Economy

Is there an economic case for a $20 minimum wage?

Is there an economic case for a $20 minimum wage?

The problem is that federal law sets the minimum wage in nominal dollars; it doesn't automatically increase with inflation, productivity, or anything else. In more recent decades, Congress has badly slacked off about raising it, and today's minimum wage is actually lower than 1968's once you adjust for inflation. In fact, if Congress had kept step with productivity growth, the minimum wage would've been $18.42 in 2014. And that's according to a conservative measure of productivity growth. By other productivity measures, the minimum wage should be $22.49 by 2024.

When Is It a Mistake?

Buying in Bulk: When Is It a Mistake?

I like the way Andrew Tobias talks about bulk buying in The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need: You can think of each bulk purchase as an investment, with a return equal to the savings you accrue by not paying a higher unit price for smaller purchases. If you lay out $110 today to buy a 12-bottle case of wine you’ll drink over the next month, instead of buying bottles one at a time for $10 each, that’s like earning a $10 return on a $110 investment in one month. On an annualized basis, that’s a rate of return well over 100 percent — far better than the stock market.

But that analysis relies on a few assumptions, the most important being that you will use the items you purchase. If you let products spoil, or you decide you don’t like them anymore halfway through the box, or if you forget what drawer your huge package of batteries is in, then you’re not getting as much value out of your bulk purchase as you had planned. Your effective investment return is likely to be negative; you would have been better off paying more per unit to buy less.

Two-Thirds of Rural Counties Gain Jobs from November 2018 to 2019 – Daily Yonder

Two-Thirds of Rural Counties Gain Jobs from November 2018 to 2019 – Daily Yonder

Job growth in rural counties continued to lag metropolitan areas in the closing months of 2019, according to the latest employment figures compiled by the federal government.

The nation’s largest metropolitan areas gained the most jobs. And rural counties located farthest from large urban centers had the slowest rate of job growth.

Planet Money : NPR

Moving Beyond GDP : Planet Money : NPR

The economists, who were speaking at a panel called "Beyond GDP," made clear they think that's a huge mistake. GDP misses a lot. It doesn't, for instance, count the cooking, cleaning, and childrearing done in households. It doesn't count the value of people's health or a clean environment. It doesn't pay attention to the distribution of income or wealth. It doesn't pay attention to quality of life.

NPR

U.S. Job Growth Cools In December As Employers Add 145,000 Jobs : NPR

Hiring slowed somewhat in December, as U.S. employers added 145,000 jobs. According to the Labor Department, that's down slightly from the three previous months, when employers added an average of 200,000 jobs. But the unemployment rate held steady at 3.5%, matching its lowest level in 50 years.

For all of 2019, the economy added 2.1 million jobs — the slowest pace of annual job growth since 2011. Job gains for October and November were revised down by a total of 14,000.

Average wages have increased 2.9% over the last year, outpacing inflation and boosting workers' buying power. Wage gains are still relatively modest, however, given the rock-bottom jobless rate.