The Job-Killing Impact of Minimum Wage Laws

Minimum wage laws seem like a good idea, but arbitrarily mandating a certain wage can have terrible consequences. This CF&P Foundation mini-documentary reveals that business are not charities, so if the minimum wage is set above the market level, this eliminates job opportunities -- particularly for the less fortunate members of society. Since employees and employers should have freedom of contract, the right minimum wage is zero. www.freedomandprosperity.org

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Minimum
• Wage
• unemployment
• job
• jobs
• deficit
• youyh
• debt
• tax
• flat
• taxation
• freedom
• and
• prosperity
• entitlement
• competition
• reform
• limited
• big
• bloated
• spending
• obama
• stimulus
• government
• fair
• cfp
• center
• quinlan
• mitchell
• cf&p

[mcamoran]

@tenenzuo There is great percentage of the population nowadays that works without being shown on any official paper! Take a look at Spain, with so high unemployment rate 20%+ there hasn't been any social revolt, why? Because many people have willingly abolished the minimum wage benefits (health care+retirement benefits) to just keep earning an income. Labor market always conforms to the existing global rules, sitting in an office and speaking theoretically is out of reality sphere!

[mcamoran]

@tenenzuo You are right! It doesn't matter how much you are paid, but how expensive the life cost is. If inflation is high, what our lecturer repeats as an axiom (head of it many times by Americans) is just a redistribution of misery. But he lives in the land of oversimplification, unemployment is a more complex thing than abolishing the minimum wage laws! A worker is not happy with a hamburger a day, he needs shelter, health care and many benefits that have become too expensive!!!!!!!

[tenenzuo]

Primary jobs killer isn't minimum wage. Not even the close to the top.

Above all else it's INFLATION - all across the board. Not just hiring costs.

Companies are deciding between raising prices or cutting labor - or both.

The rate of INFLATION is MUCH higher than Gov't reports say.

Doubly so if you pay your workers MW to work in Fast Food.

CPI barely even acknowledges rises costs in food and oil.

Economics 101: More you have of something the less valuable it is.

MW is WAY behind Inflation.

[bs2790]

What about the case where the labour market is characterised by a monopsony? And the evidence provided by Card that minimum wage actually increased employment?

[ozbloke74]

Astounds me when i see people talking to the president and saying i work 2-3jobs, 2-3 jobs? 1 job is all you need and dont give the fkrs more than 40 hrs a week, what the fk is going on in the usa? 7.25 an hour, 15 year olds working at mcdonalds in australia earn more than that, look in the mirror and slap yaself for letting it happen people

[plcollins1987]

This video's dead on. If minimum wage was $100 an hour, gas would be $75 a gallon. Imagine being a millionaire and barely getting by.

[TheCapitalistdog]

Government policies always seem to have the opposite of their intended effect.

We're told the Minimum Wage is to help the poor, but in practice it ends up hurting the poor.

We're told that The War on drugs is supposed to keep drugs off the streets, but it actually creates a vibrant black market on the streets.

We're told that the war on terror is to keep you safe, but it actually makes us less safe.

etc etc etc.

[crazypants88]

@kaygregg7 It is related, since the lowest possible wage gets raised, those who are on wages below that and don't produce or are valued enough to be paid the new rate will end up losing their jobs.

How is it not logical?

[crazypants88]

@kaygregg7 contd.

Even in the corporatist systm today, very few industries are like that. My ideal system would be a free market where entry to a market is by definition open.

[crazypants88]

@kaygregg7 If you put these comments in response to me I would actually be notified of your rebuttals.

In any case, MW is not the only thing that causes prices to rise, inflation has been a problem in nearly every part of the world, I believe. The US is no exception.

What you describing is a basically a cartel. A cartel(at least an abusive one) can only be sustained if no businesses are allowed to enter the market to offer better a better service and/or prices.

contd.