1. The federal minimum wage law is
administered through the use and threat of coercive force and taxation – a
euphemism for “theft” – rather than through the use of incentive, reward, encouragement,
and voluntarism.
2. The rate and the value of the minimum wage
are set by coercive statist government, rather than by the average going
subjective free-market values of entry-level labor and currencies.
3. The increase of the minimum wage can be
justified by citing the need for the federal government to extract more in
personal income taxes from working citizens.
4. The increase of the minimum wage can be
justified by citing the need for labor unions – which, where they exist, almost
always wield an exclusive monopoly in the representation of workers to management
– to extract more in dues payments from working union members.
5. The minimum wage law constitutes an undue
financial strain on producers, managers, employers, and payroll departments;
all other things remaining constant, increases in the minimum wage may
contribute to any or all of the following problems: mass layoffs, decreases in
profitability and the ability to invest capital, declines in the quality of the
services or products, declines in workplace safety and other conditions, and
declines in employee benefits.
6. The increase of the minimum wage is a
major factor contributing to inflation.
7. The inflation-adjusted value of the
minimum wage peaked in 1968, and it only increases one out of every four years.
8. The inflation-adjusted value of the
minimum wage decreased by 20% from 1997 to 2006, and 27% from 1981 to 1989.
9. When the rate and value of the
minimum wage do actually increase,
the only individuals who benefit are those who are already employed.
10. Increases of the minimum wage cause
increases in unemployment by making it more difficult for the unemployed to
justify such an inflated wage.
11. An inflated minimum wage makes it
more difficult for those who lack education, specialized skill sets, and job
training and experience to justify such a wage, creating a barrier for the
entry of young people, people without advanced degrees, and the disadvantaged
and impoverished into the labor market, and it entrenches the socioeconomic
privilege of the well-educated, those with specialized skill sets, those with
employment experience, the middle class, and adults in general.
12. An inflated minimum wage makes it
more difficult for those who lack proficiency in English to become employed,
and entrenches the socioeconomic privilege of those who speak English fluently.
13. A standard minimum wage fails to
account for the differences in the standards of living wages and conditions
across the various cultural, national, ethnic, and racial groups; this tends to
cause competition between members of such groups, thereby breeding resentment,
which undermines the international solidarity of the working class.
14. The enforcement of the minimum wage
law contributes to the increased marginalization and legal risks of
undocumented foreign-born workers who are content to earn less than the minimum
wage; this tends to breed resentment – as well as, occasionally, a secret and
confused jealousy – in and among those who have come to feel a sense of
entitlement to receive “a decent wage” due to their obedience of the law and
their native-born status.
15. The federal minimum wage law is
obligatory neither on the states, nor on the companies and agencies which are
granted exemptions from it.
Post-Script,
Written on January 24th, 2016:
Raising the minimum wage is
unnecessary, and only serves to fuel the cycle of price inflation. Instead of
raising the minimum wage, let’s keep the minimum wage where it is, or lower it,
or just get rid of minimum wage laws entirely. Let’s do this so that we can
achieve full employment; abolish the Federal Reserve and fractional reserve
banking, so that our currency – and, by extension, our earnings – is actually worth something; lower government spending
so that people don’t have to pay such high taxes on the little money that they do
earn; and tax landlords who abuse and neglect their property, so that the rents
aren’t so damn high.
Originally Written in November 2011
and published under the title
"Fifteen Reasons to Abolish the U.S. Federal Minimum Wage Law"
Title changed on May 10th, 2024
and published under the title
"Fifteen Reasons to Abolish the U.S. Federal Minimum Wage Law"
Title changed on May 10th, 2024
Post-Script Written on January 24th, 2016
Edited on January 2nd and 26th, 2016
great blog, i agree with you
ReplyDelete1. All law are like this.
ReplyDelete2. Opinion, not fact.
3. Nobody earning minimum wage makes enough to pay income tax.
4. As a rule, labor union members are paid more than the minimum wage.
5. Unemployment declined and the ecomony improved following each increase in the minimum wage.
6. commodity prices are, by far, the leading cause of inflation.
7. This is an argument for increasing the minimum wage, not abolishing it.
8. Ditto.
9. Duh. And the unemployed would not suffer from abolishing the minimum wage, either. Until they try to get work.
Numbers 10 through 12 are not true. But if you thing you can prove your points with facts, be my guest.
10. Show your proof.
11. We have 75 years experience with minimum wage laws, site examples.
12. Again, show your proof.
13. Come on, you Commie you. Do you really care about the "international solidarity of the working class?"
14. Abolishing the minimum wage will create just this situation.
15. The fact that there are exempted classes of workers
1. Saying "all laws are like this" doesn't make minimum wage laws OK, it just points out that there are more problems with law enforcement than we admit to.
ReplyDelete2. It is NOT my opinion that the government sets the minimum wage. The federal government set a $7.25 minimum wage 12 years ago, that is not disputable. The free market certainly didn't choose to keep it at the same rate for a whole decade. It was because of government policy.
3. That may be true, but that money is not technically exempt from income taxes. The tax may still be collected on a person's earnings before they even receive their check; government withholds our money and receives interest from it, and then they send us a check for what we THINK is equal value. The money loses value while we're waiting to receive it.
4. True. But BECAUSE OF what you said, that means that an increased minimum wage will also increase the wages of unionized workers. So my point still stands
The minimum wage is damaging not only because it induces employers to cut hours or let existing workers go. It's also harmful because it dampens the incentives for, and flexibility of, entrepreneurs to develop new ways to employ people who are out of the job market like cheap assignment writers are also entrepreneurs to develop new ways to employ.
ReplyDeleteFederal Minimum Wage Law is important for our country's nation. And add university subjects as compulsory. Because this information is very important for university students for the next step. nursing Assignment stands with universities.
ReplyDelete"Fifteen Reasons to Abolish the U.S. Federal Minimum Wage Law" is a controversial and thought-provoking argument against the federal minimum wage in the United States. The new act for Turnkey interior designers in Dubai was initiated for the first time. The authorship of the article is unknown and it presents various points which may include:
ReplyDeleteWow! great Blog. Recently I built my new house and I was looking for renovation ideas. Your article is really amazing.Full Turnkey Interior Fit Out Company
ReplyDelete