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Comment by marricks | Hacker News Reader

Given how cities that transitioned to $15 minimum wage workers did better* after implementation maybe it's time to try investing in infrastructure and the working class rather than the 30 years of trickle down economics and stagnate wages we've suffered from both Republican and Democratic administrations...

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Please define "did better" because small businesses in those cities generally took a beating.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2019/07/10/the-uninte...

> ...reduced hours worked in low-wage jobs by 6-7 percent, while hourly wages in such jobs increased by 3 percent ... consequently, total payroll for such jobs decreased.

> ...

> Those who were already working more hours before the wage increase saw “essentially all of the earnings increases,” while the workers who had fewer hours saw their hours go down, but wages go up enough so that their overall earnings didn’t really change

https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/7/13/20690266/seattle...

Seems like its a mixed bag, and depends on circumstances.

I'm asking this in good faith. Does the success of a $15/hr minimum wage in specific cities indicate that it would be successful across the US?

In other words, A) does the local cost of living matter to its success? and B) does the limited rollout keep inflation in check?

Is YC still studying UBE in an attempt to answer questions like these?

I think what keeps inflation in check is that we no longer manufacture most things locally, and things which are made locally are heavily automated, so wages aren’t the primary driver of their costs. So incomes are largely decoupled from the prices of consumer goods. Housing and other assets, on the other hand, have been exploding.

B) does the limited rollout keep inflation in check

Even a full scale rollout probably would as well - minimum wage workers are not only a small part of the overall workforce but also the ones that obviously make the less, so they can't possibly increase total consumption significantly.

Yes the local cost of living matters, however it also depends on how you define success. If the minimum wage constitutes an overall increase in wages then you could consider that successful by some metrics. However if success is defined by people not living paycheck to paycheck and feeling financially secure then it would be unsuccessful...even at 15 an hour. We're setting such a low bar for ourselves still at 15 an hour IMO. People will still live paycheck to paycheck at that wage.

If people live paycheck to paycheck despite wage increases, doesn't that indicate that wages aren't the root cause?

Do you have any links to those stats? I’ve only ever heard partisan talking points and haven’t looked at the data myself.

We can dream

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