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From: ark@alice.UucP (Andrew Koenig)
Newsgroups: net.politics.theory
Subject: Re: Minimum wages
Message-ID: <4713@alice.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 17-Dec-85 10:17:11 EST
Article-I.D.: alice.4713
Posted: Tue Dec 17 10:17:11 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 18-Dec-85 19:59:16 EST
References: <279@gargoyle.UUCP>
Organization: Bell Labs, Murray Hill
Lines: 25

> One implication of this viewpoint is that as prevailing wage rates
> decline, more people will turn to crime, since crime becomes a
> relatively more attractive method of "earning" a living.  So it
> becomes a reasonable question to ask whether a minimum wage tends
> to reduce crime, and if so to what extent.  I see no prima facie
> reason for regarding this "crime effect" as either nonexistent or
> insignificant.

> So my question for our distinguished panel of experts is:  Could you
> please discuss the "crime effect" with regard to the minimum wage, or
> at least provide references to books or articles in which this
> question is addressed by opponents of the minimum wage?

In this discussion, don't forget to examine Richard Carnes' unstated
assumption that lowering the minimum wage will raise prevailing wage
rates.  Since the wages of unemployed people are zero, and lowering
the minimum wage would surely decrease unemployment, this assumption
is far from obvious.

In fact, it is perfectly clear that increasing the minimum wage to
a trillion dollars per hour, thus causing 100% unemployment, would
decrease the prevailing wage rate to zero.

I don't have time to get involved in these long drawn-out discussions,
but I'm leaving this reminder for those who do.