Economics: Minimum Wage, Who Gets Hurt?

[DBTrek]

Guys, all I'm offering is real world data, and simple logical arguments. Data you can check yourselves. I feel like I'm getting a fight for just stating these two things, how am I misrepresenting the data or making bad arguments? I don't understand.

I think the you’re making the assumption that everyone thinks the downside of raising minimum wage is higher prices everywhere - and we don’t. There is a downside, but uniformly higher prices on everything isn’t it.

[jediuser598]

The price of milk is higher for you, even though your minimum wage is lower. Why?

Labor costs are only one cost of doing business. Many more costs go into the total product cost. Using milk as your only metric is silly.

Previously in this thread:

The myth that "raising minimum wage raises the price of everything" thankfully, is easily disprovable. Name what you want to compare, be it milk, burgers, cars, the price of a big mac, the price of education, the price of gas, and we'll compare. Most of those, you could probably look up yourself easily enough.

If you don't want to do a single item, we could do a basket of items. We list out the basket of commonly eaten items, then each of us goes and finds the cheapest we can, and we report back with our findings.

I would say that's original research, which isn't a bad thing.

Even from preliminary data, I'm seeing that perhaps the price of everything isn't solely dependent on minimum wage. To state it thus, If the price of minimum wage goes up, that doesn't necessarily mean that the price of everything goes up.

Wait, if MHF start pumping out research, would that technically make us a research institution?

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[jediuser598]

Guys, all I'm offering is real world data, and simple logical arguments. Data you can check yourselves. I feel like I'm getting a fight for just stating these two things, how am I misrepresenting the data or making bad arguments? I don't understand.

I think the you’re making the assumption that everyone thinks the downside of raising minimum wage is higher prices everywhere - and we don’t. There is a downside, but uniformly higher prices on everything isn’t it.

I believe most everyone on this forum thinks that's one downside. The more people I disprove that for, the less I have to argue that position. Supply and demand .

[BjornP]

Guys, all I'm offering is real world data, and simple logical arguments. Data you can check yourselves. I feel like I'm getting a fight for just stating these two things, how am I misrepresenting the data or making bad arguments? I don't understand.

If you believe that minimum wage doesn't work, to some extent, as a rising tide lifting the prices of all goods, then what's the point of lifting minimum wage? If only very few make minimum wage level wages, then isn't the only benefit to raising it, that it may raise all other wages? Like a rising tide for other income groups than min. wage earners?

[Fife]

Did you see this one?
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/2633- ... 2018-01-10

I do remember reading a quote from some Seattle City Elder saying something like "there's no way the retailer should be passing this cost on to the consumer."

:superdrunk:

[Fife]

Guys, all I'm offering is real world data, and simple logical arguments. Data you can check yourselves. I feel like I'm getting a fight for just stating these two things, how am I misrepresenting the data or making bad arguments? I don't understand.

If you believe that minimum wage doesn't work, to some extent, as a rising tide lifting the prices of all goods, then what's the point of lifting minimum wage? If only very few make minimum wage level wages, then isn't the only benefit to raising it, that it may raise all other wages? Like a rising tide for other income groups than min. wage earners?

Once we start letting the pointy-heads fuck about with price of one thing, why not let them fuck about with all of them? What could go wrong?

[jediuser598]

Guys, all I'm offering is real world data, and simple logical arguments. Data you can check yourselves. I feel like I'm getting a fight for just stating these two things, how am I misrepresenting the data or making bad arguments? I don't understand.

If you believe that minimum wage doesn't work, to some extent, as a rising tide lifting the prices of all goods, then what's the point of lifting minimum wage? If only very few make minimum wage level wages, then isn't the only benefit to raising it, that it may raise all other wages? Like a rising tide for other income groups than min. wage earners?

You believe the point of raising minimum wage is to raise the price of everything? (I'm confused)

And while most aren't at minimum wage, if minimum wage was raised to $15 then many more people would see a raise.

http://fortune.com/2015/04/13/who-makes-15-per-hour/

I'm not 100% on those numbers, so if anyone finds a better source then that's cool. According to these numbers though:



42% of workers make less than $15 an hour. Though those numbers are from 2012-2014, so a bit dated.

[jediuser598]

DB, we gonna get this bitch to 30. It's going to happen.

[SuburbanFarmer]

The argument for 'not passing along the costs' would be the insane levels of corporate mass-produced profitability that our industries now enjoy. Profitability has gone parabolic, and wages have not moved (adjusted for inflation).

This is also very simple. Getting pedantic about milk vs. soda pricing is completely missing the point. You won't suddenly see a 3x jump in prices on your weekly grocery trip. You'll simply look back 10 years from now and realize that you're making more dollars, but you're more broke than ever. Frogs and boiling water.

Also, regarding the wages vs. value argument - I find it amusing that we're willing to delegate determining the value of our labor to middle management in any employer's office. American values indeed.

[jediuser598]

Also, regarding the wages vs. value argument - I find it amusing that we're willing to delegate determining the value of our labor to middle management in any employer's office. American values indeed.

Yeah that struck me too. Ended up in my sig.