Repeal minimum wage says the Grouch

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Repeal minimum wage

Does the title of this thread strike one as radical,
crazy, unfair, or just plain bad?

I'm not alone with this sentiment.

Google/Bing up “repeal minimum wage” and a whole slew of articles will pop up. Some from 1996, some from a day ago. Over at Yahoo Answers someone put the question in it's proper light. “Was NAFTA just a back-door repeal of the minimum wage and other labor laws?”

And that is the question I wish to rephrase in this thread.

If we are to be a global economy and compete globally,
then the minimum wage laws, which are only honored by some countries (In the EU only 18 out of 27 countries have minimum wage laws) may be a major hinderance to both hiring and competativeness.


I believe this will serve two purposes.

First it should be done with publicity saying “Start asking for raises” as my experience shows that many American wage earners labor away quietly disgruntled and just wait for a wage increase. Somehow it is taboo for many to even ask. And employers seem to have little practice being asked. It almost shocks them sometimes. This should change.

And second, but not least, it will be easier to get hired and easier for the average person to start a business. At least that's what I see.

So the question remains.
Am I crazy?


David Grouchy

Min wage should be repealed. Forcing companies to pay a livable wage is BS. The people will be even happier working 18 or more hours 7 days a week to be able to survive.

Horrible idea is horrible...

This would put so many people in ruin it's not even funny.

How are these businesses you speak of going to sell goods when nobody has enough money to purchase them?

well, since mexicans are going back to mexico, don't worry david, you can come mow my lawn and I'll pay you $3 an hour

Sure as long as you yourself do the time. It's no different from the war hawks that want to wage wars but can't fathom the thought of fighting in one themselves. You work in sweat shops at pennies of the dollar bringing someone else wealth with your blood sweat and tears, until you are willing to "put up" I, for one, wouldn't take anything you say seriously especially something as UnAmerican as repealing the minimum wage .

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But, but, but ...

errrrr, couldn't we just decriminalize it. At least?


David Grouchy

Willful violators may be prosecuted criminally and fined up to $10,000. A second conviction may result in imprisonment. Employers who willfully or repeatedly violate the minimum wage or overtime pay requirements are subject to civil money penalties of up to $1,100 per violation.

dept of labor.gov/ minimum wage/ penalties

reply to post by buster2010


Is that sarcasm?

Originally posted by TV_Nation
Horrible idea is horrible...

This would put so many people in ruin it's not even funny.

How are these businesses you speak of going to sell goods when nobody has enough money to purchase them?

china wil take over as the worlds next profit producing country, and the wealthy will leave america in the dustbin of "used up" economies (already in progress), a fate suffered by many previously powerful countries.

Originally posted by Chewingonmushrooms
I, for one, wouldn't take anything you say seriously especially something as UnAmerican as repealing the minimum wage .

Instead of unemployment,
the government could pay the difference to bring them up to the old minimum.
Would that be more ProAmerican, as you put it?

This would certainly incentivize them spreading propaganda teaching
people that not only is it ok to ask for a raise, by nay; it is one's American Duty!


David Grouchy

Minimum wage adjusted for inflation should be over 16 dollars an hour. I only make 16.50 so i guess my generation is really getting the shaft.

I tell you if they do repeal the min wage, they better be ready to give a lot more welfare out, there's no way in hell I am going to work 20+ hours a day 7 days a week, I will retire if they do that s*** I mean a farmer back in the day who supplied all the food for his family didn't work 20 hrs a day/ 7 days a week!!!!BUMP THAT S***!!!

Actually I do work 12 to 18 hours a day without the option to go home when i knock off. I do this for nine months a year just so my family can have a decent lifestyle. The best part about it is demoncraps call me rich and tell the government to raise my taxes because i make so much more money than they do. They sit around all day drinking and copulating while i on the other hand have to be the responsible middle class american that supports the free loaders and the corrupt military industrial complex. I can't wait for the currency to collapse just so these pieces of crap can reap what they sow....


Oh yes i'll feel a lot of pain but then again i have a special skill set that has demand in the offshore oil industry. The best part about it is there is no competition for work because the typical american doesn't even know hot to sacrifice their wants to support their family... Oh im sure their attitude will change when welfare runs out but then again it will be to late because people like me will never hire worthless pukes.

When your employer pretends to pay you.....pretend to work!

Now do you see why the GOP/Republicans/Tea Party wants to bust unions?

In unity there is strength. Fight the new Feudalism!!

reply to post by jkm1864


I am assuming you are a man and less than 39 years old, beleive me you will not be able to keep that rate as you age, unfortunately they will take as much from you so by the time you are broken down physically you'll also be financially broke. Not saying what you're doing is a bad thing but it isn't realistic for a 39 yr old woman who weighs 115 lbs and served in the ARMY and got back injuries that they caused and won't acknowledge. I can swing a hammer no doubt but I could never do it for 20 hours, my body is just not capable of it.

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I would like to point out at this moment that minimum wage
seems to be an emotionally charged subject.
So much so that even bringing it up
seems to be violating a Taboo.

Are we sure this system/these laws aren't due for a reexamination?


David Grouchy

Originally posted by davidgrouchy
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I would like to point out at this moment that minimum wage
seems to be an emotionally charged subject.
So much so that even bringing it up
seems to be violationg a Taboo.

Are we sure this system/these laws aren't due for a reexamination?

David Grouchy

First how about "re-evaluating" the politician's pay and medical insurances provided by US for them who do nothing but S**** on us?
After that, if they're given a dramatic cut in their wages, then we can talk about repealing min wage laws.

reply to post by davidgrouchy


In theory, wages would adjust to the market. If people were willing to work for low wages, they could. If not, they simply would not take those jobs.

Economists disagree on the effects of minimum wages. Some argue that minimum wages increase unemployment (for many reasons: one being the fact that higher minimum wages result in more people being willing to accept these jobs at the higher rate; therefore, more people are competing for them. Another reason, it is argued, is that employers, who have to pay more for labor, simply employ fewer workers to cut costs.)

Others argue that we must have minimum wages to prevent the kind of "sweatshops" that exist in parts of the world today, and used to exist here in America.

Since even economists do not agree, I can only give what is my personal opinion based on what I have learned and seen. I think that it's possible we might be better off without minimum wage laws. I think the government does too much regulating. I know many will disagree with me, because you think that government's job is to protect us (although there will be some who agree!) The reason I think we'd be better off is that people who start off at minimum wage and work hard....good, reliable workers... generally receive raises and are promoted (I think of my own experiences working in fast food in high school.) If the place were a sweatshop, you wouldn't see that.

Originally posted by syrinx high priest
well, since mexicans are going back to mexico, don't worry david, you can come mow my lawn and I'll pay you $3 an hour

If I'm willing to do it for $3 an hour, I should be able to. Of course, I have to admit that I'm not, but my teenager might be.

Yes, fantastic. Let's have everyone work for the same amount of money that other countries work for, with a cost of living some 200 times higher... If you have a job that is paying significantly more than minimum wage, you are scarce and it tends to be more cost-effective to give you a modest raise than to find someone else. If you repeal minimum wage, people -will- be getting paid dollars a day and when they complain, companies will turn to the 30 million other unemployed people.

If you really want to see our country succeed and not our corporations, start regulating the crap out of them and put a cap on personal income. Is it anti-freedom? Yes. Let's face it though, as much as many of us want to become millionaires and billionaires, how many of us would such a policy really affect? But as long as entities, be they people or faux-people(i.e. corporations) profit more than is sustainable, money will be printed to make up the difference, if money is printed, money is devalued, if money is devalued, the economy tumbles. A slightly dumbed down explanation of the model of "capitalism" that we have today. Is there any reason a company should see a 100% return on their 1 billion dollars of investment year after year? No. Is there any reason why rich people and corporations can have an effective tax rate that is actually a negative quantity? No. Now, for those of you who like to point out wealthy individuals and corporations pay the largest burden of taxes... Well, why the hell shouldn't they? But the fact of the matter, quite simply, is that because of loopholes and subsidies, their effective tax rate, for even the most heavily taxed, winds up being about half what your average American would pay.

Making money on the backs of others doesn't make someone savvy. Saying you're a christian, or a muslim, or a mormon and wishing people dead doesn't make someone a hero or a patriot... These things just make you a bad person.

There are hundreds of issues about my ideas here. Just as there are hundreds of issues with just about everything else, current Economics included, but it is far closer to sane than a system put into place by disgusting individuals like Milton Friedman who proudly wear an open smile on their face talking about the benefits of Greed (And yes, for all you Christians out there, Greed = Avarice. Yep, that's right, a mortal sin.)

Any system that is allowed to go on unchecked will eventually become imbalanced which will lead to some sort of major anomaly. Our current economic woes were:
A) Predictable
B) Avoidable
It has nothing to do with liberals or conservatives. The fault is in the system and until that changes we'll be cycling through extreme highs and extreme lows ad infinitum and the only people paying the price will be the average consumers.

reply to post by GeorgiaGirl


Do economists discuss how this would affect inflation/deflation in respect to loans? Is there an economic outlook for the price of general goods? (like food oil etc) Would the prices go down or will they still continue to rise? Does anybody know?

Because I could be for this if in say 3 years I could buy a home for like $25,000 instead of $250,000.