TheRealMafoo said:
SamuelRSmith said:
TheRealMafoo said:
I am still floored that the UK has different minimum wadges for age groups. The only reason you set a minimum wage, is because you want to set a value on someones time. That there life is worth at least a minimum in value.
Why does the UK think its kids are less valuable then its adults? |
First of all, the minimum wage is set to make sure everybody gets a wage to live on. Kids have less things to worry about (mortgages, bills, etc), and so they don't need to have a minimum wage as high.
Secondly, the Government is doing as much as possible to make kids stay in education for as long as possible, by making the benefits of working lower, the person is more likely to go onto college/university.
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But in a time where adults need any job they can find, kids take the entire low end labor work force, because why hire an adults when you can get cheaper labor?
You say adults need more money to live on, yet you’re giving them less opportunity to earn it.
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Bearing in mind that the minimum wage legislation was set way before the recession (1997), and that the areas that kids usually field (shop workers), haven't been hit as hard by the recession as other areas (main sources of unemployment being financial and manufacturing).
However, I agree that during times of recession, the minimum wages should be brought closer together, and the adults perhaps even lowered slightly - as to help increase employment.
