The Democrats’ Cynical Minimum Wage Ploy?
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in Economy, Elections, MoneyPersonally, I think increasing the minimum wage is long overdue and needs to happen more often.
Read the following and tell me what you think.
WASHINGTON — With Democrats plotting to make the minimum wage a major issue in this fall’s congressional races, House Republican leaders are conceding that they may have to yield to pressure for an increase to the federal standard, which has been frozen for nearly a decade.Faced with elections that could cost them control of Congress, John A. Boehner, the House majority leader, acknowledged Thursday that Republican leaders are likely to reverse course and hold a vote on a proposed minimum wage increase. Though Boehner said it was a “cynical ploy” for Democrats to make it a campaign centerpiece, polls indicate that voters clearly favor an increase in the wage, and Boehner acknowledged that GOP leaders are “probably going to have to find some way to deal with it.”
HA!
So when John Boehner and the rest of the Republican led government uses issues like gay marriage to win elections, that’s not cynical. Yeah, John, I don’t think you can accuse anybody of being cynical. Also, what he’s conceding is that Americans want it, and the Democrats have been clamoring this for quite some time, so because opinion polls are suggesting this could hurt Republicans in the fall, they’re going to have to pass it.
I’m sorry, what’s the cynical behavior here again?
Also, remember, the minimum wage hasn’t been touched since 1997. Doesn’t it make sense to start raising it to coincide with the times when politicians raise their wages? I think that’s an appropriate time, don’t you?
Oh yes, and lest we forget…
Since the wage hit $5.15 an hour in 1997, members of Congress have seen their pay raised by $31,600, to $165,200 a year. An automatic cost-of-living adjustment will add $3,300 more to their paychecks next year, but Senate Democrats say they won’t allow it or any pay increases until the minimum wage goes up.
That’s a pretty good deal. I think the American people deserve the same. Of course you’ll have economists saying that the minimum wage is a bad idea, but then so too are these automatic raises. They’ve had it both ways for too long. It’s time to change it or stop the guaranteed extra money for politicians too.
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July 4th, 2006 at 9:03 pm
If the Donks hold up congressional pay raises until Republicans agree to raise the minimum wage, as they’re promising, I just don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep at nights. Because there’s…what?…a grand total of 535 people who actually care about that.
July 4th, 2006 at 11:26 pm
Maybe it would be best if the next time they rise the minimum wage they also include a provision that increases it 3% per year so that it stays current with the rate of inflation and then becomes a permanant non issue. Seems the sensible thing to do.
July 4th, 2006 at 11:35 pm
Agreed. It’s set to match inflation. This has been put out there, but some economists roundly reject it because they don’t think it’ll drive anybody to succeed. However, those making minimum wage will always want to make more because they’re making…wait for it…the MINIMUM wage.
July 4th, 2006 at 11:38 pm
Justin, what is your reply to those that argue that an increase in min. wage will have an inflationary effect, particularly, but not limited to, those goods & serves which rely upon low-skill level workers, an increase in unemployment & a particularly hard effect on small start-up businesses? I don’t ask this rhetorically, but honestly, because I assume you do have an argument there. Furthermore, I had a liberal economics teacher many years ago that in my opinion refuted this rather standard argument — basically it went something like this: The min. wage would have to hit a certain level before it had those bad effects & we aren’t even close to that min. wage levels, but I have long since forgotten what that level was or how it was formulated.
I could really care less about the motivation of politians, because it is meaningless in my opinion.
July 5th, 2006 at 12:16 am
Well, of course I agree with your professor about that. However, let me expand my argument a bit further.
Basically, the vast majority of businesses already have to pay more than the federal minimum wage to stay competitive, so I think that’s a incredibly important to remember. These automatic minimum wage bumps merely address the bottom 2% of the population who are struggling to make a living. Obviously, you’d have to adjust where people get the Earned Income Credit along with it, but that would be very easy to do.
As far as having an inflationary effect, I think it would but back to your professor’s point, the effects would be negligible. Also, does anybody think that these small businesses could stay competitive simply paying the minimum wage? Of course not. The minimum wage isn’t going to kill small businesses, but bad planning will…as always. And hey, if the government wants to do something about that, they can offer the small business person more tax breaks. If we’re going to push this “ownership society” so much, we should be doing more on that end to give businesses protections against any small bump up on the minimum wage.
