• logos@sh.itjust.works
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    19 hours ago

    People keep saying it would necessarily cause inflation but I don’t see how. You’re not printing new money, you’re redistributing it. Because demand would go up?

    • HumanOnEarth@lemmy.ca
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      19 hours ago

      Correct. More money in wages means more spending means more demand means higher prices means workers demand more money in wages means more spending means…

      And now you know what what a wage-price spiral is.

      • moriquende@lemmy.world
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        8 hours ago

        Are you saying people would just keep buying more and more bananas as wages go up, driving an unprecedented banana price explosion? I wonder what people will do with all their bananas that they’re gonna be buying? Cause that’s how stupid that argument is.

        • usualsuspect191@lemmy.ca
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          18 hours ago

          Don’t companies tend to pay immigrants less? I could see this having the opposite effect and suppress wages

          • ChonkyOwlbear@lemmy.world
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            6 hours ago

            They pay undocumented immigrants less. Documented immigrants can’t be paid under the table the same way. It’s also important how much immigrants raise demand. They need houses, clothes, food, etc.

            • usualsuspect191@lemmy.ca
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              4 hours ago

              It might be region dependent then. In my neck of the woods foreign workers are specifically brought in to work the minimum wage jobs that no local would work for the low pay and bad treatment. They’re really taken advantage of as their ability to stay in the country is tied to their employer (often their employer is even their landlord too) and it’s all on the books and legal, but suppresses wages while also raising demand so prices go up despite the stagnating wages.

              I guess we may be talking about different things as temporary foreign workers aren’t technically immigrants? It’s meant to be temporary I guess, but even if they don’t get their permanent residency if they’re swapped out for a new person to abuse the effect is the same or worse.

    • halcyoncmdr@piefed.social
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      19 hours ago

      Inflation, as a metric wouldn’t really move… But the same effect as inflation at the point of sale would occur, increased prices.

      However, the effect of wage increases on consumer pricing is minimal… based on every time this type of thing has happened previously. The net result is always more buying power for consumers. Prices never go up the same as the wage increases, because employee wages aren’t the total cost of a product or service.