Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not intelligent enough to say either way. I do think that excluding them was a good idea. If the only businesses that can survive a law are massive multi-national corporations, we've got a problem...
OTOH if they draw conclusions from data that only very poorly reflects the Seattle labour market the study's got a problem
A ‘very credible’ new study on Seattle’s $15 minimum wage has bad news
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Re: A ‘very credible’ new study on Seattle’s $15 minimum wage has bad news
#62The problem I have with the minimum wage is that it transfers wealth from the very poorest to the mid-working class/lower middle class. Who am I to tell a homeless person that she is legally forbidden to engage in a voluntary, hourly employment contract for less than $15/hr? I would effectively be guaranteeing that she stays unemployed/homeless. Regardless of practical effects (which are ambiguous at best), it's wron…
Someone who hasn't unterstood minimun wage fully?
Minimum wage covers exactly this situation: You will have to pay at least that amount, even if the person you're employing happens to be homeless at the moment. If an employer is not willing to pay that, than that's not an issue with having a minimum wage...
Re: A ‘very credible’ new study on Seattle’s $15 minimum wage has bad news
#63There is an excellent free (and very short) book, "Economics in one lesson" by Henry Hazlitt, which explains very logically why minimum wage, rent controls and other "band-aid" economical measures always end badly: https://mises.org/system/tdf/Henry%20Hazlitt%20Economics%20i... It is like 2-hour reading, but very enlightening.
Re: A ‘very credible’ new study on Seattle’s $15 minimum wage has bad news
#64Re: A ‘very credible’ new study on Seattle’s $15 minimum wage has bad news
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
Increase social services funding by taxing the rich and closing tax-dodging loopholes (like capital gains, etc.).
can you elaborate on this capital gains tax loophole?
Closing the capital gains tax loophole is, presumably, a reference to stopping some or all of this favorable treatment.
Re: A ‘very credible’ new study on Seattle’s $15 minimum wage has bad news
#66Uh, businesses. You are supposed to raise prices, effectively taxing those rich customers. Did you forget that part?
Re: A ‘very credible’ new study on Seattle’s $15 minimum wage has bad news
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm not intelligent enough to say either way. I do think that excluding them was a good idea. If the only businesses that can survive a law are massive multi-national corporations, we've got a problem...
That's a separate issue, also worthy of study. But it does seem ridiculous to assume the validity of a study of low-wage workers in Seattle while omitting data from companies like Starbucks that presumably employ many people affected by the change.
Re: A ‘very credible’ new study on Seattle’s $15 minimum wage has bad news
#68Re: A ‘very credible’ new study on Seattle’s $15 minimum wage has bad news
#69Assume that the average minimum wage worker was working 2 different jobs for a total of 40 hours a week with no benefits. That's a total of 160 hours a month, or $1440. A loss of $125/month equates to $1315, or 102 hours a month at $13/hour. [1] So the worker loses $125/month and gains 58 hours. To translate that into one dollars example, childcare in Seattle costs around $10/hour.
There are of course lots of ways to save money with that free time. More sleep means fewer minor accidents leading to injury and sickness around the house. Childcare costs around $10/hour in this city, so by that metric there was basically no point in going to work before this wage increase if you had children to take care of. Saving 50 hours of work equates to saving $500 dollars. Obviously, it's not going to be 1:1, but even assuming you were spending just 15 hours in childcare would make our hypothetical worker better off, with an extra 35 hours to go to school, or just relax and keep their health.
[1] It sounds like this study is looking only at small businesses, for whom the rate is $13/hour. Since it ignores most businesses that actually must pay $15/hour, the headline seems wrong by definition.
Re: A ‘very credible’ new study on Seattle’s $15 minimum wage has bad news
#70I find this to be credible - at some level, it'll certainly hurt. The problem as I see it is that some people say "aha, see, that doesn't work", but then stop there. There is a real problem in that some people (not all who make minimum wage, and not only those who make minimum wage) have real problems making ends meet. What's the best way to help them?
Another solution to help low wage/low skilled workers, is a negative tax rate: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earned_income_tax_credit