July 5th, 2006 at 10:24 am
I generally think its best to do what the experts say is best. In this case, the vast majority of people who study how best to run an economy say a minimum wage is an inefficent way to assist those at the bottom of the economy. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, and no such thing as a free pay raise. There are two issues here.
First, Congress has given itself too much money. I’m talking about the blurred line between corporate campaign donations and bribery, before we add in they’re official salery.
Second, and seperatly, one of our national values is anyone who works hard for a living should not be in poverty, and get a chance at the “American Dream”. The most efficient way to bring up the standard of living for those who work for low wages is through tax credits, not increasing the cost of employment to an employer. Many minimum wage jobs are entry level positions for secondary wage earners. As in teenagers, or those returning to work after an absence. It would be a shame to remove those jobs from the workforce. An economy can function with over 10% employment for the young, just ask France. The emotional figure for minmum wage is the single mother trying to raise her family on not enough money. Lets help her directly, not through some intermediary. Give her tax credits to help her feed her family. I don’t think the kid at the grocery store who just bought a new civic automatically deserves a raise. If he’s a good worker, he will earn it.
July 5th, 2006 at 10:43 am
This isn’t a raise. This is a cost of living increase that mirrors our economy’s growth. Everybody wants to make more than the minimum wage, so it should drive competition, not hinder it.
July 5th, 2006 at 12:18 pm
I don’t understand how a minimum wage set lower than a person’s market wage rate hurts competition. There’s no evidence of colusion among low wage employers, or exploitation. If there was a single low wage employer in a comunity, then they could use there leverage to negotiate a lower wage rate. However I don’t think thats occuring.
I’m not arguing against a raise in the minumum wage, but rather against its existance. I don’t believe its an effective way to assist those in need. I do believe it creates an underground economy outside the tax system.
Workers should be protected from asymetries of information that could be used to exploit them. The best way to fix that problem is through spreading information about other work enviorments, not central planning.
July 5th, 2006 at 12:47 pm
Not to add another log to this fire, but John Dermody mentioned the underground economy. Isn’t the president running around telling us that we need migrant laborers to do “the jobs that Americans refuse want to do”. And, shouldn’t that statement actually be “the jobs that Americans refuse to do for the money that is offered for that job”. Given that wouldn’t the dissolving of the minimum wage give additional leverage to employers to drop wages, encouraging migrant labor to take low paying positions?
If you think minimum wage is a bad idea, my general thought is that you’ve never worked for minimum wage. There is no actual competition in the unskilled labor market, only spaces to be filled.
July 5th, 2006 at 2:02 pm
I think a raise in the minimum wage is OK, but I don’t think it’ll send voters to the polls to vote Democrat. Democrats need to find a better issue than the minimum wage if they hope to really make a big splash in ‘06. Most Americans just don’t care about what low income people are making.
It is a smart tactic for them to try and shove this min. wage increase with the congressional pay raise. I just don’t think this issue resonates with many voters.
July 5th, 2006 at 2:13 pm
I’ve seen the inflation issue raised quite a few times. Here’s another thought on it, though. Has rampant inflation in energy and health care trickled down to inflation in the rest of the economy? Not to any significant degree. Not only that but corporate profits, even with the costs of doing business due to energy and health care going up, are setting records nearly every quarter. There seems to still be quite a bit of room for the economy to absorb a raise in minimum wage without causing the rampant inflation that some people claim would be inevitable.
July 5th, 2006 at 3:45 pm
I actually think that Dems not winning this year will help them in 2008 when MANY GOP seats are vulnerable. Back on topic, why haven’t the Dems pushed for an increase when it’s not an election year? How on Earth is a min. wage increase a free lunch when it’s just an increase to help relieve the pressure on the rise in the cost of living (gasoline, heating bills) I agree with John, those who don’t see it as necessary have never had to live on the minimum wage. Besides Bush and many republicans keep talking about our high economy and it’s growth, why would an increase in the minimum wage hurt it when it’s at a high point.
Also I just read this that says GOP leaders say vote on min. wage now likely:
The Boston Globe
Editor’s Note: I had to adjust the link because it was bleeding into the sidebars.
