On Sat, Aug 30, 2008 at 11:19:53AM -0400, Gerhard Fiedler wrote:
> Byron Jeff wrote:
> 
> >> It's easy to label and dismiss. Easier than answering the question: if
> >> paying workers more improves productivity, why do you need minimum wage
> >> legislation?
> >
> > Agreed. So let me ask a different question: If you did not have minimum
> > wage laws, what do you think would be the balance point for wages? Pay
> > too low and no one will do the job, pay too high and your competitors
> > run you out of business. So what would you do for labor if their costs
> > were unfixed?
> 
> Can't speak for Vitaliy, but I think he'd just pay something between what
> he needs to pay to get the quality of work he needs and what he can pay
> while still selling his products at a competitive price. Sometimes the
> latter is lower than the former, for whatever reason, and that's when you
> have trouble with your business model :) -- no minimum wage law will change
> that.

And the business goes under. Understood.

> 
> I think one problem with minimum wages is that people often think of
> themselves as employees, dependent workers. I don't think there's a way
> where a society can "provide work" for everybody. IMO people should get
> used to the approach that if you want to receive something, you have to
> trade with something -- which leads you to the question "what do I have to
> trade?" In that situation, you need to look at yourself and ask "what can I
> do that makes someone pay me X?" The key point here is that what I can and
> what I want doesn't really matter for itself, what matters is what any of
> that is worth to someone else, and who that is. I think looking at working
> from this perspective helps a good deal, and getting used to looking at it
> from that perspective as early as possible may help some.

Rightly or wrongly I still see minimum wages as a pacification systen in a
civilized society. The bottom line is that those who cannot see a useful
and legal trade scenario will turn to illegal and dangerous activity. It
devolves into lawlessness. Welfare is one solution but does not require any
activity on the part of the recipient. Offer enough for a decent standard
of living, and folks will be inclined to work for it.

BAJ
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