've mentioned this here and other places. Bottom line, profits rose. That's what businesses are supposed to do.

Cutting taxes and regulations? Regulations were put into place because businesses chose to endanger people by their actions. Take the Triangle Shirtwaist fire. Over 100 years ago, and legislation passed to stop it. Businesses circumvented it all too often, but usually got away with it. They do it until they have a major tragedy, and eventually end up going out of business. Look at the explosion in East Texas a few years ago. Or every mine cave in. Or the chicken plant that left dozens of employees locked in the building as it burned. While the cave ins only threaten workers, fires and explosions put others at risk.

Look at the number of food recalls since the turn of the century. The decrease in USDA inspection is one of the causes behind that. I spent more than a decade in food service, from being a dish washer to cutting meat, and most points in between. I could go on, but I have to run.