Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - The Minimum Wage Argument: Is it too Low?

irateplatypus · 01-27-2005, 08:21 PM

the most practical consideration for not moving the minimum wage upwards is the effect of unskilled service jobs provided by small businesses.

by and large, those jobs (pizza delivery, hamburger flipper, cashier, entry-level retail) are staffed by high school and college students who only work for supplemental income. if the minimun wage were raised to an actual living wage, businesses would be forced to pay these kinds of workers much more than their profit margins would allow.

the answer is education or technical skill training. we need to raise the education baseline among low-earning workers who must make a living wage. this will boost their job opportunities beyond minimum wage employment. low-earning jobs will remain so... keeping small businesses intact. adult employees will move beyond these minimum wage jobs in higher percentages... putting a living wage within their grasp.

01-27-2005, 08:21 PM	#14 (permalink)
irateplatypus can't help but laugh Location: dar al-harb	the most practical consideration for not moving the minimum wage upwards is the effect of unskilled service jobs provided by small businesses. by and large, those jobs (pizza delivery, hamburger flipper, cashier, entry-level retail) are staffed by high school and college students who only work for supplemental income. if the minimun wage were raised to an actual living wage, businesses would be forced to pay these kinds of workers much more than their profit margins would allow. the answer is education or technical skill training. we need to raise the education baseline among low-earning workers who must make a living wage. this will boost their job opportunities beyond minimum wage employment. low-earning jobs will remain so... keeping small businesses intact. adult employees will move beyond these minimum wage jobs in higher percentages... putting a living wage within their grasp. __________________ If you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly, you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance for survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves. ~ Winston Churchill Last edited by irateplatypus; 01-27-2005 at 08:24 PM..