The Minimum Wage

"I'm afraid you have missed the point of the statistics. They are shown to prove that a minimum-wage does not always, if ever, result in unemployment." Your statistics have proven no such thing. You compared a number of different places with different economies. All economic laws take place ceteris paribus, that is, all other things being equal. All other things are not equal in your comparisons, however. Puerto Rico is not Massachusetts is not South Carolina. Your argument is negated. "It cannot be proven that minimum-wage laws have a result of unemployment and, even if it did, there's apparently a way to reverse it." It can indeed be proven. The greater the price, the less of it is purchased. This is the Law of Demand.[1] The more low-skilled labor costs, the less it will be purchased. This unemploys those that need a job the most. Your argument is negated. "The unemployment argument is not a valid argument, find something new." The argument is indeed valid, despite your assertions to the contrary. Your argument is negated. "And here is a graph which shows that a lack of pirates is obviously causing global warming: http://en.wikipedia.org...; It shows a correlation, not causation. This is precisely why your above argument, claiming to prove that the minimum wage does not increase unemployment by comparing different places with different economies, holds no ground. "Not only can you not prove whether there is a real correlation (there are many things which would go up at the same angle on a graph) but you also can't prove causation." As you can see in the graph, http://austrianeconomists.typepad.com..., there is indeed a correlation between youth unempoyment and the minimum wage. This proves nothing in itself, however. We must give an explanation of why the two would be related such that the minimum wage causes the unemployment. I have done so above. Namely, the Law of Demand which states the the higher the price, the less it will be desired. By imposing a minimum wage law you have priced teenagers out of he market. Your argument is negated. "It's just as easily true that a high rate of unemployment may result in a higher minimum wage(since high unemployment often occurs in a bad economy and it may be more likely for the minimum wage to be risen during a bad economy)." If all we had to go on was correlation then this might be true. This is not the case, however. The laws of economic prove that a minimum wage will increase unemployment. Furthermore, minimum wages are rarely increased during recessions because of the belief that it would further harm the economy, which is correct. Your argument is negated. 1: You further claim that workers should be compensated for gas prices. It is true that workers deserve more than they receive, this is why I support the abolition of the Social Security tax which is currently 15.3%[2] My solution would increase the incomes of those currently on minimum wage and, due to half of that tax being nominally paid by the employer, it would increase rather than decrease employment.[3] The Minimum Wage, however, can increase the wages of some workers but only at the expense of unemploying others. This is not justice, nor is it the class war. It is a war within the working class itself. Your argument is negated. 2: Your next point is that the minimum wage encourages those on welfare to get a job. Unfortunately, the minimum wage increases unemployment and this effect is certainly much greater than any incentive it gives to "welfare bums". Your argument is negated 3: You further contend that whatever economic harm is imposed by the minimum wage is corrected by the benefits of the minimum wage. This is absurd. The minimum wage distorts the market and thereby causes resources to shift away from where they should be allocated to other, less efficient areas. Rather than have individuals wash dishes, which would be most efficient without a minimum wage, you buy plastic utensils, which are less efficient without the minimum wage. This difference between efficiencies is a loss. Furthermore, you appear to be under the delusion that increasing the minimum wage will increase the amount of purchasing power the guy down-on-his luck will have. This is false, it will unemploy him and now he will be able to buy even less. Your argument is negated. 4: You claim is that the minimum age solves the income gap. It does no such thing. Unemploying those most in need of a job does jut the opposite, in fact. One thing that would help with the income gap would be abolishing the Social Security tax, and there are many other things that should be done as well. The minimum wage is not one of them, however, because it does not help but instead harms the situation. The minimum wage turns worker against worker. This is not what we need. As for Denmark, correlation does not imply causation.[4] The minimum wage causes unemployment. This is an unavoidable fact,it is called the Law of Demand. That is the last thing either of us wants, therefore we must oppose the minimum wage laws. There are things we can do to help the plight of low-skill workers. The minimum wage is not one of them. The minimum wage only exacerbates the problem. 1 http://www.investopedia.com... 2 http://money.howstuffworks.com... 3 http://www.conciseguidetoeconomics.com... 4 http://xkcd.com...