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Apple claims that moving iPhone production to the United States will result in a phone costing around $3000. This means Apple is not paying minimum wage rates to Chinese workers. It’s essentially slave labor. Apple will find a way to reduce costs in the US because most people won’t pay that much for a phone. Apple will have to cut their profit margins and reduce expenses. Also, Congress should push for no corporate taxes (that are paid indirectly by consumers) and lessen regulations.
The Democrats want to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) told “attendees at a One Fair Wage event that the federal minimum wage should actually be $20 per hour, not $15 as is currently being pushed by the Democratic Party.” Because governments pass laws that employers must pay a minimum salary, people with lower skills can’t compete for jobs by offering to do the job for less to acquire skills and experience.
What will happen to the people already making $15 and $20 per hour? They will demand a higher wage since their skill level and experience are the reason they are making a higher wage. In time, the economic equilibrium will settle, and we’ll be back at the starting gate. Wages will be higher and so will prices for everything. For a study of biblical economics, see my book God and Government.
God and Government
With a fresh new look, more images, an extensive subject and scripture index, and an updated bibliography, God and Government is ready to prepare a whole new generation to take on the political and religious battles confronting Christians today. May it be used in a new awakening of Christians in America—not just to inform minds, but to stimulate action and secure a better tomorrow for our posterity.
Buy NowForcing a minimum wage on companies is economic tyranny. Think about it. The government is forcing employers to pay people a certain amount of money whether what that person does for a company is worth $15.00 per hour. Forcing employers to pay a minimum wage sounds good politically, but it does not make either moral or economic sense.
When the minimum wage goes up, union wages and benefits also go up. That’s why unions are always behind an increase in the minimum wage. Unions can hold businesses hostage to force up wages, so they want new contracts to reflect a “proper” wage-distance from the meager minimum wage earner.
Higher wages also mean higher prices. Not only will employers have to pay $15 per hour, but Social Security and Medicare costs will rise for the employers because of the increase. Remember that an employer pays the same amount of Social Security and Medicare “contribution” that an employee pays. In addition, the states and the Federal government will get more tax revenue since the increase in pay will mean more money to tax and spend on worthless and unconstitutional programs.
Gains made in wages will be passed on to prices for goods and services. In time, everyone will be back to where they started. Market conditions, demand for goods and services, and the state of the economy determine wages and prices. Of course, employers are always looking for ways to cut costs, but in the end, to stay in business, they strive to hire the most skilled workers at the forced higher wage.
Employers who hire minimum wage workers are usually working on small profit margins. If they get hit with something like a 25 or 50 percent increase in the minimum wage, it’s possible that to make up for the additional labor cost, an employer may lay off a fourth of his workers and distribute the work to the remaining employees. Unlike our government, businesses can’t print money.
This is exactly what Bernie Sanders had to do when he got caught not paying his campaign workers the promised $15 per hour wage. Economic really hit:
Democrat presidential candidate Bernie Sanders announced this weekend he will cut staffers’ hours so that they can effectively be paid a $15-an-hour minimum wage, prompting mockery from critics who say the move is more evidence that Sanders’ plan to raise the national minimum wage is hypocritical and would only lead to less work and more unemployment.
Sanders, being a government employee all his life, doesn’t know the reality of what it takes to run a business. Business owners know.
“First, you have to raise prices, otherwise you’ll be out of business,” owner Selwyn Yosslowitz [of Marmalade Café] told the Times. So higher prices for diners. That’s “first.” We imagine you can guess what’s “second.” “We will try to re-engineer the labor force,” Yosslowitz said. “Maybe try to reduce the number of busboys and ask servers to bus tables.” In other words: “Maybe’ we’ll fire some folks and the people who keep their jobs will have to be more efficient.” (Source)
Inexperienced young people are the first to suffer when the minimum wage increases.
It used to be that when two people competed for the same job (skill levels being equal), a person who would work for less would get the job.
Productive Christians
In Productive Christians: A Biblical Response to Socialist Economics, David Chilton exposes the follies and fallacies of socialism, but he also systematically outlines the biblical alternative — an alternative that lays the groundwork for real justice, progress, prosperity, and freedom for the rich, the poor, and everyone in between. First published nearly half a century ago, it is more relevant and more prescient than ever. Chilton’s crystalline prose and take-no-prisoners style is as entertaining as it is informative. This is the way books on economic issues should be written: biblical, understandable, and practical.
Buy NowAn employer could take a risk on someone who lacked experience because he didn’t have to pay him what an experienced worker might demand. Many of the jobs available to teens were low skilled anyway.
By making it illegal to pay someone less than a government-mandated minimum wage, those with less experience are at a disadvantage. Employing teenagers is now a classic Catch-22 dilemma.
“Do you have experience?,” the shop owner asks.
The teenager is honest and shows initiative by answering, “No, but I’m willing to work at a lower wage to gain experience.”
“Sorry,” the shop owner says. “I would be breaking the law if I hired you for any amount less than the minimum wage. I can hire someone with experience at the same wage I’d have to pay you.”
“But I can’t get experience if you won’t hire me.”
“Tough luck. Complain to your newly elected socialist congressman.”
Renee Ward, the founder of the job posting site Teens4Hire.org, offers a similar story. “If you have two candidates for a job, and one has experience and will take $10 an hour, and the other is a teen with no experience, who do you think would get the job? When jobs aren’t there for anyone, it’s that much harder.”
You might respond, “Sure, you can say this because you make a lot of money.” I don’t know what a lot of money is, but I sure make more than I did at my first job — $50 a week washing pots and pans at a country club. Do the math. It was a little more than a dollar an hour.
I worked at a New Year’s Eve party at a restaurant when I was 16 with no hourly wage. The only money I got was in tips. The no-wage guarantee made me work very hard to get good tips. I made $20 for three hours of work. That was in 1966. That was big bucks back then.
I worked in the produce department at Kroger after school, weekends, and during the Summer. This experience enabled me to get a job in Florida when the economy was soft. When I went in to apply, the manager told me that they were not hiring. I then said, “But I have experience.” I ended up working 60 hours a week. There was no union. My hard work was noticed, and I was offered the assistant manager’s job at a new store the company was opening.
It was these types of jobs and disgusting working conditions that incentivized me to do better. I gained work experience and references. I worked through high school, had two jobs in college, and worked my way through seminary as a custodian and assistant bookstore manager.
Get the government out of the minimum wage business and you’ll see the economy grow, prices fall, and wages that will keep up with expenses. The best workers will get the best jobs at the best prices. Also, cut every government program that is not constitutional and lower taxes.
Christian Economics in One Lesson
Christian economics must begin with the issue of ultimate ownership. This sets it apart from modern economic analysis, which begins with the issue of scarcity. Second, this leads to the issue of theft, which in turn raises the issue of ethics. The ultimate form of causation in human history is ethical: right vs. wrong. Modern economists do not share this view. In fact, it goes beyond this. They openly reject it. They proclaim economic analysis as value-free—this is self-deception. It is a variation of an ancient temptation: “Hath God said?” Yes, He has. “Thou shalt not steal.”
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