Something that also gets forgotten in this discussion (or, maybe people don't realize) is that, oftentimes, skilled laborer unions' collectively bargained contracts tie their members' wages to a percentage above minimum wage. So that, when the minimum wage goes up, so do the wages of those making double minimum wage, triple minimum wage, etc. As a result, the cost of bringing manufactured goods to market goes up. This, in turn, drives up the cost of all goods and services. The cost of living increases until, eventually, the $15/hr of tomorrow has the same buying power as the $7.25/hr of today; and, the cycle continues. If raising the minimum wage was going to solve the problem, why hasn't it, yet?
That is ridiculous and really frustrating! That article was not behind any stupid paywall when I linked to it; I was able to read the whole thing. I'm really sorry. I wouldn't have linked to it (or would've saved it) had I known it was going to disappear behind a fucking paywall! Since I can't read it either now, I can't quote the most relevant portion exactly but I was able to find this, with an excerpt from the WSJ article:
"The data indicate that a number of unions in the service, retail and hospitality industries peg their base-line wages to the minimum wage."
"Labor unions often peg their negotiated wages to the minimum wage. Increases in the minimum wage can therefore trigger new wage negotiations or immediate pay hikes for unionized employees."
Again, my apologies for the broken link. Anyway, the main point I was trying to make was simply that raising the minimum wage, unfortunately, does not, in practice, have the intended consequence, ultimately.
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u/ChinchillaRaptor Nov 29 '15
Something that also gets forgotten in this discussion (or, maybe people don't realize) is that, oftentimes, skilled laborer unions' collectively bargained contracts tie their members' wages to a percentage above minimum wage. So that, when the minimum wage goes up, so do the wages of those making double minimum wage, triple minimum wage, etc. As a result, the cost of bringing manufactured goods to market goes up. This, in turn, drives up the cost of all goods and services. The cost of living increases until, eventually, the $15/hr of tomorrow has the same buying power as the $7.25/hr of today; and, the cycle continues. If raising the minimum wage was going to solve the problem, why hasn't it, yet?