At the beginning of 2017, some twenty
states raised their minimum wages. This was not only shameful, it was racist.
The right and proper level of minimum wage is zero.
The hourly labor of many poorly-educated
blacks in U.S. central cities, especially young black males, is worth less than
the minimum wage. It is not racist for an employer to refuse to hire such
persons. The minimum-wage laws themselves are racist. They prevent people,
especially poor blacks, from being employed.
A young person who is not hired doesn't
learn to show up for work on time and to accept supervision. He has little
chance to step on the first rung of the ladder of success.
The employment rate of young black
American males is upward of 50 percent. As economist Milton Friedman put it,
minimum wages are the most racist laws on the books. They should be repealed.
The average person subject to minimum
wages has a household income of
$53,000, many being the wives of working husbands or young people living at
home. Few people earn their livelihood solely from minimum wages.
People on welfare are reluctant to take
minimum-wage jobs. Let's say a woman receives welfare of $200 a week. If she
takes a job paying more than this, the welfare is withdrawn. Say the job pays
$300 for a 40-hour week; her net increase is $100 a week. Dividing $100 by 40
hours means that she would in effect be working for only $2.50 an hour. She
makes the common-sense decision to remain on welfare.
Minimum-wage laws provide little good, but
they do substantial harm. Never mind raising them. All minimum-wage laws should
be repealed.
Published by the
Concord Monitor around January 16, 2017.
