What is a decent minimum wage?

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Actually today for a single person household the poverty line is $10,850. Perhaps the government defined poverty differently in 2000.
 
$10.8k was listed for continental US while Hawaii & Alaska had separate numbers. I believe Alaska actually listed as the highest numbers, which makes sense due to high volumes of imports with expensive transportation costs.
 
Texas_Roofer said:
That is about the top 2% of income earners in the world or top 5% in the USA. Why would some one need .

Would please explain your numbers?
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Why should we allow the top 5% of greedy people to have more then the rest? Aren’t we entitled to the same? The government shold simply set the minimum wage to that and then everyone will earn the same. It’s not complicated. I don’t see what the problem is. We elected President Obama and the current majorities in Congress for change and I don’t see why they don’t just make these changes.

Atty. Gen. Eric Holder has clearly stated that social justice demands equality for all. He is the highest legal officer in the country, so what he says goes!
 
Ignatius said:
Why should we allow the top 5% of greedy people to have more then the rest? Aren’t we entitled to the same? The government shold simply set the minimum wage to that and then everyone will earn the same. It’s not complicated. I don’t see what the problem is. We elected President Obama and the current majorities in Congress for change and I don’t see why they don’t just make these changes.
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Do you think this is what Adam Smith meant?
 
Ignatius said:
Why should we allow the top 5% of greedy people to have more then the rest? Aren’t we entitled to the same? The government shold simply set the minimum wage to that and then everyone will earn the same. It’s not complicated. I don’t see what the problem is. We elected President Obama and the current majorities in Congress for change and I don’t see why they don’t just make these changes.

Atty. Gen. Eric Holder has clearly stated that social justice demands equality for all. He is the highest legal officer in the country, so what he says goes!
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The man who produces is very valuable, he is the innovator, the man who keeps raising our living standard because his innovations not only increase his wealth (people choose with every purchase they make, and his products are purchased the most) but they increase the poor’s as well… He deserves to be wealthy. Do you claim to be a looter? To take, be force, the fruits of one rich man’s labor?

Please correct me if your comment was sarcastic.
 
Ignatius said:
Why should we allow the top 5% of greedy people to have more then the rest? Aren’t we entitled to the same? The government shold simply set the minimum wage to that and then everyone will earn the same. It’s not complicated. I don’t see what the problem is. We elected President Obama and the current majorities in Congress for change and I don’t see why they don’t just make these changes.

Atty. Gen. Eric Holder has clearly stated that social justice demands equality for all. He is the highest legal officer in the country, so what he says goes!
Click to expand...
I can’t help but feel this post is a bit disingenuous however I would have no problem answering it. Step one is we have to take over the world or submit to whom ever did take over so you could set all income equal regardless of condition. Second you have to decide what is best for everybody. Third once you implement your system immediately it changes. For example what happens to assets of the first person who dies? But fourth how do you prevent people from trading that income? If you decide my share is $5k and I spend some on food, housing, or a car I no longer have $5K so how well you control that? If the person who sold the food to me now has more than his original $5k ( as a result of selling) what will you do to him? That is a long stretch from a minimum wage law which greatly reduces those with money from taking advantage from those who do not know better than to sell labor at undervalued prices. If everybody knew better you would not need the minimum wage law however the fact is many simply to not understand the implications of selling their labor at undervalued prices. An easy example is a Mexican in the US who typical saw labor sell for $1.50-$3 in Mexico so he may think $3.50/hour is a very good wage in the US.

hope that helps
 
Ignatius said:
Why should we allow the top 5% of greedy people to have more then the rest? Aren’t we entitled to the same? The government shold simply set the minimum wage to that and then everyone will earn the same. It’s not complicated. I don’t see what the problem is. We elected President Obama and the current majorities in Congress for change and I don’t see why they don’t just make these changes.

Atty. Gen. Eric Holder has clearly stated that social justice demands equality for all. He is the highest legal officer in the country, so what he says goes!
Click to expand...
That must be sarcastic right? 😉 Oh just noticed your post, it was. 🙂

To explore that crazy hypothetical nonetheless, I’m on the centre-left and even I can’t imagine a functioning modern economy where everyone earned the same. That didn’t even happen in the Warsaw Pact.

Plus if everyone was paid tens of thousands of dollars a year it wouldn’t be worth very much, unless there would also be Chavez-style price controls…
 
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