# What would be the lowest-wage job in the US if there were no minimum wage? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [October 18, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-lowest-wage-job-in-the-us-if-there-were-no-minimum-wage/671612 "2013-10-18T22:39:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ManMadeMachine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f17d59/32.png) [@ManMadeMachine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ManMadeMachine)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-lowest-wage-job-in-the-us-if-there-were-no-minimum-wage/671612/61 "2013-10-23T02:47:44Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > There is of course all sorts of menial self-employment (collecting soda cans, etc.) that pays anywhere down to almost nothing; and I imagine there would be scams where the pay rate looked ok in theory but then there’d be deductions for room and board, uniforms, etc. But what would be the lowest actual salary anyone would offer by either hour or piecework? Would anyone offer a dollar an hour with a straight face? An extrapolation from when there was no minimum wage and allowing for inflation would be an acceptable estimate. I honestly think that employers would pay people $0.22 an hour like how goodwill does now with their disabled employees for their mcjobs. On the bright side, cost of living would go down (Due to a large sector of the population having little buying power), prices of good would generally be a bit lower, and jobs would probably be much more flexible and less demanding. But then again, we would probably just see CEO salaries increase. Remember - capitalism charges what they want because they can; not because they are making money or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-lowest-wage-job-in-the-us-if-there-were-no-minimum-wage/671612/62 "2013-10-23T10:50:46Z")
We have a minimum wage over here, currently £6.31 an hour. We also see reports of workers who are essentially slaves working for food and lodging. These are usually illegal immigrants working for the people who smuggled them in. They may be labourers in fields, machine operators in sweat shops or prostitutes. A business operating legally would be unlikely to get away with paying less. Wait staff here get fewer tips anyway, and there are strict rules about troncs and sharing schemes which sometimes are used to enable the restaurant to pay less. McD’s etc would have to pay the full amount because no one would tip there anyway. I saw a programme on TV recently about local vs E European labour in the UK (The locals complained that effing immigrants took all the jobs because they worked cheap). They were cutting asparagus and were paid only on the weight of what they cut. The immigrants were all earning £7 or £8 per hour, but the locals could not pick enough, so the farmer had to make up their wage to the minimum. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-lowest-wage-job-in-the-us-if-there-were-no-minimum-wage/671612/63 "2013-10-25T20:22:13Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > [Straight from the Horse’s mouth.](http://www.dol.gov/elaws/faq/esa/flsa/002.htm) > > If your wife is making less than MW, she has a beef with her employer. [Straight from the horse’s mouth](http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs15.htm), but with more detail. Note that: From the Tip Credit paragraph – Technically, employers don’t really “make up the difference” if tips + 2.13 are less than MW. They start with full minimum wage and can claim a tip credit of up to $5.12/hour based on tips earned. It can only be for the amount of tips the employee actually receives, so if the employee only makes $1.00/hour in tips the employer can only claim a $1.00/hour tip credit. From the Requirements section – If the employer doesn’t inform the employee of the requirements for tip credits they cannot claim a tip credit and must pay full minimum wage PLUS allow the employee to keep all tips received. Also a tip pool CANNOT include dishwashers or cooks. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2013, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-lowest-wage-job-in-the-us-if-there-were-no-minimum-wage/671612/64 "2013-10-27T16:40:29Z")
> [@Translucent\_Daydream](#): > > I had a friend that took the Disney internship, which you worked for Walt Disney World for a semester in exchange for some college credits. Essentially what happened is that they paid you, but less than Florida minimum wage. You had to pay them back for the apartment they put you up in, but they would give you a ride to and from the park. So essentially she went for a Botany internship, but spent most of her time changing out trash can liners and owed them money at the end of it. If you owe the company money at the end of a job it’s not a job, it’s slavery. Even if they call it an “internship.” Prisoners who work for five cents an hour are also slaves. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-be-the-lowest-wage-job-in-the-us-if-there-were-no-minimum-wage/671612.md?page=3)