July 5th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
How about we increase the minimum wage, add in an automatic increase of a certain % each year, AND give tax credits and cuts to the poor. It is nearly impossible for a growing percentage of our own citizens to make enough money to provide the basics for their families, even when they work three jobs to do it. That is totally unacceptable to me, and I think it should be for everyone else. How to pay for this? Well, I could make an exhaustive list, or I could just start with not giving tons of tax credits and cuts to the very wealthy. The gap between the rich and the poor is widening at an alarming rate - to the point that the middle class may soon be virtually non-existant. This is not a good spot to be in.
“There is no actual competition in the unskilled labor market, only spaces to be filled.” - Absolutely, AND given the poor employment market for some skilled labor, AND the poor market for some professionals, it seems more and more common for many jobs to be less competitive and more about an expendable and easily replaceable workforce.
July 5th, 2006 at 4:11 pm
“Back on topic, why haven’t the Dems pushed for an increase when it’s not an election year?”
Haven’t they attempted to increase the minimum wage every year for several years now? I thought that was the case but maybe I’m wrong.
July 5th, 2006 at 6:27 pm
Why is this a federal issue? I think it should be handled at the state level. I moved from upstate NY to Georgia a few years ago. Good liberal NY had a state minimum wage that was higher than the federal minimum, Georgia did not. The problem is that my rent was half as much in Ga for the same size house. The State minimum in Ny was not twice the federal. In terms of a living wage the working poor in little red Georgia were much better off than they were in deep blue NY. Whats worse is the increased federal minimum wage would help the working poor in Georgia, but do nothing for them in Ny. That is why I believe changing the FEDERAL minimum wage is a bad idea. The cost of living variance nation wide is too great to control it above the state level.
July 5th, 2006 at 6:55 pm
Bernie, while we’re at it, let’s just let local government set the minimum wage. After all, I could make the same comparison between the Milwaukee area, where I live now, and northwestern Wisconsin, where I grew up, as you made between New York and Georgia. Where I live now, you can’t rent more than a hole in the wall for under $1000/month. Up by my family, you can get a nice place for half that price. Wisconsin’s minimum wage can’t set these things equal. We better let counties control this.
I think both the federal government and states should have a say in this. The federal government should set a minimum wage that can at least keep the working poor out of poverty, states should be allowed to raise the minimum wage above that level if the costs of living is higher. Hmm, sounds like what we have now except the federal minimum wage won’t keep one out of poverty.
July 5th, 2006 at 7:29 pm
I would highly suggest reading this study of the impact on the labor markets after each increase in min. wage since 1991, particularly look at the charts.
http://www.cato.org/pubs/regulation/reg18n1c.html
July 5th, 2006 at 8:22 pm
They absolutely do push this every year. Ted Kennedy has introduced legislation for the past 7 or 8 years I believe.
As for that CATO institute, that’s fine, but tell that to the workers who are making minimum wage. I’m sure they’d love to have a cost of living increase, especially if their representatives are getting an automatic one as well.
July 5th, 2006 at 9:40 pm
Okay, well, one has nothing to with the other, except it is a convenient political tool. I don’t think Congress should get a raise either, but that has NOTHING to do with the wisdom of increasing the minimum wage. In fact, if that “argument” is actually used — it’s proof-positive of cynicism. If you actually believe that increasing the min. wage will have net positive effect on the poor, I hope you have a better argument than that.
But here you go. Hear ye, Hear ye Minimum Wage Workers: If you want to make more money, you should not rely on an increase in the minimum wage, because increasing the minimum wage ultimately hurts people in your exact same situation. Your job will become less stable and if you lose your job it will become harder for you to get a job. When the government forces your employer to pay you more, regardless of the actual value of your labor, it will have a negative effect on your ability to pull yourself out of the economic confines of minimum wage (where ever that minimum is set.) Your dreams of being your own boss will become harder to achieve. Your ability to work while going to school and improving yourself will become harder. You’re ability to hold down 2 jobs, (one with high opportunity & one that makes ends meet) will become harder and you will be forced to pursue only that job that secures your temporary financial needs. You will have sacrificed an opportunity to completely climb out of poverty, for few extra cents on your paycheck. Do you really anticipate ALWAYS working a minimum wage job? If yes, then you have a bigger problem. If no, an increase in minimum wage will only make life more difficult in the long run. Don’t fall for the fallacies of class warfare, don’t be used for a cheap political pawn. Have hope for a greater life and work towards it. Don’t beg for scrapes from the government. It’s not the American way. But also, PLEASE DON’T HURT OTHER POOR PEOPLE.
