What is a decent minimum wage?

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Complete fallacy. If no minimum wage existed food products would be much cheaper then they are currently. Food production contains many minimum wage workers. I argue that they would eat more nutritional.

If your argument is correct, why not raise the minimum wage to $100 an hour, people would eat much more nutritional if that was the case, wouldn’t they?
No one can refute your very good point.

The minimum wage, like Social (Un)Security are inventions of the the Socialist Party of 1928. The socialists among us continue to dream. The reality is that governments cannot defy the laws of economics forever. Today we are paying for the gospel of envy by the socialists. You only have to look at Greece to see what is in store for us.
 
The government cannot give you a straight answer on how many people are unemployed! The government uses phony accounting.
This is an amusing response. You claim that the minimum wage has a horrible effect on the economy. Yet you have no way of knowing whether or not you are right. Are your opinions always independent of the facts?
 
This is an amusing response. You claim that the minimum wage has a horrible effect on the economy. Yet you have no way of knowing whether or not you are right. Are your opinions always independent of the facts?
You rely solely on government statistics for your data?

Google “real unemployment”
 
You rely solely on government statistics for your data?

Google “real unemployment”
What statistics do you rely on?

If by real unemployment you mean the unemployment rate that includes discouraged workers, that is also a government statistic as well. That data has been available and published by the government for decades.

Now, the question is, what private source of unemployment data would you suggest?
 
I am personally involved in calculating how much wealth my employees’ work generate every week. I know from experience it can and is regularly done.
The question was how much each individual contributes to turnover, and how exactly to measure that without making arbitrary judgements… or simply falling back on standard market rates.
 
Complete fallacy. If no minimum wage existed food products would be much cheaper then they are currently. Food production contains many minimum wage workers. I argue that they would eat more nutritional.

If your argument is correct, why not raise the minimum wage to $100 an hour, people would eat much more nutritional if that was the case, wouldn’t they?
People are dying of starvation because of being asked to work as slaves for pennies in countries such as Rwanda or the Sudan.
So what to fatcat millionaires is a fallacy, is to poor underpaid workers a smokescreen argument devised to keep poor people in submission to the capitalist slavemaster profiteers.
 
Seems web design is not a high wage field. Maybe try another computer related field.
As far as I can tell, they are all the same. I would not recommend to any young person to go into any kind of computer-related field, but instead, just learn the essentials of how to use a computer, and then go into a more traditional field of work. The promises of high wages in computer work, or that “computers are the future” don’t have any substance to them, in my experience.

Even in the field of computer repairs, I am told that a person would need to see fifty customers a day, to bring home the same money as a worker at McDonald’s.

But if a kid goes to work at McDonald’s, he has a shot at management, and from there, he can get scholarships for business administration, and maybe even accounting, if he’s good with numbers. So, I would tell any kid who is looking to go into computer repair or anything to do with computers, save your money for your retirement, go to work at McDonald’s, work hard, and earn those scholarships. Don’t waste your time and money on a “future” that isn’t actually coming.
 
You rely solely on government statistics for your data?

Google “real unemployment”
People are dying of starvation because of being asked to work as slaves for pennies in countries such as Rwanda or the Sudan.
So what to fatcat millionaires is a fallacy, is to poor underpaid workers a smokescreen argument devised to keep poor people in submission to the capitalist slavemaster profiteers.
pontificus.com/2009/11/what-is-unemployment-really/

numbersusa.com/content/nusablog/cbreiter2/october-10-2008/getting-truth-about-unemployment-rate.html

First, I would like to make a correction in your statement. “people are being FORCED”, not “people are being asked”. The only “fatcats” that exist in those types of third world countries are the government officials and the businessmen on the other side of there collusion, called corporatism. This is NOT capitalism whatsoever. The closest thing I can give you as an example of capitalism is America in the 19th century, where the most prosperous increases in the quality of life have occurred in the world, ever.

