minimum wage

The Claptrap Behind the Minimum Wage Debate

August 10, 2013 by Guest Contributor

By Bill Bonner

Can Money Buy You Happiness?

Not that we care especially about money. We are more interested in what it represents… and how it helps us understand the world we live in.

Money establishes a relationship between people. One owes. One is owed. One can buy. One must sell. One employs. Another is employed. [Editor’s Note: Money also makes people more efficient. Imagine how wasteful and polluted the world would be if everyone had unlimited amounts of money.]

You don’t really need much to live. Food, clothing, shelter, a WiFi connection. After you have the basics everything else is no longer about survival. It’s about status: the relationship between you and your fellow men.

It takes more than money to live well. You could live much better than most people live… on little money. Just get a quaint cottage in West Virginia. Plant a nice garden. And learn to cook!

But most people figure they need more money. They want large suburban houses, sleek automobiles, mobile phones and big-screen TVs… not to mention health insurance.

Poverty-Level Pay

You can buy that sort of stuff by getting a job that pays well. But why do so many jobs pay so poorly? [Read more…] about The Claptrap Behind the Minimum Wage Debate

North Dakota Jobs Booming

November 17, 2011 by Tim McMahon

While the unemployment rate in most of the United States hovers around 9% an unlikely sounding state is booming. The current unemployment rate in North Dakota of all places is just 3.5% according the September report of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Nationwide, the rate is 9.1%). An oil boom has sprung up and immunized residents from the most severe recession in decades. Wages are up, and work is plentiful. It’s almost like being on a totally different planet. People are sending resumes and getting multiple job offers within a week. Why? [Read more…] about North Dakota Jobs Booming

Teen Employment Rate Plunges

July 9, 2011 by Tim McMahon

Only 1 in 4 Teens is Employed

Teenage employment rates have averaged around 45% since the 1950’s but since 2000 the teenage employment rate has plummeted. Currently less than 25% of teenagers can find a job. But don’t worry the government has a plan to create 50,000 new jobs…

So what is this magic plan you might ask?

Almost 1 Million Unemployed Show up for 50K McDonald’s Jobs

May 20, 2011 by Tim McMahon

Recently McDonald’s decided to have a mass hiring of 50,000 new employees for it’s US based hamburger restaurants some of which will be full-time and some part-time. They actually ended up hiring 62,000 new employees as a result of all the applications they received. Because many of the restaurants are owned by franchisees the wages are not controlled by the company but many of the jobs were estimated to be for more than the nationwide minimum wage of $7.25 / hr. and managers can make up to $50,000 per year. [Read more…] about Almost 1 Million Unemployed Show up for 50K McDonald’s Jobs