There you go Justin. It’s not that hard to talk to minimum wage earners.
July 6th, 2006 at 6:43 am
Or talk down to them apparently.
July 6th, 2006 at 10:42 am
I’m with Justin. You have obviously never missied a meal because you weren’t makig enough. I used to make above minimum wage and still couldn’t afford to support myself, although I was working full time. Fortunately for me I have the mind and ability to goto college in hopes of recieving better pay one day. But what about those stuck in retail or fast-food land? What are they to do?
July 6th, 2006 at 11:19 am
I love the minimum wage debate because it brings into sharp relief a particularly obstinant, paternalistic mentality on the part of liberals. Even when confronted with empirical evidence of the economic pitfalls of increasing the minimum wage & the fact that it will actually hurt more low-wage earners — they don’t care. It’s about fairness & the world being a nicer place.
Ronnie, in fact, my mother has a classically wonderful sob story, involving a dead husband and three kids. I never missed a meal because she worked very hard and put herself through school at the same time. My eldest sister basically raised us, until my father came into the picture. My mother would never bitch and moan about her wage & how the government should make her employer pay her more.
In a free-market society, you are worth what you can get — I was taught that very early in life. All of this paternalist, emotional blubbering about the blight of minimum wage workers only re-enforces the fact that it is economically unjustifiable and truly just a bit of election year Marx-patter. If it was anything more JG would have hauled out some meaningful economic analysis by now….instead just a typical reprimand on tone.
July 6th, 2006 at 2:36 pm
“If you are in a minimum wage job for more than 1 month, you ought to LEAVE the job.”
And what? Line up for unemployment? My BIL’s girlfriend is making wait staff minimum wage, which is $2-something/hour plus tips. In total, she averages $4-5/hour. If she left her job, she’d end up somewhere else making minimum wage but working fewer hours so making less money total. She’s still in school. She’s trying to pay rent and tuition, along with of course all other living expenses, and her family has no money to support her. She has three options. Continue working for $4-5/hour, work for $5-6/hour but get much fewer hours, or not work at all.
You really sound out of touch when you insinuate that it’s a piece of cake to find a job at more than minimum wage. If it were as easy as you make it sound, why would anyone be working at minimum wage? Why would we need a minimum wage at all? People could just quit their poor paying jobs and go get an $8-10/hour job instead of working their $5-6/hour job. Yeah, and I should just quit my job because I’m not happy with my income. I’m sure there’s nothing to just going out and getting a $150k/year job. I should really get on that.
July 6th, 2006 at 5:51 pm
Ryan, I have lived and worked in Rhode Island, Utah, Washington, Florida, Oklahoma, and Mississippi. I’m not questioning your words or challenging you, but I can tell you this…even at Arctic Circle, Taco Bell, Burger King,7-11, Circle K, Maverick, Subway, Service Masters SAIC, heck, even Scotts Thunderbird Car service, people dont get paid minimum wage and if they start there they are bumped up as soon as they prove they are worth a dang. How much do you want to bet we can find you a job at Wal Mart starting at better than minimum wage? Chevron?
Out of touch? Far from it. I lived it. And BTW…I did it too…still in school. I didnt have parents to help me either. I understand. I empathize. I relate. But I guess thats just my experience.
Indeed…good question. Why even have a minimum wage? McDonalds hires people at 7.50 an hour starting. Stay there two months and they will make you a shift lead. Show you have some drive and they will send you to management school. Its not great money but stick with it and the possibilities are good even in the fast food realm.
Just about every major city has call centers. They average starting wage at 7 an hour plus bonuses. Same thing applies. We provide counseling services to call centers across the country and have similar experiences. Show you have drive and committment you can become a coach or position lead in no time. AND most offer some form of tuition assistance.
OK…so maybe I am not being fair. Where do you live? What state and city? I wonder what the help wanted adds would have available.
You mentioned your BILs G/F. I assume then that means she is a waitress? Where? My SIL is a waiter at Roosters and pays for rent, food, and college. But if you are using restaraunt jobs as your standard, stop right there…restaraunt minimums arent the same. But ask those waiters and waitresses if they would rather stop working for tips and earn a flat rate and see what they would say.
