Minimum Wage... the minimum amount of money an employer can legally pay an employee per hour.
Do people actually think that this is good for anybody?
The Federal Minimum wage was established in 1938 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who infamously expanded Government and shoved America further down the path of Big Government and Socialism.
I contend that the Federal Minimum Wage should be abolished.
1) Federal Minimum Wage is not constitutional. The 10th Amendment clearly states that matters not reserved for the Fed's should be left up to the states. This matter should be left up to states to decide, and the wiser states will not implement a minimum wage at all.
2) Minimum Wage does not help the poor. In fact it hurts the poor. Those on "minimum wage" are most affected by prices of small consumer products. If the Government forces employers to raise prices on labor, then their products increase. And the people who feel that increase the most are people who make the least. The poor suffer when Government establishes/raises the minimum wage.
3) Minimum Wage works against the Free Market. In a free market, if a person has a job to offer for a certain price, and someone accepts it, then they have struck a deal. Who is the Government to dictate what is a "fair" price? The worker is free to quit the job, nobody is forcing him to stay. It is a free contract between consenting adults, an exchange of labor for an agreed upon price. There are no victims in such an exchange.
4) Minimum Wage eliminates jobs. Companies may have potential to hire more individuals at a certain wage, but when an arbitrary limit is set on wages, this may not happen. The company is forced to scale back (or not expand) in order to function at the capacity in which the Government has arbitrarily set via wage controls. Without such limitations there would invariably be more positions available for entry-level workers to choose from.
5) Minimum Wage stifles economic growth. For the reasons laid out in #4, economic growth is slowed down because companies are not permitted to grow as quickly as they would otherwise have the ability to without regulators telling them what kind of contracts they are allowed to enter into.
6) Minimum Wage causes some positions to become extinct. The higher minimum wage has risen, the less feasible it is to provide certain services at market prices. One example is the "Gas Pump Attendant." Nobody would buy gas at the prices it would require to keep paying the attendant Minimum Wage, so the job disappears entirely. Minimum Wage didn't help the guy with that job.
7) Minimum Wage causes the price of everything to go up. Look at Fast-Food for a perfect example. It is the type of job designed for entry-level workers to provide a very menial service. If employers are arbitrarily forced to pay them a certain wage, then the Government is indirectly forcing the price of their products to go up. Years ago the thought of a $5.00 hamburger would make people scoff. If minimum wage was $15.00, then hamburgers would cost something around that price too. And so would every other widget and product that required any assembly in America.
8) Minimum Wage causes American goods to to be less competitive internationally. Other countries are able to provide much cheaper products due to the near-slavelike conditions used in their manufacturing processes. Minimum Wage keeps America well out of competitive range in many manufacturing industries.
Remember that abolishing Minimum Wage does not mean that Sweat-Shops are the necessary alternative. It means that free people are free to enter into agreements that they decide are fair.
In a Free Market, the market will decide fair prices. If you don't want to work for a wage, you can negotiate or leave. It is not slavery or indentured servitude if you are free to leave.
Please discuss. Rambone out.
Do people actually think that this is good for anybody?
The Federal Minimum wage was established in 1938 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who infamously expanded Government and shoved America further down the path of Big Government and Socialism.
I contend that the Federal Minimum Wage should be abolished.
1) Federal Minimum Wage is not constitutional. The 10th Amendment clearly states that matters not reserved for the Fed's should be left up to the states. This matter should be left up to states to decide, and the wiser states will not implement a minimum wage at all.
2) Minimum Wage does not help the poor. In fact it hurts the poor. Those on "minimum wage" are most affected by prices of small consumer products. If the Government forces employers to raise prices on labor, then their products increase. And the people who feel that increase the most are people who make the least. The poor suffer when Government establishes/raises the minimum wage.
3) Minimum Wage works against the Free Market. In a free market, if a person has a job to offer for a certain price, and someone accepts it, then they have struck a deal. Who is the Government to dictate what is a "fair" price? The worker is free to quit the job, nobody is forcing him to stay. It is a free contract between consenting adults, an exchange of labor for an agreed upon price. There are no victims in such an exchange.
4) Minimum Wage eliminates jobs. Companies may have potential to hire more individuals at a certain wage, but when an arbitrary limit is set on wages, this may not happen. The company is forced to scale back (or not expand) in order to function at the capacity in which the Government has arbitrarily set via wage controls. Without such limitations there would invariably be more positions available for entry-level workers to choose from.
5) Minimum Wage stifles economic growth. For the reasons laid out in #4, economic growth is slowed down because companies are not permitted to grow as quickly as they would otherwise have the ability to without regulators telling them what kind of contracts they are allowed to enter into.
6) Minimum Wage causes some positions to become extinct. The higher minimum wage has risen, the less feasible it is to provide certain services at market prices. One example is the "Gas Pump Attendant." Nobody would buy gas at the prices it would require to keep paying the attendant Minimum Wage, so the job disappears entirely. Minimum Wage didn't help the guy with that job.
7) Minimum Wage causes the price of everything to go up. Look at Fast-Food for a perfect example. It is the type of job designed for entry-level workers to provide a very menial service. If employers are arbitrarily forced to pay them a certain wage, then the Government is indirectly forcing the price of their products to go up. Years ago the thought of a $5.00 hamburger would make people scoff. If minimum wage was $15.00, then hamburgers would cost something around that price too. And so would every other widget and product that required any assembly in America.
8) Minimum Wage causes American goods to to be less competitive internationally. Other countries are able to provide much cheaper products due to the near-slavelike conditions used in their manufacturing processes. Minimum Wage keeps America well out of competitive range in many manufacturing industries.
Remember that abolishing Minimum Wage does not mean that Sweat-Shops are the necessary alternative. It means that free people are free to enter into agreements that they decide are fair.
In a Free Market, the market will decide fair prices. If you don't want to work for a wage, you can negotiate or leave. It is not slavery or indentured servitude if you are free to leave.
Please discuss. Rambone out.