Secondly, I give you the example of Botswana, a country that became suddenly prosperous. The quality of life suddenly sprung out of seemingly nowhere. And actually I am going to provide you with a link, sense, this gentleman will speak much intelligently on the subject then I would, I hope you enjoy.

mises.org/media/1441
 
Getting back to the original question, what is the harm of the minimum wage law as it exists in the United States.
What is wrong is that it places an artificial value upon labor.
If it causes unemployment, how many people are unemployed because of the minimum wage?
I do not believe it possible to calculate this.
The MW has been in place for so long that it is impossible to compare/contrast the job market with or without it anymore.
However, the theory that it drives inflation is proven.
And inflation drives unemployment.
So at the very least, the MW indirectly contributes to unemployment.
 
This is an amusing response. You claim that the minimum wage has a horrible effect on the economy. Yet you have no way of knowing whether or not you are right. Are your opinions always independent of the facts?
The government uses phony accounting. They redefine problems until there is no problem. For example, in unemployment the government understates employment by not counting “discouraged” unemployed people!

There is 50 years of solid economic research showing that I am right about minimum wage. Have you ever taken a basic economics class? Where is your understanding of price theory? I can give you a very long list of research papers on the minimum wage IF you are really interested in seeking the truth about minimum wage.
 
You claim that the minimum wage is ineffective, but you actually offer zero proof of that. I asked a simple question: How many people are unemployed because of the minimum wage and nobody here wants to give a straight answer to that question. If you cannot answer that question, then how can you say that it is ineffective?
Dude, have you read any of this thread? I’ve linked and made very clear and articulate arguments throughout.

Allow me to go through some of the highlights again:

MW is a price floor.

MW raises unemployment.

MW hurts those it is designed to help. Quoted here.:
* Gov. Schwarzenegger’s proposed 15 percent increase in the state minimum wage would destroy about 35,000 to 70,000 unskilled jobs - putting 1.5 to 3 percent of young Californians out of work.
* Overall, the proposed minimum wage increase in California would eliminate about 70,000 to 140,000 jobs.
* A 15 percent increase in the minimum wage nationwide would destroy about 290,000 to 590,000 young people’s jobs, and about 400,000 to 800,000 jobs overall.

Or how about this:
The National Federation of Independent Business estimates that if the federal minimum wage is increased to $6.65 per hour, nearly 217,000 workers would lose their jobs. The long-run consequences would be even more severe, as employers introduced labor-saving equipment and technology.

MW laws are a blatant use of governmental power to redistribute wealth and is analytically anti-capitalist.

If you don’t agree, that’s your prerogative, but don’t act like there hasn’t been ample facts and clear arguments presented.
 
Second flaw in your response. You are attempting to tell us what the effect of a minimum wage law is in the US in 2010 by referring to a document 15 years old. Not only that, it is not a peer reviewed document, but a document put out by politicians with an axe to grind. The question is:Are you interested in the truth or are you just pushing an agenda?
The document’s age is irrelevant. The fundamentals of the economy are the same now as in 1995. You simply want to discount anything you disagree with.
These of course, are not the only studies that have found these results. So I think that we can agree that the empirical evidence, at least since the 1990’s on the effect of the minimum wage is mixed.
Offer evidence for this point.
Here even the authors of this study, whoever they are, clearly admit that they cannot explain the contrary findings.
They can’t explain the contrary findings because they don’t accord with the data. Publish a study that says the sun rises in the west and I’d have trouble explaining it as well.
The actual results of the literature are much more mixed than this “study” would lead one to believe.
Again, practice what you preach and provide evidence. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
 
People are dying of starvation because of being asked to work as slaves for pennies in countries such as Rwanda or the Sudan.
So what to fatcat millionaires is a fallacy, is to poor underpaid workers a smokescreen argument devised to keep poor people in submission to the capitalist slavemaster profiteers.
Here are the 10 nations with the greatest economic freedom:
1 Hong Kong
2 Singapore
3 Australia
4 New Zealand
5 Ireland
6 Switzerland
7 Canada
8 United States
9 Denmark
10 Chile

How many third world nations do you see on this list?

If anything, capitalism would be a God send for those in Rwanda and the Sudan.
 
The government uses phony accounting. They redefine problems until there is no problem. For example, in unemployment the government understates employment by not counting “discouraged” unemployed people!

