• anticolonialist@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    We need to stop looking at minimum wage as a set number across the country, It creates a wage disparity for the working class. A livable wage in Alabama would not be a livable wage in California, a livable wage in California would be an insane wage in a place like Alabama.

    The minimum wage needs to be directly tied with median housing costs either at the state level or at the county level. The wage needs to be set where housing would only comprise of a max of 30% of income. So at 30% if the median rent is $2000 per month, the livable wage in that area would be set at about $6700 a month, or about $42 an hour. This would help control housing costs as well as keep wages livable.

      • anticolonialist@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        I acknowledge that, but people keep quitting a specific number and specific numbers don’t work across the nation. Because of varied COL. Minimum wage should be tied to a major COL item like housing

        • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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          3 months ago

          I don’t know if tying it to something that’s inflated above core inflation is a good idea. I think the better approach is to reduce the cost of housing.

              • anticolonialist@lemmy.world
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                3 months ago

                Under pressure from employers. If their labor costs are directly tied to the cost of housing there would be pressure to keep housing costs low. In turn still keeping wages livable

                • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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                  3 months ago

                  Have you met an American corporation? They don’t care about the plight of other companies or corporations. In fact that’s just a weakness to be exploited.

                  The only thing I could see this doing is giving us cost push inflation. It’s true that moderate increases don’t increase inflation but quadrupling it would absolutely create inflation. Especially in the middle of the country.

    • RaoulDook@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      It’s probably more realistically possible to put some rent caps in than implement $42/hr minimum wage. Virtually all minimum wage employees would be laid off with all the businesses who employ them shutting down too. The only businesses that could survive that much dramatic increase in payroll costs would be the ones making really huge profits, which would almost certainly not include every restaurant in most cities.

    • Dazed_Confused@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Suppose that happens. What’s stopping the landlords from just raising their rents then? Can the government control housing costs? Is it even possible in a “free” economy?

      • anticolonialist@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        The government wouldn’t need to control housing. Landlords would be under pressure from other companies to keep housing low so their wage costs remain as low as possible.