Who thinks that raising the minimum wage is a good policy?

Question

Increasing minimum wage equals higher incomes for min. wage workers. This is a good thing right?
Well, what if that increase means that businesses will make less profits while making the same amount of product? Businesses will not allow their profits to go down, so they will increase the cost of their products. This means that your dollar will no longer buy the same amount of product. This is called inflation. So, about 2-3 years after the minimum wage increase is passed - your increase in pay will buy the same amount of product that it bought before the increase, and the dollar will be worth even less than it is now.

If you agree that raising the minimum wage is not going to fix anything - then write your Congress. They have already tried to pass a resolution that would increase the minimum wage by $2 nationwide. It won't pass the Senate this time, but they will try again.

I didn't say that you could make a living on $5.00 an hour. What I said was, it didn't matter if you did raise the minimum wage - in 3 years inflation is going to decrease the value of the dollar so that the people this is supposed to be helping will be right back in the same position they are now.
So, again - is this the right solution?

Answer 1

it is a bad economic policy but is a great political policy. it gets you more votes.

Answer 2

Actually that's a load of crap sold to us by--who else?--the corporate media. How do you think people in the 60s survived with a minimum wage that had a much greater wage-to-inflation ratio than the measly minimun wage now? Business can only raise prices so much because there is a threshold where people will not buy a product at a price that's too high. Thus, the raise in prices for goods may rise a little, but not nearly as high as the increase in wages. When the minimum wage goes up, all higher rung pay scales must go up to compensate. Thus, employers are most likely to keep the more experienced quality workers they feel are worth the increased pay they have to dole out, while getting rid or the new younger or illegal workers whom do not have the skills and experience. This is great for all working class Americans who were previously stuck at their low pay scales because they know that they are easily replaceable for a brand-new, even lower-paid, minimum wage worker down the line. And when quality workers are dominating the work force, benefits and job safety and security measures usually increase due to the fact that these workers have greater bargaining power as experienced, skilled workers who know their rights as citizens. That's why the work place was more pleasant and pay was higher (when taking into account inflation) in the 60s. Meat packers back in the 60s and 70s got $20+ dollars and the job was a lot safer. When illegals were brought into the workforce and wages were decreased dramatically, the job became dangerous and miserable. The only way to stop the government from allowing this atrocity of the free-flow of the illegal immigrant labor force is to make the government force the wages UP--thus rendering this illegal immigrant work forces obsolete and pointless. NO ONE will hire illegals if they are REQUIRED to pay a much higher, living wages that all Americans deserves. For example, people bought Pintos because they were cheaper than other cars even though they may be of low quality. If the price of Pintos were raised to the price of a higher-priced Camry, don't you think people will stop buying Pintos? They''l no longer waste their money on a low quality good.

So don't buy into Big Business's class warfare propaganda. They want you to buy into the belief that raising wages is BAD for America (execept for congressmen and the President, of course). Higher wages will outdo any resulting raises in the price of goods. It will increase purchasing power and spending, thus stimulating the economy. It will filter out the lower-quality scab worker force of youngsters and illegals/new immigrants (don't worry, they'll still be many jobs for them), while creating more stability and negotiating power amounst the higher-quality experienced workers.

In the sixties, a ONE-income blue-collar family could acquire a nice house and two cars. Now two incomes cannot even manage that. Remember that before your agree with coporations that tell you that keeping wages down at third-world poverty levels is a GOOD thing. It's great for them--bad for us.

Answer 3

That is right the corporations will take the hit this time. The dollar value is more effected by national debt then inflation. If you raise wages by 7% products will raise 2%. Really the gap between the rich and poor is the real issue. If you go back to the 60s and 70s you will see a big difference from today. Don`t forget corporations are not people and do not have feelings they are a entity that answers to the shareholders these days and not providing the best product to serve the people. Nobody wants to talk about the gap between the rich and poor.

Answer 4

exactly raising minimum wages will only help those on that pay structure for a small amount of time but eventually everything will adjust and they will be in the same position. what it really does is hurt everybody else especially those just above minimum wage who will not see an increase in wages but will see an increase in prices. if people think they are having a tough time now living paycheck to paycheck let the minimum wages increase and see how hard it is to live. What the national Government needs to do if they want to truly help the low income people is LOWER TAXES for low to middle income people. lower the income tax give people more money in the paycheck and you will see a increase in the economy plain and simple more spending means more taxes but the citizens will be happy because of the purchasing power they have.

