Ep 78: Minimum Wage, Maximum Stupidity

[@TklistNet1]

Cronyism, the convoluted tax code, excessive regulations, the national debt and the Federal Reserve are the major causes of the widening income inequality gap. Solutions: Abolish tax code and IRS. Enact Fair Tax (national sales tax). Minimize regulations to only what is absolutely necessary. Balance the budget. Start decreasing the national debt. Abolish the Federal Reserve, the FDIC and all bank regulations except one; require full disclosure on full or fractional reserve backing of deposits. Treat gold, silver and cryptocurrencies as legal tender (not as an asset) for tax purposes. The income inequality problem is counterintuitive. Big government equals more income inequality. Smaller government equals less income inequality. The middle class is the byproduct of a free market economy; it is not manufactured by a politician's tax gimmicks, minimum wage laws, or government redistribution of wealth. There is no such thing as a living wage; there is only a wage that someone can afford to pay. You have to tailor your living around your wage, not have government tailor your wage around your living. It is about supply and demand. If you have an easy time filling your employee needs, you offer lower wages, if you have a hard time filling your employee needs, you offer higher wages; because if you do not your competition will and you will be out of business. It is not about what people deserve or what is fair or what is just; it is about what the market will bear. Blame the consumer for shopping for the lowest price and blame the voter for voting for government to fix their problems.

[@wm5416]

Thank you for posting your shows; I try to listen to them as often as I can. It's really because of you and Ron Paul that I am now studying to become an economist. Your show is very similar to how my current economics classes are run; we look into the unseen of all the choices and are always asked, "why?" when coming to conclusions of discussions. You nailed so many points that people will not look at if that legislation goes into effect. Anyways, thank you for posting the podcasts, they have been a tremendous asset to me since the beginning. Wes

[@JonathanSchattke]

The dead weight losses from this scheme are exactly in the worst places. Your analysis was right on.

[@CrannBethadh]

The title of this video is awesome

[@tuckyvlogs2869]

Chad Muse Couldn’t agree more haha

[@Jmriccitelli]

Peter at his best, sharp and brilliant!

[@Somuchcooleronline1]

Technically, for the $11/hr guy, wouldn't his wage decrease by something between 0-1$, rather than exactly $1, depending on market power of the $11 guy?

[@yarrlegap6940]

Excellent analysis Peter, but ... one small quibble. Very few, if any, employers will reduce a wage to cover the dollar: Instead they will fire ('layoff') some employees in the affected wage bracket and take on new ones at the minimum wage. Alternatively, they will replace employees with lower cost people through attrition. This will avoid accusations of discrimination, retaliation, fairness, etc. ...

[@TheSilverEnthusiast]

Hey Peter, you're video titles just keep getting better and better... no wonder they call you a "stand-up economist" haha

[@plalelal]

$15 an hour won't change the middle class or the rich any!

[@Rambleon444]

Peter, one thing you are missing is how many employers to stay competitive will start hiring people under the table especially illegals. Here in Calif. almost all construction and trade services are dominated by illegals. A big blow to anyone who was earning a OK wage.

[@hag12100]

Minimum wages aren't living wages...they're entry/student wages.

[@hag12100]

Then again, the United States shouldn't have a minimum wage. Let the free market decided...

[@nevropatholog]

how about let's go conservative and have a negative income tax for poor people and no minimum wage. That should make both of you happy, and it was an idea that was pushed by Milton Friedman.

[@hag12100]

***** No, you're ignoring my points...I don't want minimum wage laws. I want free market laws or at least a two-tier wage system.

[@nevropatholog]

noskills; it is a lot more expensive to live in manhattan than in Zimbabwe. but it is just simple econ 101; you increase the value of a job - with the negative income tax - you increase the desire to work.

[@nevropatholog]

noskills, and excellent education - from 1 through 12 - costs a lot and is generally not available to most people in Asia or Africa or the US for that matter.

[@ryanjantzi8086]

After a hard days work, i find this quite soothing. Thanks.

[@kcculp6430]

I was wondering what would happen to a top performer who made $70,000 per year before the company implemented the $70,000 minimum salary. The underperformer who was making $50,000 will now be making the same amount as the top performer. The top performer will now resent the fact that he is being paid the same as someone who produces less. He will then demand a raise or he will start producing less.

[@cutcarbon12]

I never thought there could exist a law stupider than the minimum wage, but this connecticut fine takes the cake.

