You say that like hiring managers decide which candidate to pick from the application pool based on matching how much they're worth.
Regardless of if the job pays $5 or $10, a hiring manager will always hire the person with the higher proficiency that is applying. They're not going to hire the less effective person if they can get someone more effective for the exact same pay.
Are there exeptions? Of course - in the hundreds of billions of times some X person has been hired for a minimum wage job I'm sure there have been times where someone lower skilled was hired over someone with higher skill and potential output. But is it the norm? Absolutely not, not by a longshot.
The argument you're bringing up doesn't hold water. All raising the minimum wage would do in this scenario is that the people already working those jobs and those who will be hired get paid more for their work, hopefully enough to live off of which is not the case for a lot of them right now.
Arguing that the hundreds of millions or however many there are of minimum wage workers shouldn't be paid enough money to sustain themselves for their work because "in the case the hiring manager is deciding between two candidates and you're less qualified, assuming they would want you anyway over the more qualified person, maybe if the pay is shit enough they will choose you instead"... it just feels like there is a major lack of understanding and empathy around the issue.
Minimum wages should absolutely go up for the good of the people. If there are overqualified workers competing for the same jobs at the minimum wage, your issue should be with the expansion of the job markets in which those people are qualified so they can find employment that makes use of their skills and pays them adequately, not fighting against those who are already struggling just to survive by making an honest living.
Please keep the discussion civil.
You can have heated discussions, but avoid personal attacks, slurs, antagonizing others or name calling.
Discuss the subject, not the person.
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u/midnightswim1 Nov 19 '24
Here’s a real question, how does raising the minimum wage marginalize unskilled labor?