George Will once posited this question, that if by
some miracle everyone’s net worth and income measured
against purchasing power were to triple overnight, would
the howling about income disparity suddenly go away? The answer is,
of course not. The reason is because pundits and politicians favored by
the non-thinking class would point out that the lower third on the income
ladder are still the lower third, and therefore cannot afford the four bedroom,
three bathroom lake house the middle third now can. And that isn't fair. One
should fold one's arms and stomp a foot when uttering that last sentence.
Assume I've done that for you.
Fortunately, the free market system does not
address what is "fair" in terms of how big your bank account is, how
much I get paid, how shiny and fast his car is. That is up to you, your
upbringing and your decision-making. In the free market, and I would
contend in a truly civilized society, the citizens have the sense and the
strength of character to live their lives without complaining about the
possessions and success of another, beyond perhaps a compliment on the
qualities of whatever it is that person has garnered. The compliment
would be a simple pleasantry. The rest is none of our business. Further,
we meddle with opportunities and the methods of success of others at our own peril.
This is axiomatic in the thinking of truly
successful people; people who made their own way in the world without resorting
to the insulting of, or interference in, the lives of others. Wow, the
heads of Occupy Wall Street fans are exploding all over the country right now.
Most, despite the fact that many are members of the 1% they
pretend to despise and privileged with a college education,
don't understand the first sentence of this paragraph. And those that do,
know it's true but also know they'll never be able to apply their global
warming degrees with such dangerous ideas still lurking in the minds of
thinking people.
How does this apply to
the minimum wage? Let's go back to the politicians mentioned above.
They know that a large majority of people think it's okay to raise the
minimum wage. They also know, but wouldn't dare mention, that a
vanishingly small number of people actually work for what is presently the federal
minimum wage. They also know a few more things.
First, the sector of the economy for which this
wage was introduced (never having a lasting impact on those it was intended to
help) is the unskilled, entry level or supplementary income sector. Wait
staff in mid to low quality restaurants, gas station attendants, unskilled
construction labor (we used to call them go-fers), janitorial staff, etc.
Because of the simplicity and often the flexibility of working in these
sectors, these jobs were typically offered to teenagers to give them entree
into the working world and teach them a work ethic. For others it was
supplemental income. None of the jobs the minimum wage laws are aimed at
were ever intended to be a livelihood and were not designed economically to be so. The fact that middle-aged people have crowded out
entry-level kids at Walmart is neither our, nor Walmart's, fault.
These same pandering pols also know that the
electorate is shamefully uninformed. The average voter is asked, "Do
you think people at the bottom of the income ladder should have more
money?" And the average voter says "Sure, why not?"
If asked, "Should the government mandate what a person's wages
should be?" You'd get a sneer, at best. The correct answer is,
of course, what an employer and an employee agree on, in the exchange of time
for money, is absolutely none of the government's business. And the
legislation to meddle in such arrangements is a waste of time and money.
But there are politicians in need of cover from real issues, so here we are again.
Will made another great point just today, in fact.
Who will pay for this rise in the minimum wage? Well, by huge
disproportion it will be the poor, of course. Who does the most business
with those earning minimum wage? It isn't politicians. It's not the
guy who drives a Jaguar. It's people who eat and shop as inexpensively as possible. They will finance the lion's share of this stupid idea.
And only a mouth-breathing idiot really believes that hours and jobs won't be lost
and prices increased at those very establishments to offset completely, the new
wage.
As a side note, both McDonalds and Walmart already
pay above the prevailing minimum wage in most cases. Not all their
stores, of course, pay the proposed minimum wage to new employees.
Most employees presently move past that $10.10 figure rather quickly.
Here's a cool result of coming up with the magic
number of $10.10/hr. to solve the woes of the down-trodden. The
down-trodden get to remain so a bit longer as employers will be less generous
with promotions and raises for established employees. And another!
This will incentivize some restaurants to finally employ technology
that's been out there for years. Automated ordering. Wawa stores
are kicking ass with it. In fact they have been able to hire more people
to cover the growth in business, so that just might be a wash in extremely well-run businesses. It won't
matter though. Occupy Wall Street-types will put on their shabby chic
outfits and urinate in front of any restaurant that tries it.
This latest iteration of
pretending to care about poor people is the brain child, as it always is, of
politicians who find themselves in a hole and in need of some handy
misdirection. The present administration has been an abysmal failure on
absolutely every front. Between blatant failure, to corruption, to deaths
by the administration's ineptitude (Bengazi) or design (Fast and Furious), this
is a White House in constant need of Occupy Wall Street-esque distractions.
Follow any news stream from the beginning and you will find programs
trumpeted, programs failed, then the "rich" attacked and/or the
"poor" pandered to. It is so naked it is embarrassing to watch.
The CBO reports that the new wage mandate will cost
a few million jobs although there's a negligible chance no jobs would be lost.
This is good news according to the White House. They say that a few
million isn't too many people to worry about and it MIGHT be none! Last
week they were saying that the 2.5 million jobs estimated to be destroyed by
OBAMACARE will be an excellent opportunity for some of us to relax and get out
of those jobs we're trapped in.
Unions love the minimum wage also. As soon as
it goes into effect, mark my words, they will point to union employees and say,
"Look at poor Charlie over there", doing a job he never chose to
grow out of. "Poor fella is only making $2.00/hr over minimum
wage! That's a disgrace! He needs a raise." The effect
this has on the bank accounts of the pure-of-heart union "leadership"
will only be a happy coincidence .
More and more (but not nearly enough yet) people
are realizing that the government is a standing insult in many ways, this being
one of them. Whenever politicians/unions claim to be "helping the
little guy", know with crystal clarity that the only people being helped
are the political class and their own incumbency and personal gain.
Those who we are told will benefit directly from
an increase in the minimum wage will see their gains eaten away rather quickly
as the entire economy floats to a corresponding position with respect to their
big pay raise.
I know, I know. I say all these things
because I am a hater. All fiscal conservatives are, right? If I
had the wisdom to be found in a drum circle or Justin Beiber pajama party, I'd
be totally on board with this minimum thinking idea.
Remember, government that assumes it can decide
your minimum wage can also decide your maximum wage. It's been tried.
Read up on Nixon.
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