[@hyylo]

i find all this argument stupid. woman want higher pay, blacks want higher pay, minorities want higher pay, low skilled workers at McDonalds want higher pay. Why don't Americans wake up and simply say they don't want their wages to be taxed by the government. Does the constitution allow income/wages to be taxed? Where do you think the government spends all this tax money they collect? If you increase your wages the government will simply tax it more therefore you will never be able to improve the quality of your life.

[@YorickReturns]

hyylo It's all about altruism. We will never have sufficient support for the free market until sufficient numbers of people dump the morality of altruism.

[@hyylo]

its about the government taxing people. why the hell does the government tax our income. the government first taxes our income and tells us they need to help the poor. the government then bails out the banks by saying they are too big to fail. the governments uses our tax money to help GM and Chrysler who have managers that earn millions each year. look at how bad the government public schools are. search youtube for......Milton Friedman Public Schools........

[@YorickReturns]

***** You're confusing benevolence with altruism. The fact that something helps someone doesn't make it altruistic. For example, doing your job helps your employer. That doesn't mean that having a job is altruistic. That said, Nepal is poor because of the culture of the Nepalese people and the political system that results. The Nepalese vote for extreme altruism and then try to leech off the rest of us. If you really care about the Nepalese, perhaps you shouldn't give money to them. Let them live with the poverty that results from their culture. Maybe then they will change their culture.

[@achilleshoplites6298]

hyylo brillant idea 20-30% more and less expensive products aka more purchasing power

[@YorickReturns]

***** You have no rebuttal. That's why you resort to insults. You probably never read Ayn Rand. And, if you did, you didn't understand it. That's why you confused benevolence with altruism. You help people who don't deserve it and thereby encourage their immorality. I do not help them. You would probably give alcohol to an alcoholic.

[@piehamcake1]

If a company can't pay it's workers a decent livable wage, it shouldn't be in business, 10$ an hour is a crime, especially here in California where median home prices are pushing 400k, the minimum wage should be renamed the slave wage

[@firstnamelastname3280]

the novelty that the business owner was talking about with the extra customers is equivalent to government stimulus. its a phony boom

[@rainmon]

Hey Peter, don't worry, if they raise the minimum wage too much you can always raise the fees at your PayDay loan shops and raise the rent on the section 8 slum housing you own (the government will compensate you). Plus you can pay your employees with fake bitcoin currency while you charge $7500 per ticket for the Euro Pacific Capital MoneyShow Cruises. And Peter don't you agree people on food stamps should only be allowed to buy rice and beans, no meat or cheese (or god forbid) lobster, that would go a long way to help solve this minimum wage problem and get the the 'welfare peasant, immigrant and entitlement classes' to work harder, yes? "Hey, I Worked Hard to Get What I Have! The only reason I have a hundred times more money than you is because I work a hundred times as hard! If everyone at my country club makes good money, it can't be that hard!"

[@MichielVanKets]

Paul Rainwater somebody is jealous!

[@rainmon]

Michiel Van Kets has nothing to do with jealousy, you're an idiot if you think that (you don't even know me and have no clue what my net worth is) comments like yours just proves my point about how ignorant and bigoted people are regarding this issue.

[@MichielVanKets]

Paul Rainwater sure, so that's why you said nothing relevant, but attack peter directly?

[@MrTheXico]

Paul Rainwater not everyone is CEO material, but people who put in the effort will get the best job they capable of doing. Your ignorance of the logic behind the arguments is inane. What good is net wealth if you aren't producing jobs with that wealth. If you're producing jobs then why would you really want an "all powerful" government forcing you to pay them and making it impossible to choose who you employ? Unless you're in a similar situation to Peter, you have no place to attack his methods. How many do you employ? What wages do you pay them? Please, don't tell me you're paying your receptionist $100k p.a. and still producing or providing your service at competitive prices, because it's simply impossible.

[@WetFishDuff]

Paul Rainwater Minimum wage was brought in the UK in the 90's and the sky didn't fall in.

[@sljs1010]

People want more pay because of inflation created by the gov't who wants to fix the problem.

[@j.a.e.8682]

Bravo Peter! That's why you need to be Rand's economic adviser.

[@TrueGritProductions]

All I know is that my co workers worked quite lazily for minimum wage enough of the time to be a factor in my leaving the workforce, and taking a risk on starting my business

[@dianefreih4799]

Maybe the people should should put a Ceiling on what our elected officials can make !

[@Tummler]

It's a shame that when people get laid off at Gravity Payments or when it goes out of business, we'll never hear about it.

