Wage against the machine: the distortions of minimum pay
The Intelligence from The Economist
The Economist
4.6 • 3.6K Ratings
🗓️ 25 November 2025
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
For decades governments have found minimum-wage rises a politically expedient means of redistribution. But the onward economic distortions have at last become clear. Of course AI can write a faster cover letter — perhaps even a better one. But there are knock-on costs when everyone is doing it. And a look at Florida’s bold experiment in the free choice of unbundled education.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Economist. |
| 0:10.1 | Hello and welcome to the intelligence from The Economist. |
| 0:13.6 | I'm your host, Rosie Bloor. |
| 0:15.5 | Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the event shaping your world. |
| 0:24.2 | Writing a cover letter is a horrible task, how to sell yourself as the perfect candidate |
| 0:29.2 | who meets all the requirements and is also a brilliant person to work with. |
| 0:33.9 | Small wonder that many of us now use AI to help. |
| 0:37.4 | But where exactly does this get us? |
| 0:41.7 | And if you were one of those people who virtually danced in the streets, when kids were allowed |
| 0:46.2 | back into school during the pandemic, this story is utterly confounding. In one county in Florida, |
| 0:52.4 | one in every 15 children is homeschooled. Our correspondent reports. |
| 1:01.6 | First up, though, no matter which side of the political divide you're on, |
| 1:14.6 | Who raised the minimum wage, putting £1,400 in the pockets of the lowest paid Labour? |
| 1:19.6 | And no matter the political era, |
| 1:22.6 | The prospects of young people would be blighted by Labor's minimum wage policy. |
| 1:28.9 | The minimum wage and how best to implement it is a regular topic of debate. |
| 1:33.6 | There's an argument the minimum wage is too high for younger workers. |
| 1:37.0 | In recent years, many governments have repeatedly increased the minimum wage. |
| 1:41.6 | But now people are asking, is this really the best way to improve income inequality? |
| 1:47.0 | People are talking about the minimum wage now really for two reasons. |
| 1:51.0 | Callum Williams is our senior economics writer. |
| 1:56.0 | One is that governments all over the world are becoming very keen on having a higher minimum wage. |
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