Daily Times

The dust had barely settled on Donald Trump’s apparent nomination last week when he seemingly flip-flopped on his opposition to a minimum wage increase, saying, “I am open to doing something with it you have to have something you can live on.” In his typical offensive style he also added, “I’m very different from most Republicans.” I accept that a wage hike is popular. But poll after poll shows that it’s only popular until people are given all the facts. Republicans should educate Mr. Trump about why he’s wrong on this issue. Start with this fact: While it’s true “you have to have [a wage] you can live on,” the only way to do this is by getting a good job. And before you can get a good job, you need a first job. Despite outlying studies (sometimes funded by labor unions), the best and most credible minimum wage research finds that wage hikes reduce these first job opportunities that allow job seekers to grasp the bottom rung of the career ladder and learn the skills necessary to climb it. A newly released report from the Institute for the Study of Labor examines the last 60 years of minimum wage increases and finds they have had a “consistently negative and statistically significant” impact on entry-level job opportunities. And a recent San Francisco Federal Reserve summary of the latest economic research found “a higher minimum wage results in job loss for the least-skilled workers – with possibly larger adverse effects than earlier research suggested.” Even more moderate minimum wage increases – lower than the $12 supported by Hillary Clinton and the $15 supported by Bernie Sanders – still reduce job opportunities. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that 500,000 jobs would be lost at a $10.10 federal minimum wage and 100,000 would be lost at a $9 minimum wage. Cities and states that have already raised their minimum wages have seen these consequences firsthand. In the Bay area, dozens of businesses have been forced to cut shifts, reduce hours, lay off employees, substantially raise prices or close entirely largely because of the dramatic minimum wage increases. Similar stories are also occurring in other areas of the country that are experimenting with dramatic wage hikes. Mr. Trump can also draw principled opposition to wage hikes because of their broader societal implications. After Michigan raised its minimum wage in 2014, a nonprofit restaurant called Tastes of Life, which employed those with criminal records, substance abuse problems and learning disabilities, was forced to close because it couldn’t afford the associated increase in labor costs. It’s a safe bet that alternate employment opportunities for out-of-work employees trying to leave prison behind are nearly nonexistent. The stories of day care owners in low-income neighborhoods faced with minimum wage hikes are also instructive. After Oakland dramatically raised its base wage last year, day cares were forced to cut staff or reduce hours. (Because they service a low-income clientele, they were not able to simply raise prices to absorb the wage hike’s costs.) Sterling’s Family Childcare even had to eliminate a free-ride service for children whose parents weren’t able to transport them. These are the stories that Republicans and Mr. Trump need to share from the bully pulpit. Connecting the dots on how minimum wage increases hurt the people they are intended to help will create more informed voters, with whom Mr. Trump can connect. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. The interviews on Fox News’ “Watters World” and, years ago, “Jaywalking” on “The Tonight Show” are no laughing matter. These are fairly accurate representations of the nation’s civic and policy knowledge deficit. A Newsweek survey found that nearly one-third of Americans couldn’t name the vice president; nearly half weren’t able to define the Bill of Rights. (Worryingly, over 1,500 students drop out of high school every day.) Donald “I love the poorly educated” Trump understands this and could be the messenger to explain conservative ideas that the Republican Party has been looking for. If Republicans and Mr. Trump can marry principle with prose, they may snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Courtesy – The Washington Times