During his State of the Union address last week President Obama proposed creating legislation that would increase the federal minimum wage to $9. He believes the current minimum wage is out of date and of course also believes in that wonderful liberal and borderline socialist idea that "everyone deserves a living wage". Obama further believes that he can increase the minimum wage without creating a significant burden on employers, without a price increase for consumers and without anyone losing their jobs.
Time for a harsh dose of reality: minimum wage was never intended to be a "living wage". Minimum wage jobs are usually low-skill, entry-level position jobs within a company. If someone wants to earn a "living wage" then they need to work their way up through the company by doing their job well and/or by improving their skill set and education level. I know liberals will scoff at what I just said and say it's not possible for all people to do that. I say yes it is. If someone wants to improve their position in a company and thus increase their pay bad enough, they will find a way.
At Obama's recent Google hangout, which I referenced in a previous post, he was asked about the proposed increases in the minimum wage by blogger Kira Davis, as reported on World Net Daily. Obama's "logic" for increasing the minimum wage is that "corporate profits are at record highs" so increasing the minimum wage won't result in any jobs being lost. It will simply "have some modest impact on their profits." He also completely ignored Davis' anecdotal evidence about minimum wage increases killing jobs.
We've always known Obama is a total idiot when it comes to the economy but I think he just took it to a new level. This statement by Obama the other day essentially validates Rush Limbaugh's theory that Obama truly believes the private sector is made up of only corporations. Because "corporate profits are at record highs" Obama seriously thinks that companies will just eat the increased cost of labor without laying anyone off or passing on the cost increase to the consumer.
The president could not be more wrong! There is evidence all over the place which shows that every time the minimum wage goes up, people either get laid off or do not get hired. Teenagers especially don't get hired for summer jobs as employers have less money available to hire seasonal staffs. Hours get cut back, prices are increased, whatever the employer has to do to make up for that increased cost of labor. Companies aren't going to just sit back and let increased labor costs eat into their profits!
And what about small business owners? Why does Obama always forget about main street? If corporate profits are at "record highs," which I would definitely have to say is open for speculation, small business profits certainly aren't. Contrary to the prevailing belief of liberals, not all business owners are wealthy, greedy corporate bosses. Increasing the minimum wage could be the death knell for thousands of small business owners across the country.
Labor isn't cheap and what Obama is proposing will only make things worse for all, not better. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd rather have a job at $7.25 an hour then no job with the minimum wage at $9 an hour. But that's exactly what's going to happen to many low-income workers. They'll see the minimum wage go up right as they're kicked out the door because they've become too expensive to keep around.
Jimmy Williams
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