Minimum Wage for Youth (1 Viewer)

[lengstar]

The point of minimum wage is to provide employment opportunities for the youth. By having a minimum wage and adults paid more mean that low skilled work can be given to youth to provide a starting opportunity to enter the work force. If this was not available, only mature experienced workers would have the job forcing the entire corporate system to adopt measures of lowing wages and drastically reshaping the economy and forcing changes in our current value system in consumer goods.

lack of minimum wage = lowering of wages = lack of money = lack of consumption = lack of demand = lowering of prices of comsumer goods and services
its the opposite of inflation. keep the system as it is.

 

[Comrade nathan]

I to doubt that many people under 18 live alone, but many under 18 live at home with parents living under the poverty line, unemployed or have a low wage themselves.

This means they can apply for benifits. If they remove the minimum wage then under 18's will have to have their benifits raised. If their wages are higher the government can lower their benifits. This means more money going to other services.

Lengster i think that youth are the highest consumers, behind women. for backing up your arguement.

 

[Rorix]

Wow! I wish I could CHOOSE to work for 20 cents an hour. damn governmnet for oppressing my liberty!!

You understand that you like, have a choice whether to work or not, right?

Oh and also just quickly who does this benefit?

I do believe the answer to be everyone.

It means business' can more easily turn a profit, UNLESS they make money by selling thnings to teens who will no longer be able to afford anything.

By turn a profit you mean increase production and lower prices right? Yup, that's the definition of 'economic growth'. BTW a pay cut from $8 to $7 isn't going to stop teens from affording anything.

You seem to be thinking no minimum wage = 20c an hour, everywhere.

Business' will be able to employ more workers yet pay them less in total, they will also be able to casualise and move to under 18's more positions.Old ladies will no longer have to worry about 'the youth of today' being out on the street (assuming full employment results).

Wow, you've missed the issue again.

Young people have little technical know how, the only real issue is whether teens taking low skilled jobs is going to result in net suffering to those who work these low skilled jobs as adults (i.e. those on minimum wage)

And finally a little question: Why esactly was a minimum wage campaigned for and child labour practices ended in the first place?

Child labour
God.


Please
Please
Please
Please
Tell me how you got from no minimum wage-> child labour.

 

[Rorix]

Why should the minimum wage for under 18's be reduced or eliminated?

You probably should read the arguments in the 'Minimum Wage for Youth' thread......................oh wait.

If anything at all, it should be increased.

Yup, the key to reducing youth unemployment.

Employers already prefer young workers due to junior wage rates, eliminating minimum wages for under 18's is only going to make these workers less motivated.

Sigh. The more posts I read the more apparent it seems that few have given any thought to the issue at all.

 

[Ziff]

At the moment, the minimum rate is calculated on a sliding scale until you turn 21. So would you advocate removing minimum wage for under 18s and also abolishing the sliding scale - effectively starting minimum ages at 18 years of age? I can't see this being a good idea.

I would say that a minor should have the same minimum wage as an adult. It should be equal across the board. This in theory anyway, would prevent younger workers displacing older ones. What happens now? Corporations like McDonalds like to get older people moving along so they can replace them with younger ones. They also have a tendency not to hire the "more expensive" older people. This at least is anecdotal from people that I know who work at Maccas but that's good enough for an internet forum

If you have no minimum wage below a certain age, but allow these people to be employed, won't it add further to the displacement of older workers (at least in certain industries) as it already is to some extent with the sliding scale?

The other thing is, that if the workforce is measured as all those over 15 then shouldn't the same rights be extended to them as other workers? By removing their entitlement to minimum wage, this would cause them to be treated as second class citizens. It is essentially depriving them of something which has become a right.

I don't agree with the sliding scale model and I also think that the age we allow children to work at is too low. In the USA (some states) there are two minimum ages - one for big companies and one for small businesses. Only those over 16 can work and a minor cannot work during school hours unless they have left school voluntarily. So there are some safe guards...

There is something that I found which might make this argument totally redundant though, which shows that our current system is actually working:

Casual working hours

Australia’s rate of employment among young people aged 15–19 is nearly twice the average for developed countries.

The proportion of young people combining school and work was 29% in 1987 and 43% in 2004.

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Employed young people’s occupations, 2002–2003

As a percentage of each age group’s workforce:
Managers and administrators –
… 15–19: 0.4%
… 20–24: 1.6%

Professionals –
… 15–19: 1.6%
… 20–24: 13.1%

Associate professionals –
… 15–19: 2.9%
… 20–24: 8.2%

Tradespeople and related workers –
… 15–19: 12.2%
… 20–24: 15.8%

Advanced clerical and service workers –
… 15–19: 0.9%
… 20–24: 3.6%

Intermediate clerical, sales and service workers –
… 15–19: 16.0%
… 20–24: 24.5%

Intermediate production and transport workers –
… 15–19: 7.0%
… 20–24: 7.1%

Elementary clerical, sales and service workers –
… 15–19: 40.9%
… 20–24: 16.1%

Labourers and related workers:
… 15–19: 17.9%
… 20–24: 10.1%

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2004, Year Book Australia 2004, cat. no. 1301.0, ABS, Canberra. Available online [03/03/04] in html format from the Labour chapter. http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@...2ce28dce9b4d02cbca256dea00053943!OpenDocument