Analysis for Critical Thinkers

There is once again much discussion regarding raising the minimum wage. This is one of those examples of where some people think that if something “sounds like a good idea” then it should be a law. But this only sounds like a good idea until you look into it a little deeper.

I know that it would be nice to be able to pass a law that would magically give everyone a raise and end poverty with the stroke of a pen. Only evil rich people would oppose such a law! Why didn’t we think of this before? In fact, this was thought of before. Unfortunately, this is the kind of law that leads to unemployment and even promotes the hiring of more illegal aliens.

Imagine that you have a lawn that you do not really want to mow every week. You would perhaps prefer to relax on the sofa with a TV show and a brew. How much is it worth to you to not have to mow your lawn? Maybe you decide that $25.00 is the price that you would pay. Lucky for you, there is a kid around the block that will do it for that much. All is well with the world.

The next thing you know, there is some new law that comes out to protect the down-trodden lawn-mowers of the world. It is hard work! They should be entitled to a “living wage” of $30.00 per lawn. Who could oppose such a nice law? It wasn’t fair that these laborers were being exploited for $25.00 per lawn by the evil rich lawn owners. How can they support a family on $25.00 per lawn? (Never mind that these lawn-mowers often were young laborers who were not supporting families anyway.)

So now you have a decision to make. Is it worth the required $30.00 per week to have someone mow your lawn? What if you decide that it isn’t worth it. Maybe you will just mow it yourself, if at all. Then what legislators envisioned would be a $5.00 per lawn RAISE actually became a $25.00 per lawn DECREASE. There is now another unemployed laborer.  Maybe you decide to find someone else, like an illegal alien, who WILL do it for $25.00 per lawn and not be able to complain to anyone. This alien is not doing a job that an American REFUSED to do, he is doing a job that an American was FIRED from because labor cost more than the employer was willing to pay.

A friend of mine recently told me to not patronize a particular store because this particular store gave its employees an ultimatum. They said “take a pay cut or we will fire you”. My friend was trying to hurt the business of this store as a protest against the seemingly unfair labor practices. I certainly feel for those employees. No one likes a pay cut. Apparently, my friend was suggesting that the store management should not cut anybody’s pay and they would learn their lesson from a boycott. But let’s see what happens as a result of this “pro labor” stance.

There is only so much money in the budget for labor. They can either cut pay to ALL the employees or keep the pay the same, but fire SOME employees. It’s great if you’re one of the people that stays! Otherwise, you are now unemployed. Now imagine if this store was now required to give EVERYBODY a raise because of the new minimum wage law. Since they cannot now legally give a pay cut, they can now only say “we will fire you.” Again, there is only so much money in the labor budget.

 Apparently the store is having financial trouble. It does not matter whether or not the management is “greedy” or “evil rich”. They decided, just like you did with your lawn mowing chore, how much you were willing to pay for labor. Forcing them to pay their employees more will not change any greed that they may have, they will just fire people. Trying to legislate wealth does not work. Plus, the boycott doesn’t really help anyway. It’s a feel-good “pro labor” stand that really only hurts everybody. What do you think will happen if the boycott of the store is successful? Even less money will come in. Do you think that now, with even more financial hardship, the store will change their mind and decide to pay everybody more?

You cannot make a law that ensures prosperity. You can’t make a minimum wage law and expect that the extra money needed will just come from “somewhere”. Minimum wage may help some lucky people who happen to get a raise, but it leaves many others unemployed. Remember – illegal aliens do NOT perform jobs that Americans refuse to do. They perform jobs that Americans are not allowed to do for the wage that is being offered to the illegal aliens.

A friend of mine considers himself really “into” politics. He describes himself with such nebulous terms as “socially aware” and is quick with the answer for everything – that Bush is a stupid liar. In reality, he really has no position on anything exactly, he just loves to hate. Perhaps you know people like this too. People with bumper stickers that say “I Hate Bush” or “Impeach Bush”. There is little sense in discussing anything pertinent with this kind of hater because they have only one item on their agenda: to hate the President.

 In fact, try this the next time that you encounter such a hate monger…

 Ask him why gasoline prices are so high. Use caution! Because rather than presenting a cogent argument or perhaps offering a particular position, they will likely become red-faced, sputtering, and shaking as they yell about how Bush and his cronies are ripping off the American people. Don’t bother pointing out that the President does not set gasoline prices in this country. This does not really matter because people who love to hate already have the answer before you even ask the question.

They may stomp their feet and shake their fists as they say “Yeah, but Bush should make a law that lowers gas prices but he is just a stupid liar.” Without going into the disastrous history of government price controls or even asking just what it is that he lied about, you could point out that the President is not the one who makes laws in this country – that is the job of Congress. You can be sure that at this point, you will see an embarassing tantrum into the predictable mantra of “Bush lied – Bush lied!”

At this point, as we knew, there is no use trying to discuss any matter any further.

 What about the fact that the oil producers in the middle-east have raised prices due to increased demand? “Bush lied and invaded Iraq just to get free oil.” Hmmm. (When pitting logic against emotion, emotion will seem to win because of all of its drama.)

What about decreased refinery capacity due to Hurrican Katrina? “Bush is stupid and the hurricane was his fault anyway because he could have made a law to stop global warming.”

Regardless, the hate-lover will likely revert to his reflex slogan of “Bush lied.” But this sort of brain washing is prevalent today. Ask people running for office for a position on something. How many times do you hear the same sort of thing?

What would you do about Iraq if you are elected? “Well I can tell you what NOT to do.”

What would you do if you got elected? “Impeach Bush.”

On the Supreme Court nominations – “As soon as we see who Bush nominates, we will oppose it.”

No, hate is not a platform to run on. Hate is not productive. Hate does not stand up to the simplest analysis. Hate is not a position.

To any haters out there: Forget about your “I Hate Bush” bumper stickers and your anti-Bush rallies. Realize that in two years, Bush will not be President anymore. Instead of just saying “Thank God!” come up with some sort of position on something. He will not be around to supply you with anything to complain about. You will be on your own. I may not agree with your position, but then at least we will have something to discuss.?