The Minimum Wage vs. The Edict of Maximum Prices
February 9, 2009 – 11:06 pmI see today that the minimum wage is going to rise from $12 to $12.50 this year. This is something I support, not only to keep up with inflation but also because it puts more money into the lowest section of the economy – always a good move in a recession.
The minimum youth wage is going away, also something I support if only to stop the half-baked student protests that used to break out occasionally. Instead there is now a “new entrant wage”, which is almost the same thing but will mostly apply only to students in part-time work. 16 and 17 year-olds in full-time work will quickly step up to the full minimum wage. I can’t imagine this will stop young workers getting exploited, but it is a step in the right direction.
But enough back-seat economics, here is how things were done in ancient Rome – with an edict. It’s interesting to see how the relative value of things has changed – meat and clothing were many times the price they are now in proportion to the average hourly wage.
Nowdays, an Edict of Maximum Prices seems like a poor way to deal with economic woes. Luckily in this enlightened age nobody would try such a tactic.
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