Comments on: The Minimum Wage is Always Zero

By: Who Protects the Worker? « Vox Nova

Who Protects the Worker? « Vox Nova — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 01:26:35 +0000

[...] relying on those wages as their chief means of support. Partly this reflects my belief that the minimum wage is really always zero, and that if a worker is only worth a certain amount to a business, telling that business that they [...]

By: Who Protects the Worker? « Blackadder’s Lair

Who Protects the Worker? « Blackadder’s Lair — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 01:23:39 +0000

By: Is Labor a Commodity? « Vox Nova

Is Labor a Commodity? « Vox Nova — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:46:09 +0000

[...] Labor a Commodity? Last Friday’s post on minimum wage laws drew a fair amount of criticism. Which is not surprising. To many people, [...]

By: Is Labor a Commodity? « Blackadder’s Lair

Is Labor a Commodity? « Blackadder’s Lair — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:42:26 +0000

[...] Labor a Commodity? Last Friday’s post on minimum wage laws drew a fair amount of criticism. Which is not surprising. To many people, [...]

By: RR

RR — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 07:39:04 +0000

“I don’t worry about the minimum wage. I’ll just hire some illegals – not like i pay them the current MW anyway”

Right, you have to pay them more. Yes, I have hired illegals before. They won’t work for min wage. If you want to find someone willing to work for min wage, you’re better off looking at your local high school.

By: Daniel H. Conway

Daniel H. Conway — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:15:57 +0000

reviles=rivals

By: Daniel H. Conway

Daniel H. Conway — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 02:15:36 +0000

I think it is important to recognize that a free market is predictable because of the bestial nature of the agents within it. Its predictability reviles behavior of lion prides or birds. That is because it is predicated on humans behaving as herd beasts.

Subjecting labor to “market forces” subjects humans, their families, and their work to these demonic forces.

By: Snup

Snup — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 00:06:51 +0000

Here’s my thoughts. Admittedly I’m not an economist but…
My dad was a semi-skilled laborer for a major cooperation. He made $25 an hour, way above min. wage. Now a secretary at the same company looks at the wage my dad is making who has no education or skills and says to herself, I am worth much more than that and since I have skills, I should be paid more. The company agrees and her wages are higher. Having a minimum wage or bottom wage supports higher wages.

Honestly, I don’t know if we should have minimum wages. I wonder if instead we should have mandatory COLA increases. I’ve been working the same job for 3 years and my salary has gone up 50 cents.

Hey! My sister gets a raise! She was making $6.50!

By: Shmoo

Shmoo — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:56:52 +0000

I don’t worry about the minimum wage. I’ll just hire some illegals – not like i pay them the current MW anyway…

By: SB

SB — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:47:09 +0000

Don’t count on Michael I. agreeing with anything so self-evidently true. He’s a big-government anarchist, after all. :)

By: Chris Burgwald

Chris Burgwald — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:05:05 +0000

I’ll take a shot, Michael… if a policy proposal (e.g. the minimum wage) is actually *harmful* to those it is intended to help (i.e. the poor), then it’s against CST, whatever one’s intentions. I’m sure that you’d agree that the poor are best served by policies that *actually* help them, rather than by those *intended* to do so but *actually* do the opposite.

By: Michael J. Iafrate

Michael J. Iafrate — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 21:27:24 +0000

BA – Can you show us how your thinking in this post is IN ANY WAY rooted in Catholic social thought?