Anybody taken a gander at the news lately?
I've been reading it like mad...mostly about the United States' financial situation and China's presence in Tibet and the threat to Taiwan.
Did you know that about 225,000 climate-change-related deaths occurred in the Asia Pacific region last year? Including malaria, flooding, etc...
Did you know that Taiwan has been deliberately not allowing their dollar to strengthen so that the US will continue to purchase products from them, and that this is the reason that so much inflation is happening to their country now? And did you know also that Asian companies and bankers are trying to pull more and more out of betting on US currency and are being forced to by their government?
So anyway, I was wondering if I could get some input on this: Do you think that by eliminating the minimum wage, the United States would be able to pull out of a recession faster?
Here's the justification: If you eliminate the minimum wage, the price of labor will be at equilibrium with the market...people will be willing to work for far less - mostly minorities, the ones who, at the present time, are the ones suffering most from unemployment (approx. 9% among blacks, 5-6% among Hispanics). Subsequently, because cost of production decreases and because people are making less, prices will drop, thus fighting inflation. If we can fight inflation enough, people will buy more, and the economy will turn around.
There is also another factor; inflation in Asian countries has in some areas (Taiwan, Vietnam) tripled over the last year alone. Since about half of the products which the United States imports are from Asia, and cost of production are going up all across the board, American consumers are going to be forced to pay more, especially at historically "cheap" stores such as Wal-Mart. In a situation like this, is it not better for America to mobilize our own shrinking workforce, even if it is in a manufacturing sense, to create products at a similar price (possible with the elimination of minimum wage), and thus help eliminate the massive trade deficit (which, if not combated, will result in a lower standard of living)? (As of January 2008, the US trade deficit in both goods and services was $58.2 billion).
This really makes me want to find international employment...where the currency will actually have a value.
Thanks for your thoughts! :)
Comments
So it's my personal belief it wouldn't help. Also influencing my argument is my need for a job this summer.
If you really feel that way then try to do something about it. Or, like you said, work for a foreign company.
The U.S. dollar is backed by... nothing. Nothing aside from our collective confidence in its value. You mention a host of Asian countries 'turning away' from the American dollar for whatever reason, forcibly or by choice. Though I hate to even suggest the man is right, this kind of ties in to what Dr. Y talked about in relation to the OPEC nations and the reason we're in Iraq right now. Though somewhat irrelevant to this post, I think there's a lot of truth to it : /
I don't, however, think eliminating minimum wage will serve any purpose other than to open a pandora's box of exploitation and suffering. Let's say they do get rid of it - what's the incentive for companies to lower their prices? Sure, the cost of production decreases significantly since they're paying their workers in peanut shells and banana peels. But what's stopping them from maximizing their profit by keeping prices the same? Nothing.
I find it hard to believe that you, of all people, would ever suggest an idea so opposed to basic human faculties. Nothing good can come from people willing to work for "far less" than they already have - which, in a lot of cases, is already next to nothing.
I just think it's an interesting thought...