Originally posted by KazetNagorra
You think the jobs provided by a government ought to be useless?

You'll have to explain why government is better at determining the usefulness of work, than the person that wants the work done.

Government generally creates jobs for which there is little or no demand. Examples: Wind generated electricity, electric cars, street sweepers.

Did you know in America street sweepers were quite essential when lots of vendors in neighborhoods delivered good in horse drawn wagons. Street sweepers took care of the vehicular emissions.

However the jobs provided by government continued after the need was no longer there.

Originally posted by KazetNagorra
No, I said the government should guarantee a minimum income. A combination of hiring people for useful jobs the market cannot provide (efficiently) and fiscal tools to encourage private sector employment will then guarantee full employment.

What happens when the government minimum income exceeds minimum wage or even middle income wages?

Originally posted by normbenign
What happens when the government minimum income exceeds minimum wage or even middle income wages?

Maybe private businesses are obliged to raise wages in order to compete for workers?

The post that was quoted here has been removed

Maybe we can go back to the 1970's and not have so many children on antidepressants and ridlen. Of course aids would not have been developed without government intervention as well.

Originally posted by normbenign
Why would the government fill that roll? Jobs that are useful, people will pay to have done. Having them done is useful to society. This is the basic function of a market economy.

I didn't say the government should be the only source of useful jobs, just that the jobs that it does provide ought to be useful. It goes without saying (although apparently it doesn't) that the government should only intervene where it can provide services more efficiently than a well-regulated free market can.

Originally posted by normbenign
What happens when the government minimum income exceeds minimum wage or even middle income wages?

I would favour the abolition of the minimum wage when a minimum income is implemented. When the minimum income covers the basic needs, the effective minimum wage will then be set by the market and will be a valuation of people's free time and/or desire for luxury services and goods.

It doesn't make any sense to implement a minimum income that exceeds the average or median gross wage.

Originally posted by Teinosuke
Maybe private businesses are obliged to raise wages in order to compete for workers?

That presumes that they have a lot of room to move and still remain profitable. I don't see any evidence of that.

Originally posted by KazetNagorra
I would favour the abolition of the minimum wage when a minimum income is implemented. When the minimum income covers the basic needs, the effective minimum wage will then be set by the market and will be a valuation of people's free time and/or desire for luxury services and goods.

It doesn't make any sense to implement a minimum income that exceeds the average or median gross wage.

http://www.cato.org/publications/white-paper/work-versus-welfare-trade

Have you read the Cato report? I've posted it several times. Almost every State exceeds minimum wage with welfare benefits. The highest is Hawaii, with benefits equal to almost $50k. What incentive is there for a low skilled worker to work under those conditions?

Originally posted by normbenign
http://www.cato.org/publications/white-paper/work-versus-welfare-trade

Have you read the Cato report? I've posted it several times. Almost every State exceeds minimum wage with welfare benefits. The highest is Hawaii, with benefits equal to almost $50k. What incentive is there for a low skilled worker to work under those conditions?

I'm not sure how this is a response to the point I made?

Originally posted by Eladar
You might want to give this link a read:

http://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/zssj/vol1/iss1/4/

whitehead,

Any reply to the evidence of malnutrition playing a major role?