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Just for those that are curious ... I remember from my high school economics class there was actually quite an argument against minimum wage. It was one of those actions that looks good in the short-run and provides an immediate assist while carrying serious long-run implications. Just trying to remember all the issues, I came across this.
http://www.house.gov/jec/cost-gov/regs/minimum/against/against.htm
It's actually a very simple thing, when you think about it. Mr. Smith runs a small business that employs x number of people at minimum wage, and pays out y amount of yearly wages. Congress raises minimum wage, now Mr. Smith sees an increase in the amount of wages paid with no parallel increase in income. Does he a: raise prices, thus making him less competitive, b: suck up the wage hike, reducing his profit or c: fire some of his workers? Why is this so hard for politicians to figure out, and why do they harp on this during the election cycle? I saw ad after ad saying that horrors! Rick Santorum voted against the minimum wage! Are politicians so out of touch that they figure most Americans make minimum age?
C'mon, its typical politician crap. What are they trying to accomplish? They are trying to buy votes. Now, let me go out on the politically incorrect limb and say that most of your folks making about minimum wage didn't really pay attention in high school economics. All they know is they're gonna get an extra $2 an hour for their hard work at the drive through. And I don't blame them. I do blame the corrupt politicians that take advantage of the ignorance of the lower classes in order to keep themselves in that particular seat. Embarassing, really.
Slightly more scary would be if these idiots actually believed the garbage the spew - but I don't think they could be that dumb, I'll push the evil, corrupt politician theory first.
I think I say this everytime we talk about this topic, but here goes again: Lets hear it for stricter enforcement of the Electoral College!
Of course they were buying votes. Were they not buying votes, the wage would have increased in American Samoa as well.
Are politicians so out of touch that they figure most Americans make minimum (w)age?
My initial thought is no, but "most Americans" don't have to be making minimum wage for a politician to benefit from advocating a MW increase or demonizing those who oppose it. My theory is that the main benefit comes not from the MW-workers themselves (in fact, I'd venture to say that the majority of them can't/don't/won't vote anyway), but rather from the middle- and upper-class voters who favor a MW increase because it makes them feel philanthropic or something--eases a little of their guilt for being a "have" (as opposed to a "have-not"), if you will.
It's much easier to categorize business owners who oppose a MW hike as Scrooge-like meanies who only want to fatten up their own bottom lines than to actually think about the second- and third-order effects of such an action.
With regard to Minimum Wage:
Seems to me that the Dems in the House passed it. The Dems in the Senate did NOT. Senate wins. No escalation. I also underdtand that this showboating was thinly vieled in an attempt to make lower wage states raise the MW when in fact the high wage states already had in place ceilings higher than those being proposed.
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RE: As I remember it
Hey now, let's not pick on the Dems. I mean, just look at the major issue-of-our-times biggest single problem facing our nation that they have tackled in their first 100 hours- raising the minimum wage. Yup. Their mandate by the American people- as opposed to their individual constituents, who actually voted for them (please ignore Lieberman, as his reelection as an independent over rabid-anti-war candidate Lamont tends to skew the theory)- is to raise the minimum wage. Heh.
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