A Great Question for Hillary, Bernie and O'Malley

Don Boudreaux writes (via Cafe Hayek:

Bonus Quotation of the Day…

… is a question that Wall Street Journal columnist William McGurn fantasizes a debate moderator asking all three Democratic presidential hopefuls during the next debate of these arrogant and ignorant seekers of unwarranted power over their fellow human beings:

Here’s one [a question] for all three: Mrs. Clinton, Mr. Sanders and Mr. O’Malley, all of you support an increase in the federal minimum wage. Are any of you aware that the Davis-Bacon Act—the first federal minimum-wage law—was passed in part to prevent southern black workers from taking construction jobs from unionized white workers up north?

A great question for those of you in early campaign state to ask. Record it on your cellphones and send it to me for posting.

-RW

Hollywood Minimum Wage Revolt

The WSJ reports that LA actors are suing their labor union to prevent it from forcing small theaters with fewer than 100 seats to pay union members at least $9 per hour.

The rebels, who seem to have a better grasp of economics than the union leadership, warn in their lawsuit that forcing the rules on theaters that used to be exempt will force many to “close altogether.” They add that “all will have greater difficulty producing original works.”

As the WSJ concludes, “Bravo to the dissident actors.”

(via Mark Perry)

A Major Union Just Expanded Its Battle for a $15.00 Minimum Wage

Despite the fact that most union members receive a per hour wage far above the minimum wage, unions are heavy supporters of a higher minimum.

They are probably the number one beneficiary of higher minimum wage laws. The higher minimum wage laws prevent non-union workers to compete for jobs based on price. It is a government-run protection racket for those who are able to get union jobs, at the expense of outsiders.

Thus, it is no surprise that a large California union is seed funding an organization aimed at accelerating the call for a higher minimum wage.

WSJ reports:

It’s called the Fairness Project, officially launching Thursday, and it’s already focusing on three jurisdictions: California, Maine and the District of Columbia, with potentially more to come as funding becomes available. And the group's main backer, the Service Employees International Union’s 80,000-person strong United Healthcare Workers local in California, says it’s talking with a handful more.

“This is the best value in American politics,” says SEIU-UHW president Dave Regan, who last year laid out a strategy to raise wages through ballot initiatives in the 24 states that allow them...They’ve picked a soft target. According to the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, minimum wage measures have been tried 20 times in 16 states since 1996, and all but two succeeded. The earlier victories came in waves, starting with the “living wage” movement in the 1990s. The campaigns even work in conservative states: in 2004, John Kerry lost Florida, but a minimum wage hike passed with 70 percent of the vote.

If they really wanted to honestly name their project they would call it: The Screw Uneducated, Unskilled Blacks Project. Minimum wages prevent the unskilled and uneducated from getting that all important very first job.

Below: Black teenage unemployment rate vs. national unemployment rate.

   -RW

Is the New Higher Seattle Minimum Wage Destroying Restaurant Jobs in Seattle?

Mark Perry writes, restaurant jobs in Washington are booming this year everywhere except Seattle MSA. Minimum wage effect?

Robert Reich Logic

The former Labor Secretary and current University of California-Berkeley professor, who bought his house at the peak of the real estate bubble, writes:

Even if a $15 an hour minimum wage risks job losses, it is still the right thing to do. 

 -RW