Our Democrats are back at it today, proposing yet another increase in the minimum wage. That’s admirable, of course, and clearly demonstrates the legislators’ compassion for the poor and generosity with other people’s money, but why do they keep raising the wage in such small increments? Every study by economists demonstrates that a raise in the minimum decreases teen employment, but those studies are all conducted by flacks for the fast food industry and are therefore bogus.
And why should an extra expense for labor affect employment? After all, the demand for illiterate, unskilled and inexperienced workers is huge – limitless, under Democrat economic theory – so raise away, and for God’s sake and for all that’s decent, let’s bump wages high enough to really make a difference and transform these people’s lives. I have long advocated imposing a minimum of $100 per hour, figuring that that should do the trick but Ct. Public Radio aired an interview with a young black man this morning who showed me my error. His peers, he said, “can make $20 in ten minutes selling drugs, so why should they work five hours for that same twenty?” Absolutely brilliant thinking, disregarding the poor fellow’s bad math skills (minimum wage is $8.15, not $4), and, while he is obviously incapable of the calculation that’s required, I’m not: the wage necessary to pull drug dealers off the street is $120.
Will drug dealers actually be willing to work eight-hours straight in order to fully benefit from our largess? No matter – with our new mandatory sick leave law, they can just show for that first ten minutes and then retire for the week at full pay. Result? Poverty solved.
Now all we need worry about is them drowning when the icebergs melt.