Why do WaPo hire one-sided opinion writers like this?
Never mind, stupid question.
there is a dirty little secret that no one bothers to tell the masses about the minimum wage...
union contracts are tied directly to the minimum wage..
when that goes up, the union’s get an automatic raise..
government workers are unionized...
get it...
Raise the min wage 10% and the price of a loaf of bread goes up 15%.
We on the right often say that the left wants to bring about economic equality by dragging everyone down to poverty, but I don’t know that I’ve seen a more blatant revelation of that fact. This writer thinks it’s a *bad* thing that the United States has a low ratio (0.38) of minimum wage to median wage. In other words, it’s bad that the median U.S. wage is well above minimum. The writer sees having a high minimum-to-median ratio as a goal. The ideal, to him, would presumably be a ratio of 1.0, meaning that everyone receives minimum wage.
Overdue? Makes economic sense?? If you like living in an automated, service free society with higher unemployment, especially among the young and the unskilled, then yes, it makes sense.
Raise it and hurt the ones you think you'll help. Make them and the cost of their labor more expensive! Great plan.
In Oz the minimum wage is A15/hour. Many would, OMG - cost of living in Oz must be through he roof!
Well, maybe not.
Below is a list of average costs for everyday grocery products in Australia:
loaf of bread – A$2.50 to A$3.00;
two litres of milk – A$2.20 to A$2.90;
newspaper – A$1.50 to A$3.00;
box of breakfast cereal – A$3.00 to A$4.00;
jar of instant coffee – A$3.00 to A$4.00;
bottle of soft drink – A$1.50 to A$3.00;
bottle of shampoo – A$2.50 to A$4.50;
bar of soap – A$1.50 to A$2.50;
one apple – 50 cents to 80 cents;
one banana – 60 cents to 90 cents;
beef (500 grams) – A$7.00 to A$8.00; and
chicken (600 grams) – A$7.00 to A$8.00
Ask yourself - if in OZ they pay under A3.00 for a half gallon of milk, why you paying so much more?
Current exchange rate
1 USD = 1.0166 Oz dollar.
Let’s make it $250,000 an hour! That way we can all be millionares.
Why do politicians always have the worse prescriptions for economic malaise. Falling wages make more sense in high unemployment; just like maintaining price ceilings in shortages only make things worse.