CJ, However, when the minimum wage is actually raised, the beneficial effects are muted, but still exist, and the negative effects never seem to happen.
As I hinted in one of my posts, it's all about perception when it comes to politics. Kerry could raise the minimum wage 5%/year over six years in order to get to his $7/hour figure, then blame any negative effects on the mess he inherited from Bush. Kind of like Bush inheriting the mess from Clinton, but that never seemed to impress the anti-Bush crowds.
But still, if the overriding motivation behind raising minimum wage is the support of a family, then $7/hour isn't going to do squat, either. Well, actually it would have an effect of shifting the wage scales up for all workers earning by the hour, but where is that money going to come from? The rich? Fat chance. They'll lay off workers before they ever give themselves a pay cut.
Hence the reason Bush brought up education in response to the minimum wage question, even though I suspect very few listeners actually got Bush's point. That's the only way to raise wages in America, by having a more educated work force and a job market that offers higher quality work.
Tenchusatsu |
