No one is arguing the fact that lowering minimum wage would increase employment. The disagreement is in the NET positive results from such a move. Cut min wage in half and there will NOT be 2X increase in min wage employees. It will go up, sure, but by how much? 10%? 15%? And for how long? If you can't pay the bills, why work? The net result is probably a decrease in min wage employees and an increase in black market employees. Supply siders would love to turn America into China and build their own personal thrown out of the impoverished but it's not going to happen in this country. The power is in the people and if you think the L.A. riots were bad, you haven't seen shit. Wait until a large percentage of the white population can't put food on the table. That's when the organized and debilitating riots begin.
8.9% are in worse shape than what a decreased minimum wage position would be. They are unemployed taking home nothing every month, how came cars arent being burned in Washington DC
So far a large percentage of the recently unemployed still receive unemployment and a relatively small amount of lost jobs are min wage jobs. As far as burning cars in DC, it will be a tipping point. We're not there yet. Lowered wages, spiking oil, inflation and another round of Wall St. bailouts would certainly get us closer, but I don't anticipate any major upheavals in this country. That's bylo's territory.
Besides, Us has had the highest incarceration rate of the world for ages now. Are there really any thugs left in the open to start any upheaval?
Yes... decreasing the minimum wage would increase employment. This is one of the most basic concepts of supply/demand of the labor market.
Seems it is 2 different arguments. Slave labor is cheapest of all - and pre-Civil War it did increase employment. So much so that it had to be imported. But collectively, the increased labor put to productive use did support the southern economy and grow it. The separate argument is how the labor was dealt with as a fair/unfair issue. Those are arguing from the view on slave labor as Lincoln when he said, "It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged."
If I want to work for less than minimum wage, and someone wants to employ me for the same amount, then anyone who sends men with guns round to kidnap us and put us in a jail cell is evil and deserves death.
On the contrary, minimum wage reductions - according to Keysian economics - increase employment for the same reasons the OP stated. Cheaper prices at static profit margins equate to more goods sold at comparable national income. More goods sold = higher employment to service higher demand. Shows you two guys haven't a clue, ironical _____________________________________________ Fell off my chair laugh'n at this post. How correct you are.