Ben Zipperer, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) completely ignores what the current minimum wages did Manufacturing Jobs in The United States – February 9, 2021,
It’s always important to remember that most economists have never run or owned a business. Most economists are academics who don’t have to worry about the real-world consequences of the ideas they endorse. People tend to forget that Richard D. Wolff who is an economist is a full-blown, socialist who based on his readings is not only anti-capitalist but he also appears to be anti-free-market.
When your entire career, revolved around being a highly paid employee and most of what your career entailed writing books on theories in which you won’t be held responsible for any errors, it’s understandable from my perspective why Ben Zipperer, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) would say a $15 an hour minimum wage would barely hurt business and be life-changing for many workers.
By life-changing Ben Zipperer is saying it in the positive sense, meaning that it will have little effect on the standard of living for low skilled workers who not only watch as low-skilled jobs are sent overseas, but also have to watch as their jobs are automated. Because don’t forget that it’s not just about the minimum wage, employers will also have to finance their employees’ sick days, retirements, and other government initiatives, that politicians create to get more votes.
As an example, one of the reasons there is so much criminality in black neighborhoods is not only the minimum wage but because of the special categories, black people are put into by the government. A private employer is a human being and if they’re terrified of being labeled a racist for either being forced to raise prices or stopping a common thief, they will be reluctant to open a business in any U.S State shackled with government regulations. What this means is that whatever business can be outsourced or automated out of the United States is outsourced or automated.
So in turn America, since the FEDERAL minimum wage laws were initially passed, has equated to high-paying manufacturing jobs for low-skilled workers being sent to countries like China. What’s even worse is that highly paid tech jobs are also being outsourced out of the United States, because let’s not forget that U.S dollars especially with low-interest rates still have the value they had in the 1990s in a lot of countries outside of the United States.
It’s because of the cost to operate the various levels of the U.S government why the cost of living in the United States is so high, to begin with. Most of these high costs revolve around minimum wage laws because what people forget is that the minimum wage doesn’t only give low skilled workers an artificial pay boast it also gives skilled labour a pay raise as well.
Because America is dumb enough to have the world’s reserve currency, and export dollars all over the world it allows countries outside the U.S to manipulate their currencies to the U.S dollar. Cuba is one of the rare countries, dumb enough not to manipulate its currency, which has led to overt poverty in the region, because, not only is Cuba an anti-free market nation but its government also believes that it should value its currency higher than the U.S dollar even though it manufactures basically nothing.
In America, There are 30.2 million small businesses, which comprise a whopping 99.9% of all United States businesses, but if you read Ben Zipperer’s article below all he talks about are the really large corporations, like the Walmarts and McDonald’s.
Now @ McDonalds, if people aren’t paying attention things are getting increasingly more automated and prices for consumers have been getting higher year after year with the automation. Now, if this is happening at McDonald’s in which the franchise owners at the very least have a big corporation that is dedicated to their success, imagine the higher costs small and medium-sized businesses, many of which are start-ups will be straddled with?
Of course, Ben Zipperer conveniently ignores small businesses, because his only goal is to sell Americans on why a $15 minimum age can do no wrong to the economy. I’d like to remind people a few things about what really led to the rise of Japan, China, and even India. It was the minimum wage laws and social security.
Most Americans who manufacture things, don’t even think about doing so in the United States, because unless you’re going really big, manufacturing in the U.S is a losing endeavor and this thinking occurred with much lower federal minimum wages. Just imagine what will happen if a $15 FEDERAL minimum wage is implemented!
The first minimum wage law led to wars and an extension in the great depression, in fact, had it not been for the war, and America ‘winning’ the war America would have never gotten its currency reserve status, which in actuality is the only reason minimum wages and social security haven’t collapsed the Euro-Dollar system which to date in case people aren’t paying attention are entirely and hopelessly insolvent.
If the U.S dollar ever loses its currency reserve status, the U.S won’t be any better off than Argentina, which constantly has hyper-inflation problems whenever it attempts to mirror U.S policies.
Interesting times ahead!