Australian Politics Forum - Problem With The Minimum Wage

imcrookonit

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Problem With The Minimum Wage - Its Too Low
Feb 4^th, 2015 at 6:50am

By Jackie Woods
Working Life
Tuesday, 03 February 2015

TONY Abbott fudged a question about the minimum wage at his National Press Club address yesterday.

Asked by news.com.au political editor Malcolm Farr if he was aware of any credible evidence that removing the minimum wage would create more jobs, he insisted it was not on his agenda.

But the fact remains a Productivity Commission review set up by his government has put the minimum wage front and centre of its review of Australia’s workplace laws and protections.

And business groups are urging the government to act on a recommendation by the Commission of Audit last year to scrap the role of the independent umpire in setting the minimum wage, and allow it to fall over the next decade.

As the Productivity Commission review gathers steam, business groups will push their well-rehearsed agenda. The minimum wage costs jobs, they say.

Just think, if employers could pay workers less there could be so many more jobs. Minimum wage workers could have two or three or four jobs to pay the bills – lucky them!

This week’s Essential Report shows voters agree there’s a problem with the minimum wage: IT’S TOO LOW. Sad

A strong majority – 61% of voters across Australia – think the minimum wage is too low. A quarter of voters think our $16.37 per hour minimum wage is much too low.

Even Liberal voters are significantly more inclined to believe the minimum wage is too low rather than too high and support for a higher minimum wage was consistent across all income groups.

Twenty-seven per cent think the minimum wage is about right, while only 6% of voters believe the minimum wage is too high (despite the best efforts of The Australian).

The Abbott Government has set up the Productivity Commission review to give cover to its plans to attack work rights and protections at the next election. Sad

These figures suggest any attempt to undermine the minimum wage will be rejected by the public as firmly out of step with Australian values.

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Doctor Jolly Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 3808	Re: Problem With The Minimum Wage - Its Too Low Reply #1 - Feb 4^th, 2015 at 7:22am NZ has a lower minimum wage than us. It doesnt make things cheaper, it has higher unemployment, and creates a working poor with poor quality of life.
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Dnarever Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 59400 Here Gender:	Re: Problem With The Minimum Wage - Its Too Low Reply #2 - Feb 4^th, 2015 at 9:34am I think it is ok - defiantly not too high. The minimum wage should be a theoretical number - nobody with a full time job should be paid anywhere near the minimum wage. Any employer should be ashamed of doing it.
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Bam

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Re: Problem With The Minimum Wage - Its Too Low
Reply #3 - Feb 4^th, 2015 at 9:54am

The problem with the minimum wage at the moment is the taxes are too high. Within five years, the minimum wage is going to reach the $37,000 threshold for the 32.5% tax scale. When that happens, any increases to the minimum wage would only have 2/3 of its purchasing power.

The tax-free threshold has not increased in real terms over the last 30 years. Tax cuts at the bottom are strongly indicated.

The easiest way to increase the minimum wage is to cut taxes at the bottom end of the tax scale.

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You are not entitled to your opinion. You are only entitled to hold opinions that you can defend through sound, reasoned argument.

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aquascoot

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Re: Problem With The Minimum Wage - Its Too Low
Reply #4 - Feb 4^th, 2015 at 9:59am

unfortunately , you cannot globalise the worlds economy without globalising the worlds labor market because , the labor market is a large part of the worlds economy.

so, given that we are globalised and the average punter wants to enjoy the cheap clothes , shoes and handbags made in asia by people on $1 an hour, the other side of the equation is that only the equivalent wage is available to be paid here.

you CANT buy shoes cheap from china and then bitch and moan that shoe manufacturers in OZ have to pay an hourly wage that is 18 x as high.

it is grade 1 maths/economics.

so either the minimum wage drops or trade barriers go up.

please tell me if you can come up with another rational solution??

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Swagman

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Re: Problem With The Minimum Wage - Its Too Low
Reply #5 - Feb 4^th, 2015 at 10:08am

I'll go with the PC analysis rather than some socialist propaganda website journo any day of the week and twice on Sunday (penalty rate) Cheesy

Setting a minimum wage prevents unemployed people getting work much like a penalty rate, full stop.

