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Why does america fight so hard against providing workers with fair wages? Don't you think your neighbours are worth even the minimum that is required to have a

• jacob019 9y ago
  It's hard to run a profitable business. For some of these services the choice may be between exploiting workers or not brokering work. American culture seems to worship convenience at this time. With the current environment of low unemployment and rising wages, I would expect there to be pressure on these services to increse pay, but how much will the market bear and how much do we want these services?
  • smt88 9y ago
    If my business relies on buying wood, cutting it, and selling it, but my customers won't pay a high enough price to cover my costs, what happens? I go out of business. There's no reason society should subsidize business models that don't work for unnecessary products.
    • jacob019 9y ago
      What is the nature of this subsidy?
      • dboreham 9y ago
        Tips
• ptero 9y ago
  America is not a subject with goals and will to execute. It is a collection of people of very different opinions. Where folks of similar opinions congregate, state laws often reflect their preferences. But to your point, many folks (myself included) think that laws should not stifle the jobs that cannot provide for a comfortable lifestyle alone. Such jobs can still provide value for society (occasional work for young / low skilled) and avoid driving the costs through the roof were it to be highly regulated. It is better to inform (so folks accepting jobs know what to expect) and educate / train (so that most folks have a short enough path to where they have more options than just minimum wage). For a more meaningful discussion, what do you define as a fair wage? Serious question as well...
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• closeparen 9y ago
  The premise of the question is wrong. American politicians across the political spectrum are obsessed with stimulating demand for labor and equipping workers for higher-productivity tasks, which is approximately the extent to which government can "provide" more dignified private-sector wages. For all their blunders, our median incomes are among the highest in the world, higher than in countries like France and Germany with more emphasis on minimum standards. The least dignified thing you can be in America is unemployed. So yes, we will let people have marginal jobs rather than having them subsist entirely on welfare. The second least dignified thing you can be in America is a renter. A dignified family owns a detached house with a generous backyard. Land is a zero-sum resource, and America's productive cities have reached their horizontal scaling limits. More labor productivity / higher wages only serve to further inflate real estate markets; the number of households enjoying dignified lifestyles cannot grow.