Re: Short response to Mr. Sastri

["Manoj Padki" <mpadki@tiac.net>]

Charu,

You raise more questions:

1.
>To take your photocopy example- if making photocopies requires me to
employ
>you,
>and I can only afford to pay you $2/hr which is less that what you need to
>survive, then I would guess that there is something wrong with my
business:
>either photocopies are too cheap, or I should find a way of making copies
>without employing someone below subsistence wages, or there are other
>inefficiencies in my business.

Why would you "guess" that there is something wrong with my business? Why
can you not pay $2/hr, which is the marginal productivity of the worker to
me?

2. What if my household has 2 workers who work 2 jobs each part-time? This
is not an idle exercise. More & more Americans have been doing this. Now
who
determines "sustaining"? Can you imagine the bureaucracy needed to handle
this? It will be worse than the IRS!

3. Here is something to rile you: Let me assume that you make something
like
$70K per year. I assume that you would say you "earn" it. Can you define
"earn"? Are you sure you "need" more money than subsistence level?

What I am trying to point out is that an employee "earns" according to
their
marginal productivity, and "society" can make sure the employee does not
starve by instituting a negative income-tax.

BTW, I'd still like you to talk with a small-business owner, and try to
understand their side of the story.

- manoj



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