The minimum wage is always zero. Unemployment is always an option. I know their version of thought consists mostly of trying to avoid seeing their own contradictions, but it should be pretty hard to avoid the fact that raising required pay doesn't guarantee anyone a job.
Discussion
Fair point. But I would argue any wage below the rate of inflation is slavery.
When I mean inflation I mean the rate of the monetary supply expansion.
Yesn't
Think about who is pushing for bigger wages. Big tech? Yes. What does big tech has a lot of? Money. Exactly. Small businesses and strat-ups don't always have the budgets to pay such high saleries. Especially in the first months of their life when they haven't made any money.
If your income/savings is devalued due to money supply increase then you are losing out.
But I agree the free market should determine price signals of labour.
Inflation is theft or slavery, just like any form of taxation, but the average employer is losing just the same as the average employee. Requiring employers to match pay to some rate of inflation (measured by who?) still won't fix the problem.
It's also not unreasonable to suspect that wages might fall over time in a sound monetary environment, because increased production means falling prices will produce more buying power for the same money. And the sort of people who do the same work for years on end with little improvement won't be productive enough to make up for the appreciation in the value of their nominal pay. With tech advancement largely still outpacing inflation, it's not unreasonable to see pay for some jobs not keeping up with inflation. No one is entitled to any rate of pay. You always get whatever economically sustainable rate you can manage to negotiate for in any environment.
At the end of the day, wages are prices, prices fluctuate based on supply & demand. If the govt destroys businesses then there is less demand for employees. If the govt controls businesses & only allows large corporations to exist then employees have to compete for positions at a limited number of businesses. If the govt says you have to pay people a minimum amount then lots of entry level jobs get wiped out & the number of jobs available to those who need them most will be even fewer, while the number who need jobs will grow.