3 ms·

If you hate the low skilled, then raising the minimum wage is an excellent idea, because it will prevent them from being gainfully employed.

TomGullen 5y ago
It's obviously a scale and a balancing act, because you can't be seriously arguing that any increase will force all unskilled labour into unemployment. So I suppose the argument is that some people think it's too low, some too high, and some just about right.
- codeguro 5y ago
  > you can't be seriously arguing that any increase will force all unskilled labour into unemployment Why not? If Peter's labor is only worth $X but minimum wage is raised to $X+5, a company can reasonably be expected to fire Peter. Now Peter is out of a job. Should I just take it on your word and evaluate policy based on its purported intent and not on the consequences?
  - AstralStorm 5y ago
    It cannot fire a guy or it'd have to quit business altogether as others would not be able to keep up. We've seen this problem in multiple cases - most often companies do not have sufficient spare workers to handle even a health issue, much less someone quitting. You're not evaluating it based on consequences but what you think would be potential consequences. Instead, run an experiment and see what actually happens. Actually don't, since we already have data that what you describe is not happening.
- baggy_trough 5y ago
  Not all, but the marginal ones. The larger the minimum wage, the more marginal workers are affected.
rdtwo 5y ago
No problems with job openings right now for low skilled labor just lots of companies that won’t pay market rate because it threatens their existing pool of below market rate workers
- codeguro 5y ago
  You don't get to unilaterally decide what qualifies as market rate.
  - stormbrew 5y ago
    Labor is not an efficient market, so the "market rate" is already -- and always -- distorted to begin with. Especially when your economy is built around approximate "full employment."
  - AstralStorm 5y ago
    For a sufficiently big company, or in an area of particular shortage of opportunities, you actually do - you're guaranteed someone will undercut themselves. Further, if a job is sometimes done by people "on the side" who have low income requirements. (Jobs seen as student jobs come to mind.)
  - rdtwo 5y ago
    Market rate is the pay rate of the last person hired. Assuming all people are equal and for the most part for big business they are. Everyone hired before was hired at the previous market rate. Similar to how you might have bought Apple stock for 50$ but now it’s worth significantly more at market rate
rs999gti 5y ago
Do other pay grades increase or just the bottom of the scale?

TomGullen 5y ago

It's obviously a scale and a balancing act, because you can't be seriously arguing that any increase will force all unskilled labour into unemployment. So I suppose the argument is that some people think it's too low, some too high, and some just about right.

codeguro 5y ago
> you can't be seriously arguing that any increase will force all unskilled labour into unemployment Why not? If Peter's labor is only worth $X but minimum wage is raised to $X+5, a company can reasonably be expected to fire Peter. Now Peter is out of a job. Should I just take it on your word and evaluate policy based on its purported intent and not on the consequences?
- AstralStorm 5y ago
  It cannot fire a guy or it'd have to quit business altogether as others would not be able to keep up. We've seen this problem in multiple cases - most often companies do not have sufficient spare workers to handle even a health issue, much less someone quitting. You're not evaluating it based on consequences but what you think would be potential consequences. Instead, run an experiment and see what actually happens. Actually don't, since we already have data that what you describe is not happening.
baggy_trough 5y ago
Not all, but the marginal ones. The larger the minimum wage, the more marginal workers are affected.

rdtwo 5y ago

No problems with job openings right now for low skilled labor just lots of companies that won’t pay market rate because it threatens their existing pool of below market rate workers

codeguro 5y ago
You don't get to unilaterally decide what qualifies as market rate.
- stormbrew 5y ago
  Labor is not an efficient market, so the "market rate" is already -- and always -- distorted to begin with. Especially when your economy is built around approximate "full employment."
- AstralStorm 5y ago
  For a sufficiently big company, or in an area of particular shortage of opportunities, you actually do - you're guaranteed someone will undercut themselves. Further, if a job is sometimes done by people "on the side" who have low income requirements. (Jobs seen as student jobs come to mind.)
- rdtwo 5y ago
  Market rate is the pay rate of the last person hired. Assuming all people are equal and for the most part for big business they are. Everyone hired before was hired at the previous market rate. Similar to how you might have bought Apple stock for 50$ but now it’s worth significantly more at market rate

rs999gti 5y ago

Do other pay grades increase or just the bottom of the scale?