Money Talking

The fight for $15 is catching on.

Fast food workers in New York claimed victory last week when a panel appointed by the governor agreed with them: their minimum wage should be increased to $15 an hour over the next few years. That recommendation must now be reviewed by a high commissioner, who's expected to approve it. But in Seattle and Los Angeles, city councils have already approved citywide increases to $15. And at the national level, a bill before Congress would more than double the federal minimum wage to $15 from $7.25.

This week, Money Talking raises a perennial economic question: do raises in the minimum wage help or harm the workers who fight for them? A raise might help the wage stagnation we're seeing in the national economy, but some economists suggest a raise too big could shrink the pool of jobs. In Los Angeles this week, some union leaders are asking to be exempt from the $15 city-wide minimum they fought for, in order to have more flexibility in asking for other benefits. And some critics suggest industry-specific raises, like the fast food one in New York, could lead to distortions in the economy.

Guest host Cardiff Garcia of the Financial Times asks Josh Barro from The New York Times and Reihan Salam from the National Review, who've both written on the topic, what the raises at local and national levels could mean for the workforce and other ways the government might improve conditions for workers.

Cuba and the United States officially opened embassies in one another's country this week. But for years, there's been a U.S. presence in Cuba by another name: "The U.S. Interests Section."

What does this change signify?

U.S. capitalism has been creeping its way into communist Cuba since the 1990s. They called that decade the "Special Period," when the fall of the Soviet Union drained Cuban coffers and forced the economy to get creative. In 1993, using U.S. dollars was decriminalized and a mixed economy, combining elements of socialism and free market capitalism, emerged in a recession-plagued island. Then in 2011, private ownership was legalized when the government allowed ordinary Cubans to buy and sell homes.

With the embargo still in place and travel restrictions still technically in place, what's changed now? 

Money Talking host Charlie Herman asks Cardiff Garcia from the Financial Times and Tim Fernholz from Quartz, both of whom recently traveled to Cuba, for their view on the island's economy, and what this week's news means for the Cuban people. 

If you want to succeed at work, there's no way around, you're going to have to learn how to brag gracefully. But how to do it without being obnoxious?

"Everybody on Staten Island know, if you wanna pay $8 for a pack of cigarettes, go to Bay Street."

Almost one year ago, cigarette salesman Debo Lato stood on the street where Eric Garner also allegedly sold loose cigarettes. Lato told reporter Solange Uwimana, writing for Vice, that Garner's death would not hamper his black market business. Today, one year has passed since Garner died after being placed in a police chokehold — after he resisted arrest for selling loosies.

Uwimana says the black market still seems to be thriving. 

Cigarettes in New York City are the most expensive in the country, thanks in large part to the taxes here. The state tax is $4.35; the city excise tax adds another $1.50. Garner's death has sparked a debate among both conservatives and liberals about whether the tax is leading smokers to quit, as it was designed to do. Staten Island is the borough with the most smokers in the city, according to a 2012 NYC Dept of Health and Mental Hygiene Report.

Shortly after Garner's death, Police Commissioner William Bratton said though the sale of loose cigarettes may seem like a "minor quality-of-life offense," it hurts local businesses. While untaxed cigarettes continue to thrive, the Wall Street Journal reported that arrests of illicit cigarette salesmen have dropped in the past year.

Money Talking Host Charlie Herman speaks with Uwimana, now with the Village Voice, about her Vice report to explore how the market works and what's changed one year later.

A free-styling, singing and dancing Alexander Hamilton sheds light and delight on the origins of our nation's financial system. And it's a lot of fun.

At some point in your career, you've probably dreamed about it: the day that you quit your job.

Maybe you envision you'll shoot up out of your cubicle, march gallantly over to your awful boss's office, and say exactly how horrible it has been to work for him (or her). In this fantasy, coworkers congregate, cheer, even applaud, as you storm off into the night, never to return to the corporate torture chamber where they'll continue to spend their days.

This, says Len Schlesinger, a professor at Harvard Business School, is a horrible idea. "Those are kinds of things you should leave to sitcoms on television."

