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Before there was minimum wage established in the US there was this job of pump attendant. Pump attendant was someone who would pump your gas into your car. Thes

Before there was minimum wage established in the US there was this job of pump attendant. Pump attendant was someone who would pump your gas into your car. These were jobs that paid next to nothing. These jobs disappeared almost immediately after the minimal wage law was enacted. Now, think about it. A 16-year old would come to the gas station after school and pump gas for (let's say) 2usd/hour. But he would also learn other skills. At that time there were also body shops/car mechanics at the gas station. Because they could use cheap 2usd/hr labor of this kid. And the kid could learn car mechanics. After finishing school the kid could be actually pretty good mechanic. Go there on the job market nad having this real-life experience demand 7usd/hr job of a car mechanic. That was also a time that unemployment rate among the young was the lowest out of all the age groups. Soon after the minimal wage law was enacted the unemployment rate among the young started to be the highest among all ages group. Not only that, but also there is no one to help you at the gas pump today in the US. There are no car mechanics at the gas stations too. These people are permanently unemployed. Because 16 year old after school isn't worth the current minimal wage. He's worth half of it. He could be worth the minimal wage enacted by the Government after 6 months experience while he would be paid market rate as gas pump attendant. But that's illegal now. It's illegal to hire him, pay him and let him grow to better position. He is permanently unemployed now. Maybe for years. Again, the unemployment rate among the young is the highest among all group ages. Before the minimal wage law it was the lowest. But socialism isn't about letting people who want to work, work. About letting them grow and prosper in their future. It is about permanent ruin. 60% of people below the age of 30 in Spain are unemployed. The country is doomed because of socialism. And doesn't even get it.

jswinghammer 13y ago
Amusingly that job still exists in my neighborhood of Boston for reasons that I cannot explain. I suspect there may be a law about it but I'm not certain.
- LekkoscPiwa 13y ago
  In New Jersey it is illegal for you to fill up the gas on your own. It has to be done by the pump attendant. That's the law. Not sure about Boston ;-) It might be that it makes business sense for the owner to have pump attendant at the rate or above of the minimal wage. Which is nice.
VLM 13y ago
One problem with the bootstrap argument is it ignores the pyramid. So there's 5 pump attendants and one of them has the brains, motivation, luck, family connections, whatever to get promoted to be the next $7 car mechanic. Well that's just awesome for that one kid... and what is your proposal for the other four, let them eat cake? Wait for the local version of "arab spring", let the cops shoot them, hire the next batch, repeat? Soylent Green? "It's illegal to hire him, pay him and let him grow to better position." That's ridiculous. Managers take chances on noobs all the time, especially at the lower levels. "Again, the unemployment rate among the young is the highest among all group ages" Hello Arab Spring, coming soon to a failed state near you. Historically a graph with a y-axis of "desperate angry unemployed young men" tends to peak around revolutions and upheavals. The future is on a path that is aimed much more toward France in the 1790s than USA in the 1950s. There are probably startup implications to this trend toward inequality for awhile, then revolution.
- LekkoscPiwa 13y ago
  > So there's 5 pump attendants and one of them has the brains, motivation, luck, family connections, whatever to get promoted to be the next $7 car mechanic. They all move on. Not necessarily to become car mechanics. The other one could be helping at the cash register at times, yet another one help to put merchandise on the shelves. Yet another one hand-wash cars. The fallacy of socialism is pointed out by you exactly: you think that 80% of people (4 out of 5) are idiots who can't do better in life and need the Government protection. Then Government comes along introduces a law that makes 80% of them unemployed, hence the proof that more Government in needed! > "It's illegal to hire him, pay him and let him grow to better position." > That's ridiculous. Managers take chances on noobs all the time, especially at the lower levels. It gets better than that. There are free internships. You can get them for free - 0usd per hour, you can get them for 7usd/hr. But to give them employment at market price? Illegal! Genius! >"Again, the unemployment rate among the young is the highest among all group ages" >Hello Arab Spring, coming soon to a failed state near you. Like Spain. Or Greece. Or some other place where socialists Governed for the past 50 years. Like... failed arabian states. Learn your history. They all have been socialist. That's why failing. From Saddam to Mubarak. >Historically a graph with a y-axis of "desperate angry unemployed young men" tends to peak around revolutions and upheavals. The future is on a path that is aimed much more toward France in the 1790s than USA in the 1950s. There are probably startup implications to this trend toward inequality for awhile, then revolution. Well, yeah. Guess what. If you forbid people to work, and kill businesses (places where they go to work), all you will end up with is violence.

jswinghammer 13y ago

Amusingly that job still exists in my neighborhood of Boston for reasons that I cannot explain. I suspect there may be a law about it but I'm not certain.

LekkoscPiwa 13y ago
In New Jersey it is illegal for you to fill up the gas on your own. It has to be done by the pump attendant. That's the law. Not sure about Boston ;-) It might be that it makes business sense for the owner to have pump attendant at the rate or above of the minimal wage. Which is nice.

VLM 13y ago

One problem with the bootstrap argument is it ignores the pyramid. So there's 5 pump attendants and one of them has the brains, motivation, luck, family connections, whatever to get promoted to be the next $7 car mechanic. Well that's just awesome for that one kid... and what is your proposal for the other four, let them eat cake? Wait for the local version of "arab spring", let the cops shoot them, hire the next batch, repeat? Soylent Green? "It's illegal to hire him, pay him and let him grow to better position." That's ridiculous. Managers take chances on noobs all the time, especially at the lower levels. "Again, the unemployment rate among the young is the highest among all group ages" Hello Arab Spring, coming soon to a failed state near you. Historically a graph with a y-axis of "desperate angry unemployed young men" tends to peak around revolutions and upheavals. The future is on a path that is aimed much more toward France in the 1790s than USA in the 1950s. There are probably startup implications to this trend toward inequality for awhile, then revolution.

LekkoscPiwa 13y ago
> So there's 5 pump attendants and one of them has the brains, motivation, luck, family connections, whatever to get promoted to be the next $7 car mechanic. They all move on. Not necessarily to become car mechanics. The other one could be helping at the cash register at times, yet another one help to put merchandise on the shelves. Yet another one hand-wash cars. The fallacy of socialism is pointed out by you exactly: you think that 80% of people (4 out of 5) are idiots who can't do better in life and need the Government protection. Then Government comes along introduces a law that makes 80% of them unemployed, hence the proof that more Government in needed! > "It's illegal to hire him, pay him and let him grow to better position." > That's ridiculous. Managers take chances on noobs all the time, especially at the lower levels. It gets better than that. There are free internships. You can get them for free - 0usd per hour, you can get them for 7usd/hr. But to give them employment at market price? Illegal! Genius! >"Again, the unemployment rate among the young is the highest among all group ages" >Hello Arab Spring, coming soon to a failed state near you. Like Spain. Or Greece. Or some other place where socialists Governed for the past 50 years. Like... failed arabian states. Learn your history. They all have been socialist. That's why failing. From Saddam to Mubarak. >Historically a graph with a y-axis of "desperate angry unemployed young men" tends to peak around revolutions and upheavals. The future is on a path that is aimed much more toward France in the 1790s than USA in the 1950s. There are probably startup implications to this trend toward inequality for awhile, then revolution. Well, yeah. Guess what. If you forbid people to work, and kill businesses (places where they go to work), all you will end up with is violence.