tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post8836448434455336516..comments2023-09-06T05:58:02.522-07:00Comments on Palousitics: "For $7.93 an Hour, It’s Worth a Trip Across a State Line"Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13796804.post-47479867112244083832007-01-12T00:20:00.000-08:002007-01-12T00:20:00.000-08:00I told my students several times during the semest...I told my students several times during the semester that if they wanted to read a total rag full of non sequiturs, they should pick up a copy of the NY Times.<br /> <br />First off...<br /><br /><i>"Business owners say they have had to increase prices somewhat to keep up. But both states are among the nation’s leaders in the growth of jobs and personal income, suggesting that an increase in the minimum wage has not hurt the overall economy."</i><br /> <br />The article is primarily focused on business climates in two Washington/Idaho border towns, but then jumps to a general description of job growth at general state levels. This is misleading.<br /><br /><i>"We’re paying the highest wage we’ve ever had to pay, and our business is still up more than 11 percent over last year,” said Tom Singleton, who manages a Papa Murphy’s takeout pizza store here, with 13 employees."</i><br /> <br />"The highest wage we've ever had to pay" - no kidding, Tom. That's what happens when <b>there's an increase in a mandated minimum wage.</b> You <b>always</b> have to pay the highest wage you've ever <b>had to</b> pay! This is an empty, nonsense statement made to sound substantial and meaningful. What will be really meaningful comes some time from now when the impact of these idiotic policies come to fruition. The law of supply and demand has no mercy.<br /><br /><i>"But the state’s major business lobby, the Association of Washington Business, is no longer fighting the minimum-wage law, which is adjusted every year in line with the consumer price index.<br /><br />“You don’t see us screaming out loud about this,” said Don Brunell, president of the trade group, which represents 6,300 members."</i><br /><br />Duh, Don. That's because <i>you can't fight it.</i> Not with simple lobbying, anyway, which is all groups like this are equipped to do. That's not to say that they absolutely wouldn't if they could, but it is to say that this NY Times article is attempting to frame acquiescence as acceptance. Then again, maybe that's what has happened.<br /><br /><i>"It’s almost a no-brainer,” Mr. Brunell said, that the federal minimum should go higher."</i><br /> <br />No, Mr. Brunell, it's not a "no-brainer." It's not right that politicians should arbitrarily decide to take someone's property and give it to others, just because the politicos and the people who go with them call that a solution. We wouldn't call it a "no-brainer" to exterminate a particular race of people just because political opportunists and a mob all agreed that it was a good idea, right? The situations are not comparable, obviously, but your intellectual laziness is identical with the same patterns of thought that allow for such things to happen (1930's to mid-1940's Germany, if you can't figure it out, Mr. Brunell).<br /><br /><i>"Washington’s robust economy, which added nearly 90,000 jobs last year, is proof that even with the country’s highest minimum wage, “this is a great place to do business,” Mr. Brunell said."</i><br /> <br />And next year, when we lose 100,000, who gets blamed?<br /><br />Finally, I can't believe the NY Times can print something like this in its own pro-socialist article without realizing the inherent flaw in their thinking versus the stated evidence:<br /><br /><i>"Job figures from both states tend to support his point. <b>While Idaho leads the nation in new job growth</b>, it has a far higher percentage of minimum-wage jobs than Washington. Minimum-wage positions make up just 2.4 percent of the jobs in Washington, while about 13 percent of the jobs in Idaho pay at or less than the proposed federal minimum wage, according to a study done for the state last year"</i> (emphasis added).<br /> <br />Far higher percentage of minimum wage jobs... oh no, the horror! But a HIGHER JOB GROWTH RATE. Hrm... could it be that what I frequently say is wrong, that 100% of zero really is better than a paying job? How foolish I've been to think that the poor would rather live in a state where the law prices them out of the market than to live in a state where a small business can afford to hire them. It really is more honorable and preferable to live on hand outs, isn't it?<br /> <br />What else can we expect from people who believe this nonsense? Massive failures of socialist/collectivist schemes around the world, which resulted in the deaths of millions, have not convinced them of the error of their ways. I guess we can't expect them to learn and change through this series of relatively small disasters either.Paul E. Zimmermanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04480215501034566588noreply@blogger.com