There is 50 years of solid economic research showing that I am right about minimum wage. Have you ever taken a basic economics class? Where is your understanding of price theory? I can give you a very long list of research papers on the minimum wage IF you are really interested in seeking the truth about minimum wage.
Stinkcat:

As auditors, we provide persuasive evidence for a reasonable person. **We do not provide absolute evidence for unreasonable people. ** Perfection is the enemy of good enough. I will take my chances with a confidence level of 95% (5% risk).
 
Stinkcat:

As auditors, we provide persuasive evidence for a reasonable person. ****

Actually, your evidence is not persuasive, nor are you aiming for to persuade reasonable people. I did not ask the question of whether it is possible for a minimum wage to cause a decrease in employment. The evidence that you provided clearly indicates that, and I never disputed that even before the evidence was presented. What I asked was: what is the impact of the minimum wage asit exists in 2010. To know that, you would have to tell me how many people are unemployed because of the minimum wage. You refuse to answer that question. The most I get is grumbling about government data, yet most of the studies that your “essay” cites use government data. So is government data useful at all for determining the impact of the minimum wage?
We do not provide absolute
I am not asking for perfection, far from it. I asked, how many people are unemployed in 2010 because of the minimum wage. I will accept even an 80% confidence interval. So, are you going to give me a number?
 
Actually, your evidence is not persuasive, nor are you aiming for to persuade reasonable people. I did not ask the question of whether it is possible for a minimum wage to cause a decrease in employment. The evidence that you provided clearly indicates that, and I never disputed that even before the evidence was presented. What I asked was: what is the impact of the minimum wage asit exists in 2010. To know that, you would have to tell me how many people are unemployed because of the minimum wage. You refuse to answer that question. The most I get is grumbling about government data, yet most of the studies that your “essay” cites use government data. So is government data useful at all for determining the impact of the minimum wage?

I am not asking for perfection, far from it. I asked, how many people are unemployed in 2010 because of the minimum wage. I will accept even an 80% confidence interval. So, are you going to give me a number?
Do you understand price theory? You will have to do your own research to answer your own questions. I am busy with auditing.
 
Do you understand price theory?
Yes, I understand price theory very well, in fact I teach price theory. It is because I know so much about price theory that allows me to ask the kind of questions that require critical thinking. Nothing I have said goes against price theory.
You will have to do your own research to answer your own questions. I am busy with auditing.
You are free to duck the question if you wish. But you have to remember if you make a claim that you cannot back up, you lose all credibility. You are free to rant about the minimum wage all you like, but if you provide no evidence there is no reason why anyone should believe you.
 
Yes, I understand price theory very well, in fact I teach price theory. It is because I know so much about price theory that allows me to ask the kind of questions that require critical thinking. Nothing I have said goes against price theory.

You are free to duck the question if you wish. But you have to remember if you make a claim that you cannot back up, you lose all credibility. You are free to rant about the minimum wage all you like, but if you provide no evidence there is no reason why anyone should believe you.
I also teach economics at the community college level. Additionally, I was a CEO of a company with 45 employees. Therefore, I understand the practical implications of the minimum wage, not just the theory.
 
You claim that the minimum wage is ineffective, but you actually offer zero proof of that. I asked a simple question: How many people are unemployed because of the minimum wage and nobody here wants to give a straight answer to that question. If you cannot answer that question, then how can you say that it is ineffective?
I do not think that we can calculate the impact, if any, of the minimum wage in 2010 without knowing the equilibrium wage in various parts of the country. I have neither the time nor the energy to do that kind of research.

As an employer I experienced a surplus of unskilled workers seeking jobs when Clinton and Congress rapidly increased the minimum wage above the equilibrium level. I did not hire any of these unskilled workers because they were not worth the minimum wage. I was able to hire graduates of a technical school for the minimum wage! All the recent graduates asked for the new minimum wage under Clinton!

I was willing to hire young and unskilled workers; however it was illegal to pay them what they were worth in the marketplace. The government makes it illegal to pay wages that are below the minimum wage (price floor).
 
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