Why a minimum wage is irrational

(The date and time are dummy values to be updated when the meeting is scheduled.) We don’t need complex theory or sophisticated data to determine that a minimum wage will not work as intended and, in fact, that it will be counter productive. I show that this result is obvious. A minimum wage is irrational for two reasons. A minimum wage treats the symptom not the disease, and a minimum wage makes the patient worse not better. The symptom that the minimum wage treats is a low wage, but the underlying disease is a deficiency in job skills that warrant higher pay. A minimum wage makes the patient worse by causing price inflation and by causing a reduction in work hours. The rational policy is to promote job training. In the meeting, I will present these ideas for discussion. Reference: Philip Bitar, The Second American Revolution, Edition 2 (2022), article 13.6 Meeting times and locations Time is PST or PDT, depending on time of year, X = TBD: X:00 pm in-person — Marysville Library, 2nd meeting-room door on LHS of entrance hallway X:15 pm online — link to be posted here before meeting If you plan to attend in person, when you register, please add a comment "Plan to attend in person" to help me in preparing room accommodations.