[ExI] The Catholic Impact (was Re: Origin of ethics and morals)

[Stefano Vaj]

On 25 December 2011 19:28, Mirco Romanato <painlord2k at libero.it> wrote:
> You are not "allowed" to pay them more if they are more productive. In
> the long run (and often in the medium and short) you MUST pay them more
> because you MUST keep them working for you and not leaving and working
> for someone else paying more than you.

Yes, you are right. You can and you have to.

> This is a "minor" problem that you can make away with slavery. But the
> slaves (and the forced low paid workers) usually are not very productive
> because there is no advantage in working more than the minimum.

Nor there is really for the entrepreneur to invest in technology, or
for that matter in their training,  because simply increasing the
"brute force" is cheaper.

> And on this we agree. There are government statistics (Denmark for sure,
> maybe UK) that show the costs of immigrants for the government are
> greater than the profits. They are a net taxpayer's loss.
> But, in many ways, they are a source of profits (and votes) for the
> bureaucrats and the politicos and their friends and allies. If they
> won't there would not be a political will to let them in and let them
> stay in.

Exactly. Even though I would not entirely discount the lobbying of
entrepreneurs that are either myopic or in position to externalise the
indirect cost of manpower import.

-- 
Stefano Vaj