The New Zealand Government is decided; come April 2021 the minimum wage will increase to $20 an hour.

Wonderful for the rest of us not on minimum wage; across New Zealand regular folk can look forward to yet another commodity price increase.

Of course, for those of us who struggle with the concept of how money works (I am seriously beginning to wonder if this may apply to Finance Minister Grant Robertson), when employees’ wages are increased this means employers will increase their takings because the guys at the top are scarcely willing to accept lower profit margins.

Of course, now with employee wages rising and employers (they’re the ones who pay wages, not the Government) needing to make more money to cover this shortfall, prices will go up for consumers. That’s the rest of us. Huh. It’s minimum wagers, too, but they can afford it now, right, because they’re making more money, you know, $20 per hour…

That’s the great economical paradox.

…Raise it at one end to help the little guys, the big guys at the other end are just going to raise it to help themselves.

It’s inflation and against inflation, consumers are never going to win.

Article by Tim Walker

Edited by E K Nommie-Kell

Photography by Parrie Docks