Minimum Wage, Minimum Benefit

In an eye-opening segment on TheBlazeTV, Glenn Beck and Stu Burguiere broke down the truth behind minimum wages.

Little Known Facts:
-1% of the U.S. labor force earns minimum wage
-Of the 1%, teens make up the largest age group; these are not people trying to support a family
-32% of minimum wage workers are full time workers
-In 2014, a full time minimum wage worker earns $3,410 more than the federal poverty limit

Little Known Facts:  When minimum wages are hiked, union wages are also hiked.  This is often built into union contracts; a raise in the minimum wage triggers a wage hike for union members. When union wages are hiked, more dues money is available to go into the Democrats' campaign coffers, giving them the incentive to push for minimum wage hikes.  An increase also means more security for the workers, because it restricts businesses from hiring low skilled workers who would otherwise gladly take less pay for experience.What a convenient circle of events.  http://www.glennbeck.com/2014/02/13/americans-love-the-minimum-wage-unless-you-tell-them-the-truth-about-it/

The sad truth: The Congressional Budget Office projects that if the minimum wage is increased to $10.10, there will be a loss of 500,000 jobs.  Although this issue has been championed by the left, I wonder if  they see the irony in the net effect of this mandate: the very people they speak about helping (the poor, the minorities, the youth) are the very people that will be negatively impacted by increases in the minimum wage. 

When employers are forced to pay a higher wage for unskilled or low skilled labor, they will then outsource that work because they can't afford to pay a higher wage for it. Hence, the loss of jobs for low level workers. In this case, the majority of these workers are young people. Additionally, when a business incurs more expense, often that expense is passed on to the consumer. Again, a more expensive product hurts those for whom this act is looking to help.

In sum, a fraction of 1% of the country works for minimum wage and is already above the poverty line. When Americans were polled, the vast majority (75%) supported an increase in minimum wage. When told that it meant the loss of jobs, only 37% favored it. Minimum wage, minimum benefit.