Minimum wage offers benefits under any scenario

Interestingly, although opponents of the minimum wage use dubious negative elasticities to argue against the minimum wage, it is not clear that such elasticities suggest the minimum wage is, in the end, a bad policy. Even assuming that the negative elasticities claimed by the opposition are correct, this would still mean that a 20% increase in the minimum wage would cut low-wage employment by 4%. In the low-wage labor market there is generally job growth and always a great deal of turnover and changing of jobs. In that environment, a negative elasticity implies a risk of longer gaps in employment, not low-wage workers facing complete and perpetual unemployment. Workers are not likely to actually get laid off as a result of the increase, but rather employers would simply adjust by not replacing workers who vacate a position. When new workers look for a job, under this worst-case scenario, there will be 4% fewer jobs available than before the minimum wage was raised. On average, then, these job seekers would have to wait 4% longer to get a new job that will pay 20% more once they get it. On an annual basis, even if the critics positing the worst-case scenario are correct, workers are 15.2% better off than they were before. In other words, putting well-founded skepticism regarding the negative elasticities aside and accepting the prognostications of those opposed to a minimum wage increase, it is unclear why low-wage workers should be concerned. The benefits far outweigh the costs even in the gloomiest scenarios.

http://www.epi.org/content.cfm/bp178

And yeah, I am telling many how ignorant I think they are on the subject. You really need to read the entire doc at the link to even begin to start talking about the minimum wage or criticizing EPI’s take.

For example your “points” have occurred and will continue to occur in one variation or another since the dawn of business. If you cared to actually understand business than you’d realize that the pendulum swings a little more than it should to one side – corrections are made and it’ll swing a little more than it should to the other side before more corrections are made.

It will always find the middle, sometimes it takes longer than other times but it always will.

Once you realize that:

-Business owes you absolutely nothing at all. Even in a right to work state, you can get unemployed in a snap.
-Technological advancements will continue – irregardless if you loose your job or not.
-Without an eye on the profit line, there would be no business, and your job would cease to exist.
-Labor & Business are equally important.
-If you got every degree known to man – still nobody owes you a thing.

Once you understand those, than you can begin to understand the ramifications and benefits of protections. Until then, purposefully and willingly blindfolding yourself to what you do not consider reality is short changing yourself. To which, it’s your life to live blindfolded or not. But your missing out on how to really state your position.

So I’m curious, on one hand your posts just spill forth as coming from someone who feels that Business owes them no matter what. Maybe passed over for promotion or passed over for employment due to shortcomings that you didn’t realize (or refuse to realize) you had. Maybe you got laid off and saw others less educated continue on. Who knows. Which if that’s the case, than you’ll continue to be passed on by.

Now your response here will be interesting. For someone who couldn’t give a rats behind will simply respond with an attack, or make the accusation of being attacked, or spout off on some rant or another. I’m personally hoping to see you actually show an attempt at understanding business, for it will greatly increase your understanding of Labor and give you some actual valid points to use in these types of situations. For I fully believe that taking the position of labor in most situations is indeed a good position to take – but until you understand the opposite position, you won’t be able to really understand your desired position in a respected manner.

However your knowledge of the business side is clearly non-existant, perhaps your not interested in learning the other side. who knows, but you really do need a two sided knowledge to fully understand and appreciate the aspects.

Actually, if you take part of what Seanny’s saying – i.e. gain greater understanding of Economics that many simply do not have. – in an admittedly better manner of stating it. People would have a greater ability to understand what Marlowecan is saying.

A lot of people only take either the total Market view or equally ignorant – the total labor view. You can see it in such posts where people only reference say child labor, or work hours, or whatever. The actual reality is our countries periods of swinging heavily towards labor side was nothing to hold up as a total source of pride. It had it’s stellar moments that produced policy that we couldn’t imagine going backwards with, but it also had it’s highly destructive moments.

Our economy needs to let businesses do what they do best, to innovate, to serve to provide a better product to the other guy. And to run their business the best way they can given their respective competitive environment. Our economy also needs to set into place protection levels, i.e. work hours, child labor laws, etc.

A clearer understanding of both sides you realize that total protection is no good. Neither is total market driven. The pendulum swings side to side but winds up closer to the middle.

Seanny said: While I’m sure most of the commenters here think they’re being reasonable, most are just blowing smoke…

Would it be safe to say that the reason for your post was tell others here how ignorant and inept they are? And then, without adding anything of substance one way or the other pack up and leave?

It seems… I don’t know… It seems like you’re just blowing smoke. (hint: maybe you could share some of your vast knowledge instead tossing around nonspecific pejoratives.)

You claim “But the market dosn’t “Get over itâ€? Even a 2 cent increase in price will change the amount sold in the whole country, thus lowering profits.”. Prove it. Did you even read Marlowecan’s post on this issue? I may disagree with him on some things but not this one. The best study on this proves your claim wrong and it’s been backed up by other studies. Show us the ones that prove you correct and him wrong.

But the market dosn’t “Get over it” Even a 2 cent increase in price will change the amount sold in the whole country, thus lowering profits.

Meanwhile, our coddling of the oil industry has tripled the cost of gasoline, and the related policies have eroded our security and our civil rights and degraded the environment. Subsidizing petroleum has kept us locked in dependency on a troubled region of the world, while alternative fuels would have beat the tar out of petroleum years ago without the false economy created by “free market” Republicans.

OK, I do blame Repubs because this is a government of, by and for oilmen. The real root cause, (I know, GD sounding like a broken record) is the corrupting influence of money on politics, which in turn is based on the unconstitutional concept of “corporate personhood”.

I have serious questions about whether having a federal minimum wage is even Constitutional (my inclination is to believe that it’s not).

I tend to agree.

But even, constitutionality aside, I wonder whether the benefits of having a minimum wage truly outweigh the drawbacks of having a minimum wage. The government can’t simply legislate wealth out of thin air. When the government mandates that employees are to receive high wages, well, the money has to come from somewhere (and someone) else.

From the employers, who will then raise the prices, etc. At least, that’s an oversimplification of one economical approach.

Whenever someone tried to raise the issue (of the rich paying far less in taxes as a percent of income), he or she was accused of fomenting class warfare.

“There’s class warfare, all right,� Mr. Buffett said, “but
it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war, and
we’re winning.