[Zarley]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

By all means if you don’t believe that the minimum wage in 2014 would have been higher if it would have been increased annually with the rate of inflation since its inception go ahead and do the actual calculations for each year.

I guess I'll have to show my work then, unfortunately CP does not support spreadsheet functionality.

Year / Inflation Rate / Inflated Dollar / Minimum Wage
1965 / 2.40% / $1.00 / $1.00
1966 / 4.20% / $1.04 / $1.00
1967 / 3.40% / $1.08 / $1.15
1968 / 3.90% / $1.12 / $1.25
1969 / 4.80% / $1.17 / $1.25
1970 / 3.00% / $1.21 / $1.55
1971 / 3.00% / $1.24 / $1.55
1972 / 4.80% / $1.30 / $1.55
1973 / 7.80% / $1.41 / $1.90
1974 / 11.00% / $1.56 / $2.00
1975 / 10.70% / $1.73 / $2.50
1976 / 7.20% / $1.85 / $2.75
1977 / 8.00% / $2.00 / $3.00
1978 / 8.90% / $2.18 / $3.00
1979 / 9.30% / $2.38 / $3.00
1980 / 10.00% / $2.62 / $3.50
1981 / 12.50% / $2.95 / $3.80
1982 / 10.90% / $3.27 / $3.80
1983 / 5.80% / $3.46 / $3.80
1984 / 4.30% / $3.61 / $3.80
1985 / 4.00% / $3.75 / $3.80
1986 / 4.10% / $3.90 / $3.80
1987 / 4.40% / $4.08 / $3.80
1988 / 3.90% / $4.23 / $4.50
1989 / 5.10% / $4.45 / $4.50
1990 / 4.80% / $4.66 / $4.50
1991 / 5.60% / $4.93 / $4.50
1992 / 1.40% / $4.99 / $5.00
1993 / 1.90% / $5.09 / $5.00
1994 / 0.10% / $5.09 / $5.00
1995 / 2.20% / $5.21 / $5.00
1996 / 1.50% / $5.28 / $5.00
1997 / 1.70% / $5.37 / $5.00
1998 / 1.00% / $5.43 / $5.40
1999 / 1.80% / $5.53 / $5.90
2000 / 2.70% / $5.67 / $5.90
2001 / 2.50% / $5.82 / $5.90
2002 / 2.20% / $5.94 / $5.90
2003 / 2.80% / $6.11 / $5.90
2004 / 1.80% / $6.22 / $5.90
2005 / 2.20% / $6.36 / $7.00
2006 / 2.00% / $6.49 / $7.00
2007 / 2.20% / $6.63 / $8.00
2008 / 2.30% / $6.78 / $8.40
2009 / 0.30% / $6.80 / $8.80
2010 / 1.80% / $6.92 / $8.80
2011 / 2.90% / $7.12 / $9.40
2012 / 1.50% / $7.23 / $9.75
2013 / 0.90% / $7.30 / $9.95

PVinflation = $(1.00)
FVinflation = $7.30
N = 48
I/Yinflation = 4.23%

PVminwage = $(1.00)
FVminwage = $9.95
N = 48
I/Yminwage = 4.90%

The minimum wage in 2014 would have been lower if it would have been increased annually with the rate of inflation since its inception. This is an objective fact. In fact, there were only 14 years where the minimum wage did not outpace inflation.

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

If it protects workers from exploitation do you not consider that to effectively raise the living standards for working people?

Yes of course. What I'm saying is that once you raise minimum wage above the market minimum wage(defined as the intersection of supply and demand for an entry level unskilled job), you start seeing market distortions that act to limit the effectiveness of the wage increase as a means of improving living standards.

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

At what point do consider the wage an employer pays to be no longer exploiting an employee?

At the market minimum wage level.

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

Do you believe greed ever plays a factor?

Yes, greed plays a factor in certain cases. There are a certain percentage of greedy employees and a certain percentage of greedy employees. Keep in mind that firms are not inherently bad nor good, they're simply a reflection of their managers and directors. In my experience, the majority of successful firms act with the best interests of their employees taken into account.