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Raising the minimum wage is another hot button issue that will serve to incite strong reactions on both ends of the political spectrum but fails to address core structural issues in our nation.
Who is not supportive of helping people rise out of poverty and try to earn a reasonable wage?
While some political pundits might like to rewrite basic economic principles, ultimately a raising of the minimum wage serves to reslice our nation’s economic pie rather than grow it. Some individuals will benefit by earning more but others within the same economic strata will suffer by losing their jobs altogether.
To think that there will not be a loss of jobs when the price of labor goes up would be akin to defying some basic rules of science.
Net net, I would maintain that a raising of the minimum wage falls into the realm of not being a meaningful positive or negative for our overall economic well being but merely another form of redistribution economics practiced by the current administration.
Who is more served by raising the minimum wage? Those engaged in political expediency and looking to score political points. Regrettably all too much of our time and focus these days revolves around this lowest of common denominators.
So let’s dispense with the minimum wage band-aid  that is little more than a reslicing of our economic pie and put forth some hard-hitting proposals that in my opinion would help grow our economic pie. Who might have to give some ground in doing so? Those engaged in feeding at the Washington trough for personal benefit while failing to advance our national interests.
With little regard for the takers in the crowd, in lieu of merely pushing paper as the raising of the minimum wage is likely to do, I propose the following as vehicles for helping people advance:
1. Increase educational choice via supporting well run charter schools and student vouchers. Education is ultimately the only real path out of poverty. Tell the teachers unions to fall in line.
