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That unemployment pay is more attractive than working says a lot about prevailing wages. If unemployment covers rent and working does not, why in the hell would

That unemployment pay is more attractive than working says a lot about prevailing wages. If unemployment covers rent and working does not, why in the hell would any rational person want to work? And why should employers think they shouldn't have to compete with that?

dublin 5y ago
Remember, as Thomas Sowell has correctly pointed out, the true minimum wage is always ZERO. I'm advising a smallish manufacturer now whose goal (as a response to minimum wage and other govt regulation) is to eliminate ALL of their employees, through both automation and outsourcing. I've seen the numbers, and this takes them from barely profitable in a good economy to marginally profitable even in a fairly down economy. They will not survive another downturn if they don't do this, so all the jobs will be gone soon, anyway. This isn't what they want to do, but what they must do, especially with no barrier to Chinese cheating in the market. Policy has consequences, and right now, most of our government policies are actually arguing against creating (or even maintaining) jobs.
- benlivengood 5y ago
  Has Thomas Sowell talked to any panhandlers lately? I'd say the floor on minimum wage is at least $3/Hr if one can sit on a curb with cardboard and earn that much.
  - rdtwo 5y ago
    Panhandling is way more profitable than that. I’d estimate they earn 30-50 an hour in Seattle
    - WalterGR 5y ago
      How are you making that estimate?
      - rdtwo 5y ago
        Extrapolate out of how often I see folks giving money out on my way home at the same intersection (around 1/4) times for a 2 minute wait. With what looks to be more than a dollar worth of sponsorship for the panhandlers habit
    - benlivengood 5y ago
      I was estimating the floor in 99% of the country and not just the big cities because labor costs are very regional.
leopaacc 5y ago
Part of the problem is that the high unemployment premiums are coming from via the stimulus packages which will probably end at some point. In the meantime more businesses will go bankrupt or close doors. So yeah, it's rational for the employee to sit things out, but the market is distorted

dublin 5y ago

Remember, as Thomas Sowell has correctly pointed out, the true minimum wage is always ZERO. I'm advising a smallish manufacturer now whose goal (as a response to minimum wage and other govt regulation) is to eliminate ALL of their employees, through both automation and outsourcing. I've seen the numbers, and this takes them from barely profitable in a good economy to marginally profitable even in a fairly down economy. They will not survive another downturn if they don't do this, so all the jobs will be gone soon, anyway. This isn't what they want to do, but what they must do, especially with no barrier to Chinese cheating in the market. Policy has consequences, and right now, most of our government policies are actually arguing against creating (or even maintaining) jobs.

benlivengood 5y ago
Has Thomas Sowell talked to any panhandlers lately? I'd say the floor on minimum wage is at least $3/Hr if one can sit on a curb with cardboard and earn that much.
- rdtwo 5y ago
  Panhandling is way more profitable than that. I’d estimate they earn 30-50 an hour in Seattle
  - WalterGR 5y ago
    How are you making that estimate?
    - rdtwo 5y ago
      Extrapolate out of how often I see folks giving money out on my way home at the same intersection (around 1/4) times for a 2 minute wait. With what looks to be more than a dollar worth of sponsorship for the panhandlers habit
  - benlivengood 5y ago
    I was estimating the floor in 99% of the country and not just the big cities because labor costs are very regional.

leopaacc 5y ago

Part of the problem is that the high unemployment premiums are coming from via the stimulus packages which will probably end at some point. In the meantime more businesses will go bankrupt or close doors. So yeah, it's rational for the employee to sit things out, but the market is distorted