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Can you name a single country that has a completely free labour market? You won't find a single one where the government hasn't erected a barrier of entry (visa
by yardie 17y ago
Can you name a single country that has a completely free labour market? You won't find a single one where the government hasn't erected a barrier of entry (visa requirements). The eurozone has probably the closest thing to a free labour market (they've extended the barriers to include most EC members). But if you are an American try getting a work permit in China, India, Mexico, the UK or Canada without having met the visa requirements first.
Yes I stand by my statement that immigration (especially the illegal kind) distorts the free market.
> the job is not worth doing for the higher price.
If the job is not worth doing then you have a decision to make don't you. I buy lots of things in a free market. Sometimes the price isn't worth it, a free market allows me to make that decision.
But we don't even have that kind of free market. I'm restricted to making most of my purchases in the country I reside. I could buy it cheaper in another country, but the government has erected another barrier (tariffs). Free markets should apply equally to everything, goods and labour. But at the moment they don't. I can't do the work cheaper than someone in Mexico because the price of goods are higher, the taxes are higher, and living costs are higher. I could compete in the Mexican market, but I'm not allowed to move there.
- foldr 17y agoMost of what you're saying here (that existing markets are not 100% free) is obvious and uncontroversial, but does nothing to back up your claim that the free movement of labor "distorts" free markets. >Can you name a single country that has a completely free labour market? No, in large part because they all have restrictions on immigration. >Yes I stand by my statement that immigration (especially the illegal kind) distorts the free market. Maybe you should actually explain this statement instead of just standing by it. The term "free" in "free market" generally refers to the absence of external regulation, so it is odd to say that strict regulation of the labor market makes the market less free. >If the job is not worth doing then you have a decision to make don't you. I buy lots of things in a free market. Sometimes the price isn't worth it, a free market allows me to make that decision. Yes, that's exactly what I said in my previous post. Why are you copying it back to me?