Last week’s “discussion” about a large increase in the minimum wage was simultaneously meaningless and deeply revealing.
The real takeaway was that neither Albanese nor Morrison’s first instinct was to say that productivity growth is the answer for higher wages.In the space of one rather unedifying week we reverted from three decades of relative economic centrism into 1970s class warfare. Anthony Albanese let slip a sensibility that apparently sees the labour market as zero-sum, and significant wage increases as disconnected from unemployment, inflation, or interest rates.
It’s hardly surprising that when production processes across the economy – from factories to the knowledge economy – involve more capital and less labour, that capital gets a greater share of the output. If you want to blame someone for the declining labour share, blame Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, not Paul Keating or John Howard.
We can raise wages for aged care workers, but residents or taxpayers pay for it. We arguably should do these things, but let’s not pretend they’re free. This is, by the way, why we have the Fair Work Commission making these determinations, and also why despite having the highest minimum wage in the world that it’s not $40 an hour. If we did, a whole lot of low-skilled workers would be out of work and on the dole.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Everything Everywhere All at Once review – multiverse madness with meaningMichelle Yeoh has fun playing a laundrette owner transported into ever more baffling parallel worlds in this unusually touching indie sci-fi That’s quite a disparity.
Source: GuardianAus - 🏆 1. / 98 Read more »
Everything Everywhere All at Once review – multiverse madness with meaningMichelle Yeoh has fun playing a laundrette owner transported into ever more baffling parallel worlds in this unusually touching indie sci-fi
Source: GuardianAus - 🏆 1. / 98 Read more »
Shares tipped for strong open, crypto stabilisesAustralian futures are 0.8pc higher as investors eye crucial wages and employment data, election deadlock risk, rising oil prices, and wild crypto markets.
Source: FinancialReview - 🏆 2. / 90 Read more »
Corporate chiefs should back wage hikes - because cheating customers ain’t smart businessOpinion Corporate chiefs should back wage hikes - because cheating customers ain’t smart business 1RossGittins so refreshing to have sophisticated, critical business journalism rather than the hook line and sinker cheer leading I have seen from some other publications.
Source: brisbanetimes - 🏆 13. / 67 Read more »
Politicians’ pay has gone up by a third in a decade, but a wage rise in line with inflation is too much?Opinion: Politicians’ pay has gone up by a third in a decade, but a wage rise in line with inflation is too much? | JacquelineMaley JacquelineMaley here are my naked photos JacquelineMaley How do articles like this pass the basic Editorial checks at SMH? JacquelineMaley The author of this article doesn't have a basic understanding of how economy works
Source: smh - 🏆 6. / 80 Read more »
Politicians’ pay has gone up by a third in a decade, but a wage rise in line with inflation is too much?A near-decade of wage stagnation has afflicted most of us, but not politicians. They are hypocrites. Pure and simple. they are hypocrites It is OK for them to have 7% pay rise every yr yet they tell us it is not for us for the good of the nation Just too rich
Source: brisbanetimes - 🏆 13. / 67 Read more »