What is the problem we’re trying to solve? Is it the economy - or is it the fact that Democrats demagogue the “minimum wage?" Strictly as a political matter, indexing would, theoretically, take the “minimum wage" off the table. But only theoretically, since in reality there is no way you can prevent complainers from demanding “more.”“Minimum wage” belongs in scare quotes because it is actually a productivity threshold rule for employers. No one who can’t find an employer who considers his/her time to be worth the “minimum wage” gets a job at all.
Thomas Sowell favored the “minimum wage” in his callow youth - but ultimately he analyzed its actual effect. And then he looked at history, and found out that its actual effect was indeed its intended effect - namely, to price less skilled blacks out of the job market, keeping them from competing with whites for jobs.
In reality it was started explicitly as anti-black legislation. And the “beauty” of it - from the Democrat political perspective - is that it tickles the fancy of the very people whose prospects it subverts.
namely, to price less skilled blacks out of the job market, keeping them from competing with whites for jobs.
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Was Dr. Sowell referring to minimum wage or the Davis-Bacon Act?
That act was in effect, along with the Unions, to keep non skilled labor out of the Job market OR at least make non-union Companies pay almost twice the rate they would normally get paid.
Back in 76 for the Bicentennial era, I was doing a job at Dulles Airport. Part of the airport is in Loudon County, part in Fairfax and we were allowed to pay the prevailing wage. On the Federal portion of the contract, we had to pay per Davis Bacon.
I actually threatened to quit as the Company I was working for wanted to mix part of the ‘local’ work with the ‘Federal’ work.
I think one of the ‘problems’ was that we were already paying more than what we were ‘required’ to according to Fairfax and Loudon County SO, the solution for the owners was if we had to pay the Davis Bacon rate, that we would cut the pay to Fairfax and Loudon rates...(or something equally as bizarre)
I just flat told them I wasn’t going to waste an hour a day and 3 hours on payday explaining why the crews were getting three different pay scales, for virtually doing the exact same work at the same time.
Sorry, even back in the 60’s/70’s, you had people in the labor pool that couldn’t spell cat if you ‘gave’ them the K and A BUT could pretty much tell you their check was short 2 dollars on payday and even knew when they ‘crossed’ that imaginary line for pay scales.