I was just encouraging the new member, I didn't have time to ask linda731 her views etc. It does look pretty funny though
Credit crunch, what you are saying is very logical and makes total sense and you raise very good points....... If you could please keep logic and common sense out of this discussion though please........The rest of the gang please carry on
You really have fallen for the big government line haven't you newtosilver? Time to start improving your knowledge, rather than learning from the tabloids. Here: http://www.reddit.com/r/austrian_economics
Oh the magic of minimum wages! The abolition of crime and the paradise of social harmony. take of your rose coloured glasses and view the real world CC.
It is too much to just focus on minimum wage rates. Taken to the extreme, if you live in a country with very few natural resources such that you rely on manufacturing and you set a minimum wage level of $20 per hour for example, you will never be able to compete with overseas manufacturers. The whole point of the minimum wage will be lost because you will have very little employment.
The whole point of the minimum wage is to win votes. Unfortunately, it damages employment, increases hardship and places more strain on the welfare system and therefore the fewer employed people. When governments interfere in the market place they create greater and longer lasting damage than if we were left to the vagaries of the free market.
...in the groups of people least able to get into work. It's hard to climb the employment ladder when the first rung is above your head (I can't remember if I said this already, but studies have shown that most people on low wages move onto higher wages within a year).
The minimum wage renders those with no skill or little skill unemployable and it is the young (16 - 21) who bears the brunt of that policy decision.
Interesting thread. I'm actually working on effecting something called "progressive wages" here in Singapore, starting with the cleaning industry. "Min wages" is almost taboo to the ruling Government so they came up with "progressive wages".
Did not read it all but saw the aim is to help cleaners earn higher wages - that won't go down well here with some people lol.