Raising the U.S. minimum wage to $10/hour is a bad idea

Alternative SolutionsI continue to argue that the solutions I've presented thoroughly in my 2014 U.S. Budget proposal[1] are preferable to a minimum wage in genuinely helping the poor, specifically: 1. Eliminate trade with low minimum wage countries such as China and Mexico where low minimum wage is defined as below a $4.00 per hour equivalent.2. Restrict CEO pay somehow to historical levels, either through capping CEO pay in relation to company earnings or the average worker, or mandatory shareholder voting on CEO compensation at publicly traded companies.3. Tax breaks to companies who hire more U.S. workers in relation to company earnings. A Minimum Wage Increase Causes Job Loss and RecessionsUltimately a minimum wage increase will result in more outsourcing of U.S. jobs. Jobs inevitably go where labor is cheapest, both at a national and state-wide level. China has overtaken the U.S. economically by outproducing us in manufacturing, using a low minimum wage coupled with free trade to parasite jobs from countries U.S., Canada, and the European Union. Westernized countries cannot compete with the low minimum wages and low worker benefit costs of China. As a result the U.S. is just one of many countries that has trade deficits with China; the entire European Union for example is running major deficits with China.[2] At a statewide level, as has been shown, states with lower minimum wages generally benefit from higher employment, and states with higher minimum wages tend to have lower employment.As was pointed out last round, recessions are closely linked to massive increases in the minimum wage, and major recessions have coincided with major increases in the minimum wage over the past century. Thus it was no coincidence that after Democrats raised the minimum wage in January 2007 a recession quickly followed; this has been the pattern for decades and decades. It should also be pointed out that despite substantially increasing the minimum wage in 2007 and trillions of dollars of stimulus spending by Democrats, U.S. employment is at a 30-year low[3], student homelessness is at a record high[4], and the number of long-term unemployed has increased so much that Obama is calling for further extension of unemployment benefits for those unemployed so long they are no longer eligible.[5] There are at least 13 million more people on food stamps than when Obama took office, with poverty at its highest level in 50 years.[6] American incomes have dropped 6% since 2007 when Democrats passed the minimum wage increase.[7]Total U.S. employment in March of 2007 was 146.32 million, and did not exceed that mark until July 2014 when it reached 146.35 million.[8] Over a 7-year period, including much of Obama's presidency and the 2007-10 period when Democrats ran Congress, there has not only been no job growth, the U.S. actually lost jobs. ConclusionIn summary, the period since the last major minimum increase has seen companies doing well but not the poor[9] as poverty has skyrocketed. In fact the companies which laid off the most workers since the recession began increased their CEO pay the most.[10] CEOs increase profits and their own pay by reducing how much they pay their workers through outsourcing, automation, hiring illegal immigrants, and conversion to part-time work/internships. That major minimum wage increase did not help the poor, it wrecked the U.S. economy and the lives of millions of America's working poor. So I repeat, if increasing the minimum wage would genuinely help the lives of America's poor I would be all for it. However, it will not help them, it will harm them, and destroy the small businesses that make up the backbone of U.S. employment. Therefore I strongly urge consideration of alternative ways to reduce poverty that address the sources of job loss such as excessive CEO pay, outsourcing, and automation. Sources1. http://www.slideshare.net...2. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu...3. http://money.cnn.com...4. http://www.washingtonpost.com...5. http://www.usatoday.com...6. http://www.washingtontimes.com...7. http://www.nytimes.com...8. http://www.dlt.ri.gov...9. http://www.usatoday.com...10. http://www.nbcnews.com...