JP Morgan, Andrew Carnagie, etc... started with nothing and became millionaires.
I'm not saying that it isn't possible, but that it is rare. You can't take a few examples and try to make it seem easy. It's not, and in fact the majority never reach that level even after a lifetime of work.
I didn't realize that slavery was abolished in 1913... I also didn't realize that slavery was legal and practiced in every single state in the United States...
I don't understand this rebuttal. You said that people were just fine moving through the social ladder. I mentioned slavery as one example of how that was not possible.
Care to deliniate exactly what rights a worker has? The only right, which I know of, that a worker has is the right to contract to use their labor in the service to another for compensation.
It doesn't matter what the contract says, it can't violate labour laws. These include:
The right to a break after a certain number of working hours; the right to not be put into dangerous situations without consent, training, and proper equipment/procedures; the right to be paid for overtime if you exceed a certain number of work hours per week; freedom from discrimination in the hiring process; freedom of association (i.e. joining unions that are independent from government or employer influence); the right to equal pay for equal work, etc.
Also, you're performing an invalid comparison since the Constitution of the United States and it's fundamentals only apply to the United States. It does not apply to other countries.
This is a complete and utter non-sequitur. I think maybe you didn't understand my original point. People are saying that in the absence of jobs, minimum wage should be eliminated in order to create more employment. I am saying that there is less employment because companies are moving their bottom line to foreign countries where there are fewer labour laws. One solution is not to decrease domestic compensation (i.e. remove minimum wage), but to negatively or positively incentivize companies to keep their businesses domestic.
Globalization began way before the 20th century and did not originate with the US. It started much earlier in the 17th centuries under the European powers through colonialism. US companies are continuing what the Europeans started. As for worker rights, see my previous question.
European imperialism and colonization was a function of the mercantilist era, and mostly related to the British empire. Mercantilism was about increasing the wealth of a nation, and not private business interests. The U.S. was the creator of the modern corporation and multinational business, and it used to Cold War to propel its style of capitalism to all corners of the globe. The U.S. did not
use the mercantilist framework that was already there; rather, the British Empire collapsed and was then completely
replaced by private U.S. business.
It's the reason why the U.S. dollar became the trade standard everywhere. Businesses currently do not pay taxes to the American government on foreign-generated profits. One could maybe argue that it was American-style imperialism which spread the U.S. dollar along with its business practices, but it still wouldn't be en par to the mercantilist values of the centuries prior.
