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Instead of more bootstraps, why can't we make sure everyone has a livable wage?



Employers are not going to employ people who cost more than they produce.


We hear this all the time, but it seems largely irrelevant. There's no good reason to believe that the lowest-paid workers would lose their jobs if they had to be paid more. There are no randomized controlled trials about raising the minimum wage, but quite a few natural experiments suggest a minimal effect on unemployment with reasonable increases. Low-paid workers have won raises with collective bargaining while your theory suggests they would be laid off en masse.

There is no consensus amongst economists that raising the minimum wage as high as $15/hour would substantially increase unemployment. You are, of course, welcome to disagree with them, but you can't claim this is just Econ 101.

https://www.chicagobooth.edu/review/what-economists-think-ab...


Would you pay someone more than they produce if it's your business?

> There is no consensus amongst economists

I don't know any who have run a successful business.


So let them go out of business and not employ anyone anymore. Why is that so hard to accept?


it might be hard to accept for the people that used to work there. right now, the labor market is pretty tight at the low end, so these hypothetical workers would likely not have much trouble getting a different minimum wage job. but it's not always like that. I remember it being surprisingly difficult to get my first minimum wage job as a teenage.


This does not appear to be true for the tech companies I am familiar with.

Or other employers, for that matter.


This does not appear to be the case for many executives.


Many employees turn out to be deadwood, too. There's always a risk with hiring someone.


Oh, how I wish I could up-vote your reply!


Why should we, meaning everyone but them, instead of them? They are responsible, not we.




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