In San Francisco, the fear of losing jobs to automation after an increase to the minimum wage has motivated two similar policy proposals aimed at discouraging or banning automation. As a student of economics and someone who will soon enter the job market, you find this issue interesting and relevant. [For simplicity, assume these policies are only occurring in or are only proposed for the San Francisco area. Also assume the ban is for automation in general, not just delivery robots.]
THE PROMPT
Write a letter to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors regarding the two policy proposals under consideration: a tax on automation (Ms. Kim’s proposal) or a ban on automation (Mr. Yee’s proposal). Your letter should:
Briefly explain the economic impact of a minimum wage increase (moving from nonbinding to binding) in the labor market, and its extended effect on the automation market as well as the market for a good which may be produced using labor, automation or some combination of the two;
Identify one of the two proposed policies and construct an argument, based in the economics you’ve learned in class, for why you oppose the policy.