Blawgletter don’t know much about the economy. We ain’t got no stinkin’ Ph.D. in the dismal science, nor can we hang a masters degree certificate on our office wall. But we do wonder whether Economics has anything to say about the effect of higher wages on business support for worker training and education.
We hear a lot these days about how things like pushing the minimum wage up and limiting immigration prevents willing workers from doing necessary jobs. Okay. We get that — at least in the short run.
But don’t those things also discourage bidnesses from investing in workers? From lobbying for better education? From becoming more productive and efficient to offset higher labor costs?
We suspect that some enterprises take advantage of cheap labor — immigrant and otherwise — at large societal cost. Who pays for the employees’ health care? Often, the people whose taxes support the county hospital’s emergency room. Who finances their education? Probably the same taxpayers. And who gets the capital that would otherwise go to high-tech outfits? The dinosaurs.
We don’t know about all this of course. Just wondering.
