# What would happen if we reduced the minimum wage in the US? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 26, 2011, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244 "2011-08-26T23:42:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244/81 "2011-09-04T20:44:14Z")
Explain how government manipulation caused the housing crisis. This should be good. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244/82 "2011-09-04T20:44:32Z")
> [@hocuspocusfocus](#): > > Our f@$^kg government is responsible for this whole mess and they can simply undo this mess by eliminating regulations and the bureaucracy. In what way was the mortgage-backed securities debacle caused by too much regulation? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244/83 "2011-09-04T20:51:47Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Explain how government manipulation caused the housing crisis. This should be good. \ Fannie! Freddie! Barney Frank! Clinton got a blowjob! \ ---
**Author:** ![hocuspocusfocus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f07891/32.png) [@hocuspocusfocus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hocuspocusfocus)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244/84 "2011-09-04T22:30:11Z")
Big government is responsible for everything because well it is big government. It is inescapable Government regulations are to blame on one hand. The lack of government regulations are to blame on the other. Should we not expect perfection from our government for the amount of money China is spending on it or at the very least an economic environment so that kid “aruvqan” can find a job. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244/85 "2011-09-04T22:38:25Z")
> [@hocuspocusfocus](#): > > Should we not expect perfection from our government for the amount of money China is spending on it or at the very least an economic environment so that kid “aruvqan” can find a job. Is this some kind of rebus puzzle, because it doesn’t make any sense as English. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244/86 "2011-09-04T23:19:49Z")
> [@hocuspocusfocus](#): > > Big government is responsible for everything because well it is big government. > > It is inescapable > Government regulations are to blame on one hand. > The lack of government regulations are to blame on the other. > > Should we not expect perfection from our government for the amount of money China is spending on it or at the very least an economic environment so that kid “aruvqan” can find a job. So, your post is your cite then? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244/87 "2011-09-05T15:32:39Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > I doubt that too. It’s not just wages that are causing some companies to relocate (and this isn’t the major issue that some folks make it out to be in any case), it’s the combination of wages, **regulation** and uncertainty. I think this bears repeating. Company X isn’t just hiring undocumented workers or sending jobs overseas because no American citizens are willing to work for $3 an hour. They’re also doing it because if John Smith gets his arm stuck in the meat grinder, he may cause a stink and his cousin is a reporter. And Jane Doe has a thing against moving halfway across the country to work in an unventilated factory with air quality that could be fodder for a future class-action lawsuit. Even the teens who just want money for movie tickets won’t put up with the conditions that are the norm for some foreign workers – and they might actually have the resources to fight against them. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244/88 "2011-09-05T16:58:29Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Explain how government manipulation caused the housing crisis. This should be good. It encouraged banks to give mortgages to individuals who would not normally qualify for those mortgages. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244/89 "2011-09-05T17:18:27Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > It encouraged banks to give mortgages to individuals who would not normally qualify for those mortgages. The government encouraged them? How oppressive! They had no choice but to lend to people with sketchy income! ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244/90 "2011-09-06T02:49:38Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > It encouraged banks to give mortgages to individuals who would not normally qualify for those mortgages. Really. Is that what you think? Do you think for one second that the banks would drop their requirements to please the government? You sure as hell don’t know bankers nor are you aware of their defiant egotism. They ignore the government and laugh about it. The reason they dropped the standards was because they has exhausted the pool of well qualified buyers. They were making incredible amounts of money (billions), and had no risk at all because they sold them off. So the banks directed their loan originator companies to lower the standards some more. Then that pool was used up. But they made more billions. The response was expected. They lowered them again and again. It was all about money. ---
