Should minimum wage be raised to $10? $12? $15?

Question

Do people realize what a PRICE FLOOR is?

It doesn't give people a raise. It just sets a price floor. You can't repeal J-B Say. If the legislature had that magic they could just repeal Sir Isaac Newton and we could all fly!

Minimum wage is an entry-level wage. 70% of people making it will get at least a 30% raise within a year, and most of the rest won't be working at the same place. So if you raise it by 15% effective 6-8 months from now it will affect almost no one. Also only 1/2 percent of the workforce makes the minimum, and that is less than half of what it was just 20 years ago. It's just not at a material level - McD's pays $2-3 more than the minimum to start! These are the reasons why the nominal increases we've seen haven't affected unemployment - they haven't been material.

They have higher minimums in France and Germany - and consistently about 2X to 2.5X our rate of unemployment.

Price floors do cause surpluses.

Sweetjane BECAUSE THAT WOULD PUSH PEOPLE OUT OF A JOB THAT'S WHY!

outrcop why, why, why can't you understand, the minimum wage isn't the government deciding what you will be paid - you will be paid what the market will bear - - all minimum wage does is say that if what the market will bear is below that minimum, it is illegal to hire you.

And sweetjane most jobs are not "service jobs with multinational corporations" - most jobs are in the service SECTOR which is almost everything that isn't construction, manufacturing, mining or farming. Doctors, nurses, accountants, lawyers, financial analysts, economists, computer programmers, designers, engineers, etc.... are all in the service sector - and it is these high-paying white collar jobs where most of the job growth has been.

NO ChiGuy, by ECON 101 logic, the fact that the minimum wage isn't 10 cents an hour is NOT the reason why everyone is paid more than 10 cents an hour.

If the minimum wage law set the wage then why is it that most minimum wage earners DO get a raise? Why is it that so few of us - and a declining percentage of us - make the minimum? Why does MCDONALD'S - everybody's definition of the bottom of the barrel - pay 25% above minimum?

And Chiguy if any of your yacht tirade were true, unemployment wouldn't be 4.6% now, would it?

Pip, again, you don't get it. Minimum wage doesn't force an employer to pay a wage. If someone's labor is worth materially less it doesn't mean they get a raise, it means they get FIRED!

Why do you want that????? Or, why do you want to pretend that that isn't the case?????

Answer 1

Absolutely not. All that will do is cause inflation and increase unemployment among our poorest workers. on top of that the resulting inflation would make those making minimum wage any better off than they are right now.

Answer 2

You seem to be an intelligent person. Raising the minimum wage raises the prices on everything else. In Springfield, Mo, where I live, it went up. ALL the restaurants had new menu's. Higher prices. Surcharges on everything else. The cost of living here is less than anywhere else on the planet. I don't know the answer. Poor people get jobs. Middle class obtain work. The schooled get careers. People that have money to start, open lucrative businesse's. It's the nature of the beast. One thing is for certain. No matter who you are, or where you're at, it takes 1% inspiration, and 99% perspiration to break even in this world today. I try and find the good in everything. I've had my 15 minutes of pure fame, and I liked the feeling. I'm still going to do it again, and make it much longer this time. Hope all you others do the same.

Answer 3

Minimum wage should be eliminated altogether. A person should be paid according to what they are worth to the company they are working for. Some people working for minimum wage right now are worth more per hour than what they are getting and some big CEO's making millions are not worth that much.

The Mc D's example is a good one...They are starting people out $2 - $3 dollars more than minimum because the company deems they are worth it. But if Mc D's is forced to pay $5 more because of government regulation, they are going to hire much less people; increasing unemployment.

The government needs to keep out of it and let the individual companies decide which job is worth what. The companies paying the higher salaries will attract the more qualified employee and be more successful.

A minimum wage job is not a career. It is a starting point to gain work experience in order to improve yourself to get better employment.

