Minnesota – the state of 10,000 “progressive” advocacy groups.
And some of those advocacy groups run some very slick, polished, professional PR efforts. Or – like the Alliance for a “Better” Minnesota, or “Protect” Minnesota – at least loud and well-funded ones.
And then there’s the Douglas County DFL.
The DugCo DFL runs a twitter feed that’s always a useful barometer for whatever the left end of the DFL’s intellectual bell curve is “thinking” has been told by the people paid to do their thinking for them. .
This went out on Twitter the other day:
@dc4DFL: Australia has a Minimum Wage of $16.88 per hour. Minnesota needs to seriously raise ours. #mnleg #stribpol
Wow. “Seriously”. That sounds like quite the imperative.
So let’s compare and contrast.
The unemployment rate for Minnesotans aged 16-24 is 11 percent. Note that in Minnesota (and most of the US), full-time students aren’t considered “in the labor market” in the same sense as someone working for a full-time living.
And in Australia? It’s 19% “not fully engaged” (neither working nor studying full-time). And if you compare apples to apples – drop full-time students from the “work force” – then close to a third of Australians between the ages of 15-24 are neither working nor studying full time. It’s a little under a third if you count only Australians from 20-24.
Bear in mind (and I say this more for the benefit of people who’d read what the DugCo DFL says seriously than for most of this blog’s audience) Australia’s economy isn’t currently mired in one of the most dismal recessions in their history. Their growth was hit by the global financial crisis over the past six years – but not like ours.
So – even in a relatively healthy economy, Australia’s unemployment and underemployment among younger, lower-skilled workers is much higher than in Minnesota.
Of course, Australia’s high minimum wage is one of the products of the Labour government…
…that was just tossed at the polls two months ago. While I saw no evidence that the minimum wage was a pivotal issue, an artificially high minimum wage is part and parcel of the whole raft of “progressive” policies that stagnate economies.
Uncle Ryan Winkler might want to find himself some smarter stenographers.
Australia sends their illegal immigrants to Guantanamo-style offshore holding facilities! Let’s do that, too!
Now come on, Mitch. Since when do data matter to the left? Club “the party of sients” with a beaker and a bunsen burner, maybe it’ll help ’em.
WHERE IS RICK__DFL WHEN YOU NEED HIM?????????
Had a young guy at the door who said he was with the AFL/CIO, canvasing support for the raise in minimum wage.
He seemed absolutely flabbergasted when I told him I was absolutely opposed. That I saw it as an attempt by unions who’d negotiated minimum-wage-based contracts to pad their own pockets at the expense of young, unskilled workers who are having a hard enough time already, finding work, thank you very much.
HEY RICK__DFL http://bit.ly/1dmyCSk
Much of what is produced by minimum wage earners is also consumed by them; low end retail, fast food, etc. You’d think that someone would point out to them that they could be doubly screwed by mandatory minimum increases.
First, if all they can earn is minimum wage now, the higher wages might attract, and make more attractive, higher skilled workers who can now earn more and will add more value to the workplace.
Second, those things produced by the now higher-paid low-scale jobs will have to increase in price to off-set the artificially high mandated wages. This will cut into the newly found wealth created by the increases.
The good news is that the higher-paid workers can pay more for union dues. See, every cloud has a silver lining …
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