The conservative case against market freedom is based on the belief that if change disrupts the status quo in any way, or if companies impose cost reductions that result in a shifting of employment — or even some layoffs — then government should step in and take control.
Henry Ford's factories had a hard time keeping workers because the work was monotonous. So Ford helped keep workers around through reduced hours, vacation time, and other benefits that are now considered typical.
Studies have shown that the amount of money paid in the low-wage labor market declined overall as a result of minimum wage hikes.
As dismissive as many of us would like to be toward Marx’s thoroughly debunked labor theory of value, it still holds currency among today’s budding socialists.
The actual policies that labor unions have systematically followed from the beginning of their existence have in fact reduced the real wages of the workers as a whole below what they would otherwise have been.
By abolishing the weekend, the Soviets were in one move able to strike a blow against both families and religious institutions. All that was left was the state — and state-mandated labor.
Jeffrey Rogers Hummel joins Bob Murphy for an in-depth discussion of the economics of slavery, touching on subtleties such as the labor/leisure trade-off, and the recent claims by some historians that slavery was efficient.
Some politicians are sure that even average Americans are working more grueling hours than ever. On average we have more leisure time than ever now, and working hours are down over the past 20 years.
The high cost of living in California — fueled by government regulations and taxes on the middle class — means the state now has some of the worst poverty and homelessness of any state.
In the second half of the twentieth century, pro-union and anti-trade policies led to a Rust Belt that became uncompetitive, costly, and unable to cope with reality. More protectionism won't save the region now.
