(July 8, 2014 at 12:59 pm)Natachan Wrote: The minimum wage here in the US is about where the market would set it anyway. In the long term minimum wages don't decrease poverty, they just increase prices across the board. You could invest in education, charitable organizations, and infrastructure projects and fix the poverty problem much more effectively than artificially raising wages across the board.

Since when is minimum wage set by the market? As far as I know there should be a law imposing it. It can be per hour or per month, in my case it's per month, but I can't talk much because our minimum wage of 475€ is a misery.

(July 8, 2014 at 12:59 pm)Natachan Wrote: The minimum wage here in the US is about where the market would set it anyway. In the long term minimum wages don't decrease poverty, they just increase prices across the board. You could invest in education, charitable organizations, and infrastructure projects and fix the poverty problem much more effectively than artificially raising wages across the board.

That's a pipe dream.

It's also bullshit.


http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2014/07...mployment/

Quote:Think a higher minimum wage is a job killer? Think again: The states that raised their minimum wages on January 1 have seen higher employment growth since then than the states that kept theirs at the same rate.

The minimum wage went up in 13 states — Arizona, Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington — either thanks to automatic increases in line with inflation or new legislation, as Ben Wolcott reports in his analysis at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. The average change in employment for those states over the first five months of the year as compared with the last five of 2013 is .99 percent, while the average for all remaining states is .68 percent.

Digging deeper, all but one of those states are experiencing increases in employment, and nine of them have seen growth above the median rate.

FOX denies climate change, too. Change the channel.

(July 8, 2014 at 12:55 pm)Blackout Wrote: In Sweden and Denmark there is no minimum wage and people live well. Having a minimum wage is not a necessity unless people don't earn enough.

I bet it might have something to do with the fact that over 70% of the labor force is unionized.

Edit: to add following.

It may also have to do with Swedish business mentality when it comes to compensation.

Quote: Ikea, the Sweden-based global retailer of flat-pack furniture, plans to announce Thursday that it will raise the average minimum wage for its U.S. retail employees by 17 percent, to $10.76 per hour, beginning next year. The company said it’s overhauling how it determines wages for workers in each of its 38 U.S. stores and will now base its minimum pay on what’s considered to be a “living wage” in each local area, rather than on what competitors are paying.

“We stepped away from focusing on the competition and really started to focus on the co-worker,” said Rob Olson, the chief financial officer and acting president of Ikea’s U.S. headquarters.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/e...story.html

Living wage, what a concept.

(July 8, 2014 at 12:55 pm)Blackout Wrote:

(July 8, 2014 at 12:51 pm)Minimalist Wrote: Yes. It is well below the poverty level.

Just where the republicunts want it..... except for the scumbags who want to abolish it.

http://www.salon.com/2014/05/01/gop_sen_...imum_wage/



You see, with the republibertarianeo-conazi motherfuckers there is no floor to their scumbaggery.

In Sweden and Denmark there is no minimum wage and people live well. Having a minimum wage is not a necessity unless people don't earn enough.

That's like saying a safety net is not necessary in places where many people fall off buildings just because it has not proven all that necessary in places where few people fall off buildings.

(July 8, 2014 at 1:10 pm)Cato Wrote:

(July 8, 2014 at 12:55 pm)Blackout Wrote: In Sweden and Denmark there is no minimum wage and people live well. Having a minimum wage is not a necessity unless people don't earn enough.

I bet it might have something to do with the fact that over 70% of the labor force is unionized.

Edit: to add following.

It may also have to do with Swedish business mentality when it comes to compensation.

Quote: Ikea, the Sweden-based global retailer of flat-pack furniture, plans to announce Thursday that it will raise the average minimum wage for its U.S. retail employees by 17 percent, to $10.76 per hour, beginning next year. The company said it’s overhauling how it determines wages for workers in each of its 38 U.S. stores and will now base its minimum pay on what’s considered to be a “living wage” in each local area, rather than on what competitors are paying.

“We stepped away from focusing on the competition and really started to focus on the co-worker,” said Rob Olson, the chief financial officer and acting president of Ikea’s U.S. headquarters.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/e...story.html

Living wage, what a concept.

Sounds great, I should move to Sweden. 70% of workers are unionized but I am positive that is because 1 - More or less 70% of the economy is public 2 - It is mandatory for workers to be part of unions, mainly regarding public economy and services, public workers...

Where I live some professions require you to be a part of unions, such as being a teacher in public schools, something I find reprehensible.

(July 8, 2014 at 12:55 pm)Blackout Wrote: In Sweden and Denmark there is no minimum wage and people live well. Having a minimum wage is not a necessity unless people don't earn enough.

You have other similar nuggets of wisdom?

Moderate increases in minimum wage DOES help, however in the long run increases in minimum wage will cause inflation. It's finding the balance that's the hard part. Unions might be a better way of helping than government mandated minimum wage. Higher taxes on capital gains might help.

As to who is going to help with investing in infrastructure, education, and charities, I don't know. Perhaps if we took some of the defense spending here in the US and channeling it into these projects might help.

(July 8, 2014 at 1:18 pm)Chuck Wrote:

(July 8, 2014 at 12:55 pm)Blackout Wrote: In Sweden and Denmark there is no minimum wage and people live well. Having a minimum wage is not a necessity unless people don't earn enough.

You have other similar nuggets of wisdom?

Also in Finland and Norway, and Germany, but I think Germany recently approved some sort of minimum wage, but I'm thinking it was only for some less favorable classes of workers, like construction workers and so on. Those countries can regulate professions that are usually less paid and more discriminated, but there is still no national minimum wage. According to wikipedia, the highest minimum wages are given in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, France and the UK (but this can be innacurate by the cost of living in every of those countries).

Apparently Italy has no minimum wage too, but in this case seems contradicting, they are in a crisis.

(July 8, 2014 at 1:17 pm)Blackout Wrote: 1 - More or less 70% of the economy is public

Not so...

(July 8, 2014 at 1:17 pm)Blackout Wrote: 2 - It is mandatory for workers to be part of unions, mainly regarding public economy and services, public workers...

Now you're just making shit up.

Quote:The trade union movement is based on voluntary membership, and there is neither closed shop nor union shop.

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Europ...BOR.html#b