“Yeah, and I should just quit my job because I’m not happy with my income. I’m sure there’s nothing to just going out and getting a $150k/year job. I should really get on that”
OK…sarcasm aside…and heres the point. If you are working more than a few months and you are still at minimum wage…then yes, Ryan…quit the job. You can do better. If you are there a YEAR and still at minimum wage…then STAY there…because you arent smart enough to get a job at better than minimum wage-and you are probably lucky to be able to keep it.
But are you going to walk inot a $150k a year job? No. That takes planning and foresight. Maybe it takes 5 years, 10 years, or even 15-20 years to put yourself in that position. But it is possible and doable. And there are a TON of programs available and OBTW, in case you missed it…I stated THAT is where we really should focus our efforts and NOT on this mythical minimum wage workforce that cant do any better and is stuck at minimum wage for 5-10 years and trying to raise a family.
July 7th, 2006 at 9:07 am
“McDonalds hires people at 7.50 an hour starting.”
I worked at a Burger King when I was in college and I got 25 cents per hour over minimum wage because I had a high school diploma. The pay rate there was simple. High school diploma means 25 cents per hour over minimum wage, no diploma means minimum wage. McDonalds and all the other places paid the same or Burger King would have had to pay more to get anyone.
“You mentioned your BILs G/F. I assume then that means she is a waitress? Where?”
Yes. At a local establishment near Milwaukee.
“But ask those waiters and waitresses if they would rather stop working for tips and earn a flat rate and see what they would say.”
Seeing as, even with tips, she’s getting $4-5/hour, she would in a second if she could get as many hours. Unfortunately, her problem is that her options are stay there or go to a Wal-Mart or Kohl’s or Target and work half the hours or less for minimum wage or barely over.
I think you missed my point. Suggesting a minimum wage worker can simply walk out of their job into an $8/hour job is comparable to suggesting that I can simply walk out of my job into a $100-$150k/year job. It’s just not that simple. The only ones available to someone who is still going to school or doesn’t have years of experience in a trade are the minimum wage service jobs.
July 7th, 2006 at 10:16 am
Sigh…
OK…I accept that she gets paid 2 dollars an hour and only gets two dollars an hour in tips. Which means she only waits on, what…1 table an hour?
I’ll say it again…time to quit the job.
I just did a quick job search on jobs in Milwaukee…honestly…I dont think she would have a problem finding different or better work. Even part time painter positions especially for college students run between 7-9 an hour there…
The minimum wage is not meant to be a livable wage (I think maybe thats MY point you are missing). If you are in the same job and still making minimum wage then you are foolish for staying there.
I also disagree about your conclusion that you cant walk from a minimum wage job into an 8 dollar an hour job. With no experience your BILs GF could walk into a painter job (7-9 an hour), a warehouse worker (9 an hour), a janitorial job (part time-nights 7 an hour), a bank teller job (full and part time positions and at numerous locations),
an auto parts checker (7-10 an hour, based on experience, PLUS 401 k, paid leave, etc), general cleaner (7.50 an hour and up, full and part time, flexible hours), program aide (9 an hour, HS or higher, no experience needed), laborer (no exp needed, 15-18 an hour), etc etc etc. Thats just out of the first 200 jobs that popped up in Milwaukee.
Build your own mousetrap, but dont whine and cry if you choose to step in it and stay in it.
July 8th, 2006 at 5:38 pm
How would you respond to the position that expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit would be a much more effective and equitable way of helping the working poor than raising the minimum wage?
July 10th, 2006 at 8:23 am
Greg, sure there are those openings. However, what you don’t see is that, for every opening like that, there are at least 50 people applying. All you hear is about how the job market is so tight right now and businesses are fighting over workers. However, talk to people who are looking for jobs and they say every job opening has so many applicants that you’re lucky if you’re called in for an interview.
Also, when one is a student, one has to have a job with flexible hours. Schools won’t reschedule classes to fit your job schedule, so your options are much more limited.
David, I do think expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit would be a good thing but, with how far the minimum wage is behind right now, that would just lessen the need for increasing the minimum wage, not eliminate it. Also, as with all other tax cuts that have been enacted in recent years, there’s this little issue of how to afford any tax cut. We’ve already been cutting budgets in place to help the most needy in order to attempt to pay for tax cuts that go overwhelmingly to the wealthy. Whose spending gets cut to attempt to pay for tax cuts for the needy? We already have a budget crisis on our hands. We can’t afford to keep acting like the solution to every problem is cutting taxes and running up an even bigger defecit.
