Minimum Wage Let the Free Market Flow
by Tom Buchanan
September 6, 2006

If you have ever witnessed a dog spinning around fervidly chasing its tail you will see the folly of raising the minimum wage. Oh, it makes workers feel like they are getting a raise and catching up. However, just as soon as the minimum wage is raised the cost of goods and services is raised too. Within a short period of time workers are in the same predicament that they were in before they raised the minimum wage. They still can't afford the goods and services they want. Soon people will be clamoring for another hike in the minimum wage to stay afloat. Maybe that old dog will catch his tail someday too.

The Minimum Wage also creates a cottage industry of those that are willing to work for less than the prevailing minimum wage. The invasion of illegal immigrants is a result of the false pride of Americans who will not work for less than the minimum wage. If there was no minimum wage then Americans would be competing with the illegal aliens and they would soon go home because there would be no work for them.

Democrats chastised Reagan for his trickle down economics theory, so I propose we try a trickle up economics theory. Let's get government out of the business of trying to control the economy. Let's get rid of the minimum wage and let a free market economy go to work. Employers and employees should be able to negotiate a fair salary. Granted, employers are going to look for the low cost solution to operate their business. Workers will have the choice to take a job or not.

Once wages begin to balance out business owners will realize that nobody can afford their goods and services so if they want to stay in business they will have to lower their prices.

The government also needs to get out of the business of regulating businesses. People need to be able to take their ideas to market without having to jump through layers of bureaucracy. So many people have a great idea for a new product or service, but are soon discouraged in the pursuit of their dream as soon as they realize the government is standing in their way.

Many will say that there are con artists and scams designed to fraudulently relieve us of our money. Caveat emptor, "let the buyer beware" should be the philosophy of the land. We tend to rush to government to solve all of our problems. We seem to have lost the ability to think for ourselves because we are so conditioned to run to big day government to do our thinking for us. Are we really the “Land of the free and the home of the brave?”

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