English: Lesson 120
“Why wouldn’t someone voluntarily offer you a job at twice today’s minimum wage?”
People like money, it’s just fact. Most people are not going to throw money around where it could be used more constructively. But let’s assume an employer wants to pay someone twice today’s minimum wage. There are three reasons why they could not and would not do this.
First, the business can not make customers pay the extra costs of employing a high costing employee. If that business hires one person for double the minimum wage, they are going to have to raise prices to cover that extra cost. But there is a problem. Customers will look for the best deal, and if the store across town is charging $5 less for the same item you are selling, they are going to take their business there. The business is going to lose customers and go bankrupt unless they can get their prices back down.
Second, if the business is paying the average employee more than he is worth, then they cannot afford better quality and more experienced workers who are worth the money. The money is being used poorly and that will restrict the growth of the business.
Third, people who are just entering the business and are looking for work will not be able to find entry-level jobs. If a business is paying a worker double the minimum wage, he can’t hire a second worker at the minimum wage. The business is losing time and money because it only has one worker instead of two for the same price, and people can not find entry-level jobs.
louisa neudorf 