Letters to the Editor – 05/11 – Minimum wages, Startup lending, Best of Twitter
Minimum wages
[Re: Help the low-paid by slashing their tax and boosting education, yesterday]
I agree the best way of boosting low-paid income is to increase the tax threshold to, say, £12,000. A minimum wage increase would only lead to more outsourcing and automation.
Chris Hobson
As the economist Paul Krugman said in 1998, “the higher wage reduces the quantity of labour demanded, and hence leads to unemployment”. Raising the minimum wage will depress employment, especially among the most vulnerable.
Name withheld
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Startup lending
[Re: Big business must support startups and help create the jobs of the future, yesterday]
It’s a shame that government feels it needs to get involved in lending to business at all – through the Startup Loan scheme or otherwise. Perhaps it and the Bank of England feel remorse for the way they have discouraged banks from carrying out their normal lending function due to higher regulatory costs. Why would banks take on the risk of a new venture when they can make more money by granting mortgages underwritten by the taxpayer? What makes government think it is a better judge of credible business models than a private company?
Tim Goldfinch
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BEST OF TWITTER
Must be careful about supporting a mandated living wage, given wage performance over Great Recession.
@tomashirstmoney
After the economic nuclear winter it went through, good to see UK construction PMI rise to a strong 59.4.
@notayesmansecon
17.6 per cent claiming both working tax credit and
child tax credit is a non-UK national.
@DouglasCarswell
Construction recovery not just a housing market story. Civil engineering, commercial building both rising.
@WilliamsonChris