Thread: When the minimum wage goes up, the need for cheap labor goes

When the minimum wage goes up, the need for cheap labor goes away. Cheap labor is illegal aliens. Higher wages means the businesses will hire less workers to do the job for the same price it cost them for more cheap labor. This means less production and less money for businesses and fewer taxes paid and fewer donations (pay off) to government leaders. Good for workers bad for businesses and government. That is why a minimum wage law has been hard to pass and businesses will lose their cheap illegal work force.Keeping the minimum wage down benefits the businesses & illegals because poor Americans cannot afford to work for the amount illegals work for and business prefer to hire illegals instead of Americans.
It benefits in some way the poor Americans who do not have much money to buy except that the business can keep their prices down because of hiring illegals .
If the minimum wage was raised it would benefit the poor Americans who would take the jobs and the businesses could raise their prices and the poor Americans would make more money and afford to buy from the businesses still. By hiring Americans, it would put the illegals out of jobs and they would go back to Mexico and not cross the borders for jobs and in turn we would have less poor people in America that take advantage of the system such as school, medical, dental and hospitals, and all areas of the system that cater to the poor, etc.
Illegals are mainly poor anyway and minimum wages keep them poorer. Illegals are taking jobs from the poor and not jobs that Americans will not take.
It is rhetoric that illegals do jobs that Americans want take. Americans did those jobs at one time when there were no illegals . They all do not work on farms; they work in all aspects in America. As a result poor black and whites turn to crimes to survive. Illegals send billions back to Mexico which is Mexico's economy. That is why President Fox do not complain when they cross the border to work. But in the long run Mexico will lose if illegals are given amnesty because they will bring their families here from Mexico and the money sent back to Mexico will stop and will hurt the Mexican economy.

If the minimum wage was raised it would benefit the poor Americans who would take the jobs and the businesses could raise their prices and the poor Americans would make more money and afford to buy from the businesses still.

If you raise the wage and businesses raised prices a person would be no better off in terms of spending power. It would end up a wash for both. Business might raise prices or they might not according to the market, what people are willing to pay. They also might quit doing business or move to a more favorable country too. Business as a rule won't roll over and die to keep us happy.

Wouldn't raising the minimum wage encourage more hiring of illegals off the books working outside the law?

And also...

In the state where I live (see signature for clue) IIRC, we instituted, if not the first, one of the largest mandatory minimum wages' in the country several years ago. Industries, especially retail/services that depend on large numbers of low-wage workers fought hard against such thing claiming such stuff as: 'this will bankrupt our industry', 'hundreds of businesses will have to close', 'thousands of workers will be laid off', etc. .. in short, 'the sky is falling', 'the sky is falling'.

So, since voting this here new minimum in, what has actually happened?
Yes, at first, there was some 'hiccup' in the industries that depend on the low-wage workers. Now, our economy is one of the best in the country and our State gov't had a big surplus of funds with the last or so.
Although the minimum here STILL isn't enough to live on, and does something to compensate for a higher cost of living in most other parts of the country, it does help... the sky has not fallen.

Explain the progression in reverse (for the 'disbelievers'):

When there is a shortage of a good or service the price for the same tends to go up. When there is a surplus of a good or service the price tends to go down. So, when there is a shortage of workers for an industry, and greater compensation is needed to attract workers to certain jobs...well, what do you call that? I call it capitalism. Price and wage increases are a normal, predictable phenomenon if you are a capitalist.
Contrary to views of some, there is nothing inherently evil or wrong with such thing.

Of course, the parameters within which all the above takes place is framed by or governed by things called 'laws' - labor laws, consumer laws, tax laws, investment laws, etc. It is an all-too-frequently visited topic whereby businesses spend inordinate amounts of time lobbying to avoid, change or thwart such laws - or just outright breaking them instead.

</end of diatribe>

Originally Posted by dyehard39

When the minimum wage goes up, the need for cheap labor goes away. Cheap labor is illegal aliens. Higher wages means the businesses will hire less workers to do the job for the same price it cost them for more cheap labor.

You make some good comments but your argument has one major flaw in it. It may apply only to employers who hire legal citizens. Employers who hire illegal aliens will continue to hire illegals. Why would they stop?

Originally Posted by Clay

You make some good comments but your argument has one major flaw in it. It may apply only to employers who hire legal citizens. Employers who hire illegal aliens will continue to hire illegals. Why would they stop?

Not only won't they stop, it gives them even more financial incentive to hire illegals.

Close the border, arrest the employers of illegals, and then a minimum wage increase might help those Americans at the bottom of the heap.