How minimum wage works.

[sirs]

So, you think that a country where people are so poor they can work full time and still be unable to live indoors and feed themselves is okay?

When the starve and freeze to death, then we will be rid of their sorry, unproductive souls, right?

Thank you Ebenezer Scrooge.

As Plane rightly demonstrated, you keep missing the point.  On top of which, we are an extremely charitable country (I won't even go into the comparison of the amounts given to charity, comparing conservatives to liberals, as that's a joke).  That said, we can't save everyone, and it's not the Government's job (translation - tax payers) responsibility to save everyone either.  Especially when so many make bone headed decisions that put themselves in such dire financial straights.  That's literally rewarding failure

But at the least, we've got you off the erroneous mindset that the minimum wage was set to be some sort of living wage

[kimba1]

Wow, i go away to for alittle while and this happens. I'm for it but never once i said it's for a living wage but to help the economy . It''s simply good business for someone to at least attempt make an effort make sure his customer base can actually buy his product.

Low wages means less people being able buy higher priced items.

[Xavier_Onassis]

It does not matter one effing whit whether the minimum wage was originally intended to allow people to support themselves. The fact is that it has been in the past and it should be NOW.

This country can and should make a serious effort to abolish poverty.

[sirs]

Actually it matters to those trying to push the notion that just because the minimum wage can't be lived off of, something's seriously wrong.  What's wrong is believing that you should be able to.  As I said, once we can get over that falicy, we might be able to start coming together in some form of compromise....maybe

[Xavier_Onassis]

Like we are in charge of this, get serious. I don't pass laws, I only get to vote from time to time, and my single vote has never changed one single election.

Either this country tries to ensure a productive and adequate life for its citizens, or it does not, and allows the market to do this. The market has proven to be incapable of this.

[sirs]

In charge of what??  What does that have to do with anything??  The Constitution clearly states the function of the Government, which includes promote the general welfare of its citizenry, NOT provide for it.  You don't like it?.....get enough like like-minds together to amend it, as it was designed to be amended.  You don't get to take my hard earned tax dollars to make you feel better

[Xavier_Onassis]

If your tax dollars are so hard earned, you need to understand investments better.

[sirs]

Irrelevent to the point being made, regarding the minimum wage & the Constitutional parameters of the Federal Government.  Deflection effort however, duly noted

[Xavier_Onassis]

Just saying. In this country most people will never get rich because you can't get rich by just by working at some job. You have to save and learn something about investing and invest.  This is obvious to anyone who seriously studies how the economy in the US works. It does no good to buy everything new and on credit and then bitch and moan about how the government is taking all your money. Of course, that is not true, but people believe a lot os crap that is untrue because they are poor at arithmetic.

[sirs]

Say all you want.....but getting back to the point, fact remains the minimum wage was never designed to be a living wage, and the Federal Government was never mandated to keep everyone from sleeping in a park

[kimba1]

did I forget to mention my support had nothing to do with those two points . it`s mainly about stimulating spending to support businesses.

[sirs]

Don't get me wrong Kimba, you're not one of those I'm referring to who belives that the minimum wage was designed to be a living wage.  While I disagree with much of your premise, your position actually provides a platform for plausible compromise, so no, you didn't forget to mention it

[Plane]

did I forget to mention my support had nothing to do with those two points . it`s mainly about stimulating spending to support businesses.

I think I get your point , but those having no wage at all due to the minimum wage law are a drag at about the same rate as any gain from the minimum wage law might cause , plus the inflation effect.

Raising the Minimum wage about 10% once each decade seems to be a low enough damage to be tolerable , but a low enough benefit also to be hardly worth the effort.

I think that XO is saying that all these effects are true , but that the margins are on the positive.

Eh......

I can't provide the measurement for the margins , so he may be right, but if it is a benefit so small that the benefit is hard to find and evaporates over time , we return to diminishing returns, not worth the trouble.

In my opinion 100% employment would be a major benefit even if as many as 5% of us were working at something less than the present minimum wage.

  When employment is very high employers are competing for workers and competing for competence. Which is the best condition for the common man.

[kimba1]

but those unemployed will hardly effect the spending habits of those employed also . 100% ideal but i recall times with relative low unemployment here and businesses didn`t really compete if anything people wanted more unemployment. nothing stops and employer from raising wages but it seems to happen anyway

[Xavier_Onassis]

If they permitted people to be paid LESS then the minimum, there would be more than 5% that would fit into that category. The minimum wage should be raised an amount based on the cost of living.