Lone Candle
Champion of Truth
Labors’ share of the national income is the lowest it has been since this has been measured.
We live in a world based on giant firms that are efficient and can do a lot of things with few workers. Needing less workers means workers have less bargaining power and therefore get paid less. Globalization also weakens bargaining power as companies can move some of the work overseas.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgcNgo6IIpM
Construction companies crushed unions, and then hired immigrants instead. Now, the construction industry is dependent on illegal immigrants. Without them, the US won’t build the houses the country needs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9w2BQ5gLVQ
At the lower range of the wage scale, businesses have so much leverage over workers that they can suppress wages under competitive market rates. Because of this, an appropriately priced minimum wage doesn’t hurt employment, and actually increases it because more people are willing to work for that higher wage and they are less likely to quit.
The increase in wages results in higher prices and lower profits. The higher prices do not cancel out the wage growth with inflation because only a minority of the cost of all the goods and services people buy are from people who make near the minimum wage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQKDTbLO0fM
The Phillipines beat out India on out-sourced phone customer service jobs because Filipinos could speak English with an accent more understandable to Americans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXm5yZct-ts
Korea’s labor laws make firing employees very difficult. These strict laws drew out of the horrible working conditions during Korea’s economic rise under a dictatorship. Making it that hard to fire employees leads to: bad employees lowering companies’ efficiency, companies hiring fewer employees, companies keeping workers as contract employees or independent contractors and the employees therefore not getting basic benefits, brain drain as good employees can more easily move up the ranks and make more money in other countries, and discourages foreign companies from investing in Korea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjjhrwVYPE8
“In 2022, Seattle became one of the first cities in America to pass a minimum wage law for food delivery drivers. The law went into effect in 2024, and the results were nothing short of calamitous. Food orders plunged to unprecedented lows, delivery costs exploded, and driver earnings appeared to crater.
Now, new research on Seattle’s delivery driver minimum wage ordinance shows that the law had no long-term effect on driver wages. And yet, Seattle’s city council shows no signs of changing course, even with higher consumer costs and zero growth in driver pay.”
https://reason.com/2025/12/20/seattles-delivery-minimum-wage-failed-drivers-and-raised-costs/
Ghost job posting is when companies post fake jobs for information, fraudulently posting a non-existent job where people who need work waste time applying for a fake job.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OPU6byF8e4
“In 2023, California passed a law requiring a $20 per hour minimum wage for all fast-food restaurants with more than 60 locations nationwide.
…
New research suggests that the mandate has also resulted in fewer jobs for struggling entry-level workers.
The law went into effect in April 2024 and increased the hourly pay of an estimated half a million workers across the state. But without the law in place, thousands more workers would likely have been employed.”
https://reason.com/2025/10/11/californias-minimum-wage-law-cost-18000-jobs/?nab=1
“New York’s experiment with delivery driver wage mandates hasn’t gone well. Pay went up after the 2023 rule kicked in, but so did prices—and many drivers left the market altogether. The city saw an 8 percent drop in its delivery workforce, while food delivery costs rose 10 percent, including a 12 percent jump in restaurant prices and a staggering 58 percent spike in app fees. Tips, meanwhile, plunged 47 percent. Platforms even started capping drivers
…
Seattle followed suit in 2024 with a $26-an-hour minimum wage for delivery drivers—and immediately watched the system collapse. Apps tacked on a new $5 delivery fee, and with taxes added, customers were soon paying bills with nearly 30 percent of the cost unrelated to the food itself. DoorDash saw 33,000 fewer orders in just the first two weeks, wiping out about $1 million in restaurant sales.
Counter to the law’s intention, many Seattle delivery drivers saw their earnings slashed by over half. “Demand was dead,” according to one such driver. A recent report from gig companies found that, following the ordinance taking effect, delivery orders dropped 25 percent, and driver pay fell 28 percent per hour logged on.”
https://reason.com/2025/10/11/new-york-doubles-down-on-delivery-wage-disaster/?nab=1
Why “A Job” Isn’t Enough Anymore
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwI01UYc40w