Why? Because it's an artificfial price mechanism for labour (just like collective agreements) and therefore potentially inflates production / operating costs without increasing profit margins.

It's a disincentive to individuals to invest risk capital and thereby create more jobs.

You go into business to make money not shovel it down a hole. Anything that is a retardent on profits is a job stiffler.

Quote:

A strong majority – 61% of voters across Australia – think the minimum wage is too low. A quarter of voters think our $16.37 per hour minimum wage is much too low.

So 61% of voters are economically illiterate. What's new? I would have put that much higher.

Quote:

The Abbott Government has set up the Productivity Commission review to give cover to its plans to attack work rights and protections at the next election

That is a big massive porky pie. Productivity Commission reports are regularlly undertaken by Govts.

Quote:

These figures suggest any attempt to undermine the minimum wage will be rejected by the public as firmly out of step with Australian values.

OK, that I agree with, not because it's sensible but because we are an ochlocracy. Just like little kidlets that don't like eating their veggies and chain smokers that don't want to stop smoking, the economic illiterate just don't know what's good for them. Huh

The minimum wage is a social cost on the economy. The price we (well a small minority that pay the majority) pay is higher taxes, increased Govt debt, higher unemployment and reduced productivity (which are all defacto tax increases).

The massive levels of Govt debt in the US across Europe and now in Australia is the burgeoning social cost of obsolete socialist IR policies.

An infected puss bloated abscess that's giving Australia economic septicaemia.

IR reform and Coalition governments are its antibiotic... Cheesy

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« Last Edit: Feb 4^th, 2015 at 10:13am by Swagman »

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St George of the Garden

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Re: Problem With The Minimum Wage - Its Too Low
Reply #6 - Feb 4^th, 2015 at 10:25am

What crap! The answer to poverty wages elsewhere is to be clever and do high end manufacturing, clean green agriculture. Not become an Asian shithole ourselves.

If australian workers got paid $1 a day, well, you wouldn’t need much agriculture would you? Bowl of rice with a teaspoon of veges or meat would be the daily diet.

We need to bring our tariff walls back to the height of our trading partners and rescind all 4 FTAs, none benefit the country!

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I want Muso as GMod. Bring back Muso!

Friends of the National Broadband Network

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crocodile

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Re: Problem With The Minimum Wage - Its Too Low
Reply #7 - Feb 4^th, 2015 at 10:28am

aquascoot wrote on Feb 4^th, 2015 at 9:59am:

unfortunately , you cannot globalise the worlds economy without globalising the worlds labor market because , the labor market is a large part of the worlds economy.

so, given that we are globalised and the average punter wants to enjoy the cheap clothes , shoes and handbags made in asia by people on $1 an hour, the other side of the equation is that only the equivalent wage is available to be paid here.

you CANT buy shoes cheap from china and then bitch and moan that shoe manufacturers in OZ have to pay an hourly wage that is 18 x as high.

it is grade 1 maths/economics.

so either the minimum wage drops or trade barriers go up.

please tell me if you can come up with another rational solution??

You're forgetting about relative productivity between economies. This is a far greater determinant of wage levels than labour input costs are.

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Very funny Scotty, now beam down my clothes.

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Swagman Gold Member Offline Beware of cheap imitations...... Posts: 15095 Illawarra NSW Gender:	Re: Problem With The Minimum Wage - Its Too Low Reply #8 - Feb 4^th, 2015 at 10:34am crocodile wrote on Feb 4^th, 2015 at 10:28am: This is a far greater determinant of wage levels than labour input costs are. What would doubling (for example) labour input costs do to productivity?
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Bam

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Re: Problem With The Minimum Wage - Its Too Low
Reply #9 - Feb 4^th, 2015 at 10:36am

aquascoot wrote on Feb 4^th, 2015 at 9:59am:

unfortunately , you cannot globalise the worlds economy without globalising the worlds labor market because , the labor market is a large part of the worlds economy.

so, given that we are globalised and the average punter wants to enjoy the cheap clothes , shoes and handbags made in asia by people on $1 an hour, the other side of the equation is that only the equivalent wage is available to be paid here.

you CANT buy shoes cheap from china and then bitch and moan that shoe manufacturers in OZ have to pay an hourly wage that is 18 x as high.

it is grade 1 maths/economics.

so either the minimum wage drops or trade barriers go up.

please tell me if you can come up with another rational solution??

