I’m caught somewhere between amusement and terror. Michelle Bachmann, one of the leading candidates for president of the U.S., said in a campaign stop in Florida that she would consider lowering the minimum wage to help compete with overseas jobs. Maybe if we work at it, we can become another Vietnam or Thailand.
There are other hints that this country is slipping down a notch, certainly not toward becoming one of the third world nations that has stolen our jobs (corporations are becoming much wealthier by using overseas labor), but maybe toward the second world.
There seems to be a desire by many politicians to return to the good old days of a hundred years ago when the dichotomy between rich and poor was great. If we can just lower the minimum wage – the minimum! – those workers on the lower end will somehow be better.
The paradox will become evident at the ballot box when millions of these lower end people will vote for Bachmann (or whoever makes the final cut) because she will have said something about Obama taking away their guns or Obama wanting more abortions.
The Economic Policy Institute explains why lowering the minimum wage is a mistake, in its opinion>:
Lately, opponents of the minimum wage have suggested that decreasing it would help to boost employment. This is a terrible idea for a variety of reasons. First, the minimum wage is not high by historical standards – today, the real value of the minimum wage is less than what it was from 1961 to 1981. Second, research on the disemployment effects of the minimum wage give mixed results – many indicate that a small change to the minimum wage would have no impact on employment. Furthermore, even if there is a disemployment effect, it is small and far outweighed by the fact that low-wage workers on average will see a net benefit from most minimum wage increases (Shierholz 2009). Finally, one of the biggest problems during a recession is the decrease in consumer demand – when consumers cut back on spending, employers respond by cutting back on jobs. Reducing the wages of already low-wage workers will only make this problem worse, and will hurt those who are least well off.
I see no reason to lower the minimum wage. I’m unsure why David draws a line from the bottom wage earners, (I think it might be more pc than to call them that than lower end people) to a pro-gun or pro-life agenda. Aren’t these wage earners solely in the pocket of the Democrats who will take care of them cradle to grave?
I think the issue of minimum wage actually has very little to do with employment or the economy. Certainly it has nothing to do with why jobs are shipped overseas. That is the million dollar question.
You’re just laying out bait because you like an argument. You don’t actually believe such a silly statement.
Not really sure what silly statement you are referring to. Perhaps the cradle to grave comment? Certainly no sillier than your guns and abortion statement.
I’m sure you know about the so-called single issue voter. It happens on both sides of the political spectrum. After every major election there are analyses about why people voted the way they did. I mentioned guns because there’s a persistent fear among many people that a particular candidate is going to take away our guns. It happened in the last presidential election and there was a surge of gun and ammo buying after Obama was elected. The Wauseon paper had a story about how it was happening in Fulton County.
Voting against your best interests could become more extreme in the next election. Someone on the lower end of the economic scale might connect with Michelle Bachmann because they like what she says about hurricanes and God, even though she talks about lowering the minimum wage, which could be a disadvantage to that voter.
I heard someone interviewed this week who is favoring Rick Perry because he feels comfortable with him and would like to spend time with him. But does that voter really agree with Perry that Social Security and Medicare are unconstitutional? How might that voter fare in old age if Medicare was abolished?