WAGES AND THE FAMILY TO RICHARD ARTHUR EMILE ROMANET ELEANOR P. RATHBONE PIONEERS IN THE MOVEMENT FOR CHILDRENS ALLOWANCES AND FAMILY ENDOWMENT PREFACE It Is the purpose of this book to point a way out of the impasse in which the living-wage principle finds itself. The general theory that men and women should be paid enough to maintain them selves on at least a physical basis of life is deservedly winning acceptance. This theory is, however, in practice predominantly used to support the contention that men should be paid ...
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WAGES AND THE FAMILY TO RICHARD ARTHUR EMILE ROMANET ELEANOR P. RATHBONE PIONEERS IN THE MOVEMENT FOR CHILDRENS ALLOWANCES AND FAMILY ENDOWMENT PREFACE It Is the purpose of this book to point a way out of the impasse in which the living-wage principle finds itself. The general theory that men and women should be paid enough to maintain them selves on at least a physical basis of life is deservedly winning acceptance. This theory is, however, in practice predominantly used to support the contention that men should be paid enough to maintain a standard family of five. Having occasion some three years ago to work over the amount and distribution of the national income, I was struck by its relative scantiness and the great difficulty which there would be of paying to all the wage that was commonly advocated. This mystified me until further investigation disclosed that only a small percentage of the male workers actually had families of five to support, and that the vast majority had fewer than four de pendents. To pay all workers enough to maintain a family of five would indeed mean saddling industry with the maintenance of over forty-five million fictitious wives and children. It is this proposed payment of unneeded surpluses to single men and to those with fewer than three children which seems to make it im possible for industry to pay the customarily demanded wage. The solution of this dilemma in which our whole wage policy finds itself is not to be found in the abandonment of the living wage principle, but in the recognition that a single man does not need as much as a family with children. The way out, therefore, lies in the fixation of a rninimum wage sufficient to support single menwith added allowances for dependent wives, children, and other adults. The natural danger which such a plan would create in causing employers to discriminate against those with dependents in order to reduce their wages bill can be prevented, as is later ex plained, by the creation of funds which generalize the burden over X PREFACE a group of employers as a whole Such a plan, moreover, would make it possible to pay women an equal minimum with men and hence remove the dangers of their undercutting the mens rate. The author soon discovered that such plans were spreading with great rapidity on the continent of Europe, and set about col lecting material from the various countries. Upon finding out that the International Labour Office was planning an investigation of the same subject, a co-operative program of research was effected on the part of the University of Chicago with that body, through the kindness of its director, M. Albert Thomas, and the co-opera tion of Professor L. C. Marshall, of the University of Chicago, and Professor E. R. A. Seligman, of Columbia University. I have benefited greatly from the many original documents which the International Labour Office has thus collected for me, and I am especially indebted to Mr. J. H. Richardson, the member of the Secretariat in charge of the investigation. I have been greatly aided in the collection and interpretation of additional material by many people. Among these I should particularly like to thank Dr. Richard Arthur, of Sydney, Australia Miss Alice Henry, of Chicago, and Mr. Alfred Henry, of Melbourne, Australia Miss Eleanor Rathbone, of Liverpool, M. mile Romanet, of Grenoble, France M, Henry de Man, of Brussels, Belgium, andDr. Wesley C. Mitchell. I am also especially indebted to the following students of mine at the University of Chicago for assistance in computation and for criticism Miss Mary Gorringe, Miss May Byrne, Miss Rachel Marshall, Miss Chalice Kelley, Mr, Paul Decker, and Mr. D. J. Vaughan. Mrs. George R. Taylor has been good enough to pre pare the Index...
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Add this copy of Wages and the Family to cart. $29.00, good condition, Sold by Second Life Books Inc. rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lanesborough, MA, UNITED STATES, published 1927 by University of Chicago.
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Seller's Description:
8vo, pp. xiv, 304. Appendix, bibliographical note, index. Green cloth stamped in gilt. Owner's name on flyleaf. Edges somewhat browned, cover slightly spotted, and little scuffed at edges, o/w a VG tight copy. Focuses on the Family Allowance system in various countries and its possible application in the U.S.
Add this copy of Wages and the Family to cart. $60.36, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2011 by Nabu Press.
