Is Ben Carson advocating for child labor when he says there should be a two-tiered minimum wage system?
"[Carson] suggested that the minimum wage should abide by a two-tiered system. This plan would entail having a “starter” minimum wage for young people who would be willing to work for less money, and a sustained minimum wage that would respond to inflation."
So he wants a cheap child labor wage? So we can compete with China while taking advantage of youth?
As a local businesswoman of my acquaintance put it recently (paraphrased):
"If they think I'm going to pay $15 an hour to a teenager with no relevant experience and an aversion to showing up on time, they're out of their minds! I have alternatives, including closing my doors and then re-starting the operation with quite a bit more automation than I have now. At $15 an hour, the kids will have a terrible time finding regular jobs that prepare them for something better."
Let us...ahem...HOPE...that the good doctor's obvious idea gains some traction. Of course, our liberal friends will never be convinced, but then they're all in the public sector anyway.
Perhaps we can let the lil darlins have any ol' pay scale they want ($250/hour...What do we want!?!...MORE!!!...When do we want it!?!...Retroactive to 1959!!!...What do we want!?!...lol), all the while starving them of funding until there's only one of them left, with her pulling down $1,307,924 an hour.
Meanwhile, back inna da productive sector (where the real world still obtains)...
That's not a bad idea, actually. Many family-owned businesses such as family restaurants or farms such as people who sell at Farmer's Markets. Many jobs have been eliminated for young people such as paper routes and working selling vegetables at the Farmer's Market stands or washing dishes at restaurants because of the increase in minimum wage and the requirement to offer medical insurance to employees. A two-tiered wage system allows more flexibility for small businesses to keep operating at a lower outgoing cost while also allowing for flexibility of hiring seniors wishing for part-time work as well as youth needing part-time work. Not bad an idea at all. "Child Labor" has been against the law for 100 years in this country. In order to hire children for acting jobs they actually have to file an application for permission to work with the county education office as well as the county tax office, and the laws are that people under the age of 18 require one hour of education for every two hours on the job, as well as standard food and relaxation breaks. So fearing becoming like China should not be a fear at all.
Only if the young people in the lower tier are not doing the same or similar job as someone in the upper tier. I can see businesses using these tiers to pad their own profits rather than pay a sustainable wage. If you re doing the job of an adult, you should be paid like an adult.
Minimum wage is no longer cheap labor. You can actually live on it if you're careful with your spending and don't splurge. This is what liberals wanted, anyway: a wage that reflects a person's needs, and spending needs typically go up with age.