ARNOLD KLING
August 14, 2011
The Top Political Contributors
August 11, 2011
Gender and the New Commanding Heights
August 11, 2011
Jamie Galbraith Makes an Assumption
August 11, 2011
Macroeconometrics: The Science of Hubris
August 10, 2011
Real and Nominal Bond Yields
BRYAN CAPLAN
August 14, 2011
The Effect of Thumb Sucking on Income
August 12, 2011
The Voice of Cold, Hard Truth to All Would-Be Educators
August 12, 2011
Ability, Morality, and Prosperity: A Paper and a Report
August 11, 2011
The Theory of Time and Frittering
August 10, 2011
Male Variance and the Remnants of the Gender Gap
DAVID HENDERSON
August 9, 2011
Hayek in "Unbroken", Part Two
August 8, 2011
Hayek in "Unbroken"
August 5, 2011
James Bovard on the Peace Corps
August 4, 2011
Summers Way Off on FDR and 1941
August 3, 2011
The "Amazon" Tax
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After years of learning and now teaching economics, I support large increases in the minimum wage. As I am still only 32 years old, I have not yet had the (mis)fortune of living through a time when horrible policies were inflicted upon society - and so I do not have the ability to draw upon them as teaching material.
My students can only believe me so much when I demonstrate to them that mandated above market wages result in unemployment of resources (or other bad effects).
This is why I am now supporting nationalized health care, excess profits taxes, caps on CEO pay, limitations on oil exploration, stricter occupational licensing, stronger drug laws, and more! My school tells me they want economics to have more of a "service learning" aspect to it - what better way than to have my students experience the (un)intended effects of disasterous economic policies!
Are you sure he didn't sprinkle anthrax on those envelops? ;-)
Sadly for economic lessons, reality seems to fairly steadfastly refuse to clearly hew to economic reality where Minimum Wage is concerned. We keep raising the minimum wage moderate amounts, and the economy fails to collapse...
In this case the economic downside, if it even exists, is minimal. However, as pointed out by the economists interviewed, there are a raft of non-economic, but still very real, reasons for supporting them minimum wage. Failing to recognize that economic policy *is* political policy (and has significant non-economic effects) is to fail to recognize how mankind operates.
Tom West sadly is ignorant of the fact that without a federal minimum wage, there is still a natural minimum wage. Would you work for 10 cents an hour? 50 cents? 1 dollar? 5 dollars? Since there is no law mandating employment, workers can choose what wage will offset their opportunity cost of not working. Just another example of those out of touch economist's crazy theory of spontaneous order....
Wow.
Someone said that, if a single economic policy doesn't ruin the economy, it must be good policy.
Wow.
Everything is simple when viewed through a scope no wider than a paper towel roll.
I believe that the minimum wage should be increased because as things become to be more expensive for us as citizens, we need more money to pay bills. It is also hiring more employees therefore the businesses will make more money as a whole.
I also agree with the fact that as the minimum wage has continued to increase that the economy still has yet to collapse. Therefore it is good that we are increasing them.