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From: kiessig@idi.UUCP (Rick Kiessig)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: Unemployment & the minimum wage
Message-ID: <226@idi.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 28-Jul-84 20:17:49 EDT
Article-I.D.: idi.226
Posted: Sat Jul 28 20:17:49 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 29-Jul-84 01:07:50 EDT
References: <1082@hao.UUCP>
Organization: Intelligent Decisions, Saratoga, CA
Lines: 38


        One question that this brings to mind is where to draw
the line.  The current system says that EVERYONE in the country
is entitled to some minimum amount of money every month, whether
or not they work (although the minimum is larger if they DO
work).  We currently don't enforce this thinking outside of the
country, although from what I've heard from our politicians, they
would enforce it elsewhere if they thought they could get away
with it.  So how long do we keep doing this?  Do we start taking
away money from those who already have it?  Do we let the
government collapse under its own weight?  Or do we adopt a more
reasonable approach and let people again fend for themselves,
and compete with each other on a free-market basis?

        I suppose there are advantages to the minimum wage laws.
They encourage companies into more and more automation, which
requires some interesting innovations.  Robots in factories.
Automated processing at fast food restaurants.  Self-serve gas
stations (ever notice how self-serve didn't even exist before the
minimum wage?).  Etc.  Of course the fact that these new
innovations cost lots of people their jobs doesn't seem at all
important to the liberals.  Actually, I'm convinced that the
people behind the minimum wage really don't want more poor
people.  They just honestly don't understand how business works
in America.  If you make something more expensive, whether it's
people or buildings, machines or raw materials, every effort will
be made to use fewer and fewer of the expensive items.  This was
very clear when gasoline went from .70/gal to $1.50/gal. in the
seventies - people used a lot less (suprised?)!  So why are people
suprised that there are more people out of work than there
were when the minimum wage was $1.65/hour, when it has since
doubled to $3.35/hr.?

-- 
Rick Kiessig
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