Or held three months of hearings on the firing of a few attorneys. Or tried to pass half-assed attempts to pull out of Iraq over and over.

Or tried to pass half-assed attempts to pull out of Iraq over and over.

Geez gerry, you make the Iraq clusterfuck sound so...sexy.

Or held three months of hearings on the firing of a few attorneys.

Yeah, because those have gone so poorly. Let's see, just today we got Rove subpoenaed and Gonzalez painted further into the perjury corner. Alberto is gonna get nailed one way or another. Cleaning up some of W's domestic mess is well worth putting the rest of the docket on hold.

Just don't let the geniuses like Biden near the Iraq plans, please. Geez, I used to like the guy but three "soft" states under a weak centralized government...when in the history of the world has that worked...

It is easy to buy small plaster models of what you think life is like.

Let's see, just today we got Rove subpoenaed and Gonzalez painted further into the perjury corner.

Rove will make the same play that Miers and Bolten did, professing executive privilege, and we've seen where that leads: a dead end. The Justice Department isn't going to issue any warrants without evidence of an actual crime, something three months of hearings has yet to unearth. Which means Congress has to use it's own bailiff or appoint an independent counsel, and the Democrats haven't got the votes to do either.

This entire sideshow is just an ongoing display of Democratic incompetence. What a quagmire!

This entire sideshow is just an ongoing display of Democratic incompetence. What a quagmire!

Yeah, and if the neocons know anything, it's quagmires.

It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine

It's true. Most of the poor in America make less than minimum wage as undocumented workers.

It is easy to buy small plaster models of what you think life is like.

Most of the poor in America make less than minimum wage as undocumented workers

Those folks aren't included in the poverty statistics. (And with good reason.) Most of the poor either do not work at all, or work only itinerantly.

Something that for some reason gets little mention in minimum wage debates is that undocumented workers who make more than the minimum wage can still cost less to employers than a legal employee making minimum wage, and that's without including potential costs from being sued.

I assume you're referring to being sued by your legal employees and implying that illegal employees are less likely to sue but maybe I'm just being cynical. It's beneficial to the employee and hugely beneficial to many business owners who get away with it to employ people under the table, whether the employees would otherwise be legal or not. Small businesses, cash businesses, businesses were people can pay employees with something other than money...of course this lends itself to employment of illegals but it's true -- just because someone is paying someone off the books doesn't mean they're paying less than minimum wage. They may even be paying more as a deal with the employee. Employer spends less, employee makes more, payroll companies and uncle sam get cut out of the deal.

It is easy to buy small plaster models of what you think life is like.

An increase in the price of unskilled labor no more increases inflation or the money supply than an increase in the relative price of any other good.

An increase in the price of unskilled labor no more increases inflation or the money supply than an increase in the relative price of any other good

I beg your pardon. I misspoke. I should have said "money velocity" rather than "money supply."

The productivity of the minimum wage workers doesn't increase, of course, just because you throw more money at them; the output of the economy would therefore remain the same. Increasing the minimum wage would have the effect of increasing the velocity, thereby increasing the price level.

I did note, however, that we would expect higher unemployment due to the increased minimum wage. I suppose the one would offset the other and we'd be right back at equilibrium as far as inflation was concerned, but with higher unemployment.

While in general terms you're right, this gives little thought to where the job market is currently. Usually, if you have to lay someone off, other people have to pick up the slack. However, worker productivity remains near all time highs and unemployment relatively low. That combination signals what most employers who will look to lay someone off will realize -- you can't get more work out of your workers at this point. Given market expectations, I find it far more likely that the costs will be passed on to the consumer in the form of inflation.

It is easy to buy small plaster models of what you think life is like.

...you can't get more work out of your workers at this point

They already know that. That's why they're paying minimum wage. If the workers were able to produce more they wouldn't be making minimum wage.

...I find it far more likely that the costs will be passed on to the consumer in the form of inflation

As a statement of macroeconomics, that is so imprecise as to be all but worthless. A firm cannot simply "pass on to the consumer" any price increase that they'd like to. There is a certain amount of elasticity to demand, and that means price increases will often be rejected by consumers, resulting in decreased demand. Decreased demand means that firms will not need as many workers, and will lay some off.

They already know that. That's why they're paying minimum wage. If the workers were able to produce more they wouldn't be making minimum wage.

Way to skirt the issue.

There is a certain amount of elasticity to demand, and that means price increases will often be rejected by consumers, resulting in decreased demand. Decreased demand means that firms will not need as many workers, and will lay some off.

Name one sector that typically employs minimum wage workers and can't pass additional costs off to the consumer. Wal-Mart? McDonalds? Orange Juice? If their businesses practices cannot meet the demand of the consumer, then they should go out of business and allow themselves to be replaced by a more modern thinking employer.

It is easy to buy small plaster models of what you think life is like.

Name one sector that typically employs minimum wage workers and can't pass additional costs off to the consumer. Wal-Mart? McDonalds? Orange Juice?

Yes, all of those. We're talking about a basic economic principle, not a flawed business plan.

If their businesses practices cannot meet the demand of the consumer, then they should go out of business and allow themselves to be replaced by a more modern thinking employer

Perhaps an employer that can somehow offshore some jobs that McDonalds couldn't?  Perhaps an employer that can utilize sub-minimum-wage labor for certain practices? (You're almost certainly unaware, but McDonalds and Wal-Mart have both done such things to try to avoid silly minimum wage laws.)

But that's neither here nor there to the point.

It is easy to buy small plaster models of what you think life is like.

But that's neither here nor there to the point

Really? What was your point, then?

I don't see how a minimum wage increase would effect the velocity of money.

I don't see how a minimum wage increase would effect the velocity of money

It's fairly easy to see that minimum wage workers are generally not in the investment class. That is to say that an extra penny added to the wages of a minimum wage worker is likely to be immediately spent rather than saved. Also, Minimum wage workers are more likely to be paid weekly rather than bi-weekly, or at some longer interval.

The sooner wages are spent, the more money velocity increases.

Yeah, I never really asked her about it much after the initial incident. Nobody likes to pry. But apparently the county's response was "Well, you have an MS, that is all the education you need. Drop out of school, get a job and pay off that $20k+ hospital bill your insurance refuses to cover. Make sure you get it done by the due date (which happened to be in a few weeks)! Got a problem with it? TS Eliot, declare bankruptcy then."

This was apparently justified by the fact that they were "underfunded" and could barely afford to cover the medical care and benefits of those who were chronically unemployed and would never get off welfare.

Ahh, red state hilarity. You can't make this stuff up if you tried.

Why not?

It is easy to buy small plaster models of what you think life is like.