February 19, 2013

Raise the minimum wage

It is time for the quadrennial push to increase the minimum wage. The Obama called for it in his State of the Union address, and progressives across the land are taking up the banner. There was even a he said/she said op-ed in my local fish wrap this morning debating the pros and cons of raising the minimum wage.

I could bore you with facts and figures explaining how raising the minimum wage increases inflation, thus defeating the purpose.  I could cite stats that show a raise in minimum wage increases unemployment. I could demonstrate that the young and minorities are hurt disproportionately by this increase. I could present case studies showing how many minimum wage workers are entry level positions and few families live and are supported by minimum wage earners. I could just use logic and point out that increasing wages above the poverty level will just move the poverty line upward, not eliminate it.

Your average liberal Democrat type does not care. We have to raise minimum wage for the children. In America's land of plenty there should be no one working for sub-poverty level wages. That position is the only one that carries weight with a progressive.

OK, how about this compromise. I will agree we should raise the minimum wage to make sure a single provider for a family of four working for minimum wage earns more than the poverty line. The editorial I read this morning stated that "living wage" was around $11.00 per hour. I'll even go $11.50. Do it and damn the consequences, I say.

Of course, since no one is in poverty any more we can scrap the food stamp program, WIC, the housing assistance programs, Obama phones, medicaid, and every other government poor-relief program. We will no longer have to give Planned Parenthood hundreds of millions in subsidies to provide abortions women's health care. The feds spent an estimated $746,000,000,000 on welfare in 2011*. We should be able to cut at least 50% of that figure immediately, since no one lives below the poverty level anymore.

I cannot wait for my tax cut. I'll need it since a hamburger will cost $9.00 and a pizza $27.00.


* this equates to spending more than $2,000 for every single man, woman and child in the US.  Are you getting value for your tax dollars?

5 comments:

Fuzzy Curmudgeon said...

There was a guy writing in the IBJ this week rather tongue-in-cheekily suggesting that we ought to just raise it to $25 and then nobody would be poor.

Or not.

His point was, why piss around with little increases? Let's raise it bigtime and then when the libs find out that it still doesn't work, maybe they'll shut the fuck up about it.

Jesus said, "The poor will always be with you." And yeah, I know what he meant; he meant, "and they are your responsibility because I won't always be here to take care of them," not "so make sure that your government forces you to give them money that will mostly go to waste, and impoverish yourselves at the same time."

The difference is subtle, but it's not so subtle that even a liberal shouldn't be able to understand it.

Jesus was a pretty practical fellow, really.

Joe said...

I guess I should read the IBJ!

http://www.ibj.com/blog/article?articleId=16296

Anonymous said...

I am all for it if Congress goes to minimum wage, and then I think they would be over paid.
James Old Guy

Fuzzy Curmudgeon said...

Why do we pay congresscritters, anyway? They're all millionaires by all reports. Let them do it for their love of country.

Anonymous said...

I have long said Congress should be paid the equivelant of the Average Mericsn's pay

Joe

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