Quote:
|
Originally Posted by smooth
So we need to do a couple of things:
1. Raise the minimum wage commensurate with inflation
2. Raise the poverty threshhold
3. Develop a plan to get these workers some preventive health care.
|
It's weird, there was one presidential candidate talking like this and one who wasn't and Ohio voted for the one who wasn't.
Quote:
|
Originally Posted by alansmithee
But seriously, the impact of a wage raise like that is quite substantial. For every economist that says wage increase would not impact jobs, there is one who says it will. Also, if it doesn't impact jobs, it will impact prices. What does it matter if everyone makes $10 per hour if now a loaf of bread is $6? The problem isn't the monentary value, it's real wage. And real wage won't rise unless you desire some mandated cap on profits of a company, because the increase in cost of providing labor for that company will be offset by dropping the labor force and/or increasing prices.
|
Monetary value is how you calculate real wage. Inflation has increased but wages have not, that is in effect a pay cut to the real wage. People earning minimum wage are actually earning less now than before Clinton raised the federal minimum.
Quote:
|
Rather than just raising minimum wage, I would prefer to see a shift in the way schools are run toward a model closer to Germany's. In Germany, many businesses invest in high schools, and also provide pseudo-apprenticeships for students. Not only does this give businesses a vested intrest in its future employees (staving off outsourcing), but it provides the businesses with highly trained employees with company loyalty. It won't help many of the people now, but something like this, IMO, would go a long way toward helping the development of a future middle class. Plus, the economic impact wouldn't be as unpredictable as just a blanket minimum wage increase.
|
I agree that we push far too many people into college that don't belong there and who won't benefit. Germany's system directs students into apprenticeships for jobs that are blue-collar but unionized, well-paying, and middle class as well. If we let businesses into our high schools I'm afraid it would just be taken over by wal-mart so they could underpay high school workers and indoctrinate students.
Quote:
|
As an aside, California is just an extremely expensive place to live if a bad apartment is $1,600. I live in Michigan, and a very nice 2 bedroom apartment can easily be had most places for around $700 (and that's for a fairly high-end place).
|
One of the purposes of a minimum wage is to even out this kind of discrepency across the nation. No, a person earning middle wage in Ohio could never afford to live in California. Much of California though has living-wage statutes that balance wages with inflation and the cost of living.