Advocate wrote:To provide a decent minimum wage, I am willing to pay an additional dime for a burger, or an additional buck for a hotel room. Why not?
Many reasons really. Pertinent questions can be asked:
Does the minimum wage law actually decrease the number of jobs available to high schoolers and other young people simply wishing to have a job to earn some spending money?
Does a minimum wage present a perception to more young people that extra training and college may be unnecessary? Perhaps they think they can get by in life always working minimum wage jobs?
Does the above factor actually cause too many people to vy for low wage jobs, thus actually depressing the wages offered for such jobs?
I don't know the extent of the above factors, but I do believe they exist to a degree. Bottom line, if we have a free market, what is wrong with actually believing in it, by allowing a willing employer employ willing employees at whatever wage they agree upon? In the long run, I suspect the job market would end up finding its most healthy natural balance, that is work will be paid according to what it is worth according to supply and demand.