🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <gilbert-3011940048210001@blv-pm0-ip17.halcyon.com>
gilbert@halcyon.com (John Gilbert) writes:
   Don't we currently have different minimum wage standards for students, and
   certain classes of workers like restaurant workers and others where 
   tips might
   be involved?  I think this happens already.

Not really. There's a training wage, which a person may receive for a
very limited amount of time. Then there's the restaurant wage---but,
if  wages+tips doesn't equal the NORMAL minimum wage than the employer
is required to compensate for the difference. So I disagree that we
have different "classes" of minimum wage.

   Somewhere in here tho, I lost the importance of the illegal part. 

The importance is this: as long as the employees are illegal, they
can't really fight too effectively for legal wages and working
conditions. A legal employee (usually) does not have to put up with
such illegal treatment because they have avenues of enforcement to
pursue.

   Is
   it possible that things could be more beneficial in the long run to
   legitimize a working relationship for the migrant labor, the industries,
   the state, and the service providers.  Is it possible that the savings
   could be worth it. 

No. Food is so incredibly cheap in this country that we can enjoy a
healthy increase in the cost of produce before the country suffers.
The savings produced by allowing a group of people to assume
second-class status and work in conditions no American would stand
is NOT worth the extra quarter or so it might save me on my
orange juice.

   This could also relieve the lack-of-power situation
   with the workers.

So could insuring that only legal workers have those jobs.

   The scenario you paint is open-ended, and I maintain that we could,
   under your situation, price some things out of the market and render
   certain things unprofitable to produce.  What if we all lose more than
   we gain by legitimizing the lower-cost methods?

You're wrong. It's NOT open ended. Profit not only depends on the cost
of the item but the number sold, so by definition, no market is priced
out of the reach of the consumer. And I COMPLETELY disagree that
the effect would be as drastic as you claim.

--
Michael C. Grant           Information Systems Laboratory, Stanford University
mcgrant@isl.stanford.edu       <A HREF="http://www-isl.stanford.edu/~mcgrant">
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