Am I missing something?
The Democratic "first 100 hours" sounds like a great plan to me. Certainly it's better for common, everyday Americans than anything the Republican congress even thought about passing during its tenure. But there's a little something about it that's bugging me - I'm not certain the Democratic leadership has really thought things through, particularly in respect to the near-term ramifications of a minimum wage increase.
More below the fold.
What am I talking about? Well, I'm talking about the available labor force. Because there was no meaningful progress on solving the problem of illegal immigration last year, it is up to the new congress to either deal with it or punt to the next congress. For the time being, what we have is a pool of cheap labor in the form of illegal immigrants. Employers don't pay them minimum wage, don't provide them with health care, and don't pay payroll taxes for them. On the whole, they are much, much cheaper than American workers and you get the same, sometimes better, job performance out of them. And since the laws against hiring illegal immigrants and paying them under the table are toothless, it is largely left up to the morality of individual employers to decide whether to play by the rules and hire legally, or increase profit margin by hiring illegally.
In a capitalist society, I think it's pretty clear which option is more attractive.
The problem is far from fixed. Indeed, this is likely to be a problem that stretches out over a decade or more. No matter what theory for fixing the problem you subscribe to, any solution is going to require time to implement. Deportation, registration, path-to-citizenship - anything short of full amnesty will be bogged down in process for years.
Now throw in the first 100 hours. Congresswoman Pelosi has explicitly made an increase in the minimum wage a priority for the new Democratic congress.
We will start by cleaning up Congress, breaking the link between lobbyists and legislation and commit to pay-as-you-go, no new deficit spending.
We will make our nation safer and we will begin by implementing the recommendations of the independent, bipartisan 9/11 Commission.
We will make our economy fairer, and we will begin by raising the minimum wage. We will not pass a pay raise for Congress until there is an increase in the minimum wage.
We will make health care more affordable for all Americans, and we will begin by fixing the Medicare prescription drug program, putting seniors first by negotiating lower drug prices. We will also promote stem cell research to offer real hope to the millions of American families who suffer from devastating diseases.
We will broaden college opportunity, and we will begin by cutting interest rates for student loans in half.
We will energize America by achieving energy independence, and we will begin by rolling back the multi-billion dollar subsidies for Big Oil.
We will guarantee a dignified retirement, and we will begin by fighting any attempt to privatize Social Security.
(emphasis added)
It's certainly long overdue for an increase, and is, by itself, a positive step for the American people.
But what do you think will happen when the minimum wage is increased, but there's still a large pool of cheap labor available in the form of illegal immigrants? Once again, look to the capitalists, only this time throw in an extra $2/hour incentive NOT to hire an American over an immigrant. It's a no-brainer.
Certainly it won't be a problem everywhere. Illegal immigration isn't even a blip on the radar in the Northern States. But it is a problem for the country if the economy of the southern states starts to tank because all of the labor positions get filled with people who are invisible to the tax code. I'm not saying a minimum wage increase shouldn't happen. What I'm saying is that there's an order of operations here. You've got to get your ducks in a row before you start shooting. You've got to consider the repercussions of your actions before you act.
I've never had a strong opinion on the immigration issue. Amnesty, guest worker program, deportation, rigid enforcement of penalties for employers, I don't really care. But until this issue is solved, changing the minimum wage is a risky venture.
I know why Congresswoman Pelosi didn't include immigration reform in her first 100 hours. As a political issue, it's toxic. People want more money a lot more than they want their neighbors kicked out of the country. But I hope someone in congress realizes the link between Minimum Wage and Immigration. Else we may be in for a very rough time.