MONEY: “Labor Day” is a reminder of the effect of fiat money on the labor wage rate — Where is the $ 22-per-hour minimum wage?

Monday, September 4, 2023

https://schiffgold.com/commentaries/we-dont-need-better-government-policies-for-workers-we-need-better-money/

We Don’t Need Better Government Policies for Workers; We Need Better Money
August 31, 2023 by Michael Maharrey

*** begin quote ***

Labor Day is coming up. That means we will hear a lot about the plight of American workers. And we will undoubtedly hear calls for new policies to help make their lives better. But we don’t really need more government policies to help workers.

*** and ***

When he announced the closing of the gold window, Nixon said, “Let me lay to rest the bugaboo of what is called devaluation,” and promised, “Your dollar will be worth just as much as it is today.”

This was also a lie.

The dollar has lost more than 85% of its value since Nixon’s fateful decision, based on the CPI calculator. The purchasing power of a 1971 dollar is equal to less than 14 cents today.

*** and ***

Johnson promised removing silver would have no impact on the value of US coinage. “[The] Treasury has a lot of silver on hand, and it can be, and it will be used to keep the price of silver in line with its value in our present silver coin,” he said.

He was lying, just like Nixon.

When LBJ signed the 1965 act, the value of a dollar was almost exactly the same as it had been in 1792—0.77 ounces of silver. By 1980 the dollar had plunged to 0.02 ounces of silver. Today, a dollar today is valued at about 0.06 ounces of silver.

What does this have to do with the minimum wage?

Consider this: In 1964, the minimum wage stood at $1.25. To put it another way, a minimum wage worker earned five silver quarters for every hour worked. Today, you can’t even buy a cup of coffee with those five quarters at face value.

But today, the silver melt value of those five quarters stands at over $22.

That’s a $ 22-per-hour minimum wage.

Now flip things around. Today, it takes 88 quarters to pay a $20 minimum wage. If you paid that in 1964 silver quarters, the value of the metal would be something in the neighborhood of $390!

*** end quote ***

That’s a $ 22-per-hour minimum wage.

So it you’re asking for a higher “minimum wage”, remember that the same Gooferment asking is the one that screwed you in the first place!

Focus on the true cause of “inflation” and why you can’t make ends meet.

Argh!

Happy “Labor” day, suckers.

—30—

Leave a Comment » | MONEY | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj

POLITICAL: Thoughts about Labor Day

Monday, September 3, 2012

Labor Day Weekend, a time to goof off. 

Perhaps think about the essence of labor? Where we extract our sustinence from a cruel hard world. Such is our lot in life.

I joke with my much younger coworkers that what we do can’t be considered “work”.

The construction worker, the gardener, even the cooks in the cafeteria are “working”.

Paper pushing and keyboard tapping aren’t “work” in the same sense.

But what the division of labor and trade in a free market have given us has been taken away by the rise of “drones”.

Look around at what people “do” to make a living: paper pushing and key tapping is “work” in comparison to the politicians and bureaucrats. What I’d call the “Political Class”.

They make a living by telling their inferiors what to do. Right out of the Prussian School Model.

How did the workers let themselves get exploited by yet another set of “bosses”?

I think it was the adulteration of money that led everyone into a sense of complacency.

When the “dollar” was as good as gold, things were a lot different. The FDR gold theft allowed the common man to be taxed silently without his recognition. Withholding was a similar strategy. As was “social security insurance”. Debt. All frauds intended to steal the seed corn of future generations. 

Leaving them impoverished, while the past generations of politicians and bureaucrats feathered their nests.

How does it change?

I’m not sure. They say that admitting the problem is the first step towards a solution.

I admit that we have problem; does anyone else?

Happy Labor Day, fellow serfs.

# – # – # – # – #   

Leave a Comment » | Political | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by reinkefj