Ritenour on Socialism on the Human Action Podcast

I was honored to be a guest on the Human Action Podcast hosted by Jeff Deist,  President of the Ludwig von Mises Institute. We had a wide ranging discussion about Mises' monumental work Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis, which is as relevant now as when it was first published in 1922.



The Human Action Podcast is an program dedicated to in-depth discussion of issues related to Austrian Economics.

Higher Minimum Wage, Fewer Restaurant Jobs

That's the news from New York anyway. As of December 31 of last year, New York City businesses with over ten employees must pay their workers at least $15 per hour. That is an increase up from $13 previously. Employers are responding according to economic law, not surprisingly. As the price of a good increases, the demand for that good will at some point decrease. What is true for apples, tennis balls, and t-shirts is also true for labor.

Jon Bloostein operates six New York City restaurants that employ between 50 and 110 people each. The owner of Heartland Brewery and Houston Hall, Bloostein said the effect of the higher minimum wage on payroll across locations represents "an immense cost" to his business.

"We lost control of our largest controllable expense," he told CBS MoneyWatch. "So in order to live with that and stay in business, we're cutting hours."

 The minimum wage does not help all workers. It helps some workers at the expense of others.