Just re-read through the comments and, combining that with his blog: he’s a 1st year TA–miles away from an Assistant Professor (and miles away from teaching Legal History–at most reputable History Depts you need to have finished your PhD comps before you can teach a class).
Cortes is right: high ground.
I was actaully called stoic by my old boss. Having little to no emotions is as much a gift as a curse. And I’ll keep the high ground thing in mind next time, however, I haven’t had my firey green medicine in nearly two weeks. I’m white knuckling it here.
So, I correctly called him on that almost right away then? I tend to think that an actual professor would be confident enough that he/she wouldn’t have to state their credentials to a stranger on the internet.
Thanks!
I got into an economics debate here. Does the minimum wage necessarily destroy jobs*?*
There are some interesting posts and it is not a bunch of detractors. What do you make of the arguments used? I have done my best to stay objective and rationalize with the people posting.
Any thoughts would be appreciated!
About Australia:
While I’m not sure how they arrive at the $15.51 minimum wage number, I doubt it is adjusted to purchasing power. They may have one of the highest minimum wages in the world, but they also have an extremely high price index (65% higher than the U.S.), which is probably related. So that $15.51/hr. can buy significantly less than $15.51/hr. in U.S. This is also why Australia’s nominal GDP/capita numbers look really high ($65,477 vs. $48,387 in the U.S.), while their PPP GDP/capita numbers (the more accurate comparative number) are less impressive ($40,234 vs. $48,387 in the U.S.) I’m not saying whether these numbers are a completely accurate measure of economic well-being, but it does explain the ability of Australia to maintain such an apparently high minimum wage.
And if you don’t like using Wikipedia as a source:
To put Australian wages in perspective, I can tell you with certainty that 5 years ago a 20 year old working at McDonald’s (not me), made $20 an hour - well above even today’s ‘minimum wage’. I’m not sure how this compares to American wages, though.
Generally, low-skilled workers at McDonald’s will make barely above the state minimum wage in the U.S. (usually $7.25-$9).
The way we think of $20/hr. in the U.S. is very different from $20/hr. in Australia or anywhere else with different purchasing power. But, even taking that into consideration, I think low-skilled workers make relatively less in the U.S. than in other high-income countries, but the vast majority of employment opportunities offer much more here. But comparing economic data accurately across nations is always going to take some work given differences in demographics, tax structures, etc.