Answer 5

In my business for the last 38 years I address the increase in minimum wage simply....I lay people off. In 1963 I had 121 employees after the minimum wage goes up this next time I will cut four or five people and I'll be down to 73 people. My minimum wage people are nice people but they had little to my business. I simply combine responsibilities and for the four or five I get rid off I'll hire two at $10.00 an hour and get the same work done

Answer 6

Need to create a maximum wage for CEO's. That's what's totally out of control. Forget Minimum wage. That's chump change.

Minimum wage is trailing inflation by a little bit, but it's not as drastic as the CEO salaries and kickbacks has increased over the last 10 years.

Answer 7

Please allow me to add some facts to your "opinion"
People need to look and say, 'Is this really helping the people it's intended to help?''.

Business and labor groups cite conflicting studies as to whether higher minimum wages worsen unemployment by forcing businesses to choose between passing on higher costs to customers or hiring fewer workers.

One such study, done last year by the labor-backed Economic Opportunity Institute in Seattle, found no "causal connection" between Washington's high unemployment rate and its high minimum wages.

"Washington has lost jobs at a lower rate than the national average," the study said. "In fact, 8 of the 11 states that had a minimum wage above the federal level in 2003 are doing better at job creation than the United States as a whole. The jobs Washington has lost have been concentrated in high-wage sectors, especially manufacturing."

Logue said a study by her group and the Washington Restaurant Association, which for years has sought a reduced minimum wage for tipped employees, reached an opposite conclusion.

And while the business-backed Washington Research Council has not studied the state's minimum wage law, "we have a general belief that it does impact the state's economy," said Kriss Sjoblom, the council's vice president for research. "It particularly raises unemployment among marginal workers, one example being teenagers."

Washington was the first state in the nation to index the minimum wage to inflation. When voters approved the indexing law in 1998, Washington's minimum wage was just $5.15 an hour -- the same as today's federal minimum wage, which applies in states without their own minimums.

New Jersey is the latest state to try to catch up. Acting Gov. Richard Codey signed a law Tuesday that will raise that state's minimum wage by $2 to $7.15 an hour over the next two years.

In Olympia, meanwhile, Republicans want Washington to slow down until other states catch up.

"The goal is to try to bring Washington in line with other states," said Rep. Cary Condotta, R-East Wenatchee, prime sponsor of several unsuccessful bills to slow the annual growth in the state's minimum wage. "If everybody goes up, that's fine. The problem is that we're out of line. It makes it very difficult to attract new business."

The proposed study should put assertions like that to rest, said John Burbank, director of the labor-backed Economic Opportunity Institute that has done its own minimum-wage studies.

"I think it will debunk some myths," he said. "We have nothing to fear from objective analysis."

Garifi, the waitress, is optimistic that the higher minimum wage in Washington will keep her afloat, adding that her lunch shift at Wild Ginger usually reaps $30 to $50 in tips.

She said that in New York she struggled to pay her rent of $1,100 a month on the minimum wage for restaurant workers of $3.30 an hour. Non-tipped workers make $6 an hour there.

In Seattle, she pays $675 for a similar-sized apartment and earns more than twice the hourly wages.

"I would definitely say I'm going to be OK," she said.

Answer 8

it has been shown that higher pay leads to higher productivity. this nation can't continue with 'poverty' wage. it keeps people poor and dependent on gov't handouts. a real 'living' wage is what's necessary. not just a bump so you're a little less poverty stricken than before. increased pay equals increased productivity equals more product than was produced before. profits increase because of increased productivity and raise in consumer prices are not necessary.

Answer 9

It doesn't fix anything, you could pay them $100 an hour and the price of goods would inflate to that level. Money only has value through scarcity, it is just a piece of paper with a promise written on it.

Answer 10

you make a good point, except for the fact that you could make it forever.

the minimum wage must be raised every so often because our buying power changes faster through inflation and other means, and employers don't choose to reflect that in wages. the fed can manipulate interest rates similarly, and it doesn't destroy the real estate market...

Answer 11

It's called sretching.The goverment of the United States is operated by 55,000,people all millionaires or billionaires,200 of them work in the capital buiding.They raise mininum wage a little,then like you said,the prices go up.I paid $3.29,today for a box of nilla wafers cookies today!Can you believe that?I thought they were gonna be $.99,Unreal it's already started.What are we going to do?Work three jobs,I guess!