GoldfishRampage
Couldn't help myself!
MereDintofPandiculation
If we accept that MW isn't enough to bring up a child, that's a lot of people who are going to be childless, with a knock on effect to population age structure and support for those unable to work
through age or infirmity.
But we were discussing single wage earners - ideally you wouldn't plan to have a baby if you were single and earning the minimum wage.
Biber
Boris Johnson is on track at the moment; "In setting the 2020 pay floor at £8.72 an hour, Johnson has hit the median benchmark." He's not responsible for George Osborne's forecast in 2015 - the left-wing press just thought they would remind everyone of it.
Institute for Fiscal Studies analysis/BBC;
"The UK already has one of the world's highest minimum wages."
"When [if] it reaches £10.50, it will be two-thirds of the median (middle) wage. It is likely to affect one in four employees and will be extended to all employees aged 21 and over by the mid 2020s."
"Only five industrialised countries - France, Portugal, New Zealand, Israel and Korea - had a higher minimum hourly wage (as a proportion of average salaries) than the UK in 2018.The planned increases would probably take the UK to the top of the table."
"More than six out of 10 people currently on the minimum wage work part-time. A similar number are women, and almost nine out of 10 work in the private sector."
"However, while raising the minimum wage is often seen as a way to reduce poverty, it is not that simple."
"Only one in five of those on the lowest wages lives in the UK's poorest households."
"This may be because many people on low incomes have a partner who earns more - raising their household income to a higher level."
Procreation will continue!
However:
"Many of the very poorest people are not affected by the minimum wage.This may be because they are out of work, or because they are self-employed."
"What are the risks of a higher minimum wage?"
"Given that minimum wages benefit low-paid workers, why not keep on raising them?"
"First, unless higher wages make workers more productive, they come at a cost."
"That could mean increasing prices paid by consumers, cutting profits for companies, or cutting wages for other workers. It could also mean cutting back on other parts of workers' pay, such as paid holidays, or pension contributions."
"Second, there is a risk that higher minimum wages might lead employers to give fewer people jobs, or to cut hours."
"With few countries offering higher minimum wages than the UK, it is difficult to look for the answer overseas."
"There is an extra risk in the government's announcement: extending the higher minimum wage to younger workers aged 21 to 24."
"Where studies have found negative effects of minimum wages on employment, they tend to be bigger for younger workers."
(Jeremy Corbyn wanted to give 16 year olds £10 an hour!)
"Therefore, watching what happens as the minimum wage rises - particularly among younger workers - will be essential to avoid any unwanted consequences."
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47699571