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Originally Posted by stevo
So is it one big conspiracy amongst all companies colluding to keep wages low?
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That's certainly the direction the invisible hand pushes. They put it in pretty terms like "cost reduction". What they mean is, treating employees like commodities instead of like human beings.
Personally, if I were a CEO, I would be willing to trade some profits for the benefit of having my employees be respected and treated well. Some investors would have a problem with that, to be sure, and I would advise them to invest in another company.
Now, every major company that I know of that follows that philosophy is also remarkably successful. CostCo comes to mind, just as one example.
A federally-mandated minimum wage prevents the most egregious abuses by corporations. It would be nice to think that a free labor market could take care of itself, but without massive overhauls in corporate structures and thinking, I don't see that happening.