Plunder and Deceit by Mark R. Levin

Author:Mark R. Levin
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Threshold Editions

EIGHT

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ON THE MINIMUM WAGE

THE MINIMUM WAGE, AND constant demands for its increase, is said to be compassionate. But the concrete evidence shows it is a job killer, especially for low- or unskilled workers in general, and younger people in particular.

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for twenty-seven weeks or more) stood at 2.6 million as of March 2015.1 The number of individuals employed in part-time work for “economic reasons” (those individuals who are not part-time workers by choice, or “involuntary part-time workers”) was 6.7 million in March 2015.2 From a historical perspective, the number of involuntary part-time workers is particularly high. In 1990, for example, there were approximately 4.8 million individuals who were considered “involuntary part-time workers.”3 A recent poll of the unemployed, completed in May 2014, revealed that 47 percent have “completely given up” looking for a job.4

The labor force participation rate—the percentage of the population age sixteen and over employed for March 2015—stood at 62.7 percent.5 For comparison, the labor force participation rate in 1990 was 66.8 percent.6 The labor force participation rate reflects the percentage of individuals who are actually working and paying taxes. The unemployment rate, by contrast, reflects the percentage of individuals who are actively searching for jobs—not those individuals who have given up searching for employment. The federal government defines unemployment as “people who are jobless, looking for jobs, and available for work.”7

According to an analysis conducted by the Senate Budget Committee, as of September 26, 2014, nearly one in four Americans between the ages of twenty-five and fifty-four was not working. In absolute numbers, this translates to 28.9 million Americans between these ages who are not working versus 95.6 million who are working.8

There are a number of explanations for why the labor force in the United States is shrinking. First, the American population is aging. As the largest population cohort, the ruling generation is getting older and retiring. And a larger percentage of the population is physically incapable of work. Second, as indicated in the recent poll of long-term unemployed, many of those who do not have jobs have stopped looking for work. Discouraged by employment prospects, these individuals have simply dropped out of the labor force despite having a desire and the capacity to hold a job. A shrinking labor force is particularly problematic for the rising generation. Instead of the older generation retiring and subsequent generations filling jobs behind them, jobs are disappearing. Businesses are making the decision not to hire new workers. Fewer available jobs equates to less actual employment. Moreover, as described in chapter 6, unprecedented waves of immigration, legal and illegal, drive down employment opportunities for American citizens, particularly younger people, as does the government’s degrowth agenda, as described in chapter 7.

For teenagers, the March 2015 unemployment rate stood at 17.5 percent.9 For the general population, the unemployment rate for whites was 4.7 percent; for African Americans, 10.1 percent; and for Hispanics, 6.8 percent.10 Furthermore, younger people are in a much worse position than their parents and grandparents.

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