Friday, May 13, 2016

Robots and Minimum Wage

Thank you very much, Mr Roboto
For doing the jobs nobody wants to
--Styx

Article notes that fast food restaurants are installing self-serve kiosks in stores as a response to laws that raise the minimum wage. As stated, "Companies will not pay $15/hr for an $8/hr task just because the government tells them to." As long as employers are free to hire who they want to, productivity dictates wages, not government edict.

Instead, operators will adjust. This will include hiring robots if possible.

Which leads to the following proposition: The higher the minimum wage, the greater the interest in automation as a substitute for labor.

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