The author has a degree in history. Perhaps it would be helpful to have an economist write an article about economics. I am not one, but at least have training in jobs that require analysis and not dogma.
1. Wages are just part of the overall benefit package per worker. Healthcare costs to firms have been rising dramatically and these higher healthcare costs (even as employers are having workers pay more out-of-pocket) have resulted in a flat overall wage payout.
2. What should be focused on is overall standard of living and not wages. In cities such as my own, NYC, but also SF, LA, SD, Boston, DC, the price of housing and commercial real estate (an increasing cost to businesses which can result in lower wages paid out) is caused because of "rent-seeking" that causes an artificial scarcity of land through politics that limit zoning density with the resultant higher proportion of income going towards housing costs. The rent-seeking benefits special interests which in this case are wealthy landlords such as Donald Trump.
3. Importing illegal immigrants holds down wage costs among the working class. Except for Trump, almost all Democratic and Republican Presidential candidates wanted to import illegal immigrants.
4. Exporting factory jobs to China and Mexico have also kept wage rates low.
5. The abuse of H1-B Visas have helped to keep wages lower among STEM workers. H1-B Visas are supposed to be used only in the case where there is no American with the skill set to fill the job. Many Democrats and some Republicans actually want to increase the number of H1-B Visas to further depress STEM wages. Trump campaigned against H1-B Visa abuse and spoke against Disney replacing 250 American IT workers with H1-B from India, a clear abuse of H1-B. Clinton did not speak out against H1-B Visa abuse.
6. Raising minimum wage by law to $15 per hour as the author suggested demonstrates to me that he wants to take this simplistic solution which ends up with higher costs to poor people who have to buy goods and services.
In summary, instead of focusing on wages alone, focus on standard of living much of which is poor because of rent-seeking which benefits wealthy landlords to the cost of everyone else. When focusing on wages, deal with the structural issues which are 1) increasing costs of healthcare and other benefits 2) increasing real-estate costs to businesses, 3) eliminating illegal immigrants 4) eliminating H1-B Visa abuse and decreasing the number of H1-B Visas.
Raising the minimum wage through law simply lowers the standard of living to the poor such as retirees on fixed incomes as the grocery store costs and other costs increase.
Just watch what Trump does with H2-Bs, that's where he hires foreign dishwashers, gardeners, and waiters for his resorts.
If Trump is largely using the presidency as a stature and money making scheme without truly divesting from his private companies, I expect you'll see a big difference depending on whether a particular piece of policy affects his own wallet.
By far the greatest part of Trump's wealth comes from the "rent-seeking" that I mentioned. The sources are all political: 1) zoning density restrictions, 2) overregulation (e.g. in a city with mass transit and Uber, parking spaces, and lots of red tape to increase time of construction) and 3) overuse of historic landmark status. This rent-seeking is all implemented by cities run by Democrats.
Thus, it is Democrats who are most responsible for making Trump far, far wealthier than he would be without their assistance. This while adding to inequality and making rents for even small apartments very expensive.
Incidentally, in Japan in 2001 or so they passed a federal law which overruled local zoning density restrictions. The result is that in 2014 140,000 housing units were built in Tokyo compared with less than 90,000 for all of California and 20,000 for NYC.
1. Wages are just part of the overall benefit package per worker. Healthcare costs to firms have been rising dramatically and these higher healthcare costs (even as employers are having workers pay more out-of-pocket) have resulted in a flat overall wage payout.
2. What should be focused on is overall standard of living and not wages. In cities such as my own, NYC, but also SF, LA, SD, Boston, DC, the price of housing and commercial real estate (an increasing cost to businesses which can result in lower wages paid out) is caused because of "rent-seeking" that causes an artificial scarcity of land through politics that limit zoning density with the resultant higher proportion of income going towards housing costs. The rent-seeking benefits special interests which in this case are wealthy landlords such as Donald Trump.
3. Importing illegal immigrants holds down wage costs among the working class. Except for Trump, almost all Democratic and Republican Presidential candidates wanted to import illegal immigrants.
4. Exporting factory jobs to China and Mexico have also kept wage rates low.
5. The abuse of H1-B Visas have helped to keep wages lower among STEM workers. H1-B Visas are supposed to be used only in the case where there is no American with the skill set to fill the job. Many Democrats and some Republicans actually want to increase the number of H1-B Visas to further depress STEM wages. Trump campaigned against H1-B Visa abuse and spoke against Disney replacing 250 American IT workers with H1-B from India, a clear abuse of H1-B. Clinton did not speak out against H1-B Visa abuse.
6. Raising minimum wage by law to $15 per hour as the author suggested demonstrates to me that he wants to take this simplistic solution which ends up with higher costs to poor people who have to buy goods and services.
In summary, instead of focusing on wages alone, focus on standard of living much of which is poor because of rent-seeking which benefits wealthy landlords to the cost of everyone else. When focusing on wages, deal with the structural issues which are 1) increasing costs of healthcare and other benefits 2) increasing real-estate costs to businesses, 3) eliminating illegal immigrants 4) eliminating H1-B Visa abuse and decreasing the number of H1-B Visas.
Raising the minimum wage through law simply lowers the standard of living to the poor such as retirees on fixed incomes as the grocery store costs and other costs increase.