Dr Matthew Partridge，21/05/2015
抗议者在洛杉矶实现了他们的愿望
洛杉矶已同意全市范围内最低的工资标准$15，纽约也被敦促效仿。这会促进收入增加或者，仅仅是增加失业率？
发生了什么？
洛杉矶城市议会已经通过初步计划，预计将会正式批准：到2020年每小时的最低工资标准为$15（以当前的汇率计算是£9.60）。有些小公司的最低工资标准会到2022年实现，之后最低工资标准将会与通货膨胀水平挂钩。这将比当前加州最低$9的工资标准高2/3,加州的最低工资标准没有根据上升的物价自动调整。
西雅图和旧金山紧随洛杉矶的脚步（二者都会在2019年生效）。纽约也在考虑快餐业的最低工资标准。国会有些议员甚至提出将全国的最低工资标准提高到$12每小时。然而，《纽约时报》指出，控制着两院的共和党人甚至没有考虑增加工资标准。
美国剩下的城市会如何做？
最低工资标准是由当地、州、国家决定的。最慷慨的是华盛顿州，它的最低工资标准是$9.47每小时。然而，五分之二的州（包括德克萨斯州）的最低工资标准仍然是2009年时提高的$7.25每小时。
同时，那些收取小费的工人每小时工资仅为$2.13，虽然雇主会在他们总收入低于最低工资标准的时候弥补差额。皮尤研究中心指出，由于通货膨胀，美国国家的最低工资标准实际上在1968年达到峰值，当时是$1.60，相当于现在的$8.54（尽管当时一些工人被排除在外）。
Ben Casselman指出，如果排除在大城市生活的多余成本的话，西雅图当前$11的标准实际上低于美国的最低工资标准。
为什么最低工资标准应该上涨？
提高最低工资标准的最主要论点是减少不平等性。总体而言，3百万工人领取全国最低工资标准，更有近2千万工人的工资“接近最低工资标准”。
提高他们的工资会提高他们的生活水平，减少不平等性。并且，我们正在讨论的是一个相当大的数字——洛杉矶大概有46%的工人工资低于$15。
支持者指出，如此低的工资标准实际上是需要所在州的税收减免以及食品补贴券补助的——正如Barry Ritholtz在彭博资讯上指出的那样，麦当劳几年前建立一个网站展示它的员工是如何申请该资助时，触犯了众怒。据估计，仅仅低工资的餐饮行业员工已经索取了70亿美元的资助。
这有可能产生相反效果吗？
批评者认为，提高最低工资可能会产生工人离开市场的代价。Meghan McArdle认为长远来看，“在资金从消费者到雇主再到员工之间的净转移中，一些企业的员工会减少”。Forbes’ Tim Worstall宣称，有迹象表明，最低工资标准的提高导致西雅图（最低工资标准为$15）餐饮业倒闭的速度加快。
另外一个潜在的后果是，它将会迫使企业抬高价格，推高通货膨胀，并降低工人的购买力。事实上，华盛顿大学Berkeley进行的一个学术研究表明，为了弥补最低工资的提高，西雅图的价格会升高5%左右。
别的国家是否有类似的争论？
其他国家也存在类似的问题。在英国，有越来越多的人要求提高全国的最低工资标准（近年来工资标准的实际价值在下降，它没有与价格联系起来）。一些人宣称，最低工资标准应该达到“生活工资”水平，当前伦敦的生活成本估计为£9.15每小时，首都之外的生活成本为£7.85。
相比之下，为了使经济更具有竞争力，希腊从2012年开始已经削减了最低工资标准的20%（尽管新政府宣布提高它）。
虽然美国现状的捍卫者指出别的发达国家也有相比较利率，但事实上，《经济学家》计算得出，考虑到美国的GDP，最低工资标准应该接近$12。
除了提高最低工资标准之外还有别的办法吗？
反对政党的另外一个建议是提高工会的力量，这样他们就有能力去进行更高的工资谈判。德国直到去年才有最低的工资标准，集体谈判工资水平差维持在较低水平。
Will raising the minimum wage be good or bad for America?
