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federal increase serves little purpose. Eleven states have raised their minimum wage above $3.35. Significantly, six of the 11 are in prosperous New England. Equally significant, none of the increases are in the South or Southwest.
Who would the crusaders be saving by raising the minimum wage? Will this legislation help millions of working poor support their families? No, because the average minimum-wage earner is not the sole breadwinner of a family, working eight hours a day to support a family.
Out of a civilian work force of 114 million people, less than 5 percent work for minimum wage. Of those, 66 percent are under age 25. Sixty percent are single and 66 percent work part-time. About 500,000 workers are actually attempting to support a family on the minimum wage.
If Congress insists on upping the minimum wage for these workers, it will be doing so at a real loss of jobs for the people on the bottom — black and hispanic teenagers, the handicapped and other high unemployment groups.
If Congress isn’t really helping the poor, why all the fuss? For the answer, turn to the unions. The cost of a higher minimum wage to business is not just the increase to the lowest paid workers; it is the cost of raising wages for all the other employees who feel cheated.
And who stands to gain most from such a ratcheting up of wages? Unions — still losing members, losing ground and losing political power.
When the musty rhetoric clears Capitol Hill, it becomes obvious that a federal minimum-wage increase is a mistake.
John Sloan is the President of the National Federation of Independent Business, which represents small business owners across the country.
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