$15 minimum wage

The median hourly wage in England is 13 pounds. So 6.50 is actually what the author there says is tolerable. Plus the UK has a scaling minimum wage, which means the people least likely to be employed under a high minimum wage (the youth) can be paid less. No such exception here.

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Originally Posted by Loki

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...f33_story.html

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On the bright side I do look forward to labor saving technology. Cashiers at fast food restaurants *should* go the way of the dodo.

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Originally Posted by Steely Glint

When the minimum wage was introduced in the UK, we also heard from conservatives about how it would send unemployment 'straight back up' and wreck the economy. It never happened. Indeed, a common theme of any measure or law which seeks to improve workers rights or conditions is hearing from conservatives and some business organisations that it will wreck the economy and drive up unemployment, and also cause all rich people to relocate to the Cayman Islands, followed by absolutely nothing of the kind happening.

Now, I'm not saying you're wrong: I can certainly see how a sufficiently large jump in the minimum wage might actually damage employment, but do we have instances where a similar measure has been introduced and been followed by a spike in unemployment which could reasonably be attributed to the new law, rather than, e.g. a sudden recession or other outside factor?.

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Across the Eurozone the Youth Unemployment rate varies from an average of 22% to highs of over 50%.

Our minimum wage in this country varies from £3.30 for Apprentices*/£3.87 for under 18s up to £7.20 (as of today) for over 25s. This sliding scale to give them some rare credit was one of the smartest things the Labour government ever did as it is the youngest with no job experience (like in the EZ) who suffer most when unemployment spikes due to things like this. By introducing a sliding scale the least experienced, least skilled and least employable in society are "cheaper" giving them a chance to get a job.

However even with our sliding scale the evidence was showing that the old top 21+ rate (£6.70) was at the most it could be pushed to without causing more unemployment. Hence the new 25+ rate.

If our NMW spiked from £3.87 for under 18s (£3.30 for apprentices) or £5.30 for 18-20 then I would fully expect a significant climb in youth unemployment.

* If you hire an apprentice you pay one day a week while they study at college not just working so a misleading figure ...

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Originally Posted by RandBlade

Across the Eurozone the Youth Unemployment rate varies from an average of 22% to highs of over 50%.

Our minimum wage in this country varies from £3.30 for Apprentices*/£3.87 for under 18s up to £7.20 (as of today) for over 25s. This sliding scale to give them some rare credit was one of the smartest things the Labour government ever did as it is the youngest with no job experience (like in the EZ) who suffer most when unemployment spikes due to things like this. By introducing a sliding scale the least experienced, least skilled and least employable in society are "cheaper" giving them a chance to get a job.

However even with our sliding scale the evidence was showing that the old top 21+ rate (£6.70) was at the most it could be pushed to without causing more unemployment. Hence the new 25+ rate.

If our NMW spiked from £3.87 for under 18s (£3.30 for apprentices) or £5.30 for 18-20 then I would fully expect a significant climb in youth unemployment.

* If you hire an apprentice you pay one day a week while they study at college not just working so a misleading figure ...

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But that's not how things work in the US. For example, it's hard (if not impossible) for someone working in a restaurant or kitchen to be considered an "apprentice", whether they're 'studying' at a culinary college or not.

For that matter, culinary students can only work for less than minimum wage when they're students, just like nursing students or medical residents do.....but there's a difference in upward mobility. The personal cook or chef can now earn just as much as the private physician. The only difference is their debt structure.

But that's not how college students are taught to view their education, or its costs......

An apprentice here as part of the minimum wage law has a structured meaning, ie as standard it might be one day a week studying and four days a week working.

Either way though, yes we know its not how it works there which was the point Loki and I were making. A minimum wage of $15 (which is £10.54) an hour may work for experienced adults but its not going to lead to job vacancies for high school dropouts. Someone who drops out of school at 16 or 18 without any qualifications or experience is going to struggle to get a job at $15 an hour. The worst thing you can do is price the young out of the jobs market as once someone has become long term unemployed they'll struggle later in life too and are likely to end up either working illegally or in a criminal enterprise or both.

For comparison our NMW is £3.80 ($5.41)) for under 18s or for over 18 is £5.30($7.54) so $15 is way out of the ballpark.

http://www.latimes.com/local/cityhal...410-story.html Unions cynically keeping down wages of union members in order to increase union membership (and thereby union fees)...