**Author:** ![emacknight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ec8ea/32.png) [@emacknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emacknight)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244/91 "2011-09-16T02:43:54Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Explain how government manipulation caused the housing crisis. This should be good. How do you still not know the answer to this? It’s been 4 years, and you’ve participated in dozens of threads on this very subject. We keep telling you over and over again, then a week goes by and you repeat this same willful ignorance. > [@gonzomax](#): > > They were making incredible amounts of money (billions), and had no risk at all because they sold them off. And who do you think they were selling them to? I’ll give you a hint, it starts with an F and was started by the government. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244/92 "2011-09-16T05:46:00Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Really. Is that what you think? Do you think for one second that the banks would drop their requirements to please the government? You sure as hell don’t know bankers nor are you aware of their defiant egotism. They ignore the government and laugh about it. > The reason they dropped the standards was because they has exhausted the pool of well qualified buyers. They were making incredible amounts of money (billions), and had no risk at all because they sold them off. So the banks directed their loan originator companies to lower the standards some more. Then that pool was used up. But they made more billions. The response was expected. They lowered them again and again. It was all about money. Do you accept or deny that the government encouraged banks to give mortgages to individuals who would not normally qualify for those mortgages? \_\_ Accept \_\_ Deny Choose one. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244/93 "2011-09-16T22:59:38Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] The government encouraged them? How oppressive! They had no choice but to lend to people with sketchy income! [/QUOTE] No, they were encouraged to do so, as he said. Having no choice does not equal being encouraged. The environment, both political and financial encouraged the industry to expand and to take large risks because the fallback was always that the government was backing all of this. It was mutually assured destruction, with the public, the politicians and private industry all having a large part in the cluster fuck that resulted. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244/94 "2011-09-16T23:03:14Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > No, they were encouraged to do so, as he said. Having no choice does not equal being encouraged. You obviously overlooked the sarcasm smilie. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244/95 "2011-09-16T23:09:56Z")
Ah, my web browsers doesn’t have that one on the list. 😉 -XT ---
**Author:** ![emacknight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ec8ea/32.png) [@emacknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emacknight)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244/96 "2011-09-17T00:00:26Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Ah, my web browsers doesn’t have that one on the list. 😉 > > -XT It makes a lot more sense if you read all of his posts as sarcasm. And **gonzomax** is obviously testing the limits of Poe’s Law. ---
**Author:** ![AndyLee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@AndyLee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndyLee)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244/97 "2011-09-17T15:03:49Z")
I can say as a person who just lost his job and now is working two minimum wage, part time jobs, plus unemployment (reduced of course by those jobs), if Illinois didn’t have a higher than average minimum wage, I’d be homeless. I doubt any more jobs would open up. I’ve been looking hard. I’m willing to take anything but cold calling telemarketing. And I was looking into that before I got these two part timers. If not for the extra, I’d be in a homeless shelter, getting food stamps. Does anyone really think that would make my chances of getting a “real” job any better? ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244/98 "2011-09-17T17:35:54Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > [For American youth, Labor Day report paints an even worse jobs picture - CSMonitor.com](http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0902/For-American-youth-Labor-Day-report-paints-an-even-worse-jobs-picture) > Young people are at a high for unemployment. If you don’t know about that, what do you know? Job opportunities for kids are at a low. There is a lot of discussion about the long range impact of our youth having a difficult time getting started in the work force. > When there is a McDonalds opening up around here, the lines for people looking for jobs is long. Sometimes fights break out. Most of the jobs that teenagers used to do are now done by illegal aliens. So, are you with me on shutting the borders and instituting policies that encourage the illegals to go back? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244/99 "2011-09-17T17:42:59Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Most of the jobs that teenagers used to do are now done by illegal aliens. So, are you with me on shutting the borders and instituting policies that encourage the illegals to go back? Are you with me on prosecuting employers that hire illegals? Seize their bank accounts, equipment, real estate, vehicles, lock, stock and barrel? ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244/100 "2011-09-17T18:35:16Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Are you with me on prosecuting employers that hire illegals? Seize their bank accounts, equipment, real estate, vehicles, lock, stock and barrel? I think that probably goes a little too far, as I’m not sure it makes sense to close the business all the time. But I do advocate, and have stated so on these boards numerous times, that the hiring of illegals won’t stop in a meaningful way until owners and executives suffer serious financially and, even more important, are put in orange jumpsuits and serve real time in prison. Going after them should be one of the two top priorities. The other being securing of the border. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-reduced-the-minimum-wage-in-the-us/594244.md?page=6)