£8 an hour minimum wage?

[I1L2T3]

I think if a bloke starts his own business, becomes very successful and pays his staff the minimum wage or a few coppers more, why should they crib about it. He has met his obligations, and it's no one else's business how much brass he makes.

 

Take Richard Branson for instance, multi millionaire - and self made.

 

Angel1.

 

Shame the Tories didn't abolish the minimum wage then but when you think about it it's pretty clear why. Every pound less in wages is potentially one pound more on the welfare bill as things stand. What might seem good for a small business when multiplied by millions of small businesses could prove pretty disastrous for the country.

[El Cid]

Shame the Tories didn't abolish the minimum wage then but when you think about it it's pretty clear why. Every pound less in wages is potentially one pound more on the welfare bill as things stand. What might seem good for a small business when multiplied by millions of small businesses could prove pretty disastrous for the country.

 

And it would be easy to lower taxes to keep large businesses competitive, corporation tax, if employers were forced to pay a £10 per hour minimum wage, its all smoke n mirrors.

[the_bloke]

Spending power goes up and burden on the welfare system comes down. Not all bad.

 

See my post previously. Raising the NMW to £8 reduces working tax credit by such a low amount it's a drop in the ocean of the benefits budget. Raising NMW to £8 ph, a 23% increase, sees a 3% reduction in working tax credit.

[sgtkate]

I doubt very much that I pay enough tax to subsidise anyone, and if a business increases its costs by paying higher wages it will increase its prices, so you will continue to pay the same tax but end up paying more for the things you buy.

 

But if you don't earn v much chances are you won't spend that much either so to you the net cost is the same, but it would free up millions of pounds for the government to spend on the NHS, education, new roads! (not up here though aye? )

 

---------- Post added 06-05-2015 at 09:30 ----------

 

I think if a bloke starts his own business, becomes very successful and pays his staff the minimum wage or a few coppers more, why should they crib about it. He has met his obligations, and it's no one else's business how much brass he makes.

 

Take Richard Branson for instance, multi millionaire - and self made.

 

Angel1.

 

I don't think anyone is having a go really. I'd love to live in a world where a government wouldn't need to set a minimum wage level as all companies would be owned by their own staff (a la John Lewis except the cleaners ) and therefore this wouldn't even be a discussion, but until that day a business will likely pay the absolute minimum they can so the government needs to step in. I'd far rather have minimum wage was set to a level that if you work 30 hours a week or more that you are above the 'living wage' that tax credits are based on. If by forcing smaller companies say under 1000 employees to do that means they would suffer and potentially close, then other options become available, tax benefits for the company, inflation only loans etc etc.

 

High wages means more money to be spent and anyone who believes a rise in income directly correlates to a rise in prices needs to go back to basic economic school. If that was the case then none of us would be relatively any better off than 100 years ago.

Edited May 6, 2015 by sgtkate
typo

[loraward]

But if you don't earn v much chances are you won't spend that much either so to you the net cost is the same, but it would free up millions of pounds for the government to spend on the NHS, education, new roads! (not up here though aye? )

 

It wouldn't free up anything because the money freed up by not paying in work benefits will be swallowed up by those on out of work benefits, remember that the cost of living will go up for everyone when employers increase prices to cover increased wages.

[sgtkate]

It wouldn't free up anything because the money freed up by not paying in work benefits will be swallowed up by those on out of work benefits, remember that the cost of living will go up for everyone when employers increase prices to cover increased wages.

 

But not by the same amount. If wages go up by 10% on average, prices do not go up by 10%. Staff costs are not 100% of the price.

[loraward]

But not by the same amount. If wages go up by 10% on average, prices do not go up by 10%. Staff costs are not 100% of the price.

 

Everything that is supplied to shop involves someone getting paid, increase wage by 10% across the board and the shop pays more to its staff and more for everything they use. Transports costs go up because the transport company is paying higher wages, plastic bags go up because the company making plastic bags is paying higher wages, energy costs go up because the company supplying energy is paying higher wages. The food they sell costs them more because the people producing it are paid an higher wage and have higher overheads, remember the farmer is affected by the higher wages paid by the energy companies.

Edited May 6, 2015 by loraward

[sgtkate]

Everything that is supplied to shop involves someone getting paid, increase wage by 10% across the board and the shop pays more to its staff and more for everything they use. Transports costs go up because the transport company is paying higher wages, plastic bags go up because the company making plastic bags is paying higher wages, energy costs go up because the company supplying energy is paying higher wages. The food they sell costs them more because the people producing it are paid an higher wage and have higher overheads, member the farmer is affected by the higher wages paid by the energy companies.

 

There are so, so many studies to show that you are wrong here I cannot even be bothered to post links. Go google a bit and come back.

 

If what you are saying is true then none of us would have anymore than we did 100 years ago. I'm fairly sure I'm better off than my parents were and they were better off than their parents, but surely that must be an illusion because their wages went up so they couldn't have afforded to buy anything more as the cost of living would have gone up in direct proportion.

[ubermaus]

See my post previously. Raising the NMW to £8 reduces working tax credit by such a low amount it's a drop in the ocean of the benefits budget. Raising NMW to £8 ph, a 23% increase, sees a 3% reduction in working tax credit.

 

Whats the threshold for wtc and housing? Whats the cost of administering these benefits? Why should public subsidise private wages, any reason?

 

---------- Post added 06-05-2015 at 10:34 ----------

 

Lower tax, corp tax and rates etc for small businesses. I think we are becoming a nation of sme's anyway, so lets be the place for business and working / living wage.

[sgtkate]

Whats the threshold for wtc and housing? Whats the cost of administering these benefits? Why should public subsidise private wages, any reason?

 

---------- Post added 06-05-2015 at 10:34 ----------

 

Lower tax, corp tax and rates etc for small businesses. I think we are becoming a nation of sme's anyway, so lets be the place for business and working / living wage.

 

100% agreed.