I was thinking about the minimum wage and I had an idea - eliminate minimum wage and bump up welfare. I have mixed feelings on welfare, but at least this would help business and move the burden to the taxpayer. Ultimately I'd like to carve away at the federal government, but I wonder how this idea would work as a more moderate approach to fixing societal ills. If we got rid of minimum wage it would lift a huge burden from business and simply add to the huge chunk that is the welfare problem. Solve one problem, add a bit to another and fix that one later.
That would never work. Why the hell would deadbeats bother to work if it was easy to sit on their azz and get a check? Instead, they should lower the minimum wage to $4 per hour for workers 18 and under. That would still allow the fast food places to hire as many low level workers as they need an d there would be plenty of jobs available for youths who are now largely unemployed because the minimum wage is to high for them to be hired.
Hmm, let me rephrase that. I'm suggesting a system be put in place for those workers below poverty level to receive the basic staples o life if the pay they receive at their job is insufficient (below minimum wage, say). This would totally free employers from the burden of paying a set limit and be more free market oriented. I'm all for welfare reform and I'm really for minimalizing the fedeal government, but I was just thinking of a realistic (but radical) solution to the minimum wage issue recognizing that currently welfare exists and it can't just be taken away, and as a society we really don't want a large segment of our population to be very poor. Personally, I think some kind of voluntary donor fund could help to offset the cost of welfare, especially if it provides some kind of tax write-off. I like the idea of people being able to choose where their tax dollars go (to some extent) if they have to pay taxes. My wife used to be a cashier at a grocery store in Baton Rouge; she saw abuse of welfare all the time. I'm not suggesting welfare doesn't need reform, I'm just saying we could lift the burden from business and deal with a slightly larger welfare issue. In fact, I believe a lot more Americans would be ok knowing they are providing welfare for the working poor rather than the lazy poor.
So all of you agree with the minimum wage? Well, except for the liberterian? If you disgree with the minimum wage, how do you expect workers making less than a living wage to make it and not resort to breaking into their boss' house?
I hate the minimum wage. I would love to see it done away with so the market could set the wages for burger flippers. We saw how useless the minimum wage was locally in the aftermath of the hurricanes in 2005 when fast food joints were paying up to $15 an hour and handing out sign on bonuses of a grand or more. For the working poor to get a living wage they should probably do something like read some books and receive some training that makes them more marketable so they can earn some more money in the workplace. The government should not be in the business of telling companies what they should be paying people for jobs requiring no skill.
If you make minimum wage it's for one of two reasons: You're a kid, doing menial work that requires little skill You're an idiot, incapable of doing anything more complicated that menial work, requiring little skill If you fall under #2, I have very little sympathy because you have made a lot of bad choices in life. It's probably best that you not be financially able to procreate and raise offspring. No one raises a family off minimum wage and that's not what it was intended for. Demand would dictate an minimum wage, probably greater than what we currently see. It's nothing more than a carrot to dangle for re-election.
