In a world swimming in Crony Fascism, it's unusual to see one of its foremost participants, Bill Gates, get something economically correct. Yesterday, he was on Morning Joe, and was asked about the minimum wage. Here's his response:
“Well, jobs are a great thing. So you have to be a bit careful: If you raise the minimum wage, you’re encouraging labor substitution, and you’re going to go buy machines and automate things — or cause jobs to appear outside of that jurisdiction. And so within certain limits, you know, it does cause job destruction. If you really start pushing it, then you’re just making a huge trade-off.”That's not too bad considering who is saying it. The response is not perfect of course...the minimum wage needs to be abolished completely, and is a job destroyer at all times, not just "within certain limits".
But coming from the taxaholic, Common Core funding, foreign-aid advocating, Bill Gates, I think he deserves a tiny smidgen of credit. If only because his answer shocked the defensive Mika Brzezinski, and probably a good amount Sawantites as well.
Chris Rossini is on Twitter, Facebook & Google+
The “middle class” myth: Here’s why wages are really so low today
ReplyDeleteWant to understand the failures of the "free market" and the key to getting a decent wage? Here's the real story
The argument given against paying a living wage in fast-food restaurants is that workers are paid according to their skills, and if the teenager cleaning the grease trap wants more money, he should get an education. Like most conservative arguments, it makes sense logically, but has little connection to economic reality. Workers are not simply paid according to their skills, they’re paid according to what they can negotiate with their employers. And in an era when only 6 percent of private-sector workers belong to a union, and when going on strike is almost certain to result in losing your job, low-skill workers have no negotiating power whatsoever.
http://www.salon.com/2013/12/30/the_middle_class_myth_heres_why_wages_are_really_so_low_today/
They tried that sort of stuff in Bangladesh. They banned child labor and pushed the girls into prostitution. It worked out quite well for the young ones, wouldn't you say? But that's what was expected to happen given the context of the Bangladeshi economy - that's what happens when do-gooders take good options away from desperate people - it makes it even easier to exploit and manipulate the desperate people.
DeleteYou don't need to bring sweat shop jobs to the US [in its present context] because the US has accumulated capital over centuries (yeah, the old ones saved a significant portion of their production and were good stewards of capital) and organized it under the capitalist impulses despite the myriad efforts of the US Govt to get in the way. As a result, it still has an economy that offers better opportunities as entry-level jobs relative to some third world countries. If you think that flipping burgers at a fast food joint is 'sweat shop' labor, you need to gain some perspective. It's not clear how long this advantage will last though, because the politicians and Keynesians are hell bent on destroying the productive arrangements and accumulations of capital - those idiots think pieces of paper and bullying power are the only true forms of capital. Once this advantage is gone, yes, you will need to bring those sweat shop jobs to the US, or sell your kids into prostitution if you'd rather prefer that.
What about the child labor laws? Why no outcry against laws prohibiting factories from hiring 10 year old girls to work in sweatshops for 30 cents a day? Seems like this blog is being politically correct at drawing the line at the minimum wage. Let's bring all those sweat shop jobs back to the US.
ReplyDeleteTroll, I know.
DeleteBut I think if you look hard enough, you'll find that there are plenty of arguments around here against the various child labor laws. Even so, I am pretty sure no one advocates sending anyone to 'sweatshops' - there are plenty of non-sweaty things kids aren't allowed to do to raise money to help a struggling family.
You know who I would love to see get taken to task on their support for minimum wage? Lou Dobbs. When I used to watch him back when he was on CNN before Obama came into power he was a big advocate for the minimum wage including support for raising it. I don't know if he still supports it now since I no longer watch the MSM but I would love a libertarian like yourself Bob to take him on. It's not just the minimum wage he doesn't support free trade either.
ReplyDeleteLaw of averages.
ReplyDelete[You put and infinite number of monkeys in front of an infinite number of typewriters...]
Yacht Owners Seek to Salvage Deduction for Second Homes
ReplyDeleteKent Webb plans to write off part of the interest he pays to finance what he considers his second home, a luxury fishing boat named the Moonlighter.
Calling such tax breaks loopholes for the wealthy, congressional Democrats have other ideas.
They want to eliminate the 73-year-old North Carolina physician’s deduction as part of broader tax code revisions this year, potentially the biggest revamp since 1986 and one in which lawmakers have pledged to scrutinize every tax break.
The second-home mortgage deduction, which also benefits owners of cabins and recreational vehicles, is the boating industry’s biggest tax break and applies to vessels ranging from tiny sailboats to multimillion-dollar yachts. Besides having at least a temporary toilet and camp stove, the only other Internal Revenue Service qualifying requirement is that taxpayers spend at least 14 nights a year in their second home if they also sometimes rent it out to others.
“It has been a significant factor in my decision-making,” said Webb, whose 60-foot (18.3-meter) yacht was listed for $2.6 million when it was for sale in 2013. “It is so unfair to target people who want to use their boat as a second home.”
Not Sympathetic
“I’m not sympathetic for a second-home deduction used largely as leisure,” Quigley said. “If we need revenue and we need to make cuts, I have a hard time putting second homes as a priority.”
Quigley said it “verges on the absurd” that boats have to be “subsidized” at the expense of other things such as food stamps and funding for more police and the military. He’d also like to see the deduction eliminated for RVs, although that isn’t written into his legislation.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-23/yacht-owners-seek-to-salvage-deduction-for-second-homes.html
wtf does this have to do with Gates and minimum wage?
DeleteIsn't this a subsidy?...Isn't this a policy? ....get rid of the deduction and let prices fall....do the same thing with primary residences.........remove the policy, let prices fall..........but, but, but...we don't want prices to fall...too bad...if prices were stable, people wouldn't be looking for min wage hikes.
Deletewhy do you think people can't afford things.
My minimum wage isn't a living wage
Kevin Burgos works full-time, earns more than the minimum wage and even fixes cars on the side to bring in extra money to support his family.
Yet, it's barely enough to cover his basic living expenses, and Burgos finds himself in a $600 hole each month.
Burgos' situation represents the woeful inadequacy of minimum wage and what could be a central question in the income inequality debates -- what is a person's living wage?
For Burgos, it would mean an additional $6.50 an hour over what he makes now.
http://money.cnn.com/2014/01/22/news/economy/minimum-living-wage?
Gates lives in a bubble fostered by bubble valuations........
go read.............
Ferdinand Lips GoldWars
Daniel Defoe said of John Law that he made money flow
like water in the Seine. 1 The consequences of Law s doings
never went beyond France. It is said that the country never fully
recovered from the financial, economic and social devastation of
his scheme. The events in the financial markets of today,
however, have global implications and embrace us all. The study
of history, especially financial and monetary history, is a
neglected and underestimated subject. We need to respect and
accept past experience. If we do not, we are damned to repeat the
mistakes, and then things will not only collect dust, they will turn
into dust.
http://www.fame.org/pdf/Gold%20Wars%200-9710380-0-7%20%20-%2001.21.02.pdf