Friday, August 04, 2006

Minimum wage

Good news -- it seems as if a GOP-backed bill that included a minimum wage hike has been blocked, by Democrats of all people (although for reasons other than the wage increase). The logic behind the minimum wage is non-sensical. All it does is price people out of employment. A company won't hire someone for more than they are worth. On some level even advocates of the wage increase have to realize this. After all, if there was no adverse economic impact, why stop at raising the minimum wage to $7.25? Why not $10, $15 or even more?
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More broadly, this bill illustrates everything wrong with politics. Just as advocates of a higher minimum wage have to be lying to themselves, it's plain that Republican supporters of the bill don't believe in what they're selling either. If you read their quotes it's readily apparent that they are merely engaging in cynical politics and see this as a way to gain an advantage heading into the November elections.
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If they lose both houses I'm not really sure I will care.
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Update: The realclearpolitics blog also looks at the bigger picture, which is disgraceful.

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