Instigator / Pro
17
1566
rating
29
debates
56.9%
won
Topic
#1770

The minimum wage should be abolished

Status
Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics
Better arguments
3
9
Better sources
6
6
Better legibility
4
4
Better conduct
4
4

After 4 votes and with 6 points ahead, the winner is...

MisterChris
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
2
Time for argument
Two days
Max argument characters
1,000
Voting period
One week
Point system
Multiple criterions
Voting system
Open
Contender / Con
23
1762
rating
45
debates
88.89%
won
Description

The minimum wage was created supposedly to make things better for workers. However, is it actually a bad thing? Bad enough that we should set it to $0?

Round 1
Pro
#1
Hello Chris and thanks for accepting. Let's get to it!

Arguments

If you can only produce $5/h worth of services, but the minimum wage is $10/h, then no one's going to hire you! If they do, they're going to lose $5/h! However, without a minimum wage, then companies could start hiring for $3/h, opening up new opportunities for people of all skill levels.

You can now start at the bottom, making $3/h, and work your way up! In fact, the average number of jobs a person will have is 12, so people can easily work their way up. But, if there was a minimum wage, then some people don't even have a place to start!

This also ties into college. If you didn't go to college for whatever reason, you're value as a employee is very low, most of the time even lower than the minimum wage. But, without the minimum wage, you can sell your labour no matter what. And this becomes very apparent when people with a form of college degree earn $0.8 million more in their lifetime than ones without.
Con
#2
Thanks, DS!

Let's examine this claim. There is virtually no one that is unable to produce minimum wage dollars worth of services to start off working. 90% of Americans over 25 years have finished high school, and the generations that haven't are dying off. In 2016, people with high school degrees earned an average of $35,615 per year. 

What lowering the minimum wage DOES do is two things.

1. Many employees won't be willing to stay if the minimum wage is lowered. But some will. If companies can maintain some amount of employees and lower wages, they will. This hurts mainly immigrants, minorities and non-skilled workers who will be more willing to stay for lower pay because they have never had any alternatives.

Look at India, which has a $0.28/hour rate.  Activists are NOT calling for abolishing that minimum, are they? It is quite the opposite.

2. For those who aren't willing to stay, abolishing the minimum wage then becomes pointless for job growth.


Round 2
Pro
#3
Hello! Let's start off with some clash.

Clash

no one is unable to produce minimum wage dollars
Instead of looking at the cost, let's but hose numbers into perspective. When people graduate high school, what useful skills do they have? Nearly none. Only 1/4 students have some job experience. The rest? Below minimum wage value.

This hurts mainly immigrants
How? You just said that they are willing to stay.

Look at India
That's because they don't know better.

Arguments

Does it not bother you that millions of people are unemployed? They have no where to start, and they can't start! Where will they get the needed skills to get a job? If the minimum wage is dropped, then all these people could get a job, even if it's a bad one. Now they have a chance to climb the ladder. They have a place to start. And like I said previously, this will literately drop the unemployment rate down or near 0%.
Con
#4
Thx!

When people graduate high school, what useful skills do they have? Only 1/4 students have some job experience.
This is an illogical view of things. After high school, the average student will have had 13-14 years of education. That is worth something, and that is why companies currently have absolutely no problem hiring recent high school graduates. 

How? You just said that they are willing to stay.
Precisely. It hurts them because they are willing to accept slave-labor level wages if they have no alternatives. 

That's because they don't know better.
Clearly they do.  Indian's are not trying to reduce the minimum wage, they are trying to increase it after trying precisely what you're advocating for here.

Does it not bother you that millions of people are unemployed?
Within your own source, it gives this graph. There are more available jobs than people to fill them in the US, those that can't find one at this point are drug addicts.