Comments about ‘Low productivity, not low wages, main cause of poverty’

"Poor people are not poor because of low wages. For the most part, they're poor because of low productivity, and wages are connected to productivity." Yes, but real wages for American labor have been constant for 40 years, inspite of greatly increased productivity. If Williams is generally right, such should not be the case.

Isn't it nice that Walt Williams can sit in his office at George mason University, paid for by the taxpayers of Virginia, and pontificate about low productivity. What has he produced today other than an opinion?

My goodness, Mr. Williams. Has your column been posted here before? Your take on the problem is so far off base that it hardly warrants a reply. If productivity were the basis, our wages would have skyrocketed in the last 25 years, and we all know that simply isn't the case.

The real issue is that workers don't earn what they produce. They earn what they negotiate.

The minimum wage in "real $" is at its highest level in 29 years. During that period we have seen a noticeable increase in the globalization of the world's economy. While the improved productivity of American workers (largely IT driven during that period) has served to balance out the wage differential, thereby keeping US unemployment under control, what will happen as larger numbers of developing nations continue to benefit from their connectedness to the wealthier world and improved access to the latest and greatest technologies and methods? I believe there are numerous signs that we are losing the battle against the low cost labor of the developing nations and we need to reconsider our approach to a minimum wage. Perhaps the US will continue to develop new frontiers and keep our edge, but in today's world how long can you maintain that new edge?

Wow...Particulars...certainly has laid upon us the big lie! Telling us that the minimum wage in "real $'s is at its highest level in 29 years." Deceptive Hogwash! The inflation adjusted federal minimum wage in 2001 dollars is $4.82. Yes, there as been an increase of the wage since 2004, but this increase hardly reestablishes the minimum wage in inflation adjusted dollars as any where near sufficient. The minimum wage in 1960 of $1.00 was worth $5.26 in 2003 dollars; the minimum wage of $5.15 in 2003 is worth $5.15 in 2003 obviously. The highest the minimum wage has ever been in adjusted dollars was in 1978 and 1979 when the minimum wage of $2.65/$2.90 for those years was worth $6.81. Bottom line is that even with this increase a person making the minimum wage is still earns less than $15,000 a year, still far below the poverty line. Perhaps we should refer to it as the sub-minimum wage since it still leaves the wage earner as one of the working poor.