I don’t understand why billionaires suck up to Democrats
by embracing their populist ideology.
Well, that’s not completely true. Some do it to avoid a shakedown by government
thugs. Some do it to win praises from
the progressive puppy mill that is the media.
Others may have a more nefarious objective.
Today, I listened to the Diane Rehm Show on
NPR. Her guest was entrepreneur and
Amazon.com investor, Nick Hanauer. His
cause de jour is raising the minimum wage to $15.00 per hour. He believes it would broaden the middle class
and make the country more prosperous. He
even wrote an article imploring his zillionaire brotherhood to raise wages
before the great unwashed grab their torches and pitchforks.
To me, it is obvious that raising the minimum wage
is a pay cut for skilled workers. Will
those who’ve invested their time, sweat, blood and money into learning a trade
get a raise as well? I doubt it. Will employers be mandated to raise their
wages along with the unskilled? I doubt
it. But what I do know is that price of
goods and services will increase.
Inflation is inevitable.
Let’s face the facts. A minimum wage increase is a slap in the face
to skilled workers, and a punch in the stomach to the middle class.
Mr. Hanauer cites the actions of FDR’s New Deal as a
template for prosperity. FDR implemented
wage and price controls through the National Industrial Recovery Act. This law benefitted big business by hampering
their smaller competitors. They simply
couldn’t compete. Some owners refused to comply, and were
jailed. Eventually, the NIRA was ruled
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
I don’t presume to know Mr. Hanauer’s heart. But I do know he wants to use coercive
tactics to raise the minimum wage. He
stated it in a radio interview, and he wrote the following:
I know that virtually
all of you feel that compelling our businesses to pay workers more is somehow
unfair, or is too much government interference. Most of you think that we
should just let good examples like Costco or Gap lead the way. Or let the
market set the price. But here’s the thing. When those who set bad examples,
like the owners of Wal-Mart or McDonald’s, pay their workers close to the
minimum wage, what they’re really saying is that they’d pay even less if it
weren’t illegal. (Thankfully both companies have recently said they would not
oppose a hike in the minimum wage.) In any large group, some people absolutely
will not do the right thing. That’s why our economy can only be safe and
effective if it is governed by the same kinds of rules as, say, the
transportation system, with its speed limits and stop signs.
Raising the minimum wage won’t hurt
Walmart, but it will hurt their smaller competitors; or, those who are in
competition with one of Mr. Hanauer’s many enterprises.
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