Ed Milliband promotes living wage as labours next big thing

Hooloovoo

MacMickster wrote: »

Surely with an aspiration to eventually pay everyone 5% more than the average wage, once 102% of school leavers achieve at least a C grade in maths.

[:rotfl:]

(filler text)

Eellogofusciouhipoppokunu

CLAPTON wrote: »

personally I think everyone should be paid at least the average wage.

I think everyone should be paid the same wage for the same number of hours worked. Why should a lawyer working a 50 hour week be paid so much more than a nurse working 50 hours per week?

I don't see a flaw in the argument, this system will work perfectly!

IveSeenTheLight

CLAPTON wrote: »

personally I think everyone should be paid at least the average wage.

Hmmmmm.......

Think about it..............

How can everyone be paid AT LEAST the average wage?
EVERYONE would need to be paid the same, no-one could earn more

IveSeenTheLight

I once lost a lot of value in shares as the company diluted the shares making them 1/10th of their value.
they then floated a load more shares to generate money [or something like that]
Combined with the share price going down, my investment is worth approx 5% of it's original investment.

It made me wonder and something which I put to you guys.

If the value of all goods was slashed such that those goods wiped out many years of inflation i.e. a loaf of bread was back to £0.46 as opposed to £1.46, wages could also be slashed similarly.

This could then make the UK far more competative and bring industry back to the UK, increase jobs etc.

Sure it makes imported goods or travel abroad far more expensive, but the main benefits being exports massively increased and jobs

I'm not sure if or how this could be achieved, but would you sacrifice options abroad for the benefits in the UK.

Would it drive experience away from the UK, seeking better wages abroad?

Just wondering if we could make Britain far cheaper to live / operate, increase domestic industry, would you accept it with the cons being imports and travel?

Old_Slaphead

Eellogofusciouhipoppokunu wrote: »

I think everyone should be paid the same wage for the same number of hours worked. Why should a lawyer working a 50 hour week be paid so much more than a nurse working 50 hours per week?

I don't see a flaw in the argument, this system will work perfectly!

Absolutely right - why should a brain surgeon be paid a higher hourly rate than a canteen assistant ?

Hooloovoo

I love the sound of sarcasm whooshing over people's heads.

It's almost as good as the noise deadlines make as they fly by.

ruggedtoast

Fella wrote: »

She is stunningly stupid, I'm not sure she's ever opened her mouth without embarrassing herself.

Rachel Reeves.

Would.



... vote for her.

She doesnt quite reach the sublime levels of Merryn, but she's not far off.


HPC Angel

Graham_Devon

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

Hmmmmm.......

Think about it..............

How can everyone be paid AT LEAST the average wage?
EVERYONE would need to be paid the same, no-one could earn more

Think about it....

N1AK

IveSeenTheLight wrote: »

If the value of all goods was slashed such that those goods wiped out many years of inflation i.e. a loaf of bread was back to £0.46 as opposed to £1.46, wages could also be slashed similarly.

With respect ISTL you make a lot of good points on this forum but economics is clearly not something you are well studied in.

The price of a loaf of bread, a commodity product, is pretty much entirely decided by the costs of producing it. A loaf could only drop in price by 2/3rds if the cost of producing it did, or if the company making it could afford to lose ~50%+ of the selling price.

Now dropping wages could lead to lower living costs because it decreases production costs, but that is only true where labour makes up a considerable part of the production cost (not the case in almost any food or much else) and where the labour is employed within the UK (again not that common).

The simple truth is that someone doing work that could easily be transferred to someone outside the country willing to do it for 1/5th the cost can only go on working if they are subsidised by the economy as a whole (high taxes on those doing work that can't be). To be effective as a country we need to understand that someone employed doing no skill work at minimum wage isn't enough, we need the average worker to be doing skilled work for a better wage if we want to maintain or improve our quality of life for our children.

IveSeenTheLight

N1AK wrote: »

With respect ISTL you make a lot of good points on this forum but economics is clearly not something you are well studied in.

Now now, I make a comment far away from the norm, trying to stimulate alternatice thoughts.
No need for this comment.

N1AK wrote: »

The price of a loaf of bread, a commodity product, is pretty much entirely decided by the costs of producing it. A loaf could only drop in price by 2/3rds if the cost of producing it did, or if the company making it could afford to lose ~50%+ of the selling price.

I do understand this.
It's a hypthetical situation to pose whether people would sacrifice imported goods / foreign travel to secure a more compettive Britain.

I did state I'm not sure if it could or how it could be acheived.

Indeed the more I think about it, the more complications arise.

Doesn't mean we cannot contemplate a different set of circumstances.

N1AK wrote: »

Now dropping wages could lead to lower living costs because it decreases production costs, but that is only true where labour makes up a considerable part of the production cost (not the case in almost any food or much else) and where the labour is employed within the UK (again not that common).

True, one of the complications into acheiving a "cheaper" britain.
I'm not trying to install a "this can be achieved" just wondering if people would live in such times or not if it was acheivable.

N1AK wrote: »

The simple truth is that someone doing work that could easily be transferred to someone outside the country willing to do it for 1/5th the cost can only go on working if they are subsidised by the economy as a whole (high taxes on those doing work that can't be).

Which is why I asked people to consider a "cheaper britain" society. Would people prefer the UK to be a country where the work is exported to

N1AK wrote: »

To be effective as a country we need to understand that someone employed doing no skill work at minimum wage isn't enough, we need the average worker to be doing skilled work for a better wage if we want to maintain or improve our quality of life for our children.

This argument to me simplistically just pushes inflation higher.

If wages are increased it gives the opportunity to increase the costs of goods.

It doesn't necessarily mean an increase in quality of life.

I hope this helps clarify this out of the box idea / thought as it does not appear you have understood it's context from your original reply.