Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'minimum wage'

December 09, 2015

3 Modern Economic Lessons from an Ancient Tax on Windows

King William III of England needed money, so in 1696 he decided to implement a new property tax. To make sure the tax was progressive (i.e., affected the rich more than the poor), the parliament devised a seemingly clever idea: they’d use the number of windows as an index for the value of a house. Continue Reading...
"Window" by Angel Xavier Viera is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0 CC BYND
October 23, 2015

Are You Pro-Union or Pro-Minimum Wage?

During CNN’s Democratic debate, presidential candidate, senator from Vermont, and self-proclaimed socialist Bernie Sanders promised that if elected he would work to “raise the [federal] minimum wage to $15 an hour.” Continue Reading...
July 23, 2015

Minimum Wage OR Minimum Unemployment?

Various forms of government intervention negatively affects economic vitality in many ways, however few policies impact the market as directly as wage laws. The $15 minimum wage law in Seattle dramatically influences determinants of business owners’ hiring practices. Continue Reading...
May 06, 2015

Bring Back the Teen Summer Job

I recently gave a hearty cheer for bringing back childhood chores, which are shockingly absent in a majority of today’s homes. The same appears to be the case with summer work for teenagers, which is increasingly avoided due to sports activities, cushy internships, video games, clubs and camps, and, in many cases, a lack of employment prospects altogether. Continue Reading...
April 15, 2015

Minimum Wage, Adulthood And Choices

“I’m tired all the time.” That’s the lament of one of the working mothers in the video below (from The Guardian), as she describes her life working minimum wage jobs. She and the other women featured are all fighting for an increase in pay to $15 per hour (like Seattle’s recent mandate.) Continue Reading...