Republican Presidential Candidate Debate on CNN

[MadImmortalMan]

The UK only introduced a minimum wage in 1997. Even after the latest recession we've not hit close to our unemplyment highs of the 1980s.

While it seems ridiculous to suggest that a minimum wage won't have some effect on employment it is even more ludicrous to say that abolishing the minimum wage will get virtually get rid of unemployment. Wages are only a part of the cost of employing someone and only one of many disincentives for employing *anyone*.

Exactly. There are a lot more factors besides wage costs that have to be taken into account before hiring someone.

[Berkut]

The UK only introduced a minimum wage in 1997. Even after the latest recession we've not hit close to our unemplyment highs of the 1980s.

While it seems ridiculous to suggest that a minimum wage won't have some effect on employment it is even more ludicrous to say that abolishing the minimum wage will get virtually get rid of unemployment. Wages are only a part of the cost of employing someone and only one of many disincentives for employing *anyone*.

Exactly. There are a lot more factors besides wage costs that have to be taken into account before hiring someone.

Of course. The idea that getting ird of minimum wage will certainly get rid of unemployment is actually even dumber than the idea that minimum wage has no impact on unemployment.

[Valmy]

actually even dumber than the idea that minimum wage has no impact on unemployment.

But...but...



I was just looking at the numbers

[Neil]

The solution is to fight a war.  Not a fake war like Iraq and Afghanistan, but a real, total war.

[garbon]

Can we turn the focus to how ATMs are destroying jobs?

[Valmy]

The solution is to fight a war.  Not a fake war like Iraq and Afghanistan, but a real, total war.

Bloody conquest of the Albertan Oil Fields!

[Neil]

Can we turn the focus to how ATMs are destroying jobs?

To say nothing of online banking.

We should throw our wooden shoes into the Internet to gum up the tubes.

[Neil]

The solution is to fight a war.  Not a fake war like Iraq and Afghanistan, but a real, total war.

Bloody conquest of the Albertan Oil Fields!

It's worth a shot.  Mind you, we both know that the US doesn't have the fortitude to fight a war anymore, no matter what the provocation.

[DGuller]

Why the wacky face Alcibiades?  Her statement is flawed, primarily because we think there is a natural rate of unemployment even at quote unquote full employment, but on balance her statement is pretty reasonable and certainly not deserving of your response.

It really isn't.  Not only is it factually incorrect, but acting like $7.25/hr is some sort of terrible restraint on employment is silly, especially since inflation has turned $7.25/hr into virtually nothing.

If that is the case, what is the need to set the minimum wage at that point?

I don't really understand the argument that a minimum wage of X is not a detriment to employment because X really isn't all that much. That makes no sense.

Either a minimum wage IS a brake on employment by forcing business to pay more than they would otherwise, in which case basic econ 101 says that there will be less employment, or it IS NOT a brake on employment because the "natural" floor for wages determined by the market is higher than the minimum anyway - in which case you don't really need a minimum wage to begin with.

You can make some arguments for minimum wage being worth the brake on employment, but the argument that it is NOT such a brake seems kind of specious.

I generally agree that the argument makes no sense.  If minimum wage doesn't drive actual wage decisions, then there is no point in having it.  However, having an effective minimum wage does not necessarily have to lead to higher unemployment.  Whether it does or not depends on the elasticity of the demand curve.  It is conceivable that demand curve could be quite inelastic on the low end of the scale.  The actual studies about the effect of minimum wages on employment are quite ambivalent.

[crazy canuck]

Minimum wage laws are in place to prevent employer abuse of essentially powerless employees who would be forced to work at any wage offered.  I know of no evidence that abolishing the wage rate would increase the number of powerless people employed.  It is merely the minimum an employer can get away with.

[Caliga]

Hi!

I don't actually think you are inherently unemployable, but as long as you think so you definitely will be.

[Caliga]

Minimum wage laws are in place to prevent employer abuse of essentially powerless employees who would be forced to work at any wage offered.  I know of no evidence that abolishing the wage rate would increase the number of powerless people employed.  It is merely the minimum an employer can get away with.

Maybe I'm a 'bad' libertarian, but I am in favor of minimum wage laws.  I'm not sure raising the minimum wage does much good most of the time, though... but there should be a mandated minimum of some sort.

[Berkut]

I am a "bad" one as well, but mainly just because I suspect it doesn't really matter. It probably has some minimal effect on unemployment at the low ends, but probably doesn't do enough harm to justify the trouble of getting rid of it.

[The Brain]

We should have a maximum wage. No one needs more than $50k a year.

[MadImmortalMan]

We should have a maximum wage. No one needs more than $50k a year.