tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post205539298101324367..comments2024-03-28T08:06:43.198-04:00Comments on The Silicon Graybeard: Captain's Log - I'm Tired, So TiredSiGraybeardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-57481148911142613252014-02-05T17:46:53.212-05:002014-02-05T17:46:53.212-05:00I didn't intend to imply Mr Ford paid a legall...I didn't intend to imply Mr Ford paid a legally mandated minimum wage, just that he established a minimum standard for his workers (I wonder what his engineers made?)<br /><br />The article you refer to is interesting in itself. Of course the law is whatever those with the guns say it is, but I'm told my pre-64 coins are only worth face value by the bank. If I'm a 1099 contractor and agree to work for 2 $50 coins per day, then I don't expect tax withdrawals from my client - nor does the IRS. They expect >me< to pay those taxes. So be it. I take those two coins to the bank - regulated by the government - and they credit me with $100. Now I'm sure some teller or other bank employee would slip a $100 bill in so the books would balance, but legal tender is still legal tender - that coin is only "officially" worth $100.<br /><br />Unless the IRS wants a cut.<br /><br />I would think the same analogy could hold for today's pennies. They seem to be "worth" about double their face value. Does this mean if I chose to get paid in pennies, the IRS will tax me at their metal worth rather than the official worth?<br /><br />Of course they can have it both ways ...<br /><br />Q<br />Quiziklenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-11086399000624715862014-02-04T19:25:16.753-05:002014-02-04T19:25:16.753-05:00Yeah, but... what Ford did wasn't a "mini...Yeah, but... what Ford did wasn't a "minimum wage" - he had no force of law. He simply declared his starting wage. Any company can define their starting wage (only today it can never be less than some mandate), and make it as high as they want, if they think it attracts better workers. Or they can raise the ante with other benefits: the company I work for grants three weeks vacation instead of the usual two for new hires (I had to wait five years to get that). Setting your own pay rate to attract candidates is rather different from the government fixing the price of labor. <br /><br />But, sure, it's based on votes: low information, class-warfare politics. It's all lies. <br /><br />There was a case (in Las Vegas?) a few years ago, where a guy actually paid his employees in US Mint gold coins. The trick was that the coins are fully legal tender, and the face value is $50 but they're worth many times that. So employees were paying taxes based on, say, face value of two coins a day ($100) but the coins were worth more like $2000. The guy was convicted of tax fraud for this. (<a href="http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/employers-gold-silver-payroll-standard-may-bring-hard-time" rel="nofollow">Hey! I found it!</a>)SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-19073408366116296012014-02-04T17:53:00.077-05:002014-02-04T17:53:00.077-05:00Couple of ways of looking at this (simply playing ...Couple of ways of looking at this (simply playing devil's advocate):<br /><br />Henry Ford implemented a (non-legal) "minimum wage" for his workers in 1913 of $5/day. His reasoning may have been to get his workers to give it back buying cars, but that's not the point. In 1913, those workers did not pay income tax. Furthermore, a $5 coin was roughly 1/4 oz gold. I would not mind being paid 1/4 oz gold tax free per day today ... (about $96k tax free per year???)<br /><br />In 1964, the minimum wage by law (as we still know it) was $1.25/hr. This could be paid as 5 quarters per hour, each of which was 90% silver or roughly $3.15 each in today's value (Feb 4). This could imply an equivalent minimum wage today of $15.75/hr.<br /><br />Of course, "official" inflation is ... 2%?, while unofficial inflation - for those of us that have to actually buy stuff - is 10%.<br /><br />The issue is much more complicated ... but any way one looks at it, it boils down to votes<br /><br />Qquiziklenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-49891914999176293152014-02-04T13:49:25.927-05:002014-02-04T13:49:25.927-05:00It's about appeasing your base, in this case t...It's about appeasing your base, in this case the low information voters, and changng the subject away from his high crimes and misdemeanors.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com