When Representative Ryan Winkler talks, people listen.<\/p>\n
And then the smart people snicker.<\/p>\n
He tweeted this yesterday:<\/p>\n
My favorite point in this op-ed: low wages do not cause poverty. http:\/\/t.co\/jBfXzKYSiF<\/a>. Only an economist could be so enlightened.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Ryan Winkler (@RepRyanWinkler) September 8, 2013<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Of course, he had the point of the op-ed all wrong. \u00a0Read it for yourself<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The point is that low wages aren’t the\u00a0sole cause of poverty. \u00a0In the great scheme of things, they aren’t even especially important, in and of themselves.<\/p>\n
Much more important? \u00a0When there is no opportunity to earn higher wages.<\/p>\n
How does that happen?<\/p>\n
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- When a preponderance of people don’t have the tools to do better themselves. \u00a0For example, when our overpriced education system continually short-changes them. \u00a0Especially minority kids, who have both the highest poverty rates and are the most systematically shortchanged by the education system Ryan Winkler’s party designed<\/a>.<\/li>\n
- When mandatory wages for entry level work are so high that the market for entry-level, unskilled labor gets depressed – ensuring fewer people, especially poor people, get into the labor market at all.<\/li>\n
- When an overabundance of regulation makes entrepreneurship – starting ones’ own business – less tenable. \u00a0Like the DFL has done for Minnesota, giving the state the worst climate for entrepreneurship in the country<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
To further address the point, though, I’d like to ask Rep. Winkler (or his defenders) this question: \u00a0at what minimum wage hourly rate will poverty disappear?<\/p>\n
Put a number on it.<\/p>\n