Cut the pay of the wealthy by 95%.

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You are not entitled to your opinion. You are only entitled to hold opinions that you can defend through sound, reasoned argument.

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Swagman Gold Member Offline Beware of cheap imitations...... Posts: 15095 Illawarra NSW Gender:	Re: Problem With The Minimum Wage - Its Too Low Reply #10 - Feb 4^th, 2015 at 10:40am St George of the Garden wrote on Feb 4^th, 2015 at 10:25am: What crap! Quality comeback Georgie. When Abbott said that about global warming theory you had a case of apoplexy.
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Swagman

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Re: Problem With The Minimum Wage - Its Too Low
Reply #11 - Feb 4^th, 2015 at 10:41am

Bam wrote on Feb 4^th, 2015 at 10:36am:

aquascoot wrote on Feb 4^th, 2015 at 9:59am:

unfortunately , you cannot globalise the worlds economy without globalising the worlds labor market because , the labor market is a large part of the worlds economy.

so, given that we are globalised and the average punter wants to enjoy the cheap clothes , shoes and handbags made in asia by people on $1 an hour, the other side of the equation is that only the equivalent wage is available to be paid here.

you CANT buy shoes cheap from china and then bitch and moan that shoe manufacturers in OZ have to pay an hourly wage that is 18 x as high.

it is grade 1 maths/economics.

so either the minimum wage drops or trade barriers go up.

please tell me if you can come up with another rational solution??

Cut the pay of the wealthy by 95%.

...and there'd be justabout zero productivity and everyone would be equally poor

AKA - socialist Utopia... Cheesy

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aquascoot

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Re: Problem With The Minimum Wage - Its Too Low
Reply #12 - Feb 4^th, 2015 at 10:49am

Bam wrote on Feb 4^th, 2015 at 10:36am:

aquascoot wrote on Feb 4^th, 2015 at 9:59am:

unfortunately , you cannot globalise the worlds economy without globalising the worlds labor market because , the labor market is a large part of the worlds economy.

so, given that we are globalised and the average punter wants to enjoy the cheap clothes , shoes and handbags made in asia by people on $1 an hour, the other side of the equation is that only the equivalent wage is available to be paid here.

you CANT buy shoes cheap from china and then bitch and moan that shoe manufacturers in OZ have to pay an hourly wage that is 18 x as high.

it is grade 1 maths/economics.

so either the minimum wage drops or trade barriers go up.

please tell me if you can come up with another rational solution??

Cut the pay of the wealthy by 95%.

Unfortunately for that idea, the wealthy tend to be the cream, they tend to be smart and they tend to be mobile,
cut their pay by 95 % and they'll be hopping on a plane to the UK or Singapore by 6 pm and you'll be left with a bunch of yobs from broadmeadows who cant read a bus timetable to try and grow the economy.

The cream must be nurtured, in the same way a brilliant young footballer is nurtured and pampered. because one day, he will bring you riches Cheesy

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Swagman

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Re: Problem With The Minimum Wage - Its Too Low
Reply #13 - Feb 4^th, 2015 at 10:50am

Quote:

TONY Abbott fudged a question about the minimum wage at his National Press Club address yesterday

An ambush question by a smart arse journo.

The trouble with party politics is that Abbott can't answer this question without being castigated by his political opponents both inside and outside his party.

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St George of the Garden Gold Member Offline http://tinyurl.com/n 3o8m2x Posts: 9809 Gender:	Re: Problem With The Minimum Wage - Its Too Low Reply #14 - Feb 4^th, 2015 at 10:50am Still nothing new, relevant or interest posted by Swag.
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