
The war over the minimum wage - kawera
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/apr/13/how-much-is-an-hour-worth-the-war-over-the-minimum-wage
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Aloha
I think continuing to prop up the 19th century idea of a minimum wage is
foolish - it distorts the labor market, and reduces labor mobility. If we want
to do something for the future, replace minimum wage with a minimum income
scheme, and let the market decide. I strongly suspect you'd see higher labor
participation and higher wages overall a decade after implementation.

We're looking ahead to an era where full employment may not be a possibility -
we should get ahead of it, rather than waiting for doomsday. But for right
now, anything that increases labor mobility would be a net economic benefit.

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bassman9000
_Citing the Berkeley study_

Berkeley had to cut 500 jobs themselves after, among other things, the $15 min
wage raise

[https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-
point/wp/2016/04/1...](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-
point/wp/2016/04/12/uc-berkeley-to-cut-500-positions-in-next-two-
years/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1fea27da23cf)

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oconnor663
> No idea in economics provokes more furious argument than the minimum wage.

Someone hasn't argued about the gender wage gap recently.

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megaman22
Yikes. What a minefield that is. God help you if you dare to tread there. No
amount of facts or rational evidence will save you from the zealots.

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Steel_Phoenix
The minimum wage seems like an issue that is kept alive so that politicians
have something convenient to run on. The rhetoric is already written, the
battle lines drawn. If they actually cared more about the wage than the
convenient wedge, they would tie the minimum wage to a cost of living
indicator so it wouldn't need to be a crisis every election season. This would
leave them free to argue over percentage of cost of living, but clearly,
brinksmanship is a feature in their minds.

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jxdxbx
The evidence is overwhelming that labor markets are monopsonistic, meaning
that wages are almost always below what a competitive market would produce.
Minimum wages work as advertised.

