Should there be a minimum wage?

Question

Do other countries besides the US have this?

Answer 1

Yes. But I think that it should be at least enough to where someone can actually friggin live on it to at least be able to pay their flippin rent and utilities. What's the point of minimum wage when you cant even live off of it? You gotta have like literally 3 jobs just to make ends meat!!
Sorry.......this just really gets to me.LOL (shrugs)

Answer 2

More than 90% of the countries in the world have minimum wage laws, so it's definitely not just the U.S. But on the other hand, many prominent countries have no minimum wage laws, even some of those that are viewed as much more socialist than the U.S.

One effect of minimum wage laws is to displace less-skilled workers for more skilled ones. If you have to pay $10 an hour to get an employee to do work for you, you might as well get someone who you would pay that much to anyway because of their skills rather than someone who you would normally pay much less to. In some countries, minimum wage laws are even INTENTIONALLY used for this purpose to enforce the status quo and keep the elite employed while the uneducated poor are thusly edged out.

And while it's possible that minimum wage raises the prices of goods as employers have to compansate for more money being spent, it is also arguably true that when less people have money it is harder for companies to be profitable in the first place. If economists cannot agree about such things, I doubt we're going to come to a satisfactory conclusion about it here.

It is interesting to note, however, that only in the U.S. do economic textbooks suggest that minimum wage laws should be carefully judged for costs versus benefits and abandoned if the costs are too great. Much of the rest of the world seems to believe that a certain minimum standard of living is a gift a productive economy gives to all its productive citizens. Make of that what you will.

Answer 3

Canada does.

I'd like to see the abolishment of minimum wage. If society wants to ensure a minimum standard of living, fine, but banning salaries under that amount just prevents jobs from existing.

I'd personally suggest that welfare benefits only be clawed back at a 1/3 dollar against income earned, and minimum wage be abolished.

Current system - welfare pays you 700 bucks a month, or something like that. Minimum wage is 8 bucks an hour. that's like 1300 dollars a month for full time work. It would be _illegal_ for someone to hire you for 1000 dollars a month, even though they'd be up a worker, you'd be up 300 a month, and the taxpayer would be up 700. Who is this serving?

With what I suggest, it would go even further, however. Someone might hire you for 450 a month. You'd still receive 550 a month in welfare (700 -(450/3)). So you'd have a total income of 1000 a month rather then 700, and be in the workforce - which is frankly a much better postion to gain experience and a better job then being on welfare. The company would benefit from your labour, and the taxpayer is paying 550 instead of 700. Win-win-win.

Edit: someone suggested minimum wage is government's way of taking care of people. That's simply not true. Minimum wage is governments way of forcing companies to either take care of people, or refuse to hire them and keep them 100% on government support. It does absolutely nothing other then prevent a mutually beneficial arrangement where individuals have employment, and live off a combination of salary and benefits.

Answer 4

I'm on the UK, and we have it.

It's a good idea, in my opinion. If there was no minimum wage, we could experience an economic fall, like has happened in third world countries.

Let me explain... employers would start to drop wages, because they are able to, and people who work for them would no longer be able to afford their bills, or food. In response, unemployment levels would rise. Soon enough, the government and economic market would pick up on this and start lowering their prices on goods and services so that they are avaliable to a wider range of people. The employers realise and drop their wages again - after all, if stuff is becoming cheaper, surely it won't matter if they do? And so prices have to be lowered again, and so on and so forth, until currency is practically worthless.

Answer 5

There has to be a minimum wage. If there's not there will always be some company that tries to pay employees even less. I know unions get a bad rap(and some are bad), but a good lot of the unions are really out there to protect the employees and make sure the company takes care of them. I do know because I own a union electrical shop and my husband is one of the union electricians. So I see both sides of it.

Answer 6

Yes, there should be a minimum wage, and here in the States, it should be a hell of a lot higher than what it is.
The cost of living has risen substantially, yet the minimum wage has remained the same for way too long.

Answer 7

I don't know about other countries, but it seems like an insult to capitalism to me. For god sake let the market dictate wages and maybe people who cry about their minimum wage would be forced to actually learn a trade, get some job skills, or even an education to be worth something. Don't know about you but I'm sick of haveing the government protect losers from their own stupidity and using our tax dollars to do it.
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Answer 8

Yes there should be a minimum wage. If not then some employers would pay people 1 cent an hour. People would not be able to make it.

Answer 9

Yes, but no matter what small or large company a person works for the min wage should not be less than $10.50 an hour. That's right! You heard me right. It's ridiculous that in today's world people can't get paid $10.50. We need laws to change in America today, cripe! Canada pays there people more min wage than we do. That's a shame.

Answer 10

We have this in the UK. I think all countries should have a livable minimum wage as a basic human right.