3 ms·

Could we have a multi-pronged approach? Minimum wage of $12 or $15 is great, but in many places still not a true middle class wage, especially for a head of ho

Could we have a multi-pronged approach? Minimum wage of $12 or $15 is great, but in many places still not a true middle class wage, especially for a head of household. But, still it's a worthwhile law to put on the books and it does help entry level workers and others. On top of that, union wages are great for those who are in them and actually have enough work to be full time. In addition, to address another group in society, we can empower service providers who are small business owners with state licensing boards to help them control their market segment and truly attain durable middle class living standards. We can have it all. What's not to love?

bzbarsky 11y ago
What's not to love is that money doesn't come from nowhere. So if we set up service providers with a way to prevent new entrants into the market, what that means is that they get monopoly-like control over pricing (because the simplest mechanism for fighting that is new market entrants) and then that means that everyone overpays for their services. Including the people who now discover that their $12 or $15 wage is still not enough. Or put another way, the technical term for "small business owners who control their market segment" is "cartel"...