<p>This doesn’t really have anything to do with colleges but I thought I would defer to your knowledge.</p>
<p>I am interviewing a couple of people about minimum wages and would love to see some of the questions you guys would ask the following people on the topic:</p>
<p>Prominent writer on the topic in the local news
Service station attendant (one of people who will benefit from the implementation)
Security guard (one of the people who will benefit from the implementation)
Government official
Employers of service station attendants and security guards</p>
<p>Background information:
I am writing a 40 page paper on the extent of the effect a minimum wage scheme will have on the employment levels of service station attendants/security guards.</p>
<p>You want us to interview people in America (since that’s where most of us are from) about the minimum wage that they are planning to implement in Hong Kong?</p>
<p>No… I am interviewing people in Hong Kong. I am just asking for questions that I could possibly ask. I have a list (around 30 questions, about 6 for each) but I want to see if there is anything I missed.</p>
<p>could you explain what the minimum wage scheme is? you’ll probably get more comments that way, since I’m guessing that many people don’t know what exactly it is (me included)</p>
<p>Sorry, nith. A minimum wage scheme means that everyone in the entire country/region/state (well city here in Hong Kong) has to be paid at least the specified amount (they are thinking of setting it at 24HKD/hour (3USD)). They cannot legally be paid below that amount. In other words, when the scheme is implemented, no one can be paid less than 24 HKD/hour.</p>
<p>I am investigating the trade off between the benefits of the scheme and the trade off. In other words, all low income citizens will be better off, as many are paid as little as 15HKD/hour. However, it may lead to unemployment.</p>
<p>I am asking all the stakeholders (people affected) what they think should be done (is the welfare worth it, or is the trade off (unemployment) too great).</p>
<p>ohhhhh I feel like my question was stupid, thanks for the answer. I thought there was a specific scheme…which I guess there is but I never thought of it as a “scheme”. I also think this is a really interesting topic to write a paper on. </p>
<p>I know in the US the minimum wage is about $7.50 (at least in Michigan), but varies slightly from state to state. However, the cost of living may also be higher. </p>
<p>You could focus on worker’s rights. It can be all too easy for employers to take advantage of a rule-free environment, so minimum wage provides a higher standard of living for more people.</p>
<p>Also, if people earn more money, they are more likely to spend more money, giving back to the economy and the businesses that pay them. People would also pay higher income taxes (if they are percentage based). You could ask the government official to discuss the circular effects of having minimum wage- perhaps despite unemployment it would help the economy and government infrastructure?</p>
<p>You could also ask the people benefitting from minimum wage what they feel they cannot pay for in their current lives (utility bills, etc.). This may help determine where the increased money they earn would go. With more money, healthcare problems would probably also decrease, as more people have access to more healthful and nutritious food. As a result, the medical system (is it centralized in HK?) would spend less time on preventable cases, and more on serious issues. This would improve the overall health of the population.</p>
<p>I unfortunately do not know that much about Hong Kong’s economic policies, but I think you could ask several of the people what they think about these general ideas. I hope this was helpful, good luck!</p>
<p>Honestly, I think it’s probably arbitrary. They decide a number and go with it. I don’t see what difference there would have been if minimum wage had been $7.41 or $7.39 instead.</p>
<p>Well, the cost of living is definitely higher in Hong Kong… thanks for the ideas. Any questions that you think are definitely pertinent to the paper?</p>
<p>Unemployment is a big issue. Unemployment is still high in Michigan right now, even in summer. (Unemployment usually goes up in winter and down in summer due to construction) Though I don’t think many would argue that it’s because of the minimum wage.</p>