Aug 07 2009
Abolish the Minimum Wage First - and Only Then Abolish Welfare
I mentioned yesterday that I would not advocate abolishing the welfare system prior to the abolition of the minimum wage. My reasoning? The welfare system is not nearly so damaging as minimum wage legislation. Indeed, welfare is likely to be acting as a band-aid on the harms of minimum wage legislation, by preventing those who become unemployed due to the minimum wage from starving. Repealing welfare without abolishing the minimum wage first would be disastrous to many people who would be unable to find employment with the present wage floor in force. The minimum wage acts to keep those with skills insufficient to earn income at a certain rate out of the labor market. Welfare at least rectifies the injustice done to such individuals by preventing them from starving while they are legally prohibited from working. Of course, the welfare system has numerous undesirable side effects on individuals’ incentives to develop their skills and find work in the future. However, there are only certain stepwise procedures by which its abolition might be viable.
A doctor, seeking to cure a patient, must follow one of a limited set of options for doing so. Any individual medical procedure might be desirable in a proper context, but, if a multitude of desirable procedures were arranged in the wrong order, disaster might result. The same applies to fixing problems in the sphere of politics. I happen to believe that the world would be better without both the minimum wage and welfare, but disaster might strike if they are abolished in the incorrect order.
Sincerely,
G. Stolyarov II
- McCain voted against increased Minimum wage 19 times, but say’s that he supports it
- Video: “How Big Government Breeds Vice: Perverse Incentives of the Welfare State” by G. Stolyarov II | The Rational Argumentator
- Schwarzenegger Lays Off State Workers, Says Others Will Have to Live on Federal Minimum Wage. Hey Arnie Can YOU Live on Federal Minimum Wage in California?
- Job
- Dear Advocates of Increasing the Minimum Wage
Bring back slavery! Here here, at least if your $4 an hour slaves get sick you have some reason to get them medical care. If they are only wage slaves then you just find another hungry sucker to work for $4 an hour… Right? …Or are you thinking the broader economy has no effect on wages and the only reason people work for shit wages is because they are ignorant and incompetent? In wich case they deserve to earn shit.
The minimum wage keeps people unemployed who do not have the skills to earn income at the minimum wage level. Employers are prohibited by law from paying these people less, but they are not prohibited from *not hiring* these people! So the poorest, least skilled individuals suffer most under the minimum wage — not to mention the young, many minority individuals, and the elderly who are trying to earn a supplementary income.
The minimum wage is responsible for persistent unemployment and poverty in this country.
Sincerely,
G. Stolyarov II
Slavery was never abolished it was organized. Therefore every working individual is a slave to the system unless of course you are a leading member of the system that makes laws and regulations about the system. It is no wonder that men and women spend millions of dollars to become a member of the house or senate yet neither pay a million dollars. they are trying to get out from under the slavery life style. I for one think we know how to build houses there should be no Homeless. We know how to grow food no one should go hungry yet there will always be those who want something for nothing. So what should we do? Keep paying for the life style of the rich and famous.