Yesterday we learned what just about any economist who is not a partisan first and an economist second already knew; raising the minimum wage costs jobs. Most people understand the reason why this happens when someone explains it to them. However, it is an unfortunate fact of life that most people think raising the minimum wage is just peachy in general terms. After all, how can it not sound like a good idea to give some poor folks a raise? It is only after they learn that doing so will end up causing someone to lose their jobs that they give pause as they realize that the individual will be worse off and they will be supporting them moving forward.
Similarly, a few weeks ago let us know that the ACA will cause the displacement of the equivalent of 2.5m jobs. Democrats, in a bit of spin that goes beyond shameless, contended that this was a good thing. No more job lock! Go ahead and work less they say. Get a subsidy to defray your healthcare costs! Riddle me this Batman: How is it good that we take self-sufficient people and turn them into dependents of the State? Whay is so grand about most of us having to pay for someone else's decision to spend more time with family or to pursue their becoming an Underwater Basket Weaver?
In short, Obama's policy prescriptions will end up taking 3m people out of the workforce. Given that we are already at 40-year lows for Workforce Participation one has to wonder if his motivation is to drive as many as possible into the bosom of government at the expense of those that are stupid enough to keep maximizing their income. And what if they decide to stop doing so?
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