Reasons Raising the Minimum Wage Can Hurt the Economy

Reasons Raising the Minimum Wage Can Hurt the Economy According to the left, raising the minimum wage and providing a fair wage is the best way to eliminate poverty and address income inequality. But doing so has consequences far beyond an employee simply getting a raise on their paycheck one day and thats the end of it. Weve already seen the consequences of the poorly thought out, expensive, and lousily executed Obamacare laws and drastically raising the minimum wage the way liberals are proposing could lead to equally unfortunate outcomes for the very people the law is supposed to help. 1. Attempting to artificially raise incomes through a minimum wage increase is more about electoral politics than it is about actually helping people achieve the American Dream. Indeed, when polled people regularly support such a raise, because who would oppose people making more money? But economics realities are more than what sounds nice, and everyone would be better off by supporting true pro-growth policies that open up opportunities for everyone willing to work for the American Dream, rather than expect it be handed to them. Artificial wage increases can set the economy back while not even finding true relief for those the increase are intended to help. 2. If the goal is to lift people out of poverty, this will not do that. Figure that a huge chunk of minimum wage jobs are part-time, and the number of part-time jobs as a percentage of the workforce are only increasing already because of Obamacare. How many people would rather make $8.50 an hour and work 40 hours a week with a company-sponsored insurance plan over making $10 an hour with hours cut back to 28 per week and left to shop at an Obamacare exchange for excessive and costly insurance they might not need? (And even if the plans are cheap because of subsidies, the Obamacare deductibles are probably out of reach for these people anyway.) 3. Do this math equation: Obamacare Higher Wages for Unskilled Labor - Cost to Replace Said Worker with a Machine Adios jobs. The high costs of Obamacare plus increased wages (which also means higher payroll taxes paid by the employer) makes it more attractive to replace low-skilled jobs with machines. Self-service food-ordering machines are already being implemented in many restaurants nationwide. 4. Minimum wage jobs are typically low-skill or entry level jobs. If the costs to fill low-skill positions become to high, consolidation can occur and businesses are likely to replace two or three employees with one employee who excels and can do multiple jobs quicker. In other words, it would probably be more attractive to hire an ambitious and talented self-starter at $18 an hour to replace 2-3 less ambitious or inefficient employees making $10 an hour each. A business could even pay the one employee some solid over-time and still be ahead in the end. The more an employee is paid, the more is expected of them. Making jobs artificially more expensive also makes employees with less skill or who are new to the workforce more expendable. And these are the people the new laws are intended to help. 5. Believe it or not, the money needed to pay these employees has to come from somewhere. Retailers - who probably employ the greatest percentage or minimum wage earners - would simply be forced to raise the price of goods and services. So even if someone makes an extra $28 bucks a week, how much more are the same workers going to have to pay for food, gas, or clothing to make up for increased labor costs? 6. Different states have different economies and the cost of living in New York is different than the cost of living in Texas. It simply does not make sense to have a one-size plan for completely different economies. This is why, of course, conservatives believe in federalism and believe that Alabamans have the right to live how they want to and Vermonters have the right to live how they want to. Nationally centralized policies rarely work when their are so many factors in play. 7. Many small businesses already struggle to survive with the current burdensome regulations offered up by the federal government. Many rely on part-time help from high-schoolers to scoop ice cream, work the car wash, or deliver flowers. Small businesses are already at a disadvantage as they typically have higher overhead costs and must make more margin on products sold just to survive. This would only make it more difficult for them to succeed. 8. The minimum wage is seemingly raised every few years, and its never enough in the long run. After all, a minimum wage at $10 is still a minimum wage. And if higher labor costs cause the price of everything to go up anyway, the power of the dollar is merely weakened and no progress has been made. Which brings us back to our first point: The American economy needs true economic growth that enables people to succeed, not a policy based on a bumper-sticker slogan that offers a temporary feel-good fix that will be just as worthless and new minimum wage increase demands roll around. 9. Higher paid employees will want raises equal to those of the minimum wage employees. If people at the bottom of the pay chain get a 20% raise, everyone who makes more than that will also expect - and perhaps rightly so - a 20% raise as well. Imagine having worked in a job for a few years and earned increases only to have some guy hired at the same rate on day one because the government says so. Now businesses either pay all of their employees more or enjoy a disgruntled workforce. In the end, minimum wage increases go beyond increasing labor costs for just the targeted group. 10. This is where the harsh reality sets in: Minimum wage jobs are not intended to enable people to raise a family of five on. They simply arent. Yes, there are circumstances where people are forced to take jobs at minimum wage, perhaps more now than ever. But minimum wage jobs are designed for entry-level workers, kids in high school (who Id assume shouldnt have the need for $20K/yr jobs), or those looking to add a little extra money through a second job. The point is to move up from there into intermediate jobs, and with enough hard work a very well-paying job. Thats pretty much the point of a minimum wage job, and the point is not to support families. Its nice to say that a full week of work means everyone who does so gets a house, SUV, and an iPhone (and how many struggling minimum wage workers have the last one?), but the reality is that is not what those jobs are intended for. The problem with the lefts over-simplified solution to the economy is that the more expensive these jo bs get, the more likely those that need them will be able to get them. And how does that help anyone?

Environmental Vocabulary for English Learners

Environmental Vocabulary for English Learners For English-language learners, vocabulary related to environmental issues can be challenging. Tables sectioned according to types of environmental issues can help. These tables provide the word or phrase in the left column and an example of how to use the term(s) in the righthand column to provide context. Important Issues From acid rain to pollution and radioactive waste, there are many environmental issues around which discussion and debate have evolved. Students will likely hear many of these terms on the news or read about them on the internet and in newspapers. The general list of issues should prove helpful. Term or Phrase Example Sentence acid rain The acid rain ruined the soil for the next three generations. aerosol Aerosol can be extremely toxic and must be used with care when sprayed in the air. animal welfare We must consider animal welfare as we strive to create a balance between man and nature. carbon monoxide Its important to have a carbon monoxide detector in your home for safety. climate The climate of an area can change over long periods of time. conservation Conservation focuses on making sure we protect the nature we havent already lost. endangered species There are many endangered species all over the planet that need our help. energy Humans are using an ever increasing amount of energy. nuclear energy Nuclear energy has passed out of fashion after a number of serious environmental disasters. solar energy Many hope that solar energy can wean us off our need for fossil fuels. exhaust fumes The exhaust fumes from cars standing in traffic can make you cough. fertilizers Fertilizers used by huge farms can pollute drinking water for miles around. forest fires Forest fires can burn out of control and create hazy weather conditions. global warming Some doubt that global warming is real. greenhouse effect The greenhouse effect is said to heat up the earth. (non)renewable resources As we move forward, we need to become more dependent on renewable energy resources. nuclear The exploration of nuclear science has created great boons, as well as horrific dangers for humanity. nuclear fallout The nuclear fallout from a bomb would be devastating to the local population. nuclear reactor The nuclear reactor was taken offline because of technical problems. Oil slick The oil slick caused by the sinking vessel could be seen for tens of miles. ozone layer Industrial additives have been threatening the ozone layer for many years. pesticide While its true that pesticides help kill off unwanted insects, there are serious problems to be considered. pollution Water and air pollution situations have improved over the last few decades in many countries. protected animal Its a protected animal in this country. You cant hunt it! rainforest The rain forest is lush and green, bursting with life from all sides. unleaded petrol Unleaded petrol is certainly cleaner than leaded petrol. waste The amount of plastic waste in the ocean is shocking. nuclear waste Nuclear waste can remain active for many thousands of years. radioactive waste They stored the radioactive waste at the site in Hanford. wildlife We must take the wildlife into account before we develop the site. Natural Disasters From drought to volcanic eruptions, natural disasters are a big part of the environmental discussion, as this table shows. Term or Phrase Example Sentence drought The drought has gone on for sixteen straight months. No water to be seen! earthquake The earthquake devastated the little village in the Rhine River. flood The flood forced more than 100 families from their homes. tidal wave A tidal wave hit the island. Luckily, no one was lost. typhoon The typhoon hit and dropped more than ten inches of rain in one hour! volcanic eruption Volcanic eruptions are spectacular, but they dont occur very often. Politics and Action Discussion generally leads to the formation of environmental groups and actions, some positive and some negative, as this final listing demonstrates. Environmental groups are followed by a listing of verbs (or actions) related to the environment and environmental issues. Term or Phrase Example Sentence environmental group The environmental group presented their case to the community. green issues Green issues have become one of the most important themes of this election cycle. pressure group The pressure group forced the company to stop building on that site. cut down We need to cut down on pollution drastically. destroy Human greed destroys millions of acres each year. dispose (of) The government must dispose of the waste properly. dump You can dump recyclable garbage in this container. protect Its our responsibility to protect the natural habit of this beautiful planet before its too late. pollute If you pollute in your own backyard, youll eventually notice it. recycle Make sure to recycle all paper and plastics. save We save bottles and newspapers to take to recycle at the end of each month. throw away Never just throw away a plastic bottle. Recycle it! use up Hopefully, well not use up all our resources before we start solving this problem together.