WHY RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE IS NOT THE ANSWER FOR THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE.

In recent months there has been a lot of discussion about raising minimum wage in an effort to balance the income scale and help move individuals from poverty assistance programs to self-sufficiency.  While this may be a noble effort, it is nothing more than a band-aid to the larger problem; declining jobs by big business and corporate greed.  It also places small business owners in jeopardy of closing or reducing the staff.  So, why are we in this predicament?

For the past few decades, major american corporations have discovered the profit gains and tax advantage of closing operations and moving them offshore.  American jobs were moved to China, Mexico, Viet Nam, Malaysia, Jamaica and many other countries where operating expenses and labor costs are significantly less. Profit margins have increased to an obscene level and the american skilled worker is thrown into employment in minimum wage jobs originally intended for high school and college students as an introduction into the work force.  The result is years of experience standing in unemployment or welfare lines, and being labeled as "takers" by ultra conservative groups.  Yet, even in their current minimum wage position, the american worker continues to fall prey to big business.

Major retailers, like Walmart, prey on low wage workers offering low cost products. Which, on  the surface sounds noble.  However, they contribute to the problem by keeping their workers in minimum wage positions.  In turn, they realize huge profits and perpetuate the decline of the skilled workforce. These are great for major corporations, but what about the small business owner?  Minimum wage increases are killers for the American small business owner regardless of what the Department of Labor's "weasel words" indicate.

The Fiscal Policy Institute is often cited with the claim that there is no effect on small businesses with minimum wage increases.  However, this data is based on faulty statistical methods and does not show the real picture of the effect on small business.  Their actual findings expose a significant decline in small business and retail employment.  Small business owners simply can not afford the cost of mandated wage increases.  Minimum wage is not the answer!  Limiting the outsourcing of jobs to foreign countries is the only acceptable answer to this issue.

Outsourcing erodes the ability of the United States manufacturing base and contributes to the national trade deficit.  So not only are we reducing employment opportunities for skilled laborers, we are shoring up a foreign economy and further reducing our own.

We can return to the stability of the economy and the American workforce by returning the manufacturing component to the United States, valuing the skilled worker and paying a livable wage; not minimum wage.

We can not mandate the nation out of poverty through minimum wage.