A price floor is a price floor. It renders illegal the sale of the good or service for a lower price. That doesn't mean the same good or service is purchased at a higher price - it means goods or services for which the market assigns a lower price are not purchased.
Raising the minimum wage does not magically lift anyone's wages for the same reason a minimum price of $35/case for beer would cause anyone to pay that much for Old Milwaukee Light. Consumers would just switch to a higher quality product and/or buy less.
The difference with labor is that we all start out as Old Milwaukee Light and through experience and knowledge most of us become Bud, then Coors, and many of us Heineken and some of us Spaten. But not if we're frozen out of the workforce entirely when we're just starting out.
It's not a judgment that people don't "deserve" more - the issue is that you're not giving them more - you're taking away from them what little they have.
2007-03-09 01:57:11 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
History has, time and again, proven your argument incorrect.
If your were right, it would be easy to look back at every minimum wage increase and see two things: increased unemployment and increased inflation. In particular, your argument that raising the floor wage simply decreases demand would mean that we should see a clear correlation between minimum wage increases and unemployment.
However, there is no consistent correlation to be seen.
This is easily understood though, as what the min. wage does is simply shift costs. A McDonald's, for example, needs a certain number of workers, and it will never employ more or less than this number. Raising the minimum wage simply means that less money from every burger sale goes to corporate and CEO profits, and more to the workers. The company may decide to absorb this (most do), or pass it on to the consumer, where it's impact is spread over the entire population, and so has minimal impact on inflation.
Reality is sometimes the best textbook.
2007-03-09 02:03:08 · answer #1 · answered by Steve 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In a world where foundering corporations pay responsible CEO's hundreds of millions of dollars in separation payments, money that rightfully belongs to their stockholders, it's hard for me to begrudge anyone a couple dollar an hour raise.
The economy is shifting away from high paid manufacturing jobs (American business now outsources their manufacturing, and even tech and other service jobs).
I've watched this effect from the inside as a salesman/supplier to manufacturers.
So the opportunities aren't as readily available as they were 20 or thirty years ago.
And please don't cite the unemployment figures - after a certain period of time, job seekers are dropped from the rolls.
So where do people go when displaced from these jobs, or where do people go when they are first comming up?
My wife works as a waitress with a whole lot or very smart people whith college degrees, a couple with Masters. They can't find jobs. She's due to graduate from engineering college in June, but the prospects aren't looking good for her right now.
So, what do we do with those who must work for minimum wage, in a world where it takes more than that to survive. Do we let them starve, and sleep on the street?
It seems diseengenuous to suggest that businesses cannot afford to pay a living wagfe, when the owners and CEOs of those businesses (and make no mistake, some of them got their on the backs of their employees)are living high on the hog?
It's public assistance or better pay. and Mc Donald's isn't gonna suffer if they have to pay more. They'll just raise their prices, and I'll gladly pay the extra 25 cents for a big mac (Ughh) because that's my choice. Further public funding for assitance, however, is beyond my control, so I'd rather opt for my own choices.
2007-03-09 03:01:21 · answer #2 · answered by Charlie S 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Liberal politicians are always in favor of minimum wage hikes...but it has nothing to do with the economy, or helping the little guy, or anything of the sort. It's because Union members' wages are TIED to the minimum wage, so if the minimum wage goes up, then Union salaries automatically follow. And unions contribute to the Democratic party, BIG TIME.
It's really no more complicated than that. But obviously, it's idiotic to have some moron in Washington telling every employer in the country how much they have to pay someone.
2007-03-09 02:28:26 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Raising the minimum wage does not magically lift anyone's wages.
Really? So you're telling me that if my 17-year-old daughter works a minimum wage job to save money to have to spend when she goes away to college next year, an increase in the minimum wage wouldn't give her a wage increase.
Interesting.
2007-03-09 02:09:40 · answer #4 · answered by Bush Invented the Google 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Raising the minimum wage does lift their wages until inflation wipes those gains out. Then the minimum wage must be raised again. New poverty numbers computed and controls put on inflation etc.
2007-03-09 02:07:46 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
We accept reasonable economics . . . which say that a nation as wealthy as the U.S. should not have the greatest disparity between rich and poor of any major nation on earth -- a distinction that it currently holds.
2007-03-09 02:07:46 · answer #6 · answered by worldinspector 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They think that they are right, we are wrong, no matter what we do or say.
2007-03-09 02:00:54 · answer #7 · answered by Chase 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