Adumbration

The Seattle City Council appears predisposed to attempt raising the minimum wage to as high as $15 per hour (currently at $9.19 in Washington). The agenda planned for a council meeting on Tuesday (3/18) has an hour dedicated to presentations by supporters, and 20 minutes reserved for comments; no time allowed for opponents of such a measure. ... I am not hopeful for the fate of unskilled labor in Seattle - the local pols are stacking the deck for making a large increase to the minimum wage, and naysayers don't have much of a voice. As one member states - “If I were against $15, I wouldn’t be on the mayor’s committee” more »

The people who lose their jobs in the coming months will less clearly see the connection. Those who are never hired at all will just be lost. My pessimistic streak makes me think that the responsible people - Nick Hanauer, Patty Murray, Suzan DelBene, and their ilk - will deflect their responsibility for this disaster and be off on a new crusade to make it all better with a new pronouncement to restrict how the rest of us make our way in this world. more »

Evidently, Nick Hanauer doesn't care that the alternative is no work at all, no production for the benefit of the community, and reduced living standards for everyone. Too bad that the minimum wage policy that he promotes condemns the least well off segment of the population to permanent unemployment. more »

who better than the principles to know what it is they need to improve their situation? While a cow might suit some people, a new roof will better fit the needs of others, and a small motorcycle could make possible a small taxi or delivery business for someone else. more »

Evidently Seattle's Mayor McGinn thinks that proclamation is an effective method to improve the living standard of local citizens. Would that it were so. more »

twenty five years of bailouts can't be wrong.    oh, wait, maybe the can be after all. more »

The crew at Planet Money can get so close sometimes, I feel like I could just tap them into a broader assessment of some of the issues raised by their stories, and a greater appreciation for the laissez faire perspective of classical liberalism. more »

This note covers three recent episodes: The Lollipop War, the one that returns to their tee-shirt project, and the reprise of the cotton wars. more »

billions coming from everyone in this country end up being spent for the benefit of a small number of people who might have the opportunity to capitalize on two weeks of huge crowds pouring into the region. more »

... the smorgasbord option: it makes more alternatives available to match compensation to individual interests and circumstances. more »