National Living Wage paper sparks debate

The ASI's latest paper calling for the National Living Wage to be scrapped has sparked debate in the media.

The Mirror reported:

Margaret Thatcher's favourite think tank today calls for the national living wage to be scrapped. The £7.20 hourly minimum for workers aged 25 and over is due to rise to £7.50 in April, benefiting tens of thousands of low-paid employees. But the free market Adam Smith Institute wants it axed, claiming it has become a political football.
George Osborne launched the “national living wage” - actually a rebranded legal minimum – in April 2016. The rate is set by the Government whereas the national minimum wage was decided by independent experts.

Ben Southwood wrote in City AM:

If government is setting minimum wages with no thought at all for their wider and long-term labour market impacts, then we could well see a relationship between hikes and unemployment. That might be nice for economists like me; I suspect the unemployed whose jobs never get created might disagree.

Sam Bowman wrote in Conservative Home:

The National Living Wage is being set without any care for that evidence. George Osborne’s main goal was to undermine Labour after the 2015 election. Well, fine, but they’ve done a good enough job of that themselves.
Politics shouldn’t trump the well-being of people who need to work, and whose prospects might be seriously harmed by further rises to the Living Wage. Let’s stick with what works.

 

Previous
Previous

Business rates are a good tax, argues Sam Bowman

Next
Next

NATIONAL LIVING WAGE A POLITICAL FOOTBALL HAMMOND MUST BOOT OUT IN BUDGET