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Ace - there is little value in super-low paying jobs. People have to work three jobs or more in order to hope to make ends meet. Living wage is well above minimum wage. Removing mimimum wage, however, would mean that all the unemployed people in this country would be fighting over jobs paying so little as to leave them in poverty. It isn't an easy question, and just raising the minimum wage isn't the answer. But lowering it would be just as, if not more disastrous.[\QUOTE]
And I agree that employees who can provide more value to their employees get higher wages - that much is obvious. But it isn't that easy to do. You need education and training in order to make yourself a more valuable commodity. That simply isn't easy if you are poor. Even if you can get technical training of some kind, and no college education, it is very difficult to get your family through college, considering the extreme costs, etc. That is the problem - how do we get more people to make themselves more valuable to employers?
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Your view of the labor market is interesting. All I know is that when people offer something of value they get paid for it. If unemployed people have nothing to offer employers they won't get jobs, and they won't get paid.
Answering your last question - personal resonsibility. I was in "poverty" once, I did my best in school, got part-time jobs, saved my money, went to college, got loans, graduated, went to work, saved, bought a home, invested, bought a business, and continue to work hard. Again, there is no magical formula, people just have to do what others have done. It works.
