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As a reminder, minimum wage is not what the government sets it at, it's zero ($0). If a company doesn't feel they get enough value out of hiring someone for a

by kyrra 3y ago

As a reminder, minimum wage is not what the government sets it at, it's zero ($0). If a company doesn't feel they get enough value out of hiring someone for a position for the government mandated minimum wage, they just won't hire that person. Thomas Sowell makes this point regularly in his books. Here's some related points on minimum wage laws: https://www.aei.org/economics/thomas-sowell-on-the-cruelty-of-minimum-wage-laws/ https://www.aei.org/economics/thomas-sowell-on-the-cruelty-o...

drawkward 3y ago
As a reminder, no one who uses the term "minimum wage" (aside from perhaps some academics and those who like to sound superior to others) means what Mr. Sowell means.
xpressvideoz 3y ago
By that logic, every operating expense and capital expenditure is also zero, because if it doesn't make money, a company won't purchase anything.
- kyrra 3y ago
  Maybe I'm missing something, but I agree? Business ideas regularly don't happen because it's to expensive to operate in a given field. Children's toys and equipment is an example. They have lots of regulation around requirements for recall procedures and product registration that add a lot of operational overhead for launching products in that space. Many businesses shy away from it because of those expenses, making it so certain ideas will never materialize there. Sometimes these kinds of regulations are good, sometimes they are not, but they are always limiting and the regulation steers the decisions private businesses will make.
Vegenoid 3y ago
This definition is trivial, pedantic, and I would say incorrect. If someone isn't employed, their wage isn't $0 - they simply do not have a wage. 0 != null There is an argument to made that minimum wage laws reduce employability of low-skill employees. While many people will already come into that argument with some disdain and hostility, starting the argument with "As a reminder, the minimum wage is actually $0" is a surefire way to raise hackles.

by kyrra 3y ago

drawkward 3y ago

As a reminder, no one who uses the term "minimum wage" (aside from perhaps some academics and those who like to sound superior to others) means what Mr. Sowell means.

xpressvideoz 3y ago

By that logic, every operating expense and capital expenditure is also zero, because if it doesn't make money, a company won't purchase anything.

kyrra 3y ago
Maybe I'm missing something, but I agree? Business ideas regularly don't happen because it's to expensive to operate in a given field. Children's toys and equipment is an example. They have lots of regulation around requirements for recall procedures and product registration that add a lot of operational overhead for launching products in that space. Many businesses shy away from it because of those expenses, making it so certain ideas will never materialize there. Sometimes these kinds of regulations are good, sometimes they are not, but they are always limiting and the regulation steers the decisions private businesses will make.

Vegenoid 3y ago

This definition is trivial, pedantic, and I would say incorrect. If someone isn't employed, their wage isn't $0 - they simply do not have a wage. 0 != null There is an argument to made that minimum wage laws reduce employability of low-skill employees. While many people will already come into that argument with some disdain and hostility, starting the argument with "As a reminder, the minimum wage is actually $0" is a surefire way to raise hackles.