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Did the WSJ really just report on the basic concept of supply and demand?

by habosa 2y ago

01HNNWZ0MV43FF 2y ago
The steelman argument for minimum wage is that it acts as collective bargaining for groups that are otherwise too big and too sparse to cooperate with each other. But yeah there's obviously a some point at which the returns are diminishing, e.g. if it was $100/hour nothing would get done. Legally at least.
- 4WIW 2y ago
  The flip side of minimum wage is often overlooked: people on the bottom end of the spectrum, who struggle to compete with other minimum-wagers, are cut out of the workforce. At $15 or $20/hour, the job requirements are higher than at $10/hour, and these folks stand no chance. Likewise, the low-end employers are priced out of the market. It's the same survival of fittest, except the weakest constituance is hurt most. They are very sparse so their voice is never heard.
  - paulmd 2y ago
    > It's the same survival of fittest, except the weakest constituance is hurt most. They are very sparse so their voice is never heard. their voice is heard to a disproportionate extent because there are entire companies like Walmart and really entire industries like food service that built a business model around being able to pay sub-living wages (usually with the difference made up by tax dollars or tips).
  - Balgair 2y ago
    In a few states you are allowed to pay people with 'severe' disabilities under minimum wage. The idea is to incentivize companies to hire these people for otherwise unprofitable work and mostly to get the disabled out of the house and earning some money that they otherwise would not. For example, most of the prescription glasses made in the US are made by blind people under such a scheme. Honestly, it sounds terribly exploitative. But, from what I understand, these schemes are mostly successful in that the disabled are happy with it along with the employers.
  - 01HNNWZ0MV43FF 2y ago
    Completely true. My former partner was at that bottom end. Wouldn't be a problem if we had ubi instead of minimum wage, but alas, voters don't want it
RhysU 2y ago
You'd be amazed how many people forget about supply and demand. Then those people are surprised by the perfectly predictable outcomes that they didn't intend.

Did the WSJ really just report on the basic concept of supply and demand?

by habosa 2y ago

Did the WSJ really just report on the basic concept of supply and demand?

The steelman argument for minimum wage is that it acts as collective bargaining for groups that are otherwise too big and too sparse to cooperate with each other. But yeah there's obviously a some point at which the returns are diminishing, e.g. if it was $100/hour nothing would get done. Legally at least.

4WIW 2y ago
The flip side of minimum wage is often overlooked: people on the bottom end of the spectrum, who struggle to compete with other minimum-wagers, are cut out of the workforce. At $15 or $20/hour, the job requirements are higher than at $10/hour, and these folks stand no chance. Likewise, the low-end employers are priced out of the market. It's the same survival of fittest, except the weakest constituance is hurt most. They are very sparse so their voice is never heard.
- paulmd 2y ago
  > It's the same survival of fittest, except the weakest constituance is hurt most. They are very sparse so their voice is never heard. their voice is heard to a disproportionate extent because there are entire companies like Walmart and really entire industries like food service that built a business model around being able to pay sub-living wages (usually with the difference made up by tax dollars or tips).
- Balgair 2y ago
  In a few states you are allowed to pay people with 'severe' disabilities under minimum wage. The idea is to incentivize companies to hire these people for otherwise unprofitable work and mostly to get the disabled out of the house and earning some money that they otherwise would not. For example, most of the prescription glasses made in the US are made by blind people under such a scheme. Honestly, it sounds terribly exploitative. But, from what I understand, these schemes are mostly successful in that the disabled are happy with it along with the employers.
- 01HNNWZ0MV43FF 2y ago
  Completely true. My former partner was at that bottom end. Wouldn't be a problem if we had ubi instead of minimum wage, but alas, voters don't want it

RhysU 2y ago

You'd be amazed how many people forget about supply and demand. Then those people are surprised by the perfectly predictable outcomes that they didn't intend.