In his article for the Harvard Business Review, "How to Quit Your Job Without Burning Bridges," Schlesinger explains that if you're on your way out, your coworkers and management won't care about your complaints. You're leaving anyway. And the glory of a dramatic exit does not outweigh the harm you could do to your reputation. You never know when you'll meet your old boss again.

"Think hard about how you start [a job] and think harder about how you leave," Schlesinger tells Money Talking's host Charlie Herman. People will remember.

Schlesinger says there are a few cardinal rules for making a graceful exit.

And if you're a boss on the other end of an exit, Schlesinger says, don't take it personally. When someone decides to leave, both you and the person quitting should express gratitude for the work that's been done and focus on making the transition as painless as possible.

The American Dream of owning a single family home is looking more and more like a landlord's game — and the rest of us are just renters.

Homeownership is lower than it's been in over 20 years, and the stock of apartments and houses for rent is getting competitive as the share of households renting is at a 20-year high. In New York City, only 3.45 percent of rental properties are up for grabs. With so many people looking to rent so few apartments, that's helping to drive up rents.

But even so, home sales are rising to nearly six year highs, who's buying? Sure, there's been an increase in first-time buyers, but increasingly, Wall Street private equity firms are buying up properties and turning them into rentals. 

Money Talking host Charlie Herman asks Rana Foroohar of Time and Heidi Moore of Mashable what a renter dominated market means for the country.

If you're smart, you understand the power assistants hold.

Melba J. Duncan, for instance, once stopped a plane. The former executive assistant to Pete Peterson, former CEO of Lehman Brothers, Duncan says people often don't give people like her enough credit. Assistants succeed and become an asset to their bosses because they're not limited to their job description. Other employees, however, often misunderstand what exactly assistants do. 

Duncan now runs the Duncan Group, a consulting company that recruits, coaches and trains assistants. She says the good ones are adept at a delicate skill all employees should master.

It's called "managing up."

Duncan says employees can underestimate the skills, judgment and influence of executive assistants. Everyone in the office can benefit from taking a moment to pay attention to how effective assistants communicate with and manage the corporate bosses.

And if you're the boss, and you want to know what kind of people work for you, watch how they treat your executive assistant.

A few of the country's biggest brands are making some strange moves. 

Goldman Sachs, a bank accustomed to multi-billion dollar dealings with wealthy customers, will make smaller loans to less wealthy consumers and small businesses via an online service. American Express — the brand (in)famous for its ultra-exclusive "black card," available only to those who charge more than $250,000 a year — is teaming up with Walmart to offer a pre-paid debit card, a product traditionally sold to low-income customers who don't have bank accounts. Banking brands of the rich and famous seem to be making grabs for the middle class.

Meanwhile, kale breakfast bowls popped up on the McDonalds menu earlier this year. Then, the hamburglar got a hipster-esque makeover. This looks like a piecemeal response to a post-recession slump in the industry. Fast food brands that survived the financial crisis relatively unscathed have been struggling. Just this week, KFC fought a campaign against its Chinese competitors, who accused the chain on social media of raising eight-legged chickens to maximize drumstick production.

Money Talking's guest host Stacey Vanek Smith of NPR's Planet Money invites Shelly Banjo of Quartz and Ben White of Politico to make sense of these moves — and asks the critical money question of the week: Which woman should be on the U.S. $10 bill? 

There's a reason Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg earned herself the nickname "Notorious RBG" on internet memes. 

In the next few weeks, she and the other eight justices could be making a long list of friends — and enemies — when the court issues rulings on the the fate of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) and same-sex marriage.

One group paying close attention are the businesses who have taken very visible positions on the two controversial issues. 379 companies have urged the Supreme Court to back gay marriage, while insurance companies and healthcare providers are demanding that the healthcare law be upheld.  In their friend-to-the-court briefs, the Federation of American Hospitals and the American Hospital Association wrote that if the Supreme Court strikes down the health care law, "Many people will get sick, go bankrupt, and die."

Money Talking Host Charlie Herman asks guests Emily Bazelon of New York Times Magazine and Rana Foroohar of Time if this court, helmed by Chief Justice John Roberts, has been listening to big business this term and what fallout we might expect as the justices make their decisions.