The social value of wonton noodle soup

After years of stiff opposition, the business community in Hong Kong seems to have relented on its hard stand against a statutory minimum wage. But the contention on setting the minimum wage level has continued to hobble the legislative process.

Falling back on their tired old argument, business representatives threatened that an hourly rate in excess of about $3 would force employers to hire less workers, resulting in rising unemployment among the unskilled labors whom the proposed minimum wage bill was supposed to protect. If you buy that argument, you will, of course, arrive at the absurd conclusion that any minimum wage law is inherently anti-labor.

Labor representatives have proposed a higher starting point at $4 an hour, which they consider to be a more realistic level based on the cost of living in Hong Kong.