Sometimes, you just are not supposed to tell the truth. Just ask David Howell, a professor of economics and urban policy at The New School, who recently said the following about the prospect of a $15 minimum wage costing some workers their jobs:
“Why shouldn’t we in fact accept job loss? What’s so bad about getting rid of crappy jobs, forcing employers to upgrade, and having a serious program to compensate anyone who is in the slightest way harmed by that?”
As Smarter Government WA points out, at the very least, Howell is “saying out loud what other advocates would prefer to keep buried.” He openly admits that some “higher minimum wage would have tradeoffs, including some losing their jobs.” And, he even “proposed a solution to mitigate that downside: direct cash assistance to those affected.”
For that candor, unlike so many other $15 minimum wage supporters, Howell deserves credit.
There are, of course, serious problems with what Howell admitted. Inevitably, under Howell’s “solution” to the job losses, raising the minimum wage would lead to an increase in people receiving unemployment benefits. Which, of course, means more pressure on taxpayers in the midst of the massive national debt.
Additionally, Howell demands to know “what’s so bad about getting rid of crappy jobs.” Well, as the professor seems to forget, the elimination of “crappy jobs” would force a certain segment of the population (often students getting their first job, or depending on extra income for tuition) out of the labor market and damage their future employability.
Smarter Government WA stated, “A big minimum wage jump would essentially price some jobs out of existence. That will means more people struggling to get that first job, learn basic skills, and have a successful job history that can lead to new, better employment.”
Not that someone like Howell, by his own admission, really cares about all the consequences (just as long as the extreme liberal agenda – like a bigger government that makes more people dependent on checks from bigger government – is advanced).
It’s just like a liberal Democrat to be so clueless about jobs and the people that need them…as an employer the choices of qualified applicants for even basic jobs is appalling. Unless you are the one reviewing applications you just have no clue how many young people don’t even have a GED and have job hopped from one company to another their entire limited work experience because they have never been trained on the basics of “how to work”. Many are just trying to last long enough to qualify for unemployment creating even more gaps in their employment record. It’s sad to see this almost unemployable, almost homeless, under-educated group of people that are themselves clueless to what to do to have a future for themselves and in many cases their young families.
He sounds so arrogant! There’s PLENTY of crappy jobs out there that people do cause they need the money! Especially when they have fallen out of the unemployment loop, if you are white, male, and single, got news for ya buckoo, you ain’t getting squat! Even squatters living under freeway bridges gotta eat! His opinion is not only arrogant but totally useless. ANYONE who supports his position deserves outright contempt!
We shouldn’t jump to any conclusions until Tensor can twist himself into a pretzel trying to ‘splain why losing jobs to a $15 minimum wage is a good thing. Then we can point and laugh.
Scooter — the professor admitted to the possibility that raising the minimum wage would eliminate some jobs. You know, like when advocates of building a new road admit to the possibility of deadly automobile crashes on said road sometime in the future. They’re not advocating government spend money to kill people; they’re just admitting one possible outcome of their policy. Many other factors also go into deciding whether or not to build the road.
Now, if you want to see someone “twist himself into a pretzel,” ask Shift why they can’t produce any evidence of even one single job being lost as a result of our many, many increases in the local minimum wages. As you well know, I always find that to be pretty entertaining.
“You know, like when advocates of building a new road admit to the possibility of deadly automobile crashes on said road sometime in the future”
Yeah, Why shouldn’t we anticipate some loss of life? What’s so bad about getting rid of some crappy lives? Then we can update the gene pool.
Getting ready for statistics showing I-594 saved lives, are we?
They’re right there with the statistics that show putting the minimum wage at 86% of the national median wage will have no harmful economic impact. In other words, non-existent. But then, I’m not the one that went with the eugenicist analogy. Whose crappy life will be the first to go?
They’re right there with the statistics that show putting the minimum wage at 86% of the national median wage will have no harmful economic impact. In other words, non-existent.
Reading comprehension much? Right in this very thread, we’ve seen that the portion of Washington state with the highest minimum wages (Seatle and Seatac, both in the Seattle MSA) have the lowest unemployment rates. Better yet, Washington state, with one of the highest minimum wages in the country, has an unemployment rate right at the national average.
The only statistics missing here are the ones showing economic damage from high minimum wages.
“But then, I’m not the one that went with the eugenicist analogy.”
No, you’re the one who sneered that hundreds of needless violent deaths were a “statistical blip.”
“Reading comprehension much?”
This coming from a comrade who sees words and statistics that aren’t even in the article he’s commenting on is priceless. Maybe you should take off your special rose-colored “liberal vision” glasses and point out where the word “possibility” and references to the Seattle MSA unemployment rate occurs in the article you’re commenting on before criticizing others reading skills.
“hundreds of needless violent deaths”
The population of Missouri is roughly 6 million. An increase of 1.1/100,000 would mean 66 more people were murdered. Go Common Core! Where 66 can equal “hundreds”. Yes, 66 out of 6,000,000 is a statistical blip, regardless of your emotional feelings on the subject matter.
Over 700 food industry jobs lost in Seattle due to the minimum wage hike, several thousands picked up in the rest of the state, that was on shift. You’re welcome.
Scooter —
Yes, but they somehow failed to admit that “Seattle” in that case referred to an entity called, “the Seattle Metropolitan Statistical Area,” which actually contains 3.7 million persons — the city of Seattle itself has only 18% of the total population of the Seattle MSA. There was no proof that even a single one of those 700 jobs — out of a total population of 3.7 million! — was in Seattle proper.
Also left out of that picture was the overall unemployment rate in the Seattle MSA vs. the rest of the state. The Seattle MSA has an overall lower unemployment rate than the rest of the state, so it makes sense the rest of the state would add a few low-paying jobs here and there — they have more ability to do so.
It really looks like Shift twisted the statistics into a pretzel to get the results they wanted, doesn’t it? You’re welcome.
“the Seattle Metropolitan Statistical Area, which actually contains 3.7 million persons”
Of which 33,000 ride light rail. I guess I was way high calling you freeloaders 3%ers.
No proof? Where the hell have you been. When Seattle went to $15 minimum wage there was story after story published about layoffs and even businesses closing. When a person who has put their heart and soul into building themselves a good business through quality and customer service has to shut the door because a bunch of political idiots make it impossible for them to exist, I don’t need to see a stat…a personal testimony is a stat when you add all those testimonies up.
When Seattle went to $15 minimum wage there was story after story published about layoffs and even businesses closing.
Where were these stories published, and what sources did they claim?
I don’t need to see a stat…
Good for you, since you haven’t actually provided any.
Cite one example of an advocate for building a new road stating the admission of the possibility of deadly crashes on said road in the future. Find the quote: “The new road would have tradeoffs, including some losing their lives in deadly crashes” You know, like when you use a ridiculous, nonsensical analogy you can’t back up.
One crappy job we could eliminate right now is professor of economics and urban policy at “The New School”. In fact, we could eliminate every crappy staff job at “The New School”, close it down completely and nobody outside of a few hard-core leftists would even notice.