Comments on: Raising the minimum wage

By: Financial Freedumb

Financial Freedumb — Tue, 30 May 2006 07:22:57 +0000

Like you mentioned, raising the min wage will make it even harder for many business to survive, illegal tactics like “paying under the table” will become even more prevalent. Not to mention businesses hiring immigrants, especially the small ones that can’t compete otherwise. We will also become much less competetive in the global market…just imagine the trade deficit growing even larger as products become even cheaper from other countries…

I think providing incentives for businesses to pay better would be the way to go…Also, funding initiatives that make the US more competetive globally means a better economy, which means there’s more money to go around, which correlates to better wages.

It definitely does undermine society’s work ethic…makes sense that the minimum wage be in “poverty” levels…this way people would want to work harder to get out of it.

I do also feel for those who are working very hard and not getting paid what they deserve though. It’s definitely not an “easy” decision either way for me, but I do lean towards fewer wage controls.

By: Curious Stranger

Curious Stranger — Tue, 30 May 2006 05:06:51 +0000

We’re not throwing good money at them. Their employers are. If their employers are then passing along that cost to us, that will ultimately hurt them. If you are the employer, than you need to look at your hiring practices

By: mbhunter

mbhunter — Mon, 29 May 2006 15:13:45 +0000

CS — it probably wouldn’t reduce the number of said employees, but at least we wouldn’t be throwing more good money at them.

By: My Open Wallet

My Open Wallet — Mon, 29 May 2006 04:21:41 +0000

Carnival of Personal Finance #50…

Welcome to the golden jubilee of the Carnival of Personal Finance: #50! Isn’t it exciting? Not to be outdone by Queen Elizabeth, I arranged to have the Blue Angels fly over New York City this past week to commemorate the occasion….

By: Curious Stranger

Curious Stranger — Sun, 28 May 2006 21:06:53 +0000

And keepig the wages low reduces the number of fat lazy employees how? At worst its a wash, the same number of bad employees would exist. I don’t see how this is an argument against raising minimum wages.

By: mbhunter

mbhunter — Sun, 28 May 2006 18:21:04 +0000

Thanks everyone for the comments!

Curious Stranger, both are possible. One (loss of the least skilled jobs) is an immediate effect felt by some businesses that already are struggling to meet their payrolls. The other (raising the minimum wage for marginal employees) arises from a different set of circumstances, mainly in businesses that are less sensitive to wage controls. The first group of affected workers probably aren’t able to do anything else; the second just don’t want to do anything else.

Some will get laid off, and some will get more than they deserve already. Of course, not everyone will get laid off and not everyone will get more than they deserve.

Brock, thanks for your comment as well. I see your point, and that will be true as well. I have had experience with some businesses that can’t seem to get many good employees at all. I suppose this might be a management issue, though. But in any case, once all of the $5.15 jobs are gone and the same or similar jobs are replaced with $9 jobs, then $9 will be entry-level and will be perceived as such. If, as now, there are some areas that have higher minimum wage, then local competition for jobs will be more fierce than in areas with a $5.15 minimum wage. But once the bar is raised nationally, this competition goes away. Perhaps there will be fewer workers that are “dead weight” but they will still exist, and likely more people will be unemployed.

Thanks also for your website; some interesting links there.

By: Curious Stranger

Curious Stranger — Sun, 28 May 2006 16:06:48 +0000

You can’t include your Higher Unemployment and Work Ethic point in the same list. On the one hand you say the less skilled workers will be layed off because employers can no longer afford the extra weight, and then on the other hand you say it will be rewarding those same less skilled (and apparently fat and lazy) workers by raising their wages for staying less skilled, fat and lazy. Which is it, are they being laid off or getting a raise?

By: Justine Kaley

Justine Kaley — Sun, 28 May 2006 10:17:35 +0000

The minimum wage here in Hawaii is about $6.75/hr the last job I had my wage was $9.00/hr depends on the company on what they want to pay you though they do have to pay at least minimum wage I saw a part time job that pays $10.00/hr. so if you want more per hour look in the job section to see what people are paying now and if you want to apply go ahead and do it.

By: Brock Haussamen

Brock Haussamen — Sat, 27 May 2006 14:37:53 +0000

From what I have read, your prediction that a large increase will simply reward a lot of fat lazy slobs who will stay that way, is not what happens. (See my Web site for more on the debate: http://www.raiseminwage.org.) In reality, businesses tend to become less tolerant of inefficient workers when the wage increases, and the employees, who face more competition for these better jobs, are generally more productive and reliable.

By: Dus10

Dus10 — Thu, 25 May 2006 12:41:15 +0000

I really an idea from your last paragraph, incorporating outsourcing… If it all of a sudden becomes more expensive to produce a product (what few products are still produced in the U.S.), it will become more attractive to outsource… do we really need to make outsourcing MORE attractive? Silly rabbits, minimum wages are for kids.