[@rockndancenroll]

what if someone suggests to cut of the employers profits insted of cutting a dollar from the 11$/hour workers?

[@Pdrum2]

Wow Walmart hires up to 500 people in a store, I wonder how that'll work out in Connecticut

[@StraightFashionMan]

There should be no minimum wage. There should be a maximum wage of one cent per year. Consumers would have more money to spend, and businesses would save money so they could hire more employees. It's just basic economics.

[@NeilDesmond]

I think an employer would still cut the pay rate by $1/hr for an employee who makes more than $14/hr but less than $15/hr to avoid the added expense of the $1/hr fine, because it would still be cheaper overall to pay this $1/hr fine than to pay an employee the $1/hr plus the increase amount to raise the employees pay rate to $15/hr, in order to avoid the $1/hr fine. For example, take an employee who makes $14.75/hr. With the $1/hr fine, the employer could simply cut the employee's pay rate to $13.75/hr so the employee would still only cost the employer $14.75/hr to work, overall. On the other hand, if the employer increases this employee's pay rate to $15/hr, even though the employer no longer has to pay the $1/hr fine, it still costs the employer $15/hr to pay this employee, which is more than the $14.75/hr. The employer has to pay $0.25/hr more to pay for the employee's raise.

[@765lbsquat]

in all fairness this will benefit those workers that are currently making between $14 -$14.99 an hour. Of course those jobs are probably few and far between.

[@mattbokey3655]

Peter Schiff I agree, this is a horrible decision; basic economic analysis would of shown this. However, what are your thoughts on a "living wage"? In essence, a wage that's high enough where one doesn't have to work multiple jobs to afford the basics such as food, shelter, and associated costs. This is more of an issue with the runaway costs with the aforementioned?

[@waynejones5635]

Increasing wage levels significantly also increases the likelihood that more work will be contracted out. It could even be contracted out to foreign companies.In the end this only pushes more jobs out of the local market.

[@vex6559]

Wayne Jones which is why we have tariffs and economic protectionism...to hold the wealth of a country and its population inside the borders

[@Capitalism11]

Hydro Teddy we have economic protectionism so politicians can appeal to special interests. Protectionism doesn't "hold wealth" in creates a barrier to creating it.

[@vex6559]

Erik Danudjaja and how do you create wealth by exporting it to india and china?

[@lrmcatspaw1]

Well, the government had to start tax increases eventually.

[@MichielVanKets]

Minimum Wage, Maximum Stupidity #MinimumWage #DiscriminationWage #PeterSchiff

[@realchicagophill]

Nonsense.

[@NewlycelebritiesTv]

Might as well raise minimum wage by $1 in Connecticut... as Peter said, at least there would be a windfall there Only someone making between $14/h to just under $15/h would benefit at all as it would end being worth it to just give em raise

[@Burt1038]

I think many of this country's (and the world's) economic problems could be solved if people could just wrap their heads around the concept of price elasticity. So many dumbass ideas would get squashed before they ever got voted on. But politicians and the public never, ever learn.

[@brianstrater4833]

Burt1038 It's not that the politicians never learn, they choose to not have this taught in our public schools.

[@MrTheXico]

Brian Strater The politicians know well what they're doing, and if they don't someone in their party does. People rarely make silly mistakes who are employed or working in professional positions, and no matter how bad something is there's always a winner.

[@crocodile7801]

Supply and demand. If people did according to the word of God; most women would be doing the most honorable job of raising up and nurturing the next generation and making a home "a home". ------ Of course there exist exceptions, but are exceptions------------ While the men went out to support the family; thus you restore the NATURAL order of things and fewer workers available means more opportunities. Ask why in the 1940's & 1950's a blue collar worker could support a family of 5 at a middle-class level. While today it takes two fairly well-paid to accomplish the same at the negligence of the children and thus the family. The outcome is predictable and we are seeing it. ----------------- However since the feminist lie, sound by the male elitist; we have seen the entire fragmentation of the family, the very fabric of any society. Add the selling out of jobs by politicians and lack of moral behavior by the entire population and it is very easy to see how we got where we are. Also very easy to see that we have passed the "point of no return". -------------------- God always keeps a remnant for Himself; yet offers reconciliation to all, but as it is written, man loves the darkness because his deeds are evil and that continually.

[@lota68]

Race to the bottom, that will work.

[@jakelee8048]

70k per year, and he'll slash benefits.

[@Oksendal5]

What is an apple-kin?

