What do you think of the Nordic approach to the minimum wage? "However, the truth is most developed countries that have no legal minimum wage still have minimum wages set by industry through collective bargaining contracts. The majority of their working populations are unionized. These unions negotiate a fair baseline pay rate on behalf of the participating workers so the government does not have to do it. Since each industry may require vastly different things of its employees, it makes sense the minimum wage varies from business to business. Five developed nations that have no legal minimum wage are Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland." 5 Developed Countries without Minimum Wages
Is there an alternative way to set the minimum wage in the U.S? The U.S doesn't seem to have enough unionized workers to use a similar Nordic approach.
They used to have a very militant Trade Union system, until the Government accused them of being Communists and attacked them with the police forces across the country;
Aren't unions negotiating pay more of a market approach? This is why I don't see why some equate unions with being more leftist.
Motion That is rather naïve. For those that wish to control the market to maximise profits for themselves unions that seek to improve wages and working conditions will be seen as the enemy wishing to reduce those profits. In many places such as the US it is seen as distribution of wealth away from the few to the many (and is derided and attacked as socialism or communism). That is why wealth sponsored political parties (which seem always to be right wing) are interested in lowering the power of unions and anyone that calls for such redistributions of wealth (for example universal heathcare). Remember there is no such thing as a ‘free’ market you basically have to regulate markets so that they are socially fair, because wealth will always wish to corrupt the market in its favour through such things as a ‘liberalised labour market’ (reductions in workers’ rights) and tax cuts that favour themselves
Because the government, through a panoply of laws and a Department of Labor, is so intensively involved in labor management relations. Labor unions and companies freely negotiating and coming up with their own contracts would be consistent with "conservative" principles. Having the government as a kind of overlord over the matter is "leftist".
Greene What laws are you talking about? And if you look at history what has been consistent has been has been the desire for companies to use their power (even up to violence and murder) to keep wages low and hour long. Workers have campaigned over many years to have laws that protect against such corporate power, like health and safety, limiting of hours and such along with the right to unionize. What has been consistent over the last few years has been company lobbying going to right wing politicians to undermine such laws, which you might say is so ‘rightist’
Oh Really ??? - You're obviously not old enough to remember the 'Heath' Government in 1970s and the infamous 'Trade Union Act' in which he attempted to shackle the unions with 90 notices of strikes and a host of other hinderances. Then there was that evil witch Thatcher (phth, phth, phth) who added in yet more legislation to shackle the union movement in revenge for the Miners destroying the 'Heath' government.
Ever hear of the NLRB? Thuggery has been committed by labor and management, and, of course, should be illegal no matter who commits it. People will be paid the market value of their labor. Markets, not government fiat, that invariably favors the politically connected, should determine wages.
Ok, we'll just call all the unions out on a 'national strike' , no transport, no food, no power, no water, then we'll see (a) who has the power and the biggest bargaining chip, (b) how much more taxes you'll have to pay to meet the additional cost of those increased wages = see how you like that !!!
While it's true that there is no minimum wage in Denmark by law there is a minimum wage set by labour unions and industri organizations, ti is therefore incorrect to say that Denmark does not have minimum wage. I can't speak for the other countries mentioned. This way of setting minimum wage obviously has pros and cons, like everythnig else.
srg What do you mean by Markets? There never has been and there never could be a free market free from interference it just depends if you want the market to work in favour of the few or the many. The few wishing to maximise profits seek labour market deregulation which opens workers up to exploitation while workers’ rights and regulation favours the majority of people who then are paid living wages. To repeat It seems to me that the political history of the 20th century (in the industrialised nations) has been to one degree or another about the curtailment of the adverse effects of 19th century exploitative capitalism (some call classical liberalism). People in many nations fought for voting rights, social benefits, safer working conditions, progressive taxation, and decent living wages. The result of that movement was that the economic benefits of production were much more distributed. Many people saw their wages grow and in the period between the end of WWII and 1970 many in Europe and the US gain middle class status. But from the 70’s onward a new idea was promoted in some of these nations (often referred to as neo-liberalism) it was in many ways opposed to the ‘distributive’ system that had developed. One thing it promoted was economic globalisation, which basically allowed back some aspects of exploitative capitalism by promoting the moving of production to nations that had not developed the more distributive systems away from those nations that had. In this way the long fought for distributive system has been undermined in those places where it had developed. Neo-liberals argue that to ‘compete’ in the global market the elements of the distributive system need to be dismantled what is needed they say is deregulation, the cutting of welfare, tax cuts that benefit the rich, lower wages, weak government oversight etc etc.
