Posted by
Georgiaboy on Monday, July 31, 2006 10:33:54 AM
One of the great ironies of Democratic voters is how many of them are being harmed by the policies of their own party. Jews vote overwhelmingly Democrat, but Republicans are the true friends of Israel--a fact which is made increasingly clear by the current war. Young people also tend toward the liberal side of things, but Democrats have shown no inclination to return the favor by helping young people out.
First, Democrats turned their backs on the youngest generation by killing private retirement accounts in Social Security reform. Who can blame them, liberals had whipped seniors into a frenzy with the lie that SS reform would endanger their retirement. And unlike young people, seniors vote. But nevertheless, young people should be punishing Democrats for betraying them for crass political gain.
Now Democrats are at it again. They want to exploit the pathetic knowledge of economics the American populace has gained from the government schools for their partisan gain. They want to raise the minimum wage. It will be on the backs of young people. Only a small fraction of the workforce earns the minimum wage. They are unskilled, new hirees, who are also very young. Around 3% of hourly workers make the minimum wage and of that 3%, half are under 25. So, guess who can no longer find a job when the minimum wage is raised to $7, $8 or even $9. Right, teenagers. The minimum wage is not supposed to support a working family or lift people out of poverty as our economically hapless, Democratic friends have opined. It's for unskilled labor. This study concludes that you can estimate a 1% decrease in employment for every 10% you raise the minimum wage. Finally, it is important to remember that most workers do not stay at the minimum wage for long, that is why only 3% of the workforce earns it. As they gain skill, they get paid more.
Even ignoring statistics and the fact that the minimum wage causes unemployment, the minimum wage is wrong based on principle. The government should have no business in the agreement between business and employee about wages. It contradicts the working of the free market. If a worker has enough skill to earn above the minimum wage, no one is forcing them to accept the minimum wage, they can find a business that will agree to hire them for what they are worth. On the contrary, if a worker has no skills, even the government cannont force a business to pay them more than they are worth, the business will just lay them off. Jimmy Carter tried price controls...they didn't work. So why are we still chasing the folly of wage controls?