Anyone with common sense can see that minimum wage will not help the really unemployed poor and homeless old folks! It will help drive up wages of everyone who are fully employed but not the really unemployed poor!
Anyone with common sense can see that minimum wage will increase the incentive to work and as for homelessness it is a separate issue. Didn't I say before that what is needed is a slew of well crafted and co-ordinated policies to solve problems caused by PAP's bad policies of the past. The minimum wage thingey is only ONE of several key planks in the overall strategy. Like that also cannot grasp. Go back to Toh Tuck Primary School lah!
This is from Chapter 4 of 2012 Report of the Minimum Wage Commission (HK):
4.56 The implementation of Statutory Minimum Wage ("SMW") lifted wages of the grassroots employees, thereby encouraging potential labour force to enter or re-enter the labour market and boosting the incentive to work.
When the initial SMW rate was just implemented, the positive effect on boosting the incentive to work was particularly pronounced amidst a robust economy and increased job opportunities. The labour force grew persistently in 2011, up by 43 500 (or 1.2%) to 3 701 700 in the second quarter of 2011 as compared with the first quarter. For 2011 as a whole, a marked year-on-year growth of 2.0% was observed, representing the largest increase since 1998.
The labour force reached a record high of 3 796 900 in the second quarter of 2012, up by 95 300 (or 2.6%) year-on-year with the lower-skilled segment contributing nearly 60%.
4.57
Among the additional labour force, we saw the most prominent increases in the older age groups (aged 50 to 59, and aged 60 and above). In the second quarter of 2012, labour force of these two groups increased year-on-year by around 33 200 (or 4.2%) and 34 400 (or 17.4%) respectively. In addition, female labour force posted a notable year-on-year increase of 68 900 (or 3.9%), of which about 50% were aged 50 and above. The implementation of the initial SMW rate, together with the buoyant economic conditions, helped encourage women with family responsibilities to enter the labour market. Meanwhile, the labour force participation rates of these groups were also considerably higher than those during the same period in 2011 (Table 4.9).
4.58 The number of unemployment cases of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance is an alternative indicator for the incentive to work. There was a persistent decline in the number from 29 206 in April 2011 to 25 070 in August 2012, a drop of 4 136 cases or 14.2%. The implementation of the initial SMW rate thus neither resulted in substantial job loss nor led to heavier reliance on social welfare.
Tonight, I not free so you will have to find somebody else to torture you.
[video=youtube;gLjpO0Ilors]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLjpO0Ilors[/video]