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Exactly. But a high minimum wage makes the middle class subsidize the minimum wage class. It doesn't bring the poor class up to the middle but it lowers the middle to the working.
You couldn't be more incorrect if you tried, the fact is that the subsidization of the middle class lifestyle has been the burden of those on the low end of things with regard to compensation. This isn't how the books teach you to think but in the end it is all too true. The poorer the worker the more he/she participates in a type of economic subsidizing exercise to the benefit of all above them. When the American worker no longer enjoys the wage disparity between the low and high compensation of labor they will have to acknowledge the fact of their economic advantage as being the spoils of a low wage construct.
You couldn't be more incorrect if you tried, the fact is that the subsidization of the middle class lifestyle has been the burden of those on the low end of things with regard to compensation. This isn't how the books teach you to think but in the end it is all too true. The poorer the worker the more he/she participates in a type of economic subsidizing exercise to the benefit of all above them. When the American worker no longer enjoys the wage disparity between the low and high compensation of labor they will have to acknowledge the fact of their economic advantage as being the spoils of a low wage construct.
That's like saying C students are subsidizing A students. It's not true. You are assuming that the poor deserves the high minimum wage and somehow that was taken from them. This high minimum wage is artificially decided upon. The poor never had it, and it was not taken from them. The middle class are subsidizing the poor. By doing that, the middle will see their status dropped into the lower middle, all the while the much wealthier aren't affected.
Our economy needs a boost in consumer purchasing power and a raise in minimum wage to track inflation and worker productivity is one effective policy tool.
If some businesses are on such shaky ground from a revenue standpoint that they could not afford to stay in business without low-paid labor, then they shouldn't be in business in the first place.
On a macro scale, a raise in minimum wage will funnel much needed purchasing power to the lower classes, they are the ones with the highest propensity to consume and not hoard money like the wealthy. This means more money flowing through the system, more economic activity, and more profits for healthy businesses to expand and hire more workers.
Our economy needs a boost in consumer purchasing power and a raise in minimum wage to track inflation and worker productivity is one effective policy tool.
If some businesses are on such shaky ground from a revenue standpoint that they could not afford to stay in business without low-paid labor, then they shouldn't be in business in the first place.
On a macro scale, a raise in minimum wage will funnel much needed purchasing power to the lower classes, they are the ones with the highest propensity to consume and not hoard money like the wealthy. This means more money flowing through the system, more economic activity, and more profits for healthy businesses to expand and hire more workers.
Prices will go up. And the middle class will have less buying power as the money gets transferred to the poor. The poor need to save money instead of spending. The people who do have disposable income are the middle class and they will be the lower middle. How does that expand businesses?
The ideal way is to give more money to the middle class who indeed can spend more. It then enables businesses to create more jobs and it benefits the poor. Simply by redistributing money to the poor, while prices go up, will not help the middle class.
Her words, not mine. I think she got the idea because apparently some European countries have like $20 minimum wage.
If you travel to Europe you will see the poor here live at their middle class standard of living.
You want european poor standard of living? Have fun with that.
What happens when minimum wages goes up significantly? Will business owners simply accept less profit?
No. Businesses have many options before they accept less profit margins. They can slash hours, shrink the workforce, reduce or eliminate benefits, and raise prices.
Then maybe it is time to stop letting business owners just do whatever they want. If they are so intensely hostile to American workers, who comprise the great majority of the U.S. population, maybe we need to reign them in a bit. I am so sick and tired of being told we must always do the bidding of business on bended knee.
Prices will go up. And the middle class will have less buying power as the money gets transferred to the poor. The poor need to save money instead of spending. The people who do have disposable income are the middle class and they will be the lower middle. How does that expand businesses?
The ideal way is to give more money to the middle class who indeed can spend more. It then enables businesses to create more jobs and it benefits the poor. Simply by redistributing money to the poor, while prices go up, will not help the middle class.
A minimum wage benefits all by setting a floor by which all other wages (including middle class) will re-adjust upwards so it does in fact benefit the middle class, not just the poor.
How do the poor save when 100% of their income goes toward mandatory expenses (rent, food, transportation, child care)? How exactly does the economy benefit from a class of people that has little discretionary expenses left over to participate in the economy?
Prices will go up yes, but businesses do not operate in a vacuum where they can just all collude with each other and jack up prices in tandem in order to stick it to the poor. Businesses still have to compete for customers and market share. They may initially have to raise prices, cut costs, and/or accept less profit in order to maintain market share, but eventually a stronger consumer class will facilitate the flow of money back into healthy businesses so they can grow/expand/hire again.
I'd rather a dollar be spent by a poor person back into the real economy, than sitting idle in a multi-millionaire's bank account.
If you travel to Europe you will see the poor here live at their middle class standard of living.
You want european poor standard of living? Have fun with that.
False. Stop repeating this right-wing nonsense. "Other countries poor are worse off, so we should make poor poorer :smack"
Quote:
Originally Posted by RogersParkGuy
Then maybe it is time to stop letting business owners just do whatever they want. If they are so intensely hostile to American workers, who comprise the great majority of the U.S. population, maybe we need to reign them in a bit. I am so sick and tired of being told we must always do the bidding of business on bended knee.
Businesses can go pound sand. Businesses never have been trustworthy to citizens. Unfortunately America is obsessed with courting business owners through this "American Dream" illusion. The American Dream was built through unions.
What happens when minimum wages goes up significantly? Will business owners simply accept less profit?
No. Businesses have many options before they accept less profit margins. They can slash hours, shrink the workforce, reduce or eliminate benefits, and raise prices.
For those who are making a middle class salary, your wage is not going up. Instead, businesses will reduce your benefits and raise prices of stuff you want in order to pay for the higher minimum wage. The burden of subsidizing the poor is now on the middle class. The rich and the upper middle class won't be affected much. But those making $40k and $50k will get less. Duh, that's a big portion of Americans.
What this does is averaging the poor and the middle, creating a big lower middle class of shared miseries. If you are making a middle class income, what good can come out of this?
The rich always win in America, always. The middle class are dying.
That might be counterbalanced by rising middle class wages due to a company's need to maintain the gap between low-skill workers and the middle class in order to incentivize performance.
The only way to know is with hard data, not simply hand-waving arguments with no quantitative analysis.
That might be counterbalanced by rising middle class wages due to a company's need to maintain the gap between low-skill workers and the middle class in order to incentivize performance.
The only way to know is with hard data, not simply hand-waving arguments with no quantitative analysis.
I think there are studies after exhausting studies that show (with supporting data) that countries with higher minimum wage and strong social safety nets have happier & healthier citizens and higher quality of life ratings. These countries are all strong capitalist societies but have social democratic governments to counteract capitalism's excesses.
On the other hand, a large portion of Americans seem okay with the concept of a massive low-wage underclass and little to no safety net & worker protections. In essence, they support policies not unlike many third-world countries which consist of a few wealthy at the top and the rest struggling to make a living.
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