General Discussion

woo me with science

(32,139 posts) Sat Mar 1, 2014, 02:07 PM Mar 2014

Rand Paul Gets the Math Wrong on the Minimum Wage and Unemployment

http://www.thenation.com/article/178285/rand-paul-gets-math-wrong-minimum-wage

Rand Paul Gets the Math Wrong on the Minimum Wage
Paul claims that increasing the minimum wage leads to higher unemployment; actual economists disagree.
Barbara Koeppel, The Nation
Feb. 10, 2014

Doctor Senator Rand Paul may be an able ophthalmologist, but he’s flunking economics.

On January 30, when CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked Paul about the minimum wage Paul insisted that “virtually all the studies show that if you increase the minimum wage, you get higher unemployment.” But he’s wrong—objectively wrong.

Since Blitzer didn’t correct him, someone’s got to break the news.

On January 27, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) sent a letter signed by 600 economists to the president and Congress urging them to pass the Harkin-Miller minimum wage bill. Among the 600 were seven Nobel laureates and eight former presidents of the American Economic Association. They stated that past hikes have had “little or no negative effect on the employment of minimum-wage workers” and could modestly add jobs “as low-wage workers spend their additional earnings, raising demand and job growth…”

(more at link)

5 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Rand Paul Gets the Math Wrong on the Minimum Wage and Unemployment (Original Post) woo me with science Mar 2014 OP

"Doctor Senator Rand Paul", the neckstomper has a vested interest in protecting...... wandy Mar 2014 #1

Even if increasing the minimum wage hurt job growth, I'd still be for it. reformist2 Mar 2014 #2

This is not news A Little Weird Mar 2014 #3

Since giving more money to the 1% didn't create jobs rickford66 Mar 2014 #4

He uses a metric that should get his ass kicked jmowreader Mar 2014 #5

wandy

(3,539 posts)

1. "Doctor Senator Rand Paul", the neckstomper has a vested interest in protecting......

Reply to woo me with science (Original post)

Sat Mar 1, 2014, 03:14 PM

Mar 2014

the people who pay him.
If the minimum wage goes up their profit may go down. So may their "contributions" to Doctor Senator Rand Paul.
Wrong, but then and again we are looking at one of the greed oriented Teapublican alternate realitys here.

reformist2

(9,841 posts)

2. Even if increasing the minimum wage hurt job growth, I'd still be for it.

Reply to woo me with science (Original post)

Sat Mar 1, 2014, 03:26 PM

Mar 2014

Because at $7.25 an hour, the current minimum wage is unacceptable. You have to draw the line somewhere. I'd rather see workers on unemployment and/or food stamps instead of slaving away for crumbs from their "employers."

A Little Weird

(1,754 posts)

3. This is not news

Reply to woo me with science (Original post)

Sat Mar 1, 2014, 03:39 PM

Mar 2014

It would be news if he got something right.

rickford66

(5,528 posts)

4. Since giving more money to the 1% didn't create jobs

Reply to woo me with science (Original post)

Sat Mar 1, 2014, 05:17 PM

Mar 2014

let's at least give some money to the lowest paid workers.

jmowreader

(50,562 posts)

5. He uses a metric that should get his ass kicked

Reply to woo me with science (Original post)

Sat Mar 1, 2014, 05:22 PM

Mar 2014

It's called "full time equivalent."

Say you run a taco stand that runs Tuesday-Saturday and it has 20 employees who work 40 hours/week at minimum wage. Every morning 10 of them show up an hour early to shred cheese and chop lettuce, and every night 10 of them stay an hour later to scrub the floor and wash dishes. Then the minimum wage goes up, and he discovers shredded cheese and chopped lettuce. Now he needs two people to come in every day early to cook meat and open bags, and everyone else gets to come in an hour later. In reality each opening employee goes from 40 to 36 hours and all of them keep their jobs; in Paulese one job has been lost.

The full truth is even worse: if 100,000 employers each reduce one employee's time by 15 minutes per day, FTE pseudooutrage says 625 jobs were lost. This is how stupid this shit is.

Reply to this discussion