Let's be clear here. Increasing basic pay to a base of $15 an hour, for so many, will be a good thing. At least until the next crisis hits us, and our economy. Especially in this economy; the one that is hotting up because money now must act like electrons in electrical circuits (always seeking the path of least resistance, not wanting to ever sit still, and always wanting to go faster), making labor temporarily a more competitive commodity than it has been for quite some time now. As such it will put more pressure on other employers to pay a more competitive wage. And that too, will be a good thing. At least, as I've indicated, until the next crisis hits us, as one surely will.

The bad part is to read way too much into what one employer does, in a vastly complicated, and interwoven economy, both here, and on the world stage; even if he's a very large employer. Or that how only $15 an hour could be considered a truly living wage, because it is not. Though it could certainly be a good start on a better trend, if it were truly meant to be continued.

What troubles me here, though, is what might be lurking on the "Ugly" side of things. The kind of ugly you can't help but contemplate with a businessman not known for a lot of social compassion in the past. And in this I'm talking about a possible scenario you also can't help but contemplate. The one where this is nothing but a very clever public relations ploy.

And the way this would work is very simple indeed. You already know how much Bezos has invested in automating every aspect he can with warehouse work, only now that will proceed with a bit more incentive; looking at it from the perspective of the kind of cost consciousness that this man has always been noted for. So the real question here is how long do you think he's really setting himself up to have to pay this extra largess. Especially when you already know just how intolerant of worker restiveness, and unions, he's already demonstrated himself to be.

The bottom line here will be to watch his company's overall employment makeup in the next few years and see just how many $15 an hour jobs he keeps the company dependant on. Don't be surprised if it turns out to not be that many at all. And this will all be apace with truckers being replaced, and cashiers being replaced, Bank Tellers, etc, etc, etc. Again assuming that the pace of one disaster after another, on our march to jump off a final cliff, doesn't also start increasing.