With the republicans in power prior to the elections this year, a bill to raise the minimum wage really never got to the senate's floor. But now, it might. What are your views on raising the minimum wage? I'm strictly against it. IMO, the idea to raise it is just short-mindedness: "Oh, raise it! People get more money! Less poverty!" Look beyond the short term: if minimum wage goes up, how do business owners compensate for the extra expense? They raise prices. And we all love it when prices go up, because... "People get more money! Less poverty!" And we need to look beyond that. What happens when prices go up? People need to put more in their budget for necessities like food and clothing... and take the cut with other things. Besides, who are the people that work for minimum wage? Generally, those that are *lazy*. Of course, anybody that doesn't like to hear that will defend the point, saying "what about the school students??" - well, there are exceptions, but very few students I know work even for minimum wage. Those who do get Fs in all their classes because they don't want to DO any work. It's these same people that take money that WE give them through welfare simply because they don't want to go to work each day, or get a job. But, we need to raise the minimum wage, because... "People get more money! Less poverty!" And we ALL know that it's the right thing.
When I was in HS nearly every kid who was responsible was working a job to earn money for themselves. Is it that different in the US? The kids with part time jobs are failures? Hmm... I don't think so. You're generalizing way too much in my opinion. Back on subject though, I think the world would be a better place if the CEOs of these "minimum wage jobs" had the gall to pay their workers proper compensation. They do all of the labour and get next to nothing in return. It's exploitation.
Raising minimum wage would not decrease poverty. It would cause aggregate demand to go up and have no effect on the well being of the people.
Kind of depends on when you went to high school, I guess. I only speak from experience I've had: those I know that get F's in their classes also have jobs at minimum wage, or don't have a job at all. I'm not saying that kids with part-time jobs are failures, I'm just saying that kids who don't do well in school, generally don't do well in their job either, and don't care about not being lazy. You're paraphrasing my words a bit too much. But do they really do all of the work? How come they haven't gotten a raise yet? And how come, if they DO do good enough a job, they haven't asked for one, or even demanded one if it really came down to it? Obviously they know their work isn't worth it... like I said, because they're lazy or just don't care... why should they get compensation?
Those are some good questions, and I'll admit I'm not educated in economics or business so this is just a guess, but I'd imagine that the reason they don't ask for a raise is because there are 20 other people waiting to take their job, and even after that 10 illegal workers willing to work for even less. I'm not sure if that's a fair image though, when I was working at Pizza Hut during HS, I asked for a raise after about a year and the manager was eager to give me one. I live in Canada though, I'm not sure if it's comparable to minimum wage work in the US.
Raising minimum wage increases production costs. Either people lose jobs or prices go up. If businesses wanted to spend more more of their earnings on wages they'd give people raises. If people lose jobs then welfare costs go up. When production costs go up, prices go up. The cost of living then goes up and that minimum wage hike was for nothing. When Clinton raised the minimum wage 10 years ago less people were technically poor. And here we are again. Minimum wage is not intended (nor was it ever intended) to be a living wage. It was simply to prevent sweat shops. If people want to work for $3 an hour or less I say let them. Peter Piper Pizza started paying a minimum of $7 an hour. Not because of the government but because of competition from other businesses paying more. The hardworking teenagers left PPP and went to other businesses. That was more than 6 years ago. This minimum wage hike in AZ is still less than they start people out at. The price of their food has gone up as well but not the quality.
I'm not a fan of this issue. I think it's relatively moot. In most urban settings (e.g the place I live), any raise in minumum wage is usually laughable. Hell, most cheap jobs around here pay you 12 dollars on up. In order to diffuse poverty it takes a lot more than wages,...it take a community/culture, and push on education (like most eastern asian-americans are dictated into). RFK said, 'welfare's better than nothing,'...meaning it's better to solve things with a more appropriate level of local government and leadership. If you do nothing, perhaps welfare is better than that. But I believe it's the lazy way of making a solution. Same goes with this.
I'm with Rick on this one. I can't imagine paying anyone less than $7.00 an hour to start. And even then my hat simply goes off to these folks. How the heck do they do it? IN most East Coast cities it is about 12 bucks to start. MacD's in Manhattan for instance.
I went to NYC once, and am going back there again this March/April. The prices there are crazy - I guess some parts of the country are a little more inflated than others... if I remember, I think a bottle of water cost me nearly $6.
It is quite possibly the dumbest idea ever. Regardless of whether it will increase overall wealth(which it won't), what place does the government have in deciding how low of a rate individuals can offer their services for? And also, doesn't the federal government setting this limit violate the 10th amendment?
I'm definately in favour of minimum wages. I feel minimum wages should at least allow you to get a decent living standard with one, full-time job. Sure, a rise in minimum wages will make labour-intensive products and services more expensive, but products which are not labour-intensive, such as oil, plastic, most industrial products, will not raise so much in price. Thus, a minimum wage raise will lead to higher living costs, but the rise in both will not be exactly the same.
I tend to say no on this one because there's related issues that need to be addressed (on the business owner's side). It's a tough choice, though, because I think in the run, raising minimum wage is necessary. This was a heated topic in Michigan not too long ago. Our governor, Jennifer Granholm, was all for raising minimum wage. Her take on the matter was this, “It’s a simple matter of fairness – anyone who puts in a fair day’s work should receive a fair day’s pay.†Sure, her statement sounds admirable, but who's to judge what a 'fair wage' is? Here's some food for thought: Is it fair to small business owners to be forced to raise their employees' hourly wages when those workers had already agreed to work for minimum wage? Is is fair to college students who lose their internships when the employer needs to cut corners because of the minimum wage increase? Is it fair to higher skilled employees who miss out on a raise because the employer has to spend his money on increasing the minimum-waged employees?
They will all be impacted. You are only focusing on cost push inflation and disregarding the effect of demand pull inflation.
It's a tough issue. but the market should determine wages, not the gov't. At the same time, a minimum wage is necessary... But I'm not convinced that the minimum wage should reflect the minimum full time wage necessary to live, since the standard of living varies greatly.
People who live in poverty aside, those who blew off the opportunity to become educated should not be entitled to have the luxury of earning more than they do now.
I would prefer that it be left alone or at least indexed for inflation. If you are a good worker, you should get paid more. If you are average or worse,then you shouldn't be compensated more just because the government mandates it. Most employers pay well above the minimum wage for unskilled labor as it is. However, first time workers generally start out at the minimum and then work up from there.