foolmenot.comI don’t usually comment on a “letter to the editor”… This one however deserves comment; not because the writer has intellectually resolved a question, but because [the] question does not matter.
The writer, a college student, is obviously intelligent; he may well be pursuing a career in economics. If so, he will one day be what I refer to in politics as a policy source; a very good economist who has formulated opinion based upon learned and assumed data. Politicians will quote him and use his opinion to either support or decry a particular issue.
Let me explain- In closing his letter, the writer says; “This isn't rocket science. It took me two weeks of taking an intro to economics course to understand this. Why haven't Gov. Granholm and the bureaucrats in Lansing and in Washington figured it out?”
It is the writer’s naïvety that leads to his reason to ask the question.. The minimum wage debate in Michigan is not about economics, it’s about politics; it’s about votes. Both Democrats and Republicans know how the issue will translate into votes; that is why Democrats always bring it up in an election year. Republicans, not willing to lose votes over the issue, will reluctantly give support. This election year the Republican [reluctant] support was evidenced by the legislature’s passing of a minimum wage increase they believe to have less of a negative impact than one scheduled to be voted on in the general election this fall.
I suggest then, that instead of asking; “Why haven't Gov. Granholm and the bureaucrats in Lansing and in Washington figured it out?”, the writer should have asked- Why haven’t voters figured out that politicians will say or do anything to get your vote; or don't they care?
Complete letter follows…
A letter to the editor appearing in the March 20, 2006, edition of the Battle Creek Enquirer
Ludwig von Mises warned that anyone who opposes ineffective government intervention in the free market would be labeled an enemy of the people. This is as true in America today as it has ever been. The government continues to interfere with the free market process, and the more ineffective that unwarranted government intervention is, the more intervention we get. The sole purpose of government is to protect our life, liberty and property. Yet we are still told that government is the solution to all our problems, and if you disagree you are dismissed as a cold, heartless miser.
In Michigan, we are currently debating whether to raise the minimum wage. Sure, this sounds good, but if our purpose is for people to earn more money, why not raise it to $100/hour? Basic economics shows that if the cost of labor goes up, the demand goes down. What does this mean? Higher unemployment.
It is not the government's job to tell private sector businesses what they have to pay their workers. If workers are not producing more than what they are being paid, businesses will go under. With a low or nonexistent minimum wage, businesses could hire more workers. The businesses would produce more, which means more economic activity, which means higher wages for everyone.
This isn't rocket science. It took me two weeks of taking an intro to economics course to understand this. Why haven't Gov. Granholm and the bureaucrats in Lansing and in Washington figured it out?
Brian Johnston
Hillsdale College student