One of the most popular economic fallacies of our time is the belief that the absence of a minimum wage would lead to limitless exploitation of employees in the economy. Minimum wage legislation prevents employees from being hired at pay rates below the mandated amount. Proponents of minimum wage laws claim that not having a minimum wage would lead to employees being paid very little for the amount of work they do. They also claim that everyone ought to be entitled to some standard of living and that minimum wages are instrumental in ensuring better conditions for everyone. Ultimately, arguments for minimum wage laws do not stand up to scrutiny.
The most important reason to oppose minimum wage laws is that they violate freedom of association and freedom of contract. It prevents two willing and able parties from coming to a voluntary contractual agreement if the wages are below the legally-mandated minimum. While minimum wage limits are often relatively low, their imposition entails that legislators believe some wages are too low and that they must take measures to prevent work being done for “exploitative wages.” Naturally, this means that some jobs will cease to exist since jobs that pay below the legally-mandated amount will no longer be worthwhile for the firms. As a result, minimum wage laws necessarily destroy some jobs in the economy.
Indeed! And not only should we eliminate minimum wage laws, we should also eliminate laws prohibiting child labor and slavery. Free markets are free only so long as they are truly free. Child labor and slavery are not problems if the kids and/or the slaves agree to the free exchange of their labor for whatever they are getting in return. MAGA!
/sarc tag missing above? Or just a Bernie/Plousy/Brando/etc. acolyte spouting?
A Federal Minimum-Wage-Law is unconstitutional – it belongs to the states – just like Abortion…for the same reason!
The entire concept of a work ethic is completely lost on many. If you want to make more money, you need to EARN it. If you are not happy with the wage you are making (a) Go do something else that makes more money or (b) work a second job.
Of course, having said this, there will be somebody who will whine and complain and tell me I’m racist, zealot, or something equally bizarre!
Hard work and enthusiasm at your present job may just get you noticed and promoted 😉