Milton Friedman - Case Against Equal Pay for Equal Work

That's precisely the point Milton Friedman made regarding the 'wage gap' when asked about it 40 years ago. He noted that if one group of people could be every bit as productive as another at a fraction of the cost, that's a compelling competitive advantage. But as others became aware of the advantage, the overlooked group of people would find themselves more sought after. And that would drive up their wages and increase their opportunities. ▶ this video

That questioning of the gap being that big makes me think about this exchange Milton Friedman had with some college students in like the 70s or something regarding equal pay for equal work. ▶ this video

> When an employer chooses a white man over a black/brown/fuschia man even though the wage it's the same then it's not the law that is racist. It's the employer. Yes, but where there is no minimum wage, the racist employer has to pay a price for being racist because people of color are selling cheaper labor than white people, so if racist employer wants to hire white people only he will have to pay a higher price. With minimum wage laws, racist employers don't pay a price for being racist because whites get the same minimum wage, this is why it encourages racism. Milton explains it best ▶ this video

It's sad to see the tech community, which used to be very libertarian, move towards a hard-left progressive view of social issues. It wasn't that long ago that Friedman's arguments against equal pay laws[1] would have held sway here. The idea that the market punishes bigotry and so can be relied upon to advance freedom and equality used to be a core belief of the tech community. Now, it seems companies are falling over themselves to come up with ever more progressive and authoritarian solutions to problems that have only been complained about in the tech media--driven largely by people who care far more about culture wars than they do about tech. It's hard to see these developments and not feel that something important has been lost. [1] ▶ this video