Why Minimum Wage Increases are a Poor Way to Help the Working Poor
Recently Archbishop Wenski, on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, wrote: “while they are not economists or labor market experts…they see the pain and struggles caused by an economy that simply does not produce enough jobs with a just wage.” They do propose one solution—a raise in the federal minimum wage—because currently it fails “to provide sufficient resources for individuals to form and support families. A full-year, full-time worker making the minimum wage does not make enough money to raise a child free from poverty.”
Neither the Bishops’ concern over the economic plight of the working poor nor the economic policy prescription they support is a surprise. …