Posted by
Buster Foghorn on Thursday, January 11, 2007 8:43:31 AM
Today, with smiles from ear to ear, trumpets blaring, much fanfare, and cameras rolling, Democratic members of Congress appeared for the television audience to announce -- wage slavery will continue! Dependency on government is back.
Okay, they didn't say that, but essentially by increasing minimum wage they made it easier for anyone in the targeted class who was truly in need of a salary increase to continue in the same job. While there are disagreements about what constitutes wage slavery, for our purposes, wage slavery might apply to a minimum-wage worker who has no choice in who they work for, the type of job they can get, or due to circumstances under their control (e.g., lack of education) limit their employment options to jobs paying only minimum wage.
For a moment, consider welfare reform which was hailed as a significant accomplishment by President Clinton. Congress recognized welfare destroyed individual motivation and trapped the poor in an endless cycle of government dependency. The tragedy of welfare was evident in the anecdotal reports of third and fourth generation family members still depending on the government. Welfare reform was designed to stop that cycle of dependency and force people into the work place.
Now, consider the effect of an increase in minimum wage for those truly needing a push up the ladder, like the welfare recipient, and motivation to enhance their market value to employers. With this mandated federal subsidy will they be more or less likely to get their high school diploma, attend school in the evenings to gain another skill, or attend a vocational school? Or will they find it more comfortable to depend on the federal increase in wages and continue in their low paying minimum wage job? Wage slavery is another form of dependency. If you were a truly needy beneficiary of a federally mandated minimum wage increase, for example, a head of household and sole-wage earner, who has been trapped in a minimum wage job for more than a year, it is now easier for you to stay a wage slave in your current job.
So, who is Congress trying to help with an increase in minimum wage? George Will recently looked at those affected by an increase in minimum wage and found a small group which would be even smaller if those receiving minimum wage, but not truly needy were excluded. Therefore, this increase in minimum wage arguably isn't for the part-time worker who lives in a household where annual income is $42,000 per year or greater. Nor is the increase for the restaurant worker who receives significant tips or the teenager working part-time while in school. Additionally, it isn't for the two-thirds of those earning the federal minimum today that will, a year from now, have been promoted and be earning 10 percent more. Furthermore, it isn't for the seventy percent of the work force in 29 states covered under state mandated minimum wage that is higher than the Federal Minimum Wage. Finally, it isn't for the 2 percent of high school students in states that allow people to leave school before 18 who will drop out due to the wage increase.
While the foregoing members of the group receive minimum wage, surely they are not members of the targeted group requiring federal intervention? They are not the truly needy. Their status is temporary, and in many cases their household is not in need of federal help. It is hard to believe they constitute the significant crisis that requires expedited House action (in disregard of campaign promises about protecting minority rights), reductions in entry level jobs for first time workers (e.g., the young high-school student working at the corner gas station today who used to fill up the gas tank, wash the car windows, and put air in the tires), and an increase in prices for everyone in the market place to compensate businesses for the greater costs of doing business.
So for the very few left who qualify as truly needy it is time to thank the Democrats who after twelve years in the wilderness as the minority have made a federally mandated subsidy their number one priority. If you are one of those truly needy workers, you will find it easier to stay in that minimum wage job and wait for the next federal hand-out. Don't bother getting off the couch, turning off the cable movie, and moving up the ladder. Dependency is back and being a wage slave will soon be easier.