Answer 4

The best response should go to (Mail Cheerleader) That is the only one that finally in the right ball park. Set a MAXIMUM wage. Like (he/she) said nobody is worth more than $500,000.00 a year that is the biggest problem is this out of control Capitalistic crazy idea of "the sky's the limit!" Exxon president retiring on some $40 million a year? Who the hell needs that much money...it's nuts!

Keep wages and prices at a certain level for all. Top earners should be no more than 10 times the lowest earners or there abouts.

Answer 5

Oh BS! You want serf labor and you want to pay them so little that they can't live!

If you can't pay enough for someone to live, while you earn BILLIONS, you don't belong in business! There is absolutely no excuse why almost 1/2 of the homeless hold full-time jobs!

I think oil has more to do with setting the "floor" than minimum wage!

God, why are you people so damn cheap! You get $94 MILLION dollar government no bid contracts from the government paid by us, and what do you do? You don't hire an American at a decent wage! No, you hire illegals at slave labor wages!

And what does business do? By Jim Wolf
Fri Aug 17, 11:30 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Defense Department said on Thursday that a flawed system designed to rush supplies to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan let a small-parts supplier improperly collect $998,798.38 to ship two 19-cent washers."

You are a greedy bunch of people made up of criminals that just are not prosecuted as Bush is your daddy who 80% of the time goes after Democrats!

One-half of American families make $25,000 a year or less! And you live off their backs! You have always lived off their backs! If it were up to Republicans you would still be working 10 year-olds 12 hours a day!

I think the 4 TRILLION that Bush has added to debt is catastropic to our economy, which is built on a house of cards with no foundation! You get nothing paying interest on debt! I guess that isn't true! You pull money from the economy that should be used for borrowing by business. Because of the debt they pay a much higher percentage for their loans! So essentially, you are your own worse nightmare, and to mentally challenged to know it!!

Answer 6

You're on the money... raise the minimum wage and then you have to raise everyone else (the guy making $5 an hour suddenly gets $10/hr., then the guy making $10 should get 15 or 20. The prices of goods soon follow.

minim wage is stupid. Let the market sort out what a particular job should pay. If someone is willing to sweep the gymnasium for $2/hour, let him.

Answer 7

first of all i totally disagree with a minimum wage to begin with. why do teenage kids need to be making $10,$12,or $15 a hour? most jobs where the min. wage comes into play are entry level positions occupied by teens. i would never take a min. wage job unless i had no choice what so ever, i have a family to support. as a matter of fact i have never ever had a min.wage job, even as a teen i worked for more than min. because i had drive and ambition.

Answer 8

Yes and no. I think the minimum wage is a piece of mind thing. You know they say when the minimum wage goes up so does inflation. Is that really the answer or should jobs pay more for employees. It seems jobs are paying less these days. Only the specialty occupations reap the benfits of high salaries. If you are the only one working with 2 kids on minimum wage, that is considered poverty. Of course jobs could not take into consideration your family factor, but extra benefits would help.

Answer 9

I think raising the minimum wage too much hurts more than it helps. If a restaurant owner is forced to give employees a raise, the owner then it turn has to raise prices on the menu. People who eat at the restaurant may think twice about eating there.

Also, if someone with no college degree, and little or no experience can possibly earn $10 - $15 an hour. I expect to see a significant raise in my paycheck too.

gw

Answer 10

It's been a while since I took economics, but as I remember, minimum wages don't really accomplish what they are supposed to. In a true capitalist market, wages will work themselves out between employers, employees and customers. When minimum wages are set, market adjusts by charging more for services and products to compensate for the increased costs.

Sounds like you've done your homework. Good Job

Answer 11

Consider the following; Instead of raises give them a bonus.

Most US companies do NOT want to share a bonus and this is management's sheer greed.

Why? Sometimes business is good and sometimes it is bad.

A lot of business people would rather keep most of the money and this is the true colour of capitalism.

I am not a fan of socialism either.

It really depends on the owner.

Some have said that 1/3 of US citizens live similar to a third world country and barely have enough to have a place to live.