(02-08-2019 03:09 PM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  

(02-08-2019 01:44 PM)tanqtonic Wrote:  Have you bothered to consider what might be a root driver of inflation in youur incisive analysis?

Here is a simple scenario to ponder. Labor is a root cost of every economic activity. What effect does a x% rise in the cost of labor do to resulting goods and service prices? Finally when the definition of inflation is the nominal increase of a "list" of goods and services, what does that change in price of goods and services do to the defined inflation rate.

Cmon man. Put your thinking cap on.

Edited to add: my original comment should have been no net *relative* change. Big nominal change.

Wait, so if we never enacted a minimum wage, we never would have seen inflation????

C'mon man, put your thinking cap on, because that is literally what you're suggesting.

Labor costs obviously have an effect on prices, and an increase in labor costs will lead to increase in prices. But there are so many other aspects of monetary policy that affect inflation, that it's strange you only focus on minimum wage. There are other factors, other than labor, that cause costs to rise, and demand for goods does too. Couple that in with policies enacted by various legislatures and a central bank, and by god, you've got a lot of reasons why inflation has occurred in the US.

I am sure we would have seen inflation of some sort. Please dont put words in my mouth. Central bank policies can very definitely do so at the very least. Tight money policies vs loose money policies.

Is it your assertion that minimum wage is not a driver of an inflation? I mean, if you say not, then is labor not a factor in any nominal price increases at all?

Take a look at the base contribution of labor to GDP. It is massive. If you arbitrarily raise it to some level, then yes, it will be one of the root drivers of inflation.

Correspondingly, if in a free market the minimum wage falls, it would be correspondingly very much a contributing factor to deflationary pressure.

Please dont write the word 'all' into the description as you seemingly wish to do above.

Getting back to your comment, do you realize that the minimum wage itself, when raised, is very much a contributing factor to inflation? Or, does lad world have the weird economic law that a non-relativistic increase in wages has zero effect on inflationary pressures?

I would say absolutely and undoubtedly that the increase in the MW in the Seattle area has fundamentally added to the local cost of living there. I would be absolutely hard-pressed to argue the counter that it had zero effect.

I know you desperately want to live in the land of unicorns, elves, and chocolate sunflowers where a governmental drawn line on a cost has zero economic effect except to give relative wealth to one class. But governmental price controls never work in that intended manner. And yes, there is zero difference between a minimum wage and any other price control enacted by any government ever. Yet the progressives seem bound and determined to charge that holy grail time after time after time after time after time.....

One saving grace is at least they cant assert a racism charge into the mix.