The Minimum Wage: Putting Some Myths to Rest

[Karee 4,190]

Supported by unions, physicians, and consumer groups, a very progressive piece of legislation is now making its way to the California legislature. The proposed regulation would fine employers like Walmart up to $6000 for every full-time employee that registers for California’s version of Medicaid, Medi-Cal.

Looks like some full-time workers are about to get their hours cut.

[Bugs 455]

Times change.

Not in that regard. The only thing that has really changed is the profit expectation of large corporations.

[Karee 4,190]

Not in that regard. The only thing that has really changed is the profit expectation of large corporations.

How about global competition?

[GandD 5,966]

How about global competition?

To the point that countries now compete to purposely devalue their currency. Ugh.

[Karee 4,190]

To the point that countries now compete to purposely devalue their currency. Ugh.

The only country that I'm aware of that has held even with the U.S. dollar is China. Of course China's currency is maintained at artificial levels by the govt. there. The rest of the world's major currencies have risen dramatically against the USD in the past few years. When I was living in Quebec in 2002, I was getting 1.6 CAD to 1 USD. Now it's pretty much even. Glad I got out of there when I did.

[GandD 5,966]

The rest of the world's major currencies have risen dramatically against the USD in the past few years.

Yeah, now they're trying to fix that:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-12/u-s-to-press-japan-to-refrain-from-competitive-devaluation.html

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

But they haven't remained stagnant across the board. Only lower income wages have lagged.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/13/news/economy/minimum-wage-countries/index.html

So we're almost there. We're winning. The race to the bottom, that is. We only have to push below one more country and we will have won the race to the bottom!

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

I don't think the minimum wage is the approach to take for fixing what is affectively a broken capitalist system - it will create inflation. I think it needs to occur from the top down through taxation. Call me a socialist, but if you tax the upper salaries more heavily it will naturally create a pay ceiling that will trickle down and benefit labor. When you look at charts and graphs of the 20th century you can see that as taxation was lowered, pay became more unequal. I'm even for making corporate taxes less and offsetting via income taxes.

The US already has a progressive tax system. The so-called Bush tax cuts made the tax system even more progressive.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

There was a time 50 years ago when, if you had a job, any job, you could support your family with it. This alone should be proof that setting a wage standard does not destroy an economy.

You also made do with one car you kept for ten or twenty years, kids rode bicycles and played in the streets, one black and white tv, a swamp cooler in the summer, one rotary telephone, and a doctor that made house calls prescribing codeine syrup and mineral oil for everything that ailed you. People read books, magazines, newspapers, or went outside and talked to each other, without the use of social media. Milk was delivered to your door daily, and the baker and ice cream man each make at least one pass through the neighborhood each day. Salesmen were known to call on lonely housewives while their husbands were at work.

Edited June 7, 2013 by The Patriot

[RGinWA 816]

So we're almost there. We're winning. The race to the bottom, that is. We only have to push below one more country and we will have won the race to the bottom!

Surely America can wipe the proverbial floor with China. We should hit bottom soon.

We're not communist for heavens sake!

[Bugs 455]

You also made do with one car you kept for ten or twenty years, kids rode bicycles and played in the streets, one black and white tv, a swamp cooler in the summer, one rotary telephone, and a doctor that made house calls prescribing codeine syrup and mineral oil for everything that ailed you. People read books, magazines, newspapers, or went outside and talked to each other, without the use of social media. Milk was delivered to your door daily, and the baker and ice cream man each make at least one pass through the neighborhood each day. Salesmen were known to call on lonely housewives while their husbands were at work.

What does any of this have to do with the fact that if you worked you could support your family?

[Bugs 455]

How about global competition?

That's a good point about having to compete with piss poor wages elsewhere for production. We may raise the minimum wage to a respectable level here, but then jobs could just ship overseas to allow companies to maintain their profits. I don't know what the solution for that would be other than to place restrictions on that as well.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Paid slavery is the answer.

Pay the slave just enough to get by, have them use state assistance for food and healthcare to supplement their lack of income, reap billions in profits and then blame the slave for not getting non-slave wage employment?

Wait, that's Walmart's business model...strike that.

You forgot that you also need to complain loudly that the slave doesn't pay any income taxes.

[Karee 4,190]

That's a good point about having to compete with piss poor wages elsewhere for production. We may raise the minimum wage to a respectable level here, but then jobs could just ship overseas to allow companies to maintain their profits. I don't know what the solution for that would be other than to place restrictions on that as well.

That's pretty much already happened. People need to stop living in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Most of those jobs are gone, and they aint coming back.

People need to look towards the future. Sitting around talking about how great union jobs were in the past, isn't going to put food on the table in the present

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

What does any of this have to do with the fact that if you worked you could support your family?

It was easier to support your family when your perceived needs were less.