Wealth doesn't trickle down.

[Old Hippy]

How does this change the elementary power arrangement?

well if you can not see how raising the minimum wage, and note minimum there, not wages in general, it would bring your 100 /200 million wage slaves/working poor up to a livable wage ... surely a good thing in and off itself... poor people mostly want a livable wage, afterwards they sometimes start to worry about elementary power arrangements .... not very often, but sometimes

 

[Crezth]

well if you can not see how raising the minimum wage, and note minimum there, not wages in general, it would bring your 100 /200 million wage slaves/working poor up to a livable wage ... surely a good thing in and off itself... poor people mostly want a livable wage, afterwards they sometimes start to worry about elementary power arrangements .... not very often, but sometimes

Well I mean, you still have bosses and subservients. Slightly better-off subservients, but subservients nevertheless. They are still powerless to procure their own ends.

 

[Traitorfish]

I think that it's important when looking at the Chinese minimum wage to remember that the appearance that this is a spontaneous movement on the part of the government is superficial. Strikes are commonplace in China, more so than anywhere in the Western world, it's simply that the lack of legal labour organisation means that they tend to be informal and short-lived, and news of them actively suppressed by the state. While the government may not be responding to any specific popular demand, they are responding to a very real industrial unrest.

 

[Tahuti]

well if you can not see how raising the minimum wage, and note minimum there, not wages in general, it would bring your 100 /200 million wage slaves/working poor up to a livable wage ... surely a good thing in and off itself... poor people mostly want a livable wage, afterwards they sometimes start to worry about elementary power arrangements .... not very often, but sometimes

Minimum wages work best as a means to induce inflation. Living standards, not so much.

 

[Old Hippy]

Minimum wages work best as a means to induce inflation. Living standards, not so much.

true, that is an accepted eccomonic view... not one held by the working poor tho...
they complain about milk costing more even when they don't get a rise in pay

 

[Crezth]

People have to eat, Graffito.

 

[WindFish]

Minimum wages work best as a means to induce inflation. Living standards, not so much.

Actually, every nation that introduced minimum wage laws had an improvement in Living Standards and it had no effect on inflation.

Greece, which has just reduced their minimum wage is in a death spiral

 

[Borachio]

I get impression, from the latest news about Greece, that the EU could not afford to let Greece leave the Euro. Come what may.

Trouble is, without a significant devaluation in the Greek currency, surely impossible with the Euro, how is Greece ever going to rebuild its economy?

 

[Old Hippy]

People have to eat, Graffito.

hence the term working poor... charities here actually have seen a large increase of giving food parcels to minimum wage earners .... So i reckon we need to go from a minimum wage to a livable wage mininmum...

 

[peter grimes]

So i reckon we need to go from a minimum wage to a livable wage mininmum...

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D. OH) has proposed a $10 minimum livable wage bill. He's one of the good ones.

 

[Crezth]

hence the term working poor... charities here actually have seen a large increase of giving food parcels to minimum wage earners .... So i reckon we need to go from a minimum wage to a livable wage mininmum...

Why not? Trickle-down will take care of them.

 

[GoodSarmatian]

Actually, every nation that introduced minimum wage laws had an improvement in Living Standards and it had no effect on inflation.

Greece, which has just reduced their minimum wage is in a death spiral

Correlation...causation...yadayadayada...
I think with all the problems Greece has, the minimum wage is a very small factor.

I get impression, from the latest news about Greece, that the EU could not afford to let Greece leave the Euro. Come what may.

Trouble is, without a significant devaluation in the Greek currency, surely impossible with the Euro, how is Greece ever going to rebuild its economy?

They could start by switching from stereotypically African to more European standards in regards to taxation, corruption and fraud. I hate to be arrogant, condescending and borderline imperialistic German guy (actually I only hate being perceived as such), but it looks like the country's whole bureaucracy needs to be rebuilt and the culture needs to change.

 

[Tahuti]

Actually, every nation that introduced minimum wage laws had an improvement in Living Standards and it had no effect on inflation.

Greece, which has just reduced their minimum wage is in a death spiral

The Netherlands introduced the minimum wage in 1968, but I don't think the country was significantly poorer before, or richer after. Britain needed until 2000, but idem dito anyway. In Britain's case, statistical study showed a dramatic increase of price inflation for sectors affected by the minimum wage.

People have to eat

Ever heard of a Malthusian catastrophe?

 

[Antilogic]

They could start by switching from stereotypically African to more European standards in regards to taxation, corruption and fraud. I hate to be arrogant, condescending and borderline imperialistic German guy (actually I only hate being perceived as such), but it looks like the country's whole bureaucracy needs to be rebuilt and the culture needs to change.

Odd that David Harvey picked this example out in his RSA Animate thingy (Germany criticizing Greece).

 

[Borachio]

Eu says Greeks should implement 6 day week

These have led to widespread discontent amongst the Greek population and choked the Greek economy as it struggles to combine austerity with economic growth.

No doubt much needs to be done. The danger is the measures demanded by the notoriously frugal inflation-averse Germans won't have the effect they desire.

What is sure is that the Greek people are struggling in their daily lives and the situation looks increasingly grim.

How long before we see a junta in control again?

 

[GoodSarmatian]

No doubt much needs to be done. The danger is the measures demanded by the notoriously frugal inflation-averse Germans won't have the effect they desire.

Ugh.
If Merkel actually followed her own stupid austerity advice we would actually have a noticeable ecoomic crisis in Germany right now.
Thankfully she's losing allies left and right on this issue.

 

[WindFish]

Correlation...causation...yadayadayada...
I think with all the problems Greece has, the minimum wage is a very small factor.

But the question was that minimum wage was bad for the economy to which I said "no not really".

The Netherlands introduced the minimum wage in 1968, but I don't think the country was significantly poorer before, or richer after. Britain needed until 2000, but idem dito anyway. In Britain's case, statistical study showed a dramatic increase of price inflation for sectors affected by the minimum wage.

Do you have a source on that because I am curious.