Marx vs Spencer on Raising the

Minimum Wage and Net Neutrality

Theory Term Paper

Alex Slupski

SYA 4010
 Spencer Against Raising the Minimum Wage

Raising the minimum wage will be a poor choice for both citizens and business in

the US as it will force businesses to lay off employees and therefore increase

unemployment levels. The organism that is society is meant to be left alone, without

interjections and injections from an outside force. As in nature, survival of the fittest will

weed out those who don’t belong at the top and raising the minimum wage will

threaten this natural order.

The first evidence in support of these claims is a report by the Congressional

Budget office that says that raising the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 could result

in a loss of 500,000 jobs. The idea that individuals must be propped up by mandates

from an outside force threatens the principles the free market was founded upon, the

free market that those who deserved to be at the top used to rise to their position.

Steve Hanke, a professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, surveyed 21

European Union countries with a minimum wage and 7 European Union countries

without. He found that those with a minimum wage had an average unemployment rate

of 11.8% , and those without had a rate of 7.9%. This data shows that when left

unregulated, the market will do what it needs to create better outcomes in the end for

members of the society. According to Mark Perry, a PhD researcher at the American

Enterprise Institute, when a government mandates a minimum wage, they “are always

arbitrary and almost never based on any sound economic/cost-benefit analysis… [I]n
contrast market-determined wages reflect supply and demand conditions that are

specific to local market conditions and vary widely by geographic region and by

industry.”

Marx For Raising the Minimum Wage

The free market, due to its very nature, is not capable of creating a fair and even

distribution of wealth. It is the governments duty to use its power to provide oversight

and regulation, supporting those who are not given an equal opportunity to rise to the

top. Raising the minimum wage would reduce income inequality and lead to healthier

populations.

In support of this argument, a 2014 study by the Congressional Budget Office

stated that by raising the minimum wage to $9, 300,000 could be lifted out of poverty,

and by increasing it to $10.10, 900,000 people could be lifted out of poverty. The free

market doesn’t care what a truly livable wage is, and those who work these jobs do not

have the power to fight for a wage that they can live off of. It is a government’s

responsibility to ensure that these people have someone fighting for them. The current

minimum wages in the US are not enough for the average person to live healthily off of.

According to Edward Ehlinger, the State Health Commissioner for Minnesota, the state’s

decision to raise the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour from $6.15 was “the biggest

public health achievement… in the four years I’ve been health commissioner… If you
look at the conditions that impact health, income is right at the top of the list… Anything

we can do to help enhance economic stability will have a huge public health benefit.

This is a major public health issue.” When people aren’t barely scraping by, they have

the ability to make healthier choices, and Ehlinger’s experiences reflect that.

Marx for Restoring Net Neutrality

Net neutrality is a major issue that should not be overlooked in today’s internet-

dependent world. Net neutrality rules were passed in 2015 and prevent internet service

providers from slowing, prioritizing, or charging extra money to access certain websites.

These rules were repealed in 2017. They should be restored as the government needs to

play a role in internet as it has revolutionized the way the world consumes information

and, in many ways, has democratized knowledge. These rules threaten that. Reinstating

net neutrality would both help to preserve free speech and encourage competition.

The Electronic Freedom Foundation states that “the meaningful exercise of our

constitutional rights—including the freedoms of speech, assembly, and press—has

become dependent on broadband Internet access.” The world gets their information

from the internet and giving corporations the power to control who gets to see what at

what price or speed gives them far too much power in deciding what information a

citizen uses to form an opinion on an issue. The internet’s founding principles were the

democratization of information and breaking down the barriers to access this

information, and it is up to governments to keep this intact. Another reason for

reinstating net neutrality laws is that it will promote competition among new

companies. According to Ryan Singel, a fellow at the Center for Internet and Society and

Stanford Law School, the repeal of net neutrality regulations would mean that

“broadband providers will be allowed to charge all websites and services, including

startups, simply to reach an ISP’s subscribers. That’s a huge threat to the low cost of

starting a company, and it totally up-ends the economics of the internet.” This could

threaten the American ideal of free market competition, and stifle new thinkers, ideas,

and businesses before they’re even off the ground.

Spencer Against Restoring Net Neutrality

Net neutrality threatens the very freedoms the internet was founded on.

Increased government in involvement on the platform meant for the free exchange of

ideas and information can only lead to disaster. Restoring net neutrality regulations

create overreaching regulations on the internet and could reduce investment in internet

services.

According to a bipartisan report from 1996 known as the Telecommunications

Act of 1996, “the Internet and other interactive computer services have flourished, to

the benefit of all Americans, with a minimum of government regulation.” They also

stated that the US should strive ““to preserve the vibrant and competitive free market…
for the Internet and other interactive computer services unfettered by Federal or State

regulation.” The internet we know and enjoy today was created with minimal

regulation, and to keep it the incredible resource it is today, that attitude must be

maintained.
 Bibliography

Congressional Budget Office, "The Effects of Minimum-Wage Increase on Employment

and Family Income," cbo.gov, Feb. 2014

Mark J. Perry, "Ten Reasons that Market-Determined Wages Are Better than

Government-Mandated Minimum Wages," American Enterprise Institute website, Nov.

29, 2015

Steve H. Hanke, "Let the Data Speak: The Truth Behind Minimum Wage Laws," Cato

Institute website, Apr. 2014

Kim Krisberg, "Raising Minimum Wage Good for Public Health, Not Just Wallets:

Advocates Call for Federal Increase," The Nation's Health, Mar. 2015

Electronic Freedom Foundation, “Comments of the Electronic Freedom Foundation on

Notice of Proposed Rulemaking,” eff.org, July 17, 2017

John W. Mayo, et al., “An Economic Perspective of Title II Regulation of the Internet,”

cbpp.georgetown.edu, July 2017