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From: ags@pucc-i (Seaman)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Unemployment & the minimum wage
Message-ID: <398@pucc-i>
Date: Thu, 16-Aug-84 12:50:34 EDT
Article-I.D.: pucc-i.398
Posted: Thu Aug 16 12:50:34 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 18-Aug-84 01:54:17 EDT
References: <1665@inmet.UUCP> <451@tty3b.UUCP>, <388@pucc-i> <461@tty3b.UUCP>, <393@pucc-i> <463@tty3b.UUCP>
Organization: Purdue University Computing Center
Lines: 20

Early on in the minimum-wage discussion, it was pointed out that if
minimum wages actually solved anything, you could instantly cure
poverty in Bangladesh by establishing a minimum wage of $5.00 per hour.
Putting it another way, it's really a shame that 17th century economists
never thought of establishing minimum-wage laws, thus causing so many
people to endure poverty needlessly for all those centuries!

Even the minimum-wage advocates have not claimed that minimum-wage laws
can cure poverty.  Attempting to hide this gaping hole in their logic, 
they have lately taken to making a slightly different claim:  If we abolish 
the minimum-wage laws in the United States, our standard of living will 
revert to that of the 17th century.

This argument is not EXACTLY the same, of course, but I can't see why
anyone would think it carries any more validity than the first one.
-- 
[This is my bugkiller line.  It may appear to be misplaced, but it works.]

Dave Seaman			My hovercraft is no longer full of 
..!pur-ee!pucc-i:ags		eels (thanks to my confused cat).