The net economic effect of minimum wage laws is to make less skilled, less experienced, or otherwise less desired workers more expensive — thereby pricing them out of jobs. If you take someone who is worth $10/hr and arbitrarily say they should make $12/hr, you have made them too expensive to be employable. And this applies at any level. I myself am employable at $200k a year and unemployable at $250k a year. Thankfully, no one is trying trying to “help” me by passing a law to make my minimum wage $250k a year!!

But since the compassionate lefties always try to “help” the unfortunate with these policies, the unfortunate are the ones who suffer the consequences. Large disparities in unemployment rates between the young and the mature, the skilled and the unskilled, and between different racial groups have been common consequences of minimum wage laws. In this case, what are the chances of Fairfax hiring any new workers for jobs if they are low skilled and you will be forced to pay more than the employees’ labor is worth. This supposedly “compassionate” policy will just price everyone out of these government jobs except for the higher skilled workers who are worth this pay…and who will suffer if not the minorities, the young, the unskilled? Nobel Prize winning economist Milton Friedman described minimum wage laws as “…the most rascist laws in effect in America today.”

Historical fact: The first federal minimum wage law, the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931, was passed in part explicitly to prevent black construction workers from “taking jobs” from white construction workers by working for lower wages. It was not meant to protect the “poor” or to provide a “living wage”, but to protect white workers from competition.

By the way, here is an idea! If you want to get the illegals to leave, support a minimum wage that requires illegals be paid $20/hr. All the jobs for them would dry up real fast.

I see that there are two key issues:

1) If you don’t want to be that $7 - $12/hr guy, then get busy and become competitive in the workplace. While I was going to college, and had “nothing,” my single friends, just out of high school, worked at the gas stations and had their own “beautiful” cars…money for girlfriends an all that. Was I envious? Of course I was, but the sad thing is that those “friends” still work at the same gas station and still have that same (now old, worn out) car…and cry about not having enough money. Oh, and you hear things like “well, my parents weren’t rich….I just didn’t have an opportunity to go to college.” Pssssssshaw!!! Anyone who WANTS to go to college/tech school, and/or take advantage of military training to improve themselves can find a way to do it.

2) If the county or business, whatever, can’t get or keep suitable employees at their current rate, guess what they’ll have to do….raise the pay scale until they can, of course…

Further, if $7 isn’t enough, what is? Where did the $12/hr min wage come from?? Why not give those folks a REALLY “liveable wage” and raise it to $20 or $30 per hour?? US auto makers and their UAW employees are soon to find out the down-side of that one. …but at least, for a while, they could buy two 40″ HD TVs.

No matter WHAT the salary, some just won’t have enough…

You say that I am “so nosy”, well, how about statements like “Personally I would have put off having children ” and “And are any of your children now living on $12.00/hr - married w/ children?” Well, to answer your question, my children are still living with me (one in High School and the other two in Middle) and the oldest is probably making something near $12/hr, thank you very much.

Don’t try and lecture me on life because, besides not knowing who I am or what I have done with my life, it is obvious you know not of what you speak. I have proven that it IS possible to live off of low income and still become a success in this country.

I guess YOU are the feisty one now, eh? So, why don’t YOU “get with the times” and realize that hard work WILL get you places in life, that welfare is NOT the answer, and finally, I have NO idea where the comment came where you said, “And my kids were planned.” What are you trying to say there??? What do you want, a medal, or a chest to pin it on?

How about YOU hire the illegals to work your yard, fix things in your house. Take them in, let them sleep in your bed, and before you know it, you will be robbed blind, have no where to turn to, and since you JUST because a victim of a crime, you will then begin to think like a Republican. For those of us NOT born Republican, it takes being robbed, either by a criminal, or the IRS/Congress to make it happen.

I tend to agree. In the computer field, if you do not pay market share, you get shabby workers. Say you are paying computer Help Desk workers $40,000 a year and you require the MCSE. How hard do you think they will work??? Not very. Most of their time will be working on the resume, once they figure out that they can make A WHOLE LOT MORE someplace else. No I have a Help Desk where I pay my people $60,000 a year with benefits. I am willing to bet my workers will be more loyal and harder working than the $40k employees, and my turn-over rate will not be as high.

Again, supply and demand will dictate, as will the market. So, what is the People’s Republic doing that is against the market? They realize that minimum wage is just a marker, a place to start. By starting their salaries at the $12 range, they are not creating welfare recipients, rather, people who get into entry level positions knowing that the opportunity is there to “climb the government ladder” and one day, possibly, make “really good money”. Sure, you will never get rich unless you are a politician who gets to keep all of their donations or you make it to the big leagues (Senate or House) and get 100% retirement pay, but you also will not starve by doing public service.

So, how do you do it - you don’t go out to movies, you drive an older car, keep the same clothes you have had for years, don’t eat out, and buy groceries in bulk. Soon you will have savings, have been promoted, and within 10 years you will be making 3 times as much as you previously were. Trust me, it can be done WITH children!!!

In 1991 I was living in Lake Ridge making $5.50 an hour then got a job with Vance Security International making $7.00/hr. It’s all about sacrifice.