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>That could theoretically increase unemployment in some industries with razor thin margins, but it's far from a given. It's not a given when you're talking abo

by Aunche 6y ago

>That could theoretically increase unemployment in some industries with razor thin margins, but it's far from a given. It's not a given when you're talking about a small region like Seattle. However, increasing the minimum wage to the entire US would dramatically increase unemployment in the poorest areas. The minimum wage is why territories like American Samoa and Puerto Rico have the highest unemployment. Edit: changed Guam to American Samoa

dragonwriter 6y ago
> The minimum wage is why territories like Guam and Puerto Rico have the highest unemployment. But...they don't, even though Guam, unlike several states, has a higher minimum wage than the Federal level. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_unemployment_rate#Unemployment_rate_by_jurisdiction https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_terr...
- chrischen 6y ago
  Guam’s minimum wage is on the low side, about $1 higher than the federal minimum.
  - dragonwriter 6y ago
    > Guam’s minimum wage is on the low side, about $1 higher than the federal minimum. There are, if I counted right, 19 states and all other federal districts except DC and the Virgin Island at (well, below for American Samoa) the federal $7.25 level (American Samoa's level is also a federal level, but it's federally set lower than the rest of the US), and a few more states at the same level as Guam; so it's pretty close to the middle, not really much on the low side.
- Aunche 6y ago
  I must have been thinking about another territory rather than Guam. It looks like unemployment was counted before the pandemic for the US territories and after the pandemic for states.
gamblor956 6y ago
Puerto Rico has structural issues related to endemic corruption that discourages business investment, and that is why companies generally avoid doing business there despite the very generous tax incentives for doing business in Puerto Rico. PR's minimum wage has very little to do with it, except for being a convenient scapegoat.
- Aunche 6y ago
  Corruption that discourages investments is one side of the high unemployment. The other side is tiny businesses that can't even afford to pay minimum wage. They're allowed to pay less than the federal minimum wage if they're sufficiently tiny, but that means that they can't expand.

by Aunche 6y ago

dragonwriter 6y ago

> The minimum wage is why territories like Guam and Puerto Rico have the highest unemployment. But...they don't, even though Guam, unlike several states, has a higher minimum wage than the Federal level. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_territories_by_unemployment_rate#Unemployment_rate_by_jurisdiction https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_and_terr...

chrischen 6y ago
Guam’s minimum wage is on the low side, about $1 higher than the federal minimum.
- dragonwriter 6y ago
  > Guam’s minimum wage is on the low side, about $1 higher than the federal minimum. There are, if I counted right, 19 states and all other federal districts except DC and the Virgin Island at (well, below for American Samoa) the federal $7.25 level (American Samoa's level is also a federal level, but it's federally set lower than the rest of the US), and a few more states at the same level as Guam; so it's pretty close to the middle, not really much on the low side.
Aunche 6y ago
I must have been thinking about another territory rather than Guam. It looks like unemployment was counted before the pandemic for the US territories and after the pandemic for states.

gamblor956 6y ago

Puerto Rico has structural issues related to endemic corruption that discourages business investment, and that is why companies generally avoid doing business there despite the very generous tax incentives for doing business in Puerto Rico. PR's minimum wage has very little to do with it, except for being a convenient scapegoat.

Aunche 6y ago
Corruption that discourages investments is one side of the high unemployment. The other side is tiny businesses that can't even afford to pay minimum wage. They're allowed to pay less than the federal minimum wage if they're sufficiently tiny, but that means that they can't expand.