It isn’t anything new. Boosting income to low wage earners has much merit.

 

But I don’t see the government stepping in to determine what private business people should pay for work done on their premises is any of their business.

 

Raising the wages of lower-paid government workers is capturing their attention too. In fact, some states have gone ahead and required higher wages for their lower-paid personnel.

 

There appears to be the theory that businesses are hoarding capital and money, refusing to pay it to wage earners.

 

That isn’t true.

 

I suspect, given the seven-year-long depression we’ve been in, that businesses are paying as much as possible to such earners while trying to stay alive.

 

 (We sell advertising to the main street businesses. We know how many fewer there are than there were in 2006. In 2006, we sold advertising to seven floral businesses in the circulation areas of our three newspapers. Now, there is one remaining floral shop. Look at the store fronts with sale or rental signs. That’s your key indicator of the quality of the local economy.)

 

 And our government wants the business people to pay more for the same amount of work. The business person’s pot of money is only so big.

 

If more of that pot goes to pay raises, there will be fewer people on staff to collect those wages. That fact is something you’d better believe.

 

It has been argued many times entry level minimum-wage jobs are just that - to serve as first-line entries to the world of commerce.

 

Historical intent is for these jobs to serve as a bridge to something better. And that the economy is now improving in the industrial sector, those jobs are becoming available.

 

 But people can’t rely on low-end paying jobs all their lives.

 

They have to get off their duffs and get the training to ascend to better, higher-paying jobs.

 

That’s the way it has intended to work.

 

 Until the government steps in and fouls things up , like, promising people more for doing the same - or less.

 

 Sounds like more hog-trough to me. 

 

 A lot more hog trough.

 

I will concede one point. If some government jobs do warrant pay hikes to the neighborhood of what they’re asking - $10 or so an hour - let them distinguish the additional skills needed to accomplish those jobs.

 

Those of us in the private sector won’t holler as much after hearing those details, in spite of the fact we pay the lions share of government services.

 

 If the jobs are truly worth going after, and private industry loses personnel to them, perhaps we’ll have to take a better look at our “spending” habits.

 

 I doubt it will happen.