UPDATE 4/1/18: Real, sensible working person schools ignorant A-List celebrity snots (not parting with a dime of their own) on the damage done by raising the minimum wage. So ungrateful and uppity when all the rich do-gooder wanted to do was look and act like a caring person.
Widespread ignorance of basic economics is the life’s blood, the oxygen of the Obama Presidency (or any potential Progressive successor). In the mind of the dreamy Lo-Fo citizen, Big Gov exists to look out for the Little Guy. Big bad Management only wants to exploit Labor. Thus, the empty-headed voter/worker reflexively rallies to the cry of “Raise the minimum wage!” without understanding its negative consequences…specifically for the same working person it claims to help.
Perhaps a good start would be understanding the principle of supply & demand and its natural effect on wages and jobs. Democratic politicians these days are prone to flood the labor market with lots and lots and lots of illegals. All those people working quietly for less, then with mass amnesty, all those new Democrat votes. Fewer jobs.
Artificially imposing high wages forces an employer to pay employees more than is good for his bottom line, so he has to cut back. Fewer jobs. And/or passing on the cost to customers by raising rates. How does the soft-hearted Liberal advocate feel about that when the price of her daily Mocha Latte jumps up a buck or two? Outrage! Same for Joe/Jane Working Person who lobbied for that minimum wage hike without considering that consumer costs for them go up too. Also, if a worthy employee is getting the same pay as an unworthy one, what’s the incentive to work hard and well at all?
Who does benefit? The unions, but not necessarily the union members. In the case of the most recent minimum wage hike to $15, the enforced raise applies to non-union businesses. Those non-union shops saddled with the crippling higher minimum wage must cut back. Voila! The unemployed seek out the union shops for jobs, any jobs, even at lower wages. More union jobs, more dues into the union coffers. Management holds steady, the unions expand. The working person (if he even has a job)? Well, maybe next year.