Minimum Wage: For or Against?

[Hess]

The Minimum Wage is the Lowest Wage permitted by law to be paid to workers.

[The Lawspeaker]

For. Because I am against exploitation and the worker and the employer do not have the same economic muscle and no libertarian propaganda can hide that fact: the minimum wage came into being after the experiences of the 19th century.

[Contra Mundum]

Minimum wage is really a joke in this country. They only raise it to levels already being paid by companies. If they want to really help the working poor, raise the minimum wage to $12.

Conservatives oppose them because they believe wages should be set by the market, and liberals oppose raising them too much because it may deter illegal immigration. And yes, most illegals make minimum wage or better because they use fake SS cards and are hired like they are citizens.

[SilverKnight]

Exactly the minimum wage increases as the value of the dollar drops and inflation increases.

[Hess]

An interesting statistic:

Over 85% of Americans would like to raise the Minimum Wage, while 73% of Labor Economists think the Minimum Wage hurts the Economy

[Contra Mundum]

An interesting statistic:

Over 85% of Americans would like to raise the Minimum Wage, while 73% of Labor Economists think the Minimum Wage hurts the Economy

That is true. Most economists oppose government setting wages. The majority of economists also oppose trade tariffs and price controls.

[The Lawspeaker]

Labour economists never make it beyond their desk and don't get to see the real world whereas 83 percent of the Americans do get to see the real world on a daily basis.

[Graham]

Would scrapping Minimum Wage, not encourage buisnesses to look for cheap foreign labour? Thus undermining the native working class, to sustain a decent living.

Edit: meant to vote yes & for. Hit the wrong option.

[Meerkat.86]

I' m for, though according someone it stimulates undeclared work.

[Contra Mundum]

Exactly the minimum wage increases as the value of the dollar drops and inflation increases.

They either need to scrap the minimum wage as it is now because few companies pay workers than low anyway, or they need to raise it to a level so a person can actually afford to live on it. With 'cost of living adjustments' every year after.

The main reason I support a large increase in minimum wage is to end the incentive to hire illegal labor. Most Americans will not take a job at the current minimum wage, but raise it to $12 or $14, and most working poor Americans would apply for those jobs.