Free Markets / Business is Good

[BigJon]

Business success is all a result of dumb luck.
(This link opens a Flash slideshow, click on the image to advance the slide)
http://www.creaturesinmyhead.com/temp/092706/

[BigJon]

Our newly minted Nobel laureate in Economics has a high opinion of capitalism and free markets and a lower opinion of the Continental model of externally managed corporations.

[BigJon]

The some of the fundamental fallacies of the "living wage" laws are compiled here. The smoking gun is in this report from the government. Only 2-3% of the population would be the full beneficiaries of this "living wage" and the net result will most likely be a reduction in overall income for these people without significant other detrimental structural changes.

The solution, as always, is the free market one. Abolish all wage floors, no minimum wage at all. True market prices for every job. Sound cruel? It's not. For the first time since the earliest history of our continent, there would be true, full employment. Everyone would have a shot at a job at a price that the employer would like to pay. This is the classic foot in the door for people who may not have had other good fortune in life and it can lead to unlimited opportunities as experience is gained. It will also reduce consumer prices on some of the common goods and services we routinely purchase.

So how then would a benevolent and moral society take care of the genuine poor? Through a combination of an expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit and an incentive program to employers to hire, train and sustain employment of people on the lowest end of the scale. This eliminates the teenagers, hobbyists and other non-poor folks who would also get the higher minimum wage at the expense of total job openings for those who really need them. It also puts the decisions about how best to deploy the human resource in the hands of the businesses where it belongs.

[analog]

Interesting article from WSJ, B'jon..

I didn't see him address the population segment with no desire for self realization.

This line struck me - "As Kant also said, persons are not to be made instruments for the gain of others. "
Observance of that ethic would assure success of most any system.


To succeed, your free market solution would have to restore some old fashioned values to the permissive cornucopia we've become..

Thoughtful link, thanks.

a.

[barfle]

This line struck me - "As Kant also said, persons are not to be made instruments for the gain of others. "
Observance of that ethic would assure success of most any system.

I think it's important to note that there's a big difference between being part of a team (such as a company), and being an "instrument for the gain of others." While the first may include tasks that you disagree with, the essence of teamwork is to regularly follow the orders of your superiors. It may not always result in your benefit, but a team without a leader isn't really a team, just a disorganized bunch of people. If the team doesn't find your contribution to be adequate, they have the right to find someone whose contribution will be adequate, or to reduce your reward for your efforts to the level they deem appropriate. And you have the right to change your team at will as well.

Working for low wages is not slavery, it's a way to make a buck, even though you think two would be better.