Leftists love to push for a higher minimum wage. I understand why, too. It’s a good way to look like you’re fighting for the poor against their corporate overlords, making sure they get their fair share in this cruel, cruel world.
Of course, that’s all bovine excrement. Minimum wage laws are terrible for the poor, as anyone who has ever run a business already knows.
More than 260,000 people who will find themselves out of work in 2018 because of new minimum wage laws, according to a study reported on by The Daily Caller:
The study, conducted by the free market advocacy group American Action Forum, found that incremental minimum wage increases implemented in 2018 alone will cost the nation roughly 261,000 jobs. Once the minimum wage increases are fully phased in, they are expected to cost approximately 1.7 million jobs, using each state’s official employment projections as a baseline. The number is significant in light of the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2017 projection that the entire U.S. economy will add 11.5 million jobs over the next decade.
So far, only 12 states and the District of Columbia have jacked up the minimum wage, which is what the study noted above focused on. A rise in the national minimum wage would have even more dire ramifications.
Honestly, this isn’t rocket science. Leftists shouldn’t be surprised by these findings.
Businesses have only so much money to pay for wages. If they’re required to pay employees more, they have two choices: raise prices or fire employees. But if they raise prices, most businesses will lose customers to businesses that don’t — which means they’ll still have to fire employees.
Unlike the federal government, private businesses don’t get to just decide to spend more money. They’re forced to deal with the market, which means they have to make smart decisions based on supply and demand.
Some leftists claim they don’t mind paying more if it means businesses pay a “living wage,” but how many will do so when the rubber meets the road? It’s easy to pontificate on your moral superiority, but I’ve seen far too many people figure out real fast that they can’t afford to be as progressive as they said they’d be. Maybe they buy whatever it is less often. Maybe they decide to get a cheaper alternative. Either way, they fold really quickly.
Meanwhile, the poor have fewer opportunities.
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