Dr Matthew Partridge，21/05/2015
Protestors have got their wish in Los Angeles
Los Angeles has agreed a city-wide minimum wage of $15, and New York is being urged to follow suit. Will it boost incomes, or simply increase unemployment?
What’s going on?
Los Angeles City Council has approved preliminary plans, expected to be formally approved, to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour (£9.60/hr at current exchange rates) by 2020. While some workers in small firms would not be covered until 2022, the levels would be indexed to inflation from then on. This would be two-thirds higher than the current Californian minimum wage of $9/hr, which is not automatically adjusted for rising prices.
The move follows similar steps by Seattle and San Francisco (which are both due to come into full effect in 2019). New York is also considering raising the minimum wage for workers in the fast-food industry.
There are even moves by some in Congress to raise the national minimum wage level to $12/hr. However, the New York Times notes that the Republicans, who control both houses, are opposed “to even considering an increase”.
What about the rest of the US?
Minimum wages are decided at the local, state and national levels, with workers getting the highest rate. The most generous state is Washington, with a minimum wage of $9.47 an hour. However, in two-fifths of states (including Texas) workers are only entitled to the national rate of $7.25 an hour, a level last raised in 2009.
Meanwhile, workers who receive tips are only entitled to $2.13 per hour, although employers have to make up any difference if total earnings fall below the minimum. Due to inflation, the US national minimum wage actually peaked in 1968 when it stood at $1.60 per hour, equivalent to $8.54 per hour today (though a few workers were exempt), notes Pew Research Centre.
Ben Casselman of 538.com points out that the extra cost of living in big cities means that Seattle’s current rate of $11 is effectively less than the US minimum.
Why should the minimum wage rise?
The main argument for increasing the minimum wage is to reduce inequality. Overall, 3 million workers are paid the national minimum wage, with a further 20 million classed as “near-minimum wage workers”.
Raising their wages would improve their standard of living, reducing inequality. And this is a significant number of people we’re talking about – around 46% of workers in Los Angeles earn less than $15 an hour.
Supporters point out that such low-wage jobs are effectively subsidised by the state via tax credits and food stamps – as Barry Ritholtz points out on Bloomberg View, a few years ago McDonald’s generated outrage when it set up a website advising its staff on how to claim benefits. Overall, it’s been estimated that the staff in the low-waged fast-food industry alone claim $7bn in benefits.
Could this backfire?
Critics argue that high minimum wages will end up pricing workers out of the market. Meghan McArdle argues that in the long run, “along with a net transfer of money from owners and customers to employees, there will also simply be fewer employees in some businesses”. Forbes’ Tim Worstall claims there is evidence that the minimum wage is causing an increase in the rate of restaurant closings in Seattle (which is also adopting a $15 minimum).
Another potential consequence is that it will force businesses to raise prices, pushing up inflation and reducing the purchasing power of workers. Indeed, a study by academics from the University of Washington and University of California, Berkeley suggest that prices will have to rise in Seattle by around 5% to compensate for the higher wages.
Are there similar debates in other countries?
Other countries are having similar debates. In Britain, there is a growing clamour to increase the national minimum wage (which has fallen in real value in recent years since it is linked to average wages, not prices). Many campaigners argue that levels should be brought up to that of the “living wage”, currently estimated at £9.15 per hour in London and £7.85 outside the capital.
By contrast, Greece has slashed its minimum wage by 20% since 2012 (although the new government has pledged to raise it), in order to make the economy more competitive.
While defenders of the status quo in the US point that other developed countries have comparable rates, others dispute this. Indeed, the Economist calculated that, taking America’s GDP into account, the minimum wage should be closer to $12.
Are there any alternatives to higher minimum wages?
One solution is to cut the taxes of lower-paid workers. Adam Memon of the Centre for Policy Studies thinks that “if low earners are taxed less, there will be less of a need to supplement post-tax incomes with in-work benefits and people who are out of work will have a stronger incentive to move into a job”.
Another suggestion from the opposite part of the political spectrum is to increase the power of trade unions, so they are able to negotiate higher wages. While Germany did not have a national minimum wage until last year, collective wage bargaining has kept wage differentials low.
本文翻译由兄弟财经提供
文章来源：http://moneyweek.com/will-raising-the-minimum-wage-be-good-or-bad-for-america/