[tcostell]

A living wage doesn't encourage people to settle down and raise families anymore than it encourages them to take up crack smoking as a hobby.

All it REALLY does is increase unemployment because business that have jobs where the productivity is lower than the "living wage" will no longer hire. This is basic undergraduate economics...there isn't a economy literate person in the country who thinks a living wage is a good idea.

[Mac1]

"All it REALLY does is increase unemployment because business that have jobs where the productivity is lower than the "living wage" will no longer hire."

For several years we had no minimum wage (I'm assuming that's what is meant by "living wage", correct me if I'm wrong)here in the UK before the current government(labour) was elected. Not sure what it is (about $9-10) but there do not appear to be any negative effects on the economy. Something to do with the fact that people earning minimum wage need to spend all the money they earned. Read it on here by someone hitherto sceptical about minimum wage so for me at least has some credibility.