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Comment by vilmosi | Hacker News Reader

So you're not actually answering the topic at hand or the majority of my replies... OK.

> If this new labour force had not appeared are you seriously suggesting that UK employers would just have paid more and more to attract workers from other sectors?

Yes?! That's how it works... You literally agreed in your previous comment that part of the reason for wage stagnation was the extra new labour force.

> How would they remain competitive?

The same way they were competitive before 2004 I guess.

If your company relies on low skilled manual labourers working 12h a day for minimum wage or you go bankrupt... You should go bankrupt. It stops you from modernising and increasing productivity long term.

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> If your company relies on low skilled manual labourers working 12h a day for minimum wage or you go bankrupt... You should go bankrupt. It stops you from modernising and increasing productivity long term

Yes they would go bankrupt or move production or automate...like I said originally. Perhaps this results in less jobs in the economy and the low skilled get paid less, the economy shrinks and every one gets poorer?

There is an interaction between immigration and wage growth but it is not a simple or linear one.

> Yes they would go bankrupt or move production or automate...like I said originally.

Yes you did. Did you miss the part where I replied to that?

> Perhaps this results in less jobs in the economy and the low skilled get paid less, the economy shrinks and every one gets poorer?

I'm sorry but what are you talking about?

Shitty companies going bankrupt does not mean less jobs or lower wages, in fact the opposite. It's natural and a good thing in a free market. So I don't know what you are on about here.

> There is an interaction between immigration and wage growth but it is not a simple or linear one.

Oh for sure. Immigration can definitely increase wages and the economy and create jobs. But you forgot the low skilled part.

Look, this thread has gone long enough and you're not addressing most of the things I write, so I don't see the point of this.

All I wanted was to clarify that the UK did not in fact have any power to limit freedom of movement of workers from the EU, that's it. I never wanted to argue about anything else.

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