Fewer People Working Means Permanently Lower Tax

In The Four Decades After World War Ii, Manufacturing Jobs Paid More Than Other Jobs For Given Skills. But That Is Much Less True Today. Increased International Competition Has Forced American Manufacturers To Reduce Costs. As A Result, The Pay Premium For Low-skilled Workers In Manufacturing Is Smaller Than It Once Was.

Most Arguments For Instituting Or Raising A Minimum Wage Are Based On Fairness And Redistribution. Even If Workers Are Getting A Competitive Wage, Many Of Us Are Deeply Disturbed That Some Hard-working Families Still Have Very Little.

If Every Other Store In Town Is Paying Workers $9 An Hour, One Offering $8 Will Find It Hard To Hire Anyone - Perhaps Not When Unemployment Is High, But Certainly In Normal Times. Robust Competition Is A Powerful Force Helping To Ensure That Workers Are Paid What They Contribute To Their Employers' Bottom Lines.

A Natural Way That An Economist Approaches A Problem Is To Say, Here's Where I Think The Economy Is Going; This Is What We Need To Deal With The Problem.

The Very First Email I Got [was] From A Women's Group Saying 'we Don't Want This Stimulus Package To Just Create Jobs For Burly Men.'