Just last week
President Obama went to the University of Michigan to “press for a federal
mandated higher minimum wage” while standing in front of students who will soon
be looking for jobs after graduating. As usual our President is still in
campaign mode instead of being in Washington dealing with the important and
pressing issues including employment and wages.
Unfortunately and as
usual, president Obama failed to be a “leader” and continued his campaign
rhetoric "You've got a choice. You can
give America the shaft, or you can give it a raise," … In fact the NPR audio clip I heard on the way in
was when several students “booed” and Obama responded with “No don’t boo, organize”. Maybe the students should be asking the
president why they are facing minimum wage jobs after they graduate because of
his economic policies?
Better example yet
is: “On their way to the campus,
Obama and Peters stopped at Zingerman's Deli, an Ann Arbor landmark, where they
ordered Reuben sandwiches and were served by a Michigan graduate who makes $9
an hour — a rate above the current federal minimum wage. "That's worth
celebrating," Obama said.” Instead of “celebrating” this college graduate earning more
than the minimum wage, the president should explain why there is no job for
this graduate in his field… http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/obama-mich-senate-candidate-call-higher-wage-23154151
But maybe here is
another reason why the President is campaigning on the minimum wage issue. “Nationally, Obama wants to
increase the hourly minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 as part of an
election-year economic agenda focused on working families. The White House says
that would benefit more than 970,000 workers in Michigan.” It turns out that many Union contracts are tied
to the minimum wage index and with a raise nationally of the minimum wage many
Union members, already making substantially more than minimum, will also get a
raise.
Richard Berman writes
in “Why Unions want a higher minimum wage”
“The real reason is that some
unions and their members directly benefit from minimum wage hikes- even when
nary a union member actually makes the minimum wage”…
“The data indicate that a
number of unions in the service, retail and hospitality industries peg their
base-line wages to the minimum wage”…
“Other union contract
stipulate that, following a minimum-wage increase,the union and the employer
reopen wage talks”…
And here is another
big factor to this whole issue:
“Labor unions spent an
estimated $174 million on the 2012 election, with 91% of the money going to the
Democrats, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Now many union
members could see their paychecks grow as the result of a Democrat-backed mandate-even
though the overwhelming majority of scholarly evidence says that these wage
increases have a negative effect on employment”…
The truth is nobody
wants to “under pay” or keep anybody from earning more money and higher wages.
But by rewarding little or no skilled labor with inflated wages does not really
help that person but keeps them from learning and obtaining the needed skills
to make themselves more valuable in the workforce.
Unfortunately with
this economy we have many “skilled” workers who lost their prior jobs and are
now working in “lesser” jobs just to get by.
This is another
reason why teen age unemployment is so high due to the fact that many lower
wage jobs are going to higher skilled labor who have to take a “Step back” due
to the economy. Others have been cut-back to part-time status by companies
unsure how “Obama-Care” will affect them.
What we need is a “Leader” who encourages and
supports policies that will grow the economy and put people back to work and
producing instead of collecting a government check that replaces their
incentive to find work. Instead we have a President still on the issue
“campaign trail” celebrating a college graduate earning $9 an hour making
sandwiches......
