The Congressional Budget Office has come to the conclusion that a $10.10 minimum wage would raise 16.5 million people out of poverty. Families of four with incomes between $24,000 a year and $71,500 a year would see their collective incomes rise by $3 billion. And, possibly 500,000 jobs might be lost in the process. Conservatives raved, “See, this is why we can’t vote for an increase in the minimum wage. All of those poor people losing their jobs!”
Conservatives also can’t support Obamacare which will result in 2.3 million people voluntarily giving up their extra jobs or extra hours they were working to be able to get health care.
Let’s see, if the 500,000 people were to snap up 500,000 jobs out of that pool of 2.3 million jobs, there would still be 1.8 million jobs that would need to be filled.
All the conservatives need to do is pass the minimum wage bill, stop trying to roll back Obamacare, and they can claim to have created 1.8 million jobs. See, they do have a jobs program! (Quick, call Paul Ryan to double check the math; we don’t want to get tricked again!)
Uncommon Sense 
The minimum wage is actually a wealth transfer from one group of poor people to another.
It is a no brainer that raising the minimum wage raises the cost of labor.
That means employers need to let workers go in order to keep their increased labor costs from killing their businesses.
So the lucky group of poor people who keep their jobs do so at the expense of the poor people who lost theirs.
Only the free market can fairly determine the worth of products and labor.
And the free market is composed of gazzillions of people freely and lawfully cooperating with each other.
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Comment by silenceofmind — February 20, 2014 @ 8:37 am |
“It is a no brainer that raising the minimum wage raises the cost of labor.”
Do you mean yo have to have no brain to believe it? Yes higher wages increase costs, but these people spend their wages thereby increasing a business’ sales. The idea that higher minimum wages automatically lead to unemployment is a fallacy that has been debunked many times.
“Only the free market can fairly determine the worth of products and labor.”
That’s nothing more than an ideological statement. I could just as easily say it does not and I would have presented just as strong a case as you.
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Comment by Robert Nielsen — February 20, 2014 @ 11:22 am |
Robert,
You are clearly a Marxist because to a Marxist everything is ideological.
Free market economics is not only supported by applied mathematics but it is supported by over 300 years of experience.
On the other hand, Marxism was a proven failure the very first time it was tried.
It is only common sense that if the government forces you to pay me more than I am worth, than you lose money.
Pay increases also increase the FICA and Medicare taxes that come out of the employer’s pocket.
And who says an employee of yours spends all their money at your business.
Even if he spends a portion of it at your business, the wage increase is still a net lose for the employer.
Since employers don’t go into business to lose money, they will get rid of workers to lower labor costs and they will make the remaining employees take up the slack by working harder.
From any angle except that of the demagogueing politician, the minimum wage is a disaster.
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Comment by silenceofmind — February 20, 2014 @ 12:43 pm |
Hahahaha this comment is hilarious. You should do comedy because you come out with the silliest stuff. Since when were Marxists the only people who mentioned ideology? Newsflash, everyone has an ideology. An ideology is just a world view, even not having an ideology is an ideology. So unless you have no ideas, thoughts or opinions, then you have an ideology too.
Do you really think that everyone who supports the minimum wage is a Marxist who needs a lecture on the value of the free market? If so, then you watch too much Fox News.
“It is only common sense that if the government forces you to pay me more than I am worth, than you lose money.”
Surely you don’t genuinely believe that employers can exactly calculate every employee’s productivity and pay them proportionately? If so, tell me, how can an employer calculate how much their dish washer is worth? Or their cashier? The fact is that it is impossible to calculate the individual productivity of most service industry workers and those who work in teams, which applies to most minimum wage workers.
“Even if he spends a portion of it at your business, the wage increase is still a net lose for the employer.”
But if all workers get a raise then all businesses benefit.
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Comment by Robert Nielsen — February 20, 2014 @ 3:43 pm |
Robert,
The reality is the raise has already been paid for several times over. Here’s the situation as a parable (so somebody like SOM could understand). A good worker saw that his company was prospering and asked his boss for a raise. His boss said that superficially it looked good, but underneath not so much. What he needed from the worker is increased productivity and then he could give him a raise. So, the worker went back to his bench and worked harder and productivity went up and the company became even more prosperous, so he went back to his boss asking for a raise. His boss said the company had some structural issues and while he was giving his managers a raise, there wasn’t enough money to give everyvody a raise and what he needed was greater productivity and then a raise would be in the offing. Fast forward for 35 years of increases in productivity increases, record corporate profits, record adminstrative salaries and bonuses and still yet no raise.