July 11th, 2006 at 4:31 pm
To add something to the debate here, it seems like you are all talking about people who have skills, brains, and clean criminal records. For people with opportunities, social support systems and resuorcefulness, it shouldn’t be a problem to eventually find a job that pays better than minimum wage. That said, the job market is tight, even for professionals. There are a lot of jobs out there, but many of them require a certain amount of experience. Very few are entry-level these days. Where do you go to get the experience that is required for the better jobs? And, there are a LOT of people competing for the jobs you want.
I am currently looking for a job, and it is looking impossible. I have a law degree and an impressive resume, but there are more people applying with better resumes than I have. They are going to get the high-paying jobs. I, with an awesome resume will probably easily get an attorney position that doesn’t pay enough to cover my bills, and which would usually be a job someone with a mediocre resume would apply for, so I will be taking that job from that person. Where, then, is that person supposed to get a job? I know many people from my law school class that can’t get anything related to law, even though they have earned their J.D. from an accredited institution. A few people are working for minimum wage at Target. Is Target going to hire a lawyer to run the cash register or someone with only a GED? Do you all see where I’m going with this?
Another issues it that there are a lot of people who come from very difficult backgrounds, who might have criminal records, who might not be that smart, who might not have a GED, etc. who have a much smaller chance of getting ahead in the job market. They might be able to get a job at McDonald’s, but they might have a low IQ and might not be able to cut it as a manager. Also, people with criminal records (yeah, yeah, yeah, they made their bed . . .) are not as desirable as workers than others, but if you want them to continue to be good citizens and support their families . . . . There are people who need the minimum wage, and it must be increased to reflect inflation and the increased cost of living. Otherwise, these people will often turn to employment that appears to be more profitable and therefore usually illegal, even if there is an increased risk that they will be caught or further damage their lives.
Oh, but the economy is BOOMING!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 12th, 2006 at 9:32 am
Ryan: I’m not even going to attempt to try to speak on yours or her specific economic situation because that would be arrogant. Maybe you are right and maybe you live in the one part of the countrywhere there are 2000 jobs available but 100,000 people unemployed and vying for those positions.
Have you tried? Has she tried? Seriously…instead of giving it lip service have you or she applied for those jobs or do you just assume there will be 50 people trying to get them? Have you been to the employment offices and looked at the employers that leave those positions open because they cant get them filled and thats WHY they have to offer 11-15 dollars an hour?
I understand the restrictions of school. I work a full time position, am in graduate school full time, and work an internship…believe me…I understand how hard it is to work everything around each other AND balance time for a family. Hard…but not impossible.
Meridith:again…I cant speak to your specific situation. Did you and your fellow lawyers examine the job market before you decided on a career? The economy IS booming and growing so if there arent jobs available NOW…then what must there have NOT been when you started?
I have a brother in law that has a doctoral degree ina math related field. Bad planning that because there arent too many jobs as “math’s” out there. He can teach…but he has to go back to school. He can be an engineer…but he needs more schooling. Bad planning. Instead he manages a hotel.
We have a very close family friend who has his PhD in Midelvel (sp) Literature. Hmmmm…there arent even many teaching positions for that specialty. He probably should have planned better (he knows that). Instead, he works a s a manager at a loading dock for a major food chain.
Planning is everything. ESPECIALLY for people with advance degrees.
You say you can easily get a lawyer position. OK…so maybe you get that job and do some private work as well. Isnt that how you build? You wont be the first person to work two jobs to pay off your education (in fact you will be the second person in THIS conversation. What are your goals? What is your plan to achieve those goals?
Our counseling center handles everything from abuse to addicition to career counseling to you name it. I regularly work with people that are 30, scared, frustrated, work at a call center for 7 dollars an hour and wake up and realize that their life sucks and they have no future. We have seen many of those people utilize counseling, employment testing and services, get into college, and make positive choices that will provide for them a future 5-10 years down the road. It’s the NORM for us, not the exception. It works EVERY time we work with people committed to positive change.
The economy IS booming. It is seeing real growth as opposed to the dot com boom (and bust) of the 90’s.
