Has it ever been shown convincingly that minimum wage laws do more good than harm?
Assume the marginal utility(is this the correct term?) to an employer of hiring another low-skilled worker is slightly below the minimum wage. That employer is going to be forced to fire and/or avoid hiring low-skilled workers under a minimum wage law as soon as reasonably possible(perhaps by investing in more automation and having fewer, higher paid workers, perhaps by outsourcing low-skilled jobs to places that don't have minimum wage laws, perhaps by finding higher skilled workers willing to work at or above the minimum wage, perhaps by just shutting down that part of their business).
Don't minimum wage laws make it difficult for young people to get an apprentice ship type position? If you have a kid that wants to be a car mechanic or cobbler or something that requires a good deal of hands on training he won't get onto the first rung of the pay ladder and can't develop the skills necessary to get above the minimum wage, so he's just going to stay unemployed.
This is the usual song of woe sung by those against the MW. Unfortunately for them, experience shows this isn't really the case at all.
For one thing, the first example you pick (car mechanic) already requires certain levels of certification; but any kid can learn basic auto mechanics. They even teach it in high school - the school I attended offered five years worth of auto mechanics, and students graduated (well, often just left and got GEDs later) already qualified to get the certifications they needed.
Cobblers? Do people hand-make shoes still? I imagine they do... just as there is a group near here that still makes dishes by hand and does basket-weaving. In 'trades' like these, there are many ways a young person can get in at ground level without being 'hired'.
Yes, there is a certain amount of unemployment - and there always will be, minimum wage or no. The statistics don't appear, at a glance, to support the idea that an increase in minimum wage causes an increase in unemployment. Some studies have shown this in some cases, but other studies have shown the opposite. The basic data can be deceiving, of course, since there are any number of factors that can contribute to unemployment levels at any given time; but there isn't any particular trend that matches increases in minimum wage directly. In fact, a comparison of minimum wage versus unemployment shows at times that unemployment remained unchanged - or even dropped, sometimes drastically - after minimum wages were increased.
The idea that 'apprenticeship' is, in our modern society, desirable is somewhat dated, but apprenticeships still occur. Apprenticeships were desirable when a boy became a man at twelve and had to immediately make his own way. Apprentices were also offered things like room and board as part of their payment, guarantees of a job later, and so forth.
Now, a boy becomes a man much later, has a world of educational and occupational opportunities before him, and isn't likely to be offered room and board to learn how to make shoes for two bucks a day.
Given how long we've had minimum wages (in the U.S.), this argument might have some weight if we had examples of missing industries - i.e. ones which can no longer train new people because of that horrible issue of having to pay a fair wage for a day's work. Granted, many companies have outsourced their lower-wage duties to other countries, and this has contributed to the current unemployment crisis. But are we really willing to see our friends and neighbors working in unsafe sweatshops for 18 hours a day, only to earn enough for a loaf of bread and a head of cabbage a week?
It is important to remember that the minimum wage was designed to improve the quality of life of the working class - and it has done this. Yes, a minimum wage may edge out some people from certain jobs, but as so many libertarians and conservatives want to point out (when it's convenient), if they really want to work, they'll find a way.
I find it's always useful to look at who the unemployed are in any given community. Around here, for example, there are a lot of construction people out of work, simply because no one is buying new homes or putting in new businesses. I've spoken to many of them from time to time, and one thing that struck me is that out of any ten, there's always one or two that simply find the jobs nationally, and travel to get the work they need; the rest whine and complain, but are unwilling to move to get work. Yes, a few cannot move; I can respect that. But they aren't seeking other work, either - nor are they seeking education in order to change careers, even when it's offered to them.
Another sector, as always, are the teens - kids fresh out of high school, unwilling or unable to go to college - yet, amazingly, unwilling to actually hold a job. They'll go to work at our local convenience store - which always pays somewhat more than minimum wage - and then whine about how much WORK they have to do and quit in a week. Then they're back in the store a week later, whining that they can't find a job.
Ridding ourselves of minimum wage won't get rid of the sector of unemployed that are basically lazy. In fact, paying them even less is likely to cause a lot of workers to quit - why work a full day if you can't get a day's provisions from your wages?
What it WILL get rid of is the standard of living we as Americans have come to embrace - and I'm not talking about cable IV and iPods and flashy cars; I'm talking about living in safe housing, with nutritious food, health care, and the ability to get emergency services as needed. So unless we're going to do something drastic, like a base salary for all Americans or a total-support welfare state, we need a minimum wage that can provide for these necessities.
As for what employers have to do to get the labor they need, if they can't afford the basic price of a worker, then maybe they need to reconsider their business model. I don't see any of these anti-MW folks also arguing that the tools, supplies, buildings, and other needs of an employer should be sold to him at lower-than-wholesale price! But that's what they're arguing with workers.
Minimum wage is like a wholesale price. If a businessman cannot afford the worker, the businessman had better come up with a better plan. If that involves buying knockoff workers from foreign countries, that's fine - but watch out for the authorities...
So unless you're going to argue that companies should be able to buy factory equipment, raw materals, and so forth at lower-than-wholesale prices, don't try to argue that they should be able to buy workers that way.
