The current Lebanese government is, in economic terms, as dangerous as a blind man with a loaded gun and an itchy trigger finger. To date, it has shown little to no leadership in guiding Lebanon’s floundering economy back to prosperity, offering no comprehensive strategy to promote sustainable growth across the different job-creating industries — be they financial, service-related, manufacturing or agricultural. Instead what the government has offered is ill-considered, quick-fix patches. Cabinet’s commitment last month to raise wages for workers in lower income brackets by an arbitrary amount would be in the same category, if it were not also actually counter-productive to the ends it is purportedly trying to meet. First, let’s be clear: With the rising prices it has become effectively impossible to achieve a descent standard of living earning the current minimum wage. However, the equation for setting the new optimal minimum wage requires knowing a few basics
