Warren Buffet told CNN in an interview wednesday when asked whether or not to raise the minimum wage, "I thought about it for 50 years and I just don't know the answer on it." Buffett also said that the current federal minimum of $7.25 is not a living wage. If raising it didn't hurt employment he'd want it up significantly higher. "You do lose some employment as you increase the minimum wage, if you didn't I would be for having it $15 an hour," he said. Many states and cities have already raised their minimum wages above the federal minimum. Ohio for example is at $7.85. Also, President Obama is pushing for a raise nationwide to $10.10 an hour. However as we have learned in class, increasing the minimum wage also increases the unemployment. So what do you think? Should we raise the wage?
http://money.cnn.com/2014/04/23/investing/buffett-minimum-wage/index.html?iid=SF_E_LN
The minimum wage is always an issue that no one will ever know the answer to. We have learned that one cannot test what will happen with the economy. There are no "control" experiments. My thought is raising the minimum wage would not hurt unemployment as much as people think, and if we are to have one at all, we should have it higher than it is now.
ReplyDeleteI also do not know the answer to this. Warren Buffett has interesting comments to this topic, compelling arguments on both sides. My biggest fear of raising the minimum wage is what it's effects will be on employment for lower-wags workers, such as paid internships and first-entry jobs for recent post gruaduates. The push on wages will force employers to reconsider how many entry-level employees they can afford.
ReplyDeleteAgreeing with what has been expressed, there is no clear, correct, answer to this issue. I believe the wage should be raised in effort lower the poverty rate. But, a substantial increase would most likely hurt the economy in some way. I believe increasing the wage in stages would help industries adjust to the new conditions in more manageable circumstances.
ReplyDeleteYes, raise it. It will be a displacement of wealth to a group of higher propensity to spend (money will be moved from the pockets of employers to employees). This distribution will benefit the economy all things considered. Also, I like have Warren Buffet doesn't have any shame in admitting that he doesn't have the answer... too often people forget that its 'ok' to not have a strong opinion.
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