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One good way to think about things like minimum wage is to imagine what it would be like without it. Actually in this case we don't have to imagine, there was a time when there was no minimum wage in the U.S. All we have to do is look at what happened to workers back then.

For example one young man didn't want to stay on the farm so he approached a dry-goods dealer in town and asked for a job. After the guy decided to hire him, the young man asked what he would be paid. "Pay? Your pay? You should pay me for working here, you don't know anything about the business. After you learn enough to be useful I'll start paying you." The young man worked three months for absolutely no pay.

How would you like to be that young man? For three months you are paid nothing, then you get a pittance after that. What did he think of his employer? Well, later he not only thanked the man for valuable lessons, but made him a partner in his own business. Maybe you've heard of that young man. His name was F.W. Woolworth and he became one of the world's wealthiest men. What would have happened had that employer been forced to pay Woolworth more than his meager skills were worth?

What does a minimum wage accomplish? Well, it does help a few people make more money. However it also forces some employers to not hire people they would otherwise employ. If a worker's output is less than his pay, it makes no sense to hire him. The company may drop that part of the business, move the work overseas, or go to automation to avoid paying more than it can recoup for the work done. That causes some people to remain unemployed. Most of those who remain unemployed would not remain long in their first jobs. They would learn on the job, then move up to better paying employment.

The minimum wage also drives inflation as employers raise prices to recoup costs. In fact it can drive some companies out of business. If they cannot compete with the higher costs, they have no choice but to go out of business. That causes yet more unemployment.

In many cases, minimum wage amounts to welfare, or attempted welfare, for workers whose work is not worth their pay. It attempts to force employers to provide that welfare. If we are going to provide welfare to those people, it should be done honestly through taxes. We should not try to force employers to fund welfare for those who cannot or will not earn their pay.

But wait, some say! What about a living wage? Shouldn't employers pay a living wage?

The response is that first

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