[@bubblegumgun3292]

XD lol nice tittle

[@TheManSand322]

What is "Harford"?

[@rainmon]

This is the kind of thing rich people say to poor people "You can't mandate prosperity through legislation. I've worked hard for my money all my life" (like people who work low wage jobs don't work hard) as Peter rants on with his sanctimonious, righteous indignation and bigotry for what he perceives as 3rd class citizens who are 'takers' and members of the 'peasant, immigrant and entitlement benefits dependency classes'. Rich hateful angry people like Peter always think they're better than everybody else and think these poor people are disposable human beings and don't deserve a living wage or decent housing or healthcare, after all they didn't earn like he did. It's survival of the fittest, every man for himself, this is how the world works. Never mind landlords are gauging people on rents and raising rents helping keep people poor and never mind doctors, insurance and hospital management CEOs are making millions while the rest of us pay higher and higher medical costs (as the US has the highest costs in the world for healthcare). And never mind food and rent inflation continues while wages have been stagnate for years. As long as he can rant about the TAKERS and how fucked up the welfare 'peasant, immigrant and entitlement benefits dependency classes' are, he gets to be RIGHT and ANGRY, that's what's important. And what is he doing to help make things better or change it? I'm surprised he hasn't talked about the concept of a 'Successful Famine' yet in one of his rants, what an asshole.

[@kgaglio]

Paul Rainwater Maybe life is so hard for you because you have some debt weighing you down. How much is the totals of your card debt, car loans, mortgage, personal loans, student loans, and/or misc loans? How much in payments are you sending to the bank every month? If you pay off all your debt, do you think a $35,000/year income could go a lot further? Instead of feeling hopeless, feel inspired. Just think, what could I do in my life if I had NO debt payments.

[@major69420]

Paul Rainwater "Never mind landlords are gauging people on rents and raising rents helping keep people poor and never mind doctors, insurance and hospital management CEOs are making millions while the rest of us pay higher and higher medical costs (as the US has the highest costs in the world for healthcare). And never mind food and rent inflation continues while wages have been stagnate for years" government created all those problems you are describing through fake money and legislation to buy votes. you can blame it on CEOs but its the government using their violence to keep them rich and getting richer (forcing people to buy their products), which is fascism not free markets. whatever your beef with peter, you have presented no arguments counter to what he is saying. so your just loud at this point

[@edwaggonersr.7446]

Paul Rainwater Paul wrote: " As long as he can rant about the TAKERS" Those who produce wealth and create jobs can do more than rant, they can pack up and leave, taking with them their wealth. They can move their business concerns to another country and hire employees there. Those who can't move can simply quit being productive. Good luck with your greed and envy.

[@dav1dcra1g442]

no peter.....wages are dependent on how cheap the owners are

[@Capitalism11]

***** False. economics is the study of the allocation of scarce resources. Labor is a scarce resource, and wages is the way we, as an economic system, bid for labor in the market. By your logic (or lack thereof) big corporations, banks, and investment firms are some of the least cheap enterprises because they pay their consultants, CEOs and CFOs in the hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars. In reality, demand and supply dictate wages. The more skilled you are, the more you will get paid, that is the nature of supply and demand and the free enterprise system. individual greed is an important factor but it doesn't dictate wages. furthermore being "cheap" is not even a factor. One of the most economically illiterate things i have ever read.

[@Ezra_Haze]

***** too bad people don't understand sarcasm..

[@Capitalism11]

Az Rael Ahh, perhaps it was sarcasm. Something about people not understanding basic economics always strikes a nerve with me and i feel the need to respond seriously

[@MrTheXico]

***** If you don't provide any value to the company, sure. But then how did you get hired?The cost of employing someone new makes firing someone else or underpaying them only for them to quit and find a better job not so attractive for any business owner.

[@achilleshoplites6298]

***** No stupid fascist wages are dependent on the market value, taxes, regs, and inflation effect EVERYTHING and companies have to adjust thats why 1000 dollars back in 1900 the average wage was the equivalent of 125k and only the man had to work and everyone was married and had 8-10 kids NO POVERTY...and huge savings rates you are clearly insan and a greedy lazy dumbass who is an economic illiterate wage payers compete with each other and a wagers bidding on their labor...btw the base ballplayers 1 million dollars the cleanup crew minimum wage which is worth more Baseball players not the broom and mop users who clean up the peanuts TOUGH SHIT

[@fromtheblues]

Unsubscribed.