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Forums - Politics Discussion - Is raising minimum wage nationwide a horrible idea?

phaedruss on 01 July 2014
Puppyroach said:
Isn't it true that the minimum wage hasn't grown proportional to the economys growth during the last 50 years or so? If it had followed the general growth of the economy, the effect wouldn't be visible. This is a way to raise it and then maybe locking it to GDP. In Sweden we don't have minimum wage, but something called collective wage agreements between unions and representatives of the business sector. Every country has different methods I suppose.


I hadn't heard of that, but that sounds like somewhat of a better system, though certainly not perfect. It seems like it could be closer to approximating what the market might land on as the appropriate wage at any given time. Certainly, it's not dynamic enough to completely arrive at a market wage, but it's something.



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MDMAlliance on 01 July 2014




exdeath on 01 July 2014

So what about people who went to school, got certifications, etc who are making $15 an hour already? Do they go up to $25 an hour so everything stays even and fair?



MDMAlliance on 01 July 2014
exdeath said:

So what about people who went to school, got certifications, etc who are making $15 an hour already? Do they go up to $25 an hour so everything stays even and fair?


Do you mean high school or college?  And the market would most likely adjust accordingly on its own.  (If you meant college btw, I think $15 is a really low payment for a degree).



Puppyroach on 01 July 2014
phaedruss said:
Puppyroach said:
Isn't it true that the minimum wage hasn't grown proportional to the economys growth during the last 50 years or so? If it had followed the general growth of the economy, the effect wouldn't be visible. This is a way to raise it and then maybe locking it to GDP. In Sweden we don't have minimum wage, but something called collective wage agreements between unions and representatives of the business sector. Every country has different methods I suppose.


I hadn't heard of that, but that sounds like somewhat of a better system, though certainly not perfect. It seems like it could be closer to approximating what the market might land on as the appropriate wage at any given time. Certainly, it's not dynamic enough to completely arrive at a market wage, but it's something.

Yeah, it is by no means perfect, but the good thing is that it creates a closer relationship between unions and businesses and is selfadjusting in alot of ways.



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NobleTeam360 on 01 July 2014
exdeath said:

So what about people who went to school, got certifications, etc who are making $15 an hour already? Do they go up to $25 an hour so everything stays even and fair?

Ummmm, if you got a bachelors degree and you're only earning 15 bucks an hour then that degree was a waste of money and time. (Not talking about you personally,just in general)



phaedruss on 01 July 2014
MDMAlliance said:
exdeath said:

So what about people who went to school, got certifications, etc who are making $15 an hour already? Do they go up to $25 an hour so everything stays even and fair?


Do you mean high school or college?  And the market would most likely adjust accordingly on its own.  (If you meant college btw, I think $15 is a really low payment for a degree).


So the market would adjust accordingly in that situation but not the other? Why is that?

 

Also: to the person above-have you seen the college graduate employment statistics?



catofellow on 01 July 2014

I do not believe it possible to predict the impact of a raise in the minimum wage. Here are the direct impacts

Bad
- Some businesses will close down rather than pay increased wages
- Some businesses will increase prices or reduce production to offset the rise in labor costs
- Some services currently offered will be eliminated (classic example, shoe shiner)
- Some workers above the minimum wage will experience a decrease in wages or slower pay increases
- There will an increase in black market labor activity (pay "under the table", illegal immigrants, etc.)
- Some employees will lose their job


Good
- Workers at the minimum wage will get raises
- Workers earning the higher minimum wage will increase consumption
- Workers earning the higher minimum wage will become more productive
- Service will improve in industries will minimum wage earners
- The children of minimum wage earners will be healthier and perform better academically
- Some workers may enter the labor market that otherwise wouldn't

There is no legitimate economic study I am aware of that can quantify these impacts.

If raising the minimum wage is a bad idea, luckily inflation will fix it over time. It is not really a hot button issue for me.



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phaedruss on 01 July 2014
catofellow said:
I do not believe it possible to predict the impact of a raise in the minimum wage. Here are the direct impacts

Bad
- Some businesses will close down rather than pay increased wages
- Some businesses will increase prices or reduce production to offset the rise in labor costs
- Some services currently offered will be eliminated (classic example, shoe shiner)
- Some workers above the minimum wage will experience a decrease in wages or slower pay increases
- There will an increase in black market labor activity (pay "under the table", illegal immigrants, etc.)
- Some employees will lose their job


Good
- Workers at the minimum wage will get raises
- Workers earning the higher minimum wage will increase consumption
- Workers earning the higher minimum wage will become more productive
- Service will improve in industries will minimum wage earners
- The children of minimum wage earners will be healthier and perform better academically
- Some workers may enter the labor market that otherwise wouldn't

There is no legitimate economic study I am aware of that can quantify these impacts.

If raising the minimum wage is a bad idea, luckily inflation will fix it over time. It is not really a hot button issue for me.


How will inflation fix it over time? It will just necessitate another minimum wage increase if anything.



NobleTeam360 on 01 July 2014
phaedruss said:
MDMAlliance said:


Do you mean high school or college?  And the market would most likely adjust accordingly on its own.  (If you meant college btw, I think $15 is a really low payment for a degree).


So the market would adjust accordingly in that situation but not the other? Why is that?

 

Also: to the person above-have you seen the college graduate employment statistics?

Nope, but from what I hear a lot of graduates don't even get jobs in the field they went to college for.