The raise has been earned 35 times over. The “bosses” need to give them the damned raise and stop making excuses. If the U.S. federal min wage were to be adjusted for inflation and productivity increases, it would be over $20 per hour. The raise was promised (tacitly and explicitly) and now it is due. If the company mispent the money those workers created and can’t afford the raise, maybe they out to claw back some of those over the top executive wages for their mismanagement.
Steve
On Thu, Feb 20, 2014 at 3:43 PM, Class Warfare Blog wrote:
>
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Comment by stephenpruis — February 20, 2014 @ 8:40 pm |
Steven,
Best leave the parables to Jesus.
Wages are the cost of doing business.
They must be paid for by profit.
Profit is why people go into business.
Profit is what raises the standard of living of everyone.
The minimum wage is a government mandate that destroys profit.
Consequently, we conclude that the minimum wage lowers the standard of living.
That’s what the math says too and you’d know that if you had ever studied real economics and not Marxism.
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Comment by silenceofmind — February 21, 2014 @ 12:28 pm |
”The minimum wage is actually a wealth transfer from one group of poor people to another.”
Yes, one that helps sustain the middle class and that has no consequential effects on the very wealthy. I mean after all, how many Lamborghinis and European villas does one man or woman need to feel secure?
Why do the top 1% get to determine what a decent salary is, especially in these tough economic times when profits are at their highest for most large businesses. Where is written that one man can have as much as $31 million a year while the labor force that helped grow his/her business makes wages that barely keep them out of the poor house?
Income inequality threatens the socio-political structures in developed countries
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Comment by lbwoodgate — February 20, 2014 @ 3:31 pm |
Woody,
Less than 2% of workers earn minimum wage.
America rose further faster than any other nation in human history precisely because the government had no control over the economy.
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Comment by silenceofmind — February 21, 2014 @ 12:35 pm |
“That means employers need to let workers go in order to keep their increased labor costs from killing their businesses.”
Yeh but, what about the GAP
Clothing retailer Gap, Inc. announced Wednesday that it will raise its hourly minimum wage to $10, a change that will affect 65,000 U.S. employees. GAP employees who are now earning the minimum wage will make $9.00 in June of 2014 and $10 in June of 2015. GAP, which also owns Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime, Athleta, and Intermix, operates in more than 50 countries and employs 135,000 people around the world.
“To us, this is not a political issue,” GAP Chairman and CEO Glenn Murphy said. “Our decision to invest in frontline employees will directly support our business, and is one that we expect to deliver a return many times over.” In a release, the company argues that increasing the minimum wage will help retain “attract and retain great talent” and improve customers’ experience. SOURCE
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Comment by lbwoodgate — February 20, 2014 @ 3:38 pm |
Woody,
The Gap is obviously either making enough prophet or getting an Obama bribe which makes a pay raise profitable.
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Comment by silenceofmind — February 21, 2014 @ 11:46 am |
It’s official SOM. You are now a certified troll
Online trolls are psychopaths and sadists, psychologists claim
“Canadian researchers have confirmed what most people suspected all along: that internet trolls are archetypal Machiavellian sadists.
In a survey conducted by the group of psychologists, people who partake in so-called trolling online showed signs of sadism, psychopathy, and were Machiavellian in their manipulation of others and their disregard for morality.
The researchers defined online trolling as “the practice of behaving in a deceptive, destructive, or disruptive manner in a social setting on the Internet” for no purpose other than their pleasure.
It went on to claim that trolls are “agents of chaos” that exploit “hot-button issues” to inflame and exploit users’ emotions,
The team concluded that those who enjoyed trolling more than other activities, such debating and making friends, had tendencies in line with the psychological “Dark Tetrad”.
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Comment by lbwoodgate — February 21, 2014 @ 12:52 pm |
Woody,
The mental illness is demonstrated by those who can’t offer arguments and instead engage in abusive behavior.
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Comment by silenceofmind — February 21, 2014 @ 1:39 pm |