Rather than throwing around disparaging statistics, let's consider the unintended consequences outcome that has happened in real life.
My first job was serving Foster Freeze Ice Cream in Torrance.
Minimum wage was $5.00.
In two weeks, the state of California mandated that the minimum wage go up to $5.15.
The boss kvetched all day about it.
"Every time the state forces me to raise the minimum wage, I have to raise the price on all of my products!"
Then he told me about the two senior employees who worked the morning shifts. They were not even getting a pay raise!
The economic lessons from this anecdote are the following:
Even though the state compels a company to pay more to its employees, that does not expand the purchasing power of the consumer. In many cases, it increases unemployment, since businesses usually lay off workers or raising the prices on goods instead of taking in less profit.
Increased unemployment, higher prices, less purchasing power: none of these outcomes sound like the solutions that will help struggling citizens in the United States.
If the government would leave businesses alone to manage their own affairs, establishing low tax brackets and minimizing regulations, entrepreneurs would be pouring out investments to set up and expand their companies, which in turn would create jobs, increase wages, and spur economic recovery.
Less government, not more government, is what the United States needs.
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