[BMiles2112]

But despite this Hebry Ford pioneered paying awage to his employees sufficient that they could buy his products. that was perhaps his true genius.
I don't really buy this, either. I don't know what the standard rate was compared to what Ford payed his employees, but it would inevitably raise the cost of the car. So now x number of employees could afford the cars, which raises the cost of the cars to $y, which would then make x number of other people unable to afford the cars. Sure, it was good for publicity, but if there were other competitors out there who could sell for the same price, it would not have been possible.

[DugwayDuke]

It's a real shame when conservatives adopt the rhetoric and arguments of the left. This "stroke of genious" by Henry Ford is one of the favorite arguements of the "living wage" crowd. Yet, conservatives of a populist stripe often pick up on it to advance their agenda not noticing that they are arguing on liberal grounds.

But, then, look at this thread. The article in question is undeniably written from a pro-democrat perspective and reads like a DNC press release (or, notice the "one paycheck away" rhetoric, Hillary Clinton's health care task force) and we have a number of conservatives using it to bash a republican.

BTW, Ford's real "storke of genius" was doing away with the production of automobiles as a craftsman's trade and employing the principles of the automated production line and interchangeable parts. This allowed him to produce automobiles at a price cheap enough for the masses to buy. (ending craftsman type production actually resulted in a lower wage) As you point out, increasing wages solely so your employees can buy your product is a dead end street.