Quoted from taz:I think his point was that the US government has made it more difficult than ever before to be a small business owner, because of over regulation and complexity. Thus, US business policy, while well intended in many circumstances, is actually chasing business abroad, and with it, jobs. The minimum wage can be a good thing, I made it for a few years and it's hard to live independently on such meager earnings. However, studies have shown that it and the truck load of rules that go with it is a disincentive for business hiring many young unskilled folks that might otherwise have employment. These are often times people still living in their parent's homes. In fact, employment burdens and risk in general have gotten so bad that many companies now primarily hire supplemental/term employees or 1099s to avoid the pitfalls of regulation and lawsuits...and this was before Obamacare. So, the burden of employment rules is about to get even worse and with it another negative hit to employment. All of the polices are probably well intended, but compounded, they make US businesses noncompetitive. Most of my jobs outside of the military have been those types of jobs. Even now, I'm a 1099 with no employment benefits, though I make a slightly higher salary as a result. I think something like this was his point, not a social equality argument.
I missed this and didn't get back to it (this is why we need email notification!) but Taz basically made the response for me!
Minimum wage is a whole issue unto itself. I don't think the point of a minimum wage is to make sure that someone has a "living wage" (whatever that is). Are people *entitled* to a "living wage"? Who decides what a living wage is? Shouldn't everyone be entitled to live very comfortably? Why don't we just pass a minimum salary wage of $75k a year?
