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it would certainly be curious if nobody made <$15/hr yet there was so much noise about it.
by hnbroseph 10y ago
it would certainly be curious if nobody made <$15/hr yet there was so much noise about it.
- AnthonyMouse 10y agoMinimum wage is traditional special interest politics. The benefits are concentrated (the specific people who make minimum wage and don't lose their jobs get a raise) but the costs are distributed (things cost more for everyone, higher unemployment). Suppose you raise minimum wage by 10% and as a result 9 people get a 10% raise and one person loses their job. Well, you just got yourself 9 votes at the cost of one, even though the net result across those ten people is negative. And the net result across all people is even worse because now people have to pay higher prices for things, but those costs are too widely distributed to change anyone's vote. So raising the minimum wage (or having one at all) will tend to have more political support than it can justify on the merits.