What are your thoughts about the minimum wage? Is it a job killer or a way of ensuring companies pay their workers fair wages and what do you think about its effects on employment?
I tend to think about worker pay the same way I would about anything.
Everyone pays as little as possible for basic needs, if I can buy groceries cheaper at store A than store B I will go to store A. The quality of the steak might make me willing to pay a higher price at store B, but the quality of rice, eggs, sugar and so on doesn't really matter that much to me. Because those products vary little in quality, not because they are less needed, I will buy them as cheaply as possible. I also need less of the things I desire to have higher quality, and most likely spend less of my total budget on them. Furthermore if store A starts to provide high quality steaks at a lower price I will buy that product at store A also.
My goal is to spend as little as possible so I can keep as much money as I can.
It really seems like a no brainer that businesses will pay as little as possible for any work that can be provided by most people. Work that takes special skill will merit more pay, but if that work becomes more readily available and the wage becomes more competitive I will lower my wages for it. As technology makes various jobs easier and education becomes more prevalent, skill level becomes less important and skilled labor becomes less scarce.
Eradication of minimum wage would be a race to the bottom.