[extropy-chat] Re: Minimum wages laws

[John K Clark]

"The Avantguardian" <avantguardian2020 at yahoo.com>

> In some ways I think a below poverty level minimum
> wage is worse than slavery.

That's true, but what is your point? Is it that poverty is bad? If so you
have a keen grasp of the obvious.  Yes, I'm certain that some people living
today have a worse life than the average slave of 200 years ago, at least
slaves seldom starved to death. The solution is to find a way for these
desperately poor people to have more wealth and in the long run they will
not obtain it by somebody just handing it to them, they will need to create
it. In other words we need to unleash the free market on them, And we're not
talking theory here, we know it will work because it has worked.

Pushing for an international minimum wage law would make a lot of people
glow with virtuous intent, it would let them show off to the world how
caring and empathetic they are to the underclass; never mind that it will
not lift one person out of grinding poverty and will only increase the
numbers in that horrible situation.

  John K Clark