Sometimes, you just are not supposed to tell the truth. Just ask David Howell, a professor of economics and urban policy at The New School, who recently said the following about the prospect of a $15 minimum wage costing some workers their jobs:
“Why shouldn’t we in fact accept job loss? What’s so bad about getting rid of crappy jobs, forcing employers to upgrade, and having a serious program to compensate anyone who is in the slightest way harmed by that?”
As Smarter Government WA points out, at the very least, Howell is “saying out loud what other advocates would prefer to keep buried.” He openly admits that some “higher minimum wage would have tradeoffs, including some losing their jobs.” And, he even “proposed a solution to mitigate that downside: direct cash assistance to those affected.”
For that candor, unlike so many other $15 minimum wage supporters, Howell deserves credit.
There are, of course, serious problems with what Howell admitted. Inevitably, under Howell’s “solution” to the job losses, raising the minimum wage would lead to an increase in people receiving unemployment benefits. Which, of course, means more pressure on taxpayers in the midst of the massive national debt.
Additionally, Howell demands to know “what’s so bad about getting rid of crappy jobs.” Well, as the professor seems to forget, the elimination of “crappy jobs” would force a certain segment of the population (often students getting their first job, or depending on extra income for tuition) out of the labor market and damage their future employability.
Smarter Government WA stated, “A big minimum wage jump would essentially price some jobs out of existence. That will means more people struggling to get that first job, learn basic skills, and have a successful job history that can lead to new, better employment.”
Not that someone like Howell, by his own admission, really cares about all the consequences (just as long as the extreme liberal agenda – like a bigger government that makes more people dependent on checks from bigger government – is advanced).