For heavens sake people, we have immigrants that come here with nothing, work their butts off, in 5 years own their own stores, 10 years have a family business, and provide their children and grandchildren with futures. They dont do it with government help. They do it because they are driven, because they recognize opportunites they dont have in their home countries, and they WANT to succeed.
July 12th, 2006 at 9:40 am
David-I think expanding the EIC is a really bad idea. GOOD for the economy, but bad for the individuals. How much of that money will be saved and invested and how much would go to cars, clothes, TV’s, etc. Thats not saying some might not use it well…but MOST?
Instead…invest in training programs, small business loans (with business counseling) for underpriveleged, job growth, (I’m a big fan of investing in industrial growth and development at home vs abroad).
Real solutions. Not lip service, not pretending you have their best interest at heart and not buying votes with the offers of a little more cash that you KNOW will be gobbled up with higher costs, inflation, and unemployment. REAL solutions.
July 13th, 2006 at 7:27 am
Greg, I never said I was hurting for a job. I was fortunate to get a good job back in 2000 when the demand for workers was still high and I held on to that job. Not the greatest paying job in my field but a job I like and with unbeatable benefits. The point I was making by offering myself up is that saying she could just walk out and get an $8-10/hour job is like saying I could just walk out and get a job that pays $150k/year. If it were only that easy.
Yes, she has been trying to look for other jobs when she has time. So has my wife’s other brother who graduated with a degree in education in December. He is now working in a factory because every opening had at least 50 applicants, even openings in job training centers and libraries. She is stuck at the same job because every well paying job or full time job had many extremely highly qualified applicants. The only jobs that are as available as you claim are the cashier at Target or Wal-Mart type jobs. Part time, minimum wage or barely over jobs.
July 13th, 2006 at 10:02 am
OK…then the answer might just be “time to move.” There is a shortage of educators around the country. Move to where his skills can be utilized or just stay put and complain about it. You can take responsibility for your self, your family and your future or you can complain and turn to the government for your sustenance. But seriously…do you honestly believe that increasing the minimum wage is going to help ANY of the situations you described?
See how ridiculous this gets? You cant possibly expect a 1 or 2 dollar an hour raise in the minimum wage (which economists have PROVEN will NOT help the poor-it WILL cause more unemployment, it WILL cause prices to increase) to solve the problems you are talking about.
The nation stands at about 4.5% unemployment. Thats lower than it was during the Clinton years. The economy is supporting anywhere between 12 and 20 million illegal immigrant workers on TOP of the low unemployment. Again…I cant speak to the specific cases you have mentioned. I dont have direct knowledge of where they are and what their job situation is like so I wont be so arrogant as to presume that in their current situation they can do better. So…whats the answer?
Change your current situation. Dont expect some increase in the minimum to be a magical fix (especially when economists have proven that it wont be). I cant speak for you, but if its ME and I for some reason cant succeed where I am? I’m moving to a place where the economy will support my family.
My own particular economic situation continue to improve. not by accident, not by government help but by hard work. I am not alone. I work with young folks that change their own futre every day. It CAN be done.
July 13th, 2006 at 2:35 pm
The Earned Income Tax Credit is the single most effective poverty fighting tool that legislators have. In striking contrast, the minimum wage does not reduce poverty. To wit, according to a paper published by the United States Department of Health and Human Services:
“[M]inimum wage hikes increased poverty exits but also increased the probability that previously non-poor families entered poverty. . . . Overall the tradeoffs created by minimum wage increases, more closely resemble income redistribution among low-income families than income redistribution from high-to-low-income families.”
July 13th, 2006 at 5:28 pm
David…be honest. How many families utilize their EIC for positive improvements in their future? How many are investing? How many are using it to pay for education?
And how many are buying TVs and going on vacations?
It doesnt fight poverty. It doesnt touch poverty. It is a feel good tactic designed to make poor people think their legislators care about them.
January 28th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
Do you really think creating a website that puts
across a dissenting point of view regarding the
minimum wage changes the historical/factual record.
The only way one could argue that the minimum wage
is contrary to economic growth and a catalyst for job
loss, is to bear false witness.
Unfortunately for those of this mindset, there are
the inconvenient facts.
How far down the economic ladder do Working Class Americans have to be kicked to satisfy Americas Economic Royalists.
As it stands today, the average worker in the United States must work a full year to earn what the average CEO earns in one day.
Know this my fellow Americans:
We can hang together, or hang separately.
All the best, Eric V.