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Increasing the Minimum Wage

Washington, D.C., July 8, 2019

1.3 million jobs would be lost.

That's the estimate, according to the Congressional Budget Office, should the federal government impose a $15/hr minimum wage. This could possibly come up for a vote soon in the House.

Never mind the fact that $15 is a completely arbitrary number. (Why not $18/hr? Why not $20?) Here's the bottom line: Whenever the government imposes additional expenses on a business -- be it higher taxes, higher wages, more regulations, etc. -- the money to pay for those expenses can only come from one of three places:

1⃣ owners, in the form of lower profits
2⃣ consumers, in the form of higher prices
3⃣ employees, in the form of lower pay or fewer employees.

There's never an exception to this rule.

So yes, a $15/hr minimum wage would boost pay for those making less than $15... who aren't laid off as a result of this law. But nobody should be surprised by the loss of jobs that ultimately would occur.

After all, it's generally not the government's role to dictate what the free market should be able to figure out for itself.

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/08/minimum-wage-bill-eliminate-13m-jobs-cbo-says-1400531?fbclid=IwAR3fDibuWXC5EpD_VEXJCkNz04iLzuzziy3TQhZwl4PEzlZuVj6y01X5Rgg