Saturday, January 11, 2014

Friedman and Hayek laugh -- or maybe sob uncontrollably

Debate Over Minimum Wage Hike Is Obscured By Myths - Investors.com
Most people who earn the minimum wage or slightly more are the only earners in their households and therefore are poor, right?
And so, if the federal government or state governments raise the minimum wage, that will be a nicely targeted way of helping poor people, right?
Well, no. Wrong on both counts. Most workers earning at or close to the minimum wage are not the sole earners in a household, and most of them are not in poor households.
Minimum Wage jobs are usually held by students or semi-retired folks, often part time.  Minimum Wage is not meant to be a living wage, and if (for example) MacDonalds were to pay all it's employees a "living wage" the Dollar Menu would be replaced by the Sawbuck Menu.

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