Minimum wage laws are no solution to poverty
17 February 2021
Minimum wage laws are no solution to poverty, but governments keep trying when the truth is that while they look good, wherever and whenever they are applied they prove a very short-term solution.
It is a sad but iron law of economics that the less there is of something, the more expensive it is. Equally true is its opposite. The more there is of a product or a service, the less is its value in the market place. Alas, human labour is no different.
Minimum wages make short-term gains for affected individuals and politicians but encourage long-term ruin if the State tries to govern all economic activity.
Indeed, Government interference with salaries and wages is a good example of how to impede wealth creation and mess up the natural balance of forces in a free market.