Reply to Minimum Wage = Living Wage?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
As for what people are entitled to -- I think that if people work a full-time job, they are entitled (yes, entitled) to have enough money to pay for

1. food
2. shelter
3. health care
4. transportation to their job

And perhaps instead of saying, "Nobody is paying you $15 an hour to wrap a sandwich or answer a telephone," it would be more accurate to say, "I won't pay you $15 an hour to wrap a sandwich or answer a telephone, unless the law requires me to do so."

[/quote]

Societal obligations are not met by compelling businesses to pay at a level that enables those obligations to be satisfied. [b]If society feels there is such an obligation then government should provide the assistance whether it is subsidized food, shelter, healthcare or transportation.[/b] [b]Whether society wishes to take on such an obligation is up to the voters and will doubtless result in higher taxes. But that is still up to the voters to decide.[/b]

Businesses should not be expected to meet societal obligations in these areas especially as it pertains to the level of compensation. Let market forces determine the amount that a business should pay. For example, I think it is ridiculous that I pay the exorbitant amounts that plumbers demand for relatively simple work involving very little time but that is the going rate for a plumber and so I pay it. I don't understand what is so difficult about the concept of letting the market decide what a specific job is worth rather than prescribing an artificial rate based on the obligation that an employer has to meet societal needs.

Yes, there is a role for government and regulations in certain facets of how a business operates: environmental standards, safety issues, child labor, equality of compensation between genders, non-discrimination with regard to race, creed and ethnic origin, sexual harassment, etc.[/quote]

Spot on! The proponents of forcing businesses to pay a "living wage" know perfectly well that the voters will never agree to higher taxes to meet so called "societal obligations" which is why they are going after businesses to do so. It is an end run around the voters.[/quote]

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