The minimum wage should be lowered not raised.

Posted by $ Olduglycarl 8 years, 10 months ago to Economics
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Make sure to read the full article...in PDF form.

You know, I realized something while reading this article: Let's suppose that this raising of the minimum wage thing is not a progressive attempt to increase everyone's worth nor to cash in on getting more taxes and regulating businesses more and more.

In a down market, a highly skilled and temperamented worker will have no choice but to work a minimum wage job or two...this will leave the younger less experienced worker at a disadvantage...not just disadvantaged but outright disempowered from learning an important life long lesson: How to produce and create value in the work place, how to behave in that work place and learn work place work ethics. Sometimes these are hard learned lessons but once they are learned that young person will apply these lessons over their working life, whether they work for someone else or for themselves, not to mention learning how to be fiscally responsible among a host of other life lessons. In short, these young folks, having these experience will likely never have to depend upon pappa and momma government.

Now, raising the minimum wage would force this to happen, also forcing small and low wage skill businesses to look for alternatives in order to stay in business and to stay competitive. But...what does this do to the older more experienced worker? Wouldn't this disempower them also...in spite of the higher wage offer, even if it was close to that persons previous wage. We are forgetting the importance of, responsibility and satisfaction,; never mind having to work doing menial tasks, which would have to be boring as hell; wouldn't this play a role in that persons self worth?, his ability to provide for himself and family and even with the most humble person with family understanding, isn't this the biggest downer a man or women might experience. Might they, in an effort and even justifiably so, try to recoup some of that lost income from the very government that created this situation in the first place? Even if they have always been self supporting their whole life up to this point? It happens.

We might be tempted to say these individuals are weak and can't compete...but how many of us that haven't had the benefit of a skill set that can be applied to many occupations could effectively deal with this situation.

Those of us that have these widely marketable skill sets or even hobbies that could turn a buck are the lucky ones...we had those life long lessons at an early age...but what of those that came after us?

What I'm asking here is: Could this be the progressive reason and plan to get us all, young and old to be more dependent on government and perhaps to break our spirit in some respect?


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  • Posted by $ 8 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    And we could reduce the population at the same time...no need for poison food or medicine...the drug addicts will do it themselves willfully...
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  • Posted by term2 8 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Crime due to the need for money to buy the overpriced drugs would drop substantially. There would be no need to drive to North Las Vegas (I live in the Vegas area) to find a streetcorner where some mindless teenager is selling drugs.
    AND, I think that the mystique of taking drugs would be less if it wasnt illegal and cool. Being able to buy them at walmart just isnt rebellious enough to attract teenagers who want to take a stand against authority.
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    True and it wouldn't change the mental ability of the nation not one bit and all that money going to the cartels could become taxes. What other positives. Arrests and trials for driving under the influence of .....would zoom past driving while intoxicated and the offerings of the glitteratti formerly known as entertainment would be less entertaining - if that is possible. Politicians and the media and universities would come across as even more stupid rather than more stupid or just plain stupid. PS The drugs come from South America not Mexico. Mexico is a transit station since the marijuana is now coming from the Oregon Washington, California and Colorado.

    But it does explain Nancy Pelosillyni.
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  • Posted by term2 8 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    If we got rid of the anti drug laws, there would be no need for drugs to be made in mexico and smuggled across the border. The cartels would dry up as the drug prices plummeted and the quality improved.
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    theiy are staying in Mexico. The last two years is reverse illegal immigration as the cost of living versus the decreased buying power of the dollar takes it's toll. That amazing bit of news now three years old has been ignored the only thing increasing northbound is drugs throught he unguarded open areas like south central Arizona. The one that law enforcement local refuses to enter (it's federal) and the feds refuse to protect.
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  • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 8 years, 10 months ago
    Now there is a thought!!! What's the point of raising it when the dollar value is going to be devalued again and again. It's kinda like thinking you are going to get change with a field of one outsider, 15 RINOS, and four lefties.
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  • Posted by term2 8 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Human nature seems to be like the honey badger nature- take what you want Zero government would let the strong just lord over the weak. Big government seems to morph and let the strong team up with the politicians to lord over the weak.

    Even the us constitution didn't protect the rights of the Indians right from the start and certainly doesn't protect our rights now. How can we get a group of honey badger humans to change their nature?
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  • Posted by gpecaut 8 years, 10 months ago
    In a pure Capitalistic economy, wages are under the same driving forces as any product produced and marketed. Supply and Demand.
    Today we have a surplus of un/low skilled labor, thus wages are kept low. However, a mandatory minimum wage Rob's capital from business paying the lowest producers more than they are worth. This causes this extra cost to be passed on on the products, actual items and services to cost more, driving inflation.
    Even the most complex device has many low skill produced parts.
    Those that "think" they will get ahead with a rise in minimum wage find they do not. The only ones that get any advantage to the increase are
    1; Government. They gain votes, and with inflation, tax revenues. They can simply inflate their Wa yu out of debt.
    2; Foreign competitors. The costs of production go up here, let's their products become more valuable. This allows them higher pricing with no improvement of their own, or, to under cut the prices of the "not so smart" countries that have increased their labor costs with artificial costs.
    The big question is why can't "we the people" see that while wages here have been stagnant, we are still increasing our labor force by both increasing the number of people we bring in (green cards , immigration) and our lax boarder enforce (Dream Act, DACA, refugees, etc).
    Anyone with any understanding of economics, knows that you will not increase the price of anything by increasing the supply of said same thing. Especially when supply is already larger than demand.
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  • Posted by term2 8 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Get it over with and add a zero to all the numbers. $7.75 changes to $77.50 per hour. All except government debt of course
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  • Posted by term2 8 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I wonder what true capitalism would be life? No country on earth has it today
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  • Posted by term2 8 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    For a start, make minimum wages only apply to citizens and legal residents. Illegal aliens can be hired at any wage. That would end any talk about a wall I would offer illegals maybe $3-$4 an hour and they would stay in Mexico
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  • Posted by $ Thoritsu 8 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Like to see this play out, with a Socialist and Capitalist writing predictions on a paper, and putting it in a secure capsule to review in 4 years. I predict, massive inflation in the US and all manufacturing gone, service jobs that must be local remain, and the dollar drops to 25% its value. Let's see.
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  • Posted by Herb7734 8 years, 10 months ago
    Mark it down to $0. Let each owner, manager and human resource person pay what the person is worth based on their application and the nature of the job. The idea of a minimum wage is sheer nonsense and there is no rational explanation for its existence.
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  • Posted by chad 8 years, 10 months ago
    If a minimum wage would actually work to bring everyone to a livable wage why not make it $100 an hour, make people wealthy so they can spend more?? A minimum wage always forces companies that depend on low skilled workers to find ways to make their products without the help of the worker, i.e. mechanization or closing the facility, either way the low skilled worker loses.
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  • Posted by Donald-Brian-Lehoux 8 years, 10 months ago
    compensation for labor can NOT be taxed. However CEO bonuses should be taxed and have a ceiling that makes sense from the consumer end. If the CEO is making 10 billion $ per year and a hamburger costs $15 then the out of control cost of living will NEVER keep up with wages. mrpresident2016.com
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  • Posted by $ Radio_Randy 8 years, 10 months ago
    I read, recently that the minimum was has always been $0.

    What a concept.
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  • Posted by $ 8 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Yes...also the cyclical nature of this action...wages go up, cost of product goes up then wages have to go up again, further confounding the value.

    What once cost 5 cents now costs 5 dollars or more.
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  • Posted by ProfChuck 8 years, 10 months ago
    The demand for an increase in the minimum wage is linked to the decline in the value of the dollar. The problem is that the devaluation of the dollar is intentional and is driven exclusively by political considerations. Our government runs on borrowed money so paying back a loan with future dollars that are worth less is not only attractive but it is deliberate. The world economic system is a kind of massive Ponzi scheme that is facilitated by floating the dollar as well as other nations currencies. The devaluation of the dollar is also revealed by the behavior of the stock market. Ask your self is the rise in the DOW due to an increase in the value of stocks or a decline in the value of the dollar. The push for an increase in the minimum wage is only a symptom of a much deeper disease. That of the victory of Keynesian economics over the Hayek model. Keynesian economic theory is the foundation of the liberal-progressive movement while Hayeks' view is that of true laissez faire capitalism.
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  • Posted by DrZarkov99 8 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Note I said what government SHOULD do. I agree that the present bureaucrats that suck off taxpayer dollars want to do precisely the opposite.
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  • Posted by wiggys 8 years, 10 months ago
    the minimum wage should be eliminated.
    employers will pay better wages for potentially better employees. I say potential because an employer does not really know if a new employee is good until they start working. Then the employer has sound reason to pay a better wage. also, if the employee recognizes they are doing a good job they can or will ask for greater wages. The employer at this point will be willing to pay it. so end the minimum wage.
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  • Posted by mia767ca 8 years, 10 months ago
    love your article...spot on...

    suggestion...i participated in debate in high school (just had my 50th reunion) and judged at my kid's high school debates...the key to winning was defining the terms of the debate...moved your probability over 90% chance of winning...

    i do not use the word "progressive"...it has a positive or vague emotional connotation ...instead i use...fascist totalitarian...labels them immediately with a negative connotation and they have to fight to get back to neutral...

    also, we started out as a "republic" and were moved to a "democracy" on the way to a totalitarian oligarchy which is just a hop, skip, and a jump away...
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  • Posted by $ blarman 8 years, 10 months ago in reply to this comment.
    Precisely. But government isn't interested in letting people decide where they want to work. Government wants to tell people where government wants them to work. The minimum wage is all about creating a slave class circa the Feudal times with their Lords and Ladies and aristocracies and the subject peasant class.
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