Suppose that the following things are basically true: Good jobs go to those who have the most credentials, be that degrees, experience, or otherwise. The supply of good jobs in our economy is scarce and basically not growing. The number of people amassing credentials to compete for those jobs is growing. If these are true,… Continue reading Why are unpaid internships on the rise?
Author: Matt Bruenig
The garbage logic of the EITC alternative to the minimum wage
I am tired of seeing a certain argument against the minimum wage that makes absolutely no sense. According to this argument — which Christina Romer is now guilty of making — we should not increase the minimum wage because increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit is an even better way to improve the lot of… Continue reading The garbage logic of the EITC alternative to the minimum wage
Short summary: argument for minimum wage increase
If you don’t want to wade through all of the articles about a possible minimum wage increase, here is the primary argument in favor of such an increase. A modest minimum wage increase at this moment: will increase the wages of low-income workers, will not cause employers to lay off workers, will make other income… Continue reading Short summary: argument for minimum wage increase
The social wage
As I’ve mentioned before, I think the best way to tackle inequality and poverty is directly through cash programs. I am not opposed to programs that try to manipulate market wages in some way, unions and minimum wages for instance. But strategies focused on market wages are very messy and almost certainly inadequate to the… Continue reading The social wage
Transit fares and distribution
There are good arguments for directly subsidizing public transit. Here I analyze whether directly subsidizing public transit is a good thing to do for distributive reasons. The best way to go about this is with an example. Suppose we have a public transit system that is entirely financed by fares. Someone proposes that we drop… Continue reading Transit fares and distribution