U.S. Labor Markets Aren’t Truly Free

U.S. Labor Markets Aren’t Truly Free(bloomberg.com)

1 points by Synroc 7 years ago | 4 comments

yasp 7 years ago |

Of course they aren't. What do you think minimum wage and licensing laws do?

skh 7 years ago | |

Labor has virtually no pricing power in the U.S. except in a few industries. Minimum wage laws and licensing laws are the cause of U.S. labor markets not being a truly free market.

Did you read the article? The author clearly paints a picture of too much pricing power in the hands of corporations and consolidations in business. Your counterpoint is the minimum wage is what prevents labor from being a truly free market? I can’t see how getting rid of one of the few protections for workers would make the labor market more free.

yasp 7 years ago | | |

Freedom is the right to choose. Minimum wage laws restrict someone from choosing to enter into a contract to sell their labor below a rate set by the government. Licensing laws restrict someone from choosing to purchase the labor of someone not accredited by the government. In both circumstances the individual’s right to choose is curtailed. The headline of the article was “Labor Markets Aren’t Truly Free”. That the author chose to focus on employers is beside the point. The fact that labor markets aren’t “truly free” is transparently obvious.