Some great points have been made in this thread, it's nice to see no silly labels and insults being thrown out over a controversial & somewhat sensitive issue. I'm personally very concerned about where this country is headed due to Congress rejecting MW raise. That is a key sign about the widening rip between the rich & poor. IMO, the only thing MW really should do is at least try to keep up with inflation in order to protect a minimal adequate standard of living for the low end blue collar worker. With the continuing erosion of the middle class, the lower class will grow significantly and any "replacement costs" will only go lower and lower as that labor pool gets flooded. That is where the MW will become important because it is a measure of the earning power of the population. And I correct myself, free market wages will not result in financial slavery, the proper term is SERFDOM. With MW at its current state, that is exactly what you become earning $5.15/hour. One more thing, you cannot blame corporations but only the system. A corporation legal duty is to make and grow profit first and foremost. What most corporations end up doing in terms of outsourcing, cutting benefits is logical and expected. I have some serious issues about the people making these decisions and the corruption involved, but on the surface it is the correct move for a Corporation to evaluate these opportunities. Don't hate the players, hate the game.
No you are correct. It would only be a short term gain in tax revenue. But you would lock it in. Either the private sector keeps the capital or the public sector does. The public sector seems to have an issue with reclaiming revenue from any larger than a small bussiness. In a way it is a force out by means of headcount reduction through wage increases.
No one is working for 2.95 an hour, legal or illegal. Illegal maids are making $ 7 an hour and illegal construction workers are making $10 an hour and higher. Don't know what crop workers are making but I'd bet it's much higher than $2.95 an hour. The market wage is higher than minimum wage now, all the law does is protect workers in the lowest class from predatory and unscrupulous employers from using slave type labor.
Minimum wage has to be abolished, there is no use for it anymore Illegal mexicans in Texas are making way more than $7.55/hr. Most illegals in AZ and TX are using deceased American's soc sec nos any way. There is a market for these soc sec numbers.
That's not a very good argument for getting rid of the minimum wage laws, that the free market wage is higher than the minimum wage. The law protects the very lowest class of workers.
I am confused of what you are saying It is a perfect argument if I say "the lowest and super unskilled, can not speak English, no education whatsoever, willing to do anything guy makes more than the minimum wage then there is no use for minimum wage". I think it is very clear that the labor market is (somehow) sustaining $8-9/hr right now. I am in Houston and help wanted signs indicate they pay $8/hr for cashiers. How can you get lower than a cashier?
Then why do you care. The Minimum wage is just a Stub quote. Do you complain about the stub quotes you see on the order book?
Arguably, the main reason for high unemployment among the youth in the inner cities, if not elsewhere, is the minimum wage. I don't think I'm very far off in this: I kind of look at the inner city reservations as marxist shitholes. They compare with places like Venezuela and Cuba in the quality of the leadership and the wellbeing of the inhabitants..