a thoughtful web.
Good ideas and conversation. No ads, no tracking.   Login or Take a Tour!
comment
wasoxygen  ·  3887 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: An interesting question

Short answer: Yes.

The minimum wage is already zero. That is how much someone earns if they choose not to work or can’t find a job.

I don’t see how selling one’s time, energy, and talent for money (i.e. working at a job) is meaningfully different from selling tangible products or services like massages or driving lessons. I think it is obvious that forcing a minimum price on any of these sales can be harmful to both buyer and seller.

The buyer (i.e. customer, or employer) is forced to pay more, or go without what they wanted to buy. The seller (i.e. business, or worker) already had the option of refusing to sell for a lower price if they so choose, and must now get by with fewer options.

Minimum wage can result in some workers getting a raise, but it is likely to result in additional, undesirable changes in the workplace to compensate. It encourages employers to prefer advantaged, more skilled workers over more vulnerable, less-skilled workers. It artificially encourages outsourcing, automation, and can promote discrimination (as “undesirable” employees are prevented from “competing on price”).

When an outsider forces two people to modify their working agreement to satisfy the (possibly well-intentioned, possibly not) demands of the outsider, this is undeniably coercive.

I have made more tedious arguments here and there arguing against coercive minimum prices for labor (warning: snark).