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You shouldn't get your news from corporate media. Corporate media don't like unions because they fight for living wages which cut profits from the few who bene
by krek 13y ago
You shouldn't get your news from corporate media. Corporate media don't like unions because they fight for living wages which cut profits from the few who benefit from them.
- qwerty888 13y agoEconomists don't like protectionist unions. Who determines a "living wage"? Should someone working as a cashier in Walmart be able to afford an apartment in Manhattan?
- reader5000 13y ago"Living wage" is a pretty common economic concept. Feel free to google it.
- qwerty888 13y agoI'm actually an economist and the term is only used by non-economists.
- reader5000 13y agoI'm actually an economist and I use it all the time.
- CleanedStar 13y ago> Economists don't like protectionist unions. He who pays the piper calls the tune.
- qwerty888 13y agoWhat peer-reviewed research paper are you citing for your claim?
- krapp 13y agoSomeone working as a cashier in Walmart should be able to afford shelter, food, and necessary non-emergency medical expenses. A 'living wage' is just that -- I work for you, you pay me at least enough to survive employment. What that amounts to, obviously, depends on the standard of living in any particular area.
- qwerty888 13y agoSo minimum wage in Manhattan should be set at $50/hour?
- krapp 13y agoIf it's impossible to survive in (or on, whatever) Manhattan for less than that, then yes. But I suspect there's a more flexible reality to the market than your question implies, given that people there already work for less than that and aren't dying in the streets as a result. A minimum wage just means you can't decide one day that sales are down and now everyone makes 2 cents an hour to cover costs [1]. It means there should be an implicit minimum cost to maintaining a human workforce, because people need to eat. [1]obviously not an economist
- smileysteve 13y agoNo,because rent in Harlem (a few train stops away) requires less to live on.
- artsrc 13y agoIf there is 1 adult with 3 children it is close: $41.91 http://livingwage.mit.edu/places/3606151000 http://livingwage.mit.edu/places/3606151000
- ams6110 13y agoIf Wal-Mart had to pay a "living wage" (and who defines what that is? Certainly not the worker.) they would not exist. You may think that's good, or bad, but most of the Wal-Mart jobs would not exist at all if they were forced to pay an artificially high wage to their employees.
- reader5000 13y agoThere's no such thing as an "artificially high" wage. If a union can demand higher wages then those are the natural wages.
- artsrc 13y ago> and who defines what that is? In Australia in the past there was a national industrial court that did this. In Germany regular courts did something similar. Courts are expensive, so why not use a computer program from MIT: http://livingwage.mit.edu http://livingwage.mit.edu > most of the Wal-Mart jobs would not exist at all if they were forced to pay an artificially high wage to their employees People would still buy things. Something like this happens: > With minimum wage laws, the increased costs are passed to employers who in turn charge consumers higher prices if possible. Faced with higher prices, consumers purchase fewer goods thus leading to a redistribution .... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_wage#Impact http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_wage#Impact > forced to pay an artificially high wage And who says the wage is artificially high? Maybe it would be the market rate if market power was more equal.
- epmatsw 13y agoIsn't it by definition artificially high if you have to enact a law to enforce it? I mean, if it wasn't artificial, that would already be the wage...
- artsrc 13y agoBy artificial I mean "different from a market outcome". There is quite clearly an asymmetry in information and market power between Wal-Mart and individual employees. This will inevitably lead to artificially low wages. So raising them with a law will return them to a free market level, where free market implies complete information, interchangeable goods and services, and lack of market power