Global Minimum Wages

Credit Crunch said:
SilverSaviour said:
So that settles it then, minimum wages can only be a bad thing :)
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Not so fast! I dont think minimum wages are a bad thing. But unilaterally raising them (or lowering) on a whim is bad news.

Minimum wages are in place so we dont have a quasi slave system. Minimum wages should be in place so people are not paid such a low amount it becomes a logical decision to instead go on to welfare or crime.

It seems forgotten today but 100 years ago before the 40 hour week and a social safety net etc, people would often turn to crime (usually petty crime) of stealing sheep, bread etc because it was the only way they could eat. Crime then affects not only the criminal, but the victim also. Crime is also very expensive to society. More police, more courts, more prisons. Processing essentially a penniless person through the legal system and then housing them in jail is very expensive to society. It costs in Victoria around $50,000 a year to house a prisoner.

Minimum wages & a social safety net is the price (and a relatively small price) paid by society to keep social harmony in place and not have an underclass develop.
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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 :)
 
Newtosilver said:
Credit Crunch said:
SilverSaviour said:
So that settles it then, minimum wages can only be a bad thing :)
Click to expand...

Not so fast! I dont think minimum wages are a bad thing. But unilaterally raising them (or lowering) on a whim is bad news.

Minimum wages are in place so we dont have a quasi slave system. Minimum wages should be in place so people are not paid such a low amount it becomes a logical decision to instead go on to welfare or crime.

It seems forgotten today but 100 years ago before the 40 hour week and a social safety net etc, people would often turn to crime (usually petty crime) of stealing sheep, bread etc because it was the only way they could eat. Crime then affects not only the criminal, but the victim also. Crime is also very expensive to society. More police, more courts, more prisons. Processing essentially a penniless person through the legal system and then housing them in jail is very expensive to society. It costs in Victoria around $50,000 a year to house a prisoner.

Minimum wages & a social safety net is the price (and a relatively small price) paid by society to keep social harmony in place and not have an underclass develop.
Click to expand...


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 :)
Click to expand...

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
 
Credit Crunch said:
Minimum wages & a social safety net is the price (and a relatively small price) paid by society to keep social harmony in place and not have an underclass develop.
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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. :rolleyes:
 
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.
 
tolly_67 said:
The whole point of the minimum wage will be lost because you will have very little employment.
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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.
 
AngloSaxon said:
Don't know how many times we need to point out the minimum wage causes unemployment.
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...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).
 
bordsilver said:
AngloSaxon said:
Don't know how many times we need to point out the minimum wage causes unemployment.
Click to expand...
...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).
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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".
 
Yeah. Its something new here but I don't think the businesses really have a choice.
 
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