Chinese to Raise Minimum Wage : From Liberal Playbook?

This sure seems odd that the Chinese would take a page out of the liberal progressive Democrat play book to solve their monitory problems.

Then again, the two systems, American under Obama and the Communist Chinese, are similar in that they both want to control everything using a huge Central government.

Both believe the smartest people need to make decisions for the lower unwashed classes to save them from themselves. Oh, and the smartest people are the ones that haven't done an honest days work in their entire lives. Who could be more qualified then these beautiful people with Phd.'s to decide what's best for the rest of us.

Beijing Minimum Wage to Rise 21% amid Inflation Pressure
Source: Jamil Anderlini and Rahul Jacob, "Beijing Minimum Wage to Rise by 21% amid Inflation Pressure," Financial Times, December 29, 2010.

Beijing city will raise its minimum wage by 21 percent, the second increase in six months, amid rising inflationary pressures and growing concern over China's widening wealth gap.
The increase, which comes into effect on New Year's day, raises the statutory minimum monthly wage in the Chinese capital to Rmb1,150 ($175 USD) and the hourly rate to Rmb6.7. It follows a rise of 20 percent in June.

The official measures of annual consumer price inflation in China hit 5.1 percent in November, up from 4.4 percent in October, with food prices jumping 11.7 percent in November from a year earlier. "While China's living standards have dramatically risen over the past 30 years, the gap between the rich and the poor has sharply widened," Yu Yongding, an influential former adviser to China's central bank, wrote in an editorial last week.

Nationwide increases in minimum wages are part of the government's plan to reduce income disparity and the Chinese economy's heavy reliance on investment, and promote greater consumption by low- and middle-income households. But with many businesses already squeezed by rising input costs, wage increase come at a difficult time and are likely to lead to higher inflation.

With its latest rise, Beijing has the highest minimum wage in the country, just ahead of Shanghai. Other cities and provinces, including the manufacturing hub of Guangdong, are eyeing more increases in the New Year.