Should the National Minimum Wage be frozen?
There seems a strong presumption on this thread that a national minimum wage actually increases the wage costs to small business. I’m not convinced this is actually the case. It’s rather like speed limits on motorways, in reality everyone looks on the speed limit as a minimum speed… so, on some motorways the speed limit actually increases average speeds. In order for a national minimum wage to remain credible, it needs to reflect the minimum costs of living. The reality is, the national minimum wage on its own does NOT reflect the minimum cost of living. The government subsidises a large part of the living wage for national minimum wage workers through the tax credit schemes. Since the tax credit schemes are a subsidy to business, I would suggest that if we abolish the national minimum wage – which in effect sets a minimum contribution by business to a living wage, we should also abolish the tax credit scheme.
