Max, I think there are arguments for both average wages and CPI as indexing options, but I would offer this argument for average wages: it has the potential to become an international standard. In thinking about labor standards that might be pushed internationally, minimum wages are central. It is difficult to write a standard that would be applicable in all countries -- even the standard of "meets minimum subsistence needs" is difficult to define and measure. But pegging the minimum at, say, half the average is perfectly feasible, and low-wage countries can't complain that it has a differential impact on them. Putting our own minimum wage system on this type of automatic pilot would be a small step towards attaining a global minimum. Peter Max Sawicky wrote: > > Apologies for interrupting the anti-imperialist struggle, > but I'd like to know if there are any thoughts here on > how to best index the minimum wage. Possibilities > include the CPI, average wages, productivity, etc. > > Another issue is progressive tax cuts, to contrast > with the proposed 15% across-the-board rate cuts > being pushed by the GOP. > > (I'm writing economics resolutions for the ADA > convention this week.) > > mbs
