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Even though he was talking about minimum wage, Walter Williams line is apropos: "People think minimum wage is an anti-poverty measure, but this doesn't pass the
by tux1968 6y ago
Even though he was talking about minimum wage, Walter Williams line is apropos: "People think minimum wage is an anti-poverty measure, but this doesn't pass the smell test. If it did, our state department could stop all foreign aid, they could instead say to all those countries, if you want to be as rich as us, simply set a minimum wage for all your workers!"
Edit: He repeated this line in a documentary about him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZGvQcxoAPg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZGvQcxoAPg
- karpierz 6y agoI'm confused, how does that show minimum wage is not an anti-poverty measure? Doesn't that just indicate it's an anti-poverty measure for wealthier nation's?
- tux1968 6y agoI suppose it's not an ironclad refutation of the idea, but I think it does suggest minimum wage isn't the magic bullet one might hope. If it doesn't work for a poor country, you had better be able to explain very convincingly why it will work for a rich one, and not turn it into a poor one instead. And also explain, why the techniques used to go from a poor country to a rich one... must then be abandoned at some point.