Wyatt earp
Diamond Member
- Apr 21, 2012
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- #201
Why do you want 42% to make minimum wage?About 42% of American workers earn less than 15 dollars an hour accounting for the astronomical working poverty rates in the USA.
American business has always had a very primitive, barbaric view of minimum wages. Most tend to use the ancient and outdated paradigm all productivity gains should be gleaned by making workers work longer for less but from a macro economic perspective such thinking is myopic and can even damage their own business long term.
Work forces that are underpaid, wages below certain levels have worse productivity due to lack of motivation incentives.
Also in what is largely a service economy underpaying a large chunk of the work force depresses consumer demand, the very customer base such businesses need to grow. When minimum wages barely cover the cost of existence consumer demand decreases.
Most empirical economic studies find that minimum wages set up to 59% of the median wage— do not increase unemployment writ large but such raises do witness increases in consumer demand at significant levels.
A 15 dollar minimum wage would be well below that 59% threshold and would dramatically increase consumer demand and help alleviate working poverty.