Higher Minimum Wage = Less jobs for unskilled labor

[Chief Bones]

Apples and oranges .............

Apples and oranges ... apples and oranges ... apples and oranges.

How many times do I have to say this ... APPLES AND ORANGES.



AMERICAN SAMOA, IS NOT ONE OF THE 50 STATES NOR DOES IT EXACTLY FOLLOW THE SAME LAWS AND BUSINESS PRACTICES THAT ARE CARRIED OUT IN THE 50 STATES (even though it is a US Territory).

 

[-- Dusty]

I don't see how it is a US territory. They petitioned the US Dept. of the Interior for a release back in '97. IIRC it was granted in 2003. That would release them from DOI jurisdiction. So it's really quasi in nature, they aren't part of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific, but they aren't a state, either. Yet.

 

[Chukpike]

I don't see how it is a US territory. They petitioned the US Dept. of the Interior for a release back in '97. IIRC it was granted in 2003. That would release them from DOI jurisdiction. So it's really quasi in nature, they aren't part of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific, but they aren't a state, either. Yet.

Well, if they were not subject to US minimum wage laws, we wouldn't be having this discussion would we?

 

[-- Dusty]

I didn't say they weren't Chukpike. But I do recall there was a while that American Samoa was trying to get their own sovereignty as a small nation. IIRC Vanuatu did that, didn't they? I forget. I know that a couple of island communities did just that and were taken in by the Federated States of Micronesia.

But I may be wrong. It has been YEARS since I looked into that.

 

[Chukpike]

I didn't say they weren't Chukpike. But I do recall there was a while that American Samoa was trying to get their own sovereignty as a small nation. IIRC Vanuatu did that, didn't they? I forget. I know that a couple of island communities did just that and were taken in by the Federated States of Micronesia.

But I may be wrong. It has been YEARS since I looked into that.

Since you have not posted one thing on the topic of this thread, why start now?

Topic;

Higher Minimum Wage= less jobs for unskilled labor

 

[-- Dusty]

Exactly. So it doesn't matter what the legality is of the labor laws in American Samoa are, it's off topic (according to you, of course). And the same for the cost of retail tuna, as we all know how the corporate staff are barely eeeking by, and My God! they have to apply for food stamps and welfare! All in the name of paying wages that may not be legal in American Samoa because the actual legal status of American Samoa is in question!

Splendid calculations, Chukpike! ray:

 

[Chukpike]

Exactly. So it doesn't matter what the legality is of the labor laws in American Samoa are, it's off topic (according to you, of course). And the same for the cost of retail tuna, as we all know how the corporate staff are barely eeeking by, and My God! they have to apply for food stamps and welfare! All in the name of paying wages that may not be legal in American Samoa because the actual legal status of American Samoa is in question!

Splendid calculations, Chukpike! ray:

Yes it is all OFF Topic.

A. The legalities don't matter, since the federal law was used. Even though the local politicians tried to stop it.
B. People lost there jobs because the federal government thought they new better than the locals living there.
C. And if the corporate staff is barely eeeking by then they lost their jobs also.

The topic is about whether the federal government should be setting minimum wages for areas of the country instead of the local governments.

Sounds like you would agree they should not. But since you do nothing but b*****h about the workers versus the evil companies we may never know.
And if you had been able to read the first post you would know that.

 

[-- Dusty]

I read the first post.

Local have more business deciding what the minimum wages are than the government. The locals are there 24/7, the government is but, only when on vacation. So the government really has no concept of what's there.

 

[perseus]

There are masses of studies on this subject on Wiki. If you don't want to read it all this seems to summarise some of the more important points:

Direct empirical studies indicate, however, that antipoverty effects in the U.S. would be quite modest even if unemployment effects were zero. Very few low wage workers come from families in poverty. Those primarily affected by minimum wage laws are teenagers and low skilled adult females who work part time, and any wage rate effects on their income is strictly proportional to the hours of work they are offered.....

Since the introduction of a national minimum wage in the UK in 1999, its effects on employment were subject to extensive research and observation by the Low Pay Commission. The Low Pay Commission found that, rather than make employees redundant, employers have reduced their rate of hiring, reduced staff hours, increased prices, and have found ways to cause current workers to be more productive (especially service companies).....

Several researchers have conducted statistical meta-analyses of the employment effects of the minimum wage. ......"Once ..publication selection is corrected, little or no evidence of a negative association between minimum wages and employment remains...

Until the 1990s, economists generally agreed that raising the minimum wage reduced employment. This consensus was weakened when some well-publicized empirical studies showed the opposite, but others consistently confirmed the original view. Today's consensus, if one exists, is that increasing the minimum wage has, at worst, minor negative effects.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage

 

[Chukpike]

Unemployment rate in American Samoa 2005: 29.8%

Economy:
American Samoa has a traditional Polynesian economy in which more than 90% of the land is communally owned. Economic activity is strongly linked to the US with which American Samoa conducts most of its commerce. Tuna fishing and tuna processing plants are the backbone of the private sector, with canned tuna the primary export. Transfers from the US Government add substantially to American Samoa's economic well being. Attempts by the government to develop a larger and broader economy are restrained by Samoa's remote location, its limited transportation, and its devastating hurricanes. Tourism is a promising developing sector.

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/aq.html

With the closing of the tuna processing plants what is the unemployment rate going to be?

 

[A Can of Man]

It's going to be a disaster.

 

[-- Dusty]

Anytime the US gets involved in getting rid of poverty it only makes it worse.

 

[perseus]

Before anyone approves of cheap tuna I wish they could see the conditions the sweatshop labourers in the Far East are subjected to when catching and processing this fish. It it is an eye opener in explaining how we can sustain our lifestyle in the 'West'.

6 active fit young British people in employment (two from foreign origin but brought up in Britain) are sent to live and work in the same conditions as Indonesian tuna workers, before long one of them faints, five of them are demoted and the males are dismissed after a fight breaks out. How long do you think you could survive here? Perhaps, ostensibly it also questions the ability or attitude of Males to engaging long repetitive tasks efficiently.

Blood, Sweat and Takeaways

The Brits live with tuna workers in basic communities, endure 90-degree heat in the canneries and struggle with the harsh realities of life on a traditional wooden tuna boat in the western Pacific. The extreme conditions affect them all in many different ways, as do the hand to mouth existence of the workers they live with.

http://iplayerlist.mibly.com/tv/blood-sweat-and-takeaways

 

[A Can of Man]

I actually remember when South Korea had those sweatshops. I remember standing in front of the ventilation fans and just how hot the air was.
But if your country or region is poor, that becomes reality. Which is why it's so important for a country to attain wealth and a sizeable economy. A LOT of people have to put in a lot of sacrifice during those times. South Koreans put in that sort of time, effort and sacrifice and now they have a country worth half a damn.
Leadership is also important. If your country cannot produce leadership that considers the welfare and wealth of the country well above personal fortune, you will stay poor.

Perseus, I'm not disagreeing completely what you put there but what we do affects the lives of the next generation. We are fortunate that the people who came before us got it right. If not our previous generation, the generations that came before them. Maybe that's why in many places the senior citizens are treated with respect.