Myth Number 3: "Raising the minimum wage increases unemployment."
As an economics major in college, I subscribed to this myth. It is true that for a brief period after minimum wages are hiked by mandatory legislation a few jobs may be temporarily lost. Recent studies have shown that California's minimum wage hikes have not caused increases in unemployment. In a 2019 study, economists Anna Godoey and Michael Reich at the University of California, Berkeley, found no evidence that large wage hikes lead to significant job losses or fewer work opportunities. Another meta-analysis was published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics by economists at the University of Massachusetts, University College London, and the Economic Policy Institute. They studied data from 138 cities and states that raised the minimum pay between 1979 and 2016. The conclusion was that low-wage workers received a seven percent pay bump after a minimum wage law went into effect, but there was little or no change in employment numbers.
By injecting more money into the economy via increased wages to low-income workers with a high propensity to spend, higher minimum wages actually increase economic activity.
This is why we should raise the minimum wage in the United States from $7.25 per hour to $15.00 an hour, gradually, so that workers are not thrown out of work, even for short periods of time.
Myth Number 4: "The American Dream is that next generation will be better off and have more opportunities than their parents."
Reality, massive student debt and the recessions of 2008 and 2020 demonstrate that this myth is false.
Myth Number 5: "The United States is the richest country in the world. We cannot learn from other nations only teach them (or dictate) to them."
Per capita income is the only real measure of economic wealth. The United States is the thirteenth richest country in the world based on income per capita, behind Ireland, Norway, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Singapore. Ireland is now one of the richest countries in the world because of its low corporate income tax rate. Ireland has effectively taken most of the U.S. pharmaceutical industry because it is a tax haven for wealthy corporations.
Myth Number 6: "If we trade with China, it will become more democratic."
Tienanmen Square and the recent crackdown in Hong Kong have proven this to be false.
Myth Number 7: "Outsourcing is good for America."
If we have learned anything from the pandemic of 2020, it is that the United States along with other countries are far too dependent on China for too many products. This has been especially evident with our lack of medical equipment, medical supplies, masks and ventilators. The over-outsourcing of these products has caused states to bid against each other and overpay for masks and other supplies. In addition, most of our prescription drugs and their components come from China, many from factories that are not sanitary.
Myth Number 8: "America is a working democracy."
If we take a look at our infrastructure, pot-hole-filled roads, poor rail service and obsolete airports, diminishing life expectancy, our failing court system and the bumbling United States Senate, it is abundantly clear that our democracy is not working very well.
Myth Number 9: "In the United States there is the rule of law."
The rule of law involves economics because businesses rely on the legal system to enforce contracts and other obligations. The courts are heavily tilted in favor of corporations because of Supreme Court rulings requiring arbitration, waiving jury trials and preventing class actions, demonstrating that the rule of law is a myth.
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