According to a government study, raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour will increase income for about 17 million people. In the first year, however, it will also result in the loss of 1.3 million jobs. That figure of jobs lost will increase over time. Despite the job losses, the Democrats are pushing for the increase as part of the response to COVID which is being placed before Congress.
No one is discussing some of the other effects of a minimum wage increase. These include higher prices as a result of businesses trying to recover their increased labor costs and a loss of jobs to other countries with low wages where profits are much higher. Then there are the social costs that result as jobs for high school and college kids disappear at an alarming rate. How many fast food restaurants will switch to automated ordering systems to save labor costs? How many small businesses will be forced to close because they can no longer operate profitably due to higher labor costs?
And what happens when businesses decide to hire illegals "off the books" for lower wages? The distortion of the markets that the increased minimum wage causes provides a major incentive for crimes of this sort.
Right now, the best thing for the US economy would be for Washington to encourage economic growth to CREATE jobs not to take actions to destroy millions of jobs. Someone